The LEGO GroupIntroductionThe Lego Group was founded in Billund, Denmark, 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen. The company, making wooden toys, began manufacturing interlocking plastic toy bricks, ‘Lego’ in 1949.Starting from the 1950s, the Lego Group released a number of themes which included space, robots, and pirates. The themes that were licensed such as Batman, Harry potter, Minecraft, etc were also made. Nowadays, the Lego group is launching movies, video/board games, amusement parks called “Lego-land”, and other related with the impact of their brand power. Recently the Lego group made a significant decision to move into the world’s fastest growing market, China. The Lego’s location decision on China created great opportunities for its international operations. The Lego has successfully achieved its objective to increase its growth rate and production efficiency.Case AnalysisFirst of all, lead time shortening was the key contributor for LEGO to choose FDI rather than export in China. s intense because the market concentration is quiet low. Lego also has to compete with local toy brands. Local brands such as Auldey, Hwtoys occupy only 30% of market share but they are the main players in middle-low price toys.The other type of competitor is the copycat firms. Even though Lego defeated the Chinese pirate firms in 2003 at the Beijing High People’s Court, copycat products never disappears. Copycat products used to lack in quality. But recently, copycat firms achieved similar level of quality with Lego in terms of material and design. One experiment showed that even the Chinese boss of Lego could not tell Lego and copy apart. Also, the copycat products are offered at about a third price of original ones. Thus, many Chinese consumers are more attracted by the counterfeits. Because of those copycat firms, Lego loses some of its potential consumers.3C Analysis - ConsumersConsumers in the Chinese LEGO market can be divided into two groups, Kids and Adults. The main consumers. In the question, "If toys for adults be sold, are you willing to buy?” 62% of respondents answered "I would like to buy if there is something I want or the situation permits”.3C Analysis - CompanySWOT analysis can be used to figure out LEGO’s internal and external situations when entering China. LEGO’s strength comes from its brand itself and product portfolio. LEGO has high brand recognition, as the result of its long history and aggressive promotions. With one strong basic theme, it has diversified its portfolio a lot, including Star Wars or Disney partnership versions. In addition to Lego’s diverse products, it also provides the value of fun, creativity, inspiration, memories of childhood, and learning to diverse customer segments. In this respect, as we mentioned in the consumer part, not only children customers but also Kidult or parent customers are main target segments of LEGO. Also, LEGO established new R&D center in Shanghai and makes effort to update its play kits to includlaying roles in Chinese toy market, LEGO can face the danger of new entrant at first. In addition, LEGO may have different values compared to Chinese local toy brand because it was started and developed in western region having a basis on its own culture. This culture difference can be a drawback when entering Chinese market and interacting with consumers.SolutionsTo achieve competitive advantage in China, Lego group can carry out “twin-track” approach considering two types of main competitors. Firstly, Lego group needs to count more on licensed themes of cartoons and movies. In fact, Lego group has experienced huge successes using characters and themes of Batman, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. And the group wants to rely more upon its own classic themes. In addition, focusing on licensed themes can be an effective corporate strategy to prevent threats of the Chinese copycat competitors.Local imitation brands in China are manufacturing and selling plastic blocksr works like “Lego Racer” and “Lego movie videogame”. But these games are based on single play which is not the mainstream in Chinese video game market. Online games based on competition with other players are common in China. Therefore Lego needs to improve its brand games to be fit in the Chinese market. Investment in video games would be so effective that Lego converts the threats of substitutes into a good opportunity. Because there are many examples of educational usage of video games, it is compatible with the image as “edutainer”.Reference) Hyperlink "http://investorshub.advfn.com/Big-Tree-Group-Inc-BIGG-5726/" http://investorshub.advfn.com/Big-Tree-Group-Inc-BIGG-5726/ Hyperlink "https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/industrial-clusters-zhejiang-province-china-jing-zhu" https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/industrial-clusters-zhejiang-province-china-jing-zhu Hyperlink "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p3hrDsAGok" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p3hrDsAGok Hyperlink "http://www.focus.kr/viet
Samyangfood's Challenge in Saudi Arabia, bridgehead for the Middle East.Introduction5 Forces AnalysisTraditional competitorsThreats of new market entrantsThreats of substitutesBargaining power of supplierBargaining power of buyersEnvironment AnalysisPoliticalSociocultural environmentForeign investment policyRecommendationJoint exportingManufacturing in domestic marketsUsing local partners’ distribution channelsLocalization with a new product lineAlign production process with Islamic lawEmphasis nutrition in productsTabooUtilizing the influences of ‘Korean wave’4.3.1 Large impact of social media in Saudi Arabia4.3.2 Promoting marketing with ‘Korean Wave’ in SNSBUSS 313 International BusinessProfessor. Eunmi KimGroup 2IntroductionUnder its mission to be a creative and propulsive food manufacturing firm, Samyangfood began its business in 1961 as an edible oil manufacturer. It launched many food product lines and now it is holding four product categories; ramen(instant noodles), snack, sauonal richness of various vegetables and soup, and it will be able to enjoy differentiated position by meeting local consumers' needs to find fine products. A local consumer FGD(focus group discussion) survey by Korean MAFRA (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) showed that Korean ramen seemed to be fresh and hygienic due to various vegetables and colors.In case of Korean companies, Nongshim is exporting halal shinramen, and Paldo is supplying their products to Saudi through 'Al Rasheed Est.', which is a local company.2.2. Threats of new market entrants: LowFood exports to Saudi Arabia require complex and rigorous customs procedures, and also, understanding Islamic law. Halal certification also strictly regulates the use and containment of certain raw materials. In addition, there is a barrier to new entrants because consumers pay attention not only to Halal certification but also to certification by FDA or Corbion Purac.2.3. Threats of substitutes: HighAs the younger genera Arabia strongly condemned Iran for supporting the Yemen rebels and Iraq regions’ nearby terrorist groups. In 2016, when the Saudi government executed 47 anti-government Shiites on charges of terrorism, Iranian protesters attacked the Saudi diplomatic mission and Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations with Iran.Despite the periling political environment, Korea and Saudi Arabia have maintained friendly relations through Korea - Saudi Investment Guarantee Agreement and Korea - Saudi Double Taxation prevention Agreement. Recently, the two countries have been pursuing cooperation in various fields such as defense, culture, and medical care.Saudi Arabia is preoccupying its position by representing the international Arab and Islamic forces in international/regional organizations and intensifying political and economic supports for these countries. For example, Saudi Arabia is pursuing Arab-Israeli dispute settlement, reconciliation between Shiites and Sunnis and supporting the Palestiniased as a result. In order to create jobs for Saudi Arabian, the government implemented an obligatory employment system (“Saudization”) to leave spaces for indigenous people. In addition, Saudi workers are legally required to be paid a minimum salary of SAR 3000 (USD 800), which is certainly a burden for many companies.RecommendationDespite some undesirable factors, Saudi Arabia is still considered attractive for businesses to enter. Saudi Arabia is estimated to grow as a central strategic market in the Middle East. Samyangfood has more opportunities to seize than to risk failures in this rising market. Thus, some suggestions could be made to maximize profits and minimize losses, ultimately leading to successful market entrance and dominance.4.1. Joint exportingOne of the most important decisions is considerations for foreign market entry modes, determining the method for the company to enter the local market. The most appropriate entry mode for Samyangfood is joint exporting.4.1.1 Mannsure all components used are produced in “Halal way”. Luckily, Samyangfood got Korea Muslim Federation’s certification on seven kinds of products. However, when producing from a localized product line for the Middle East, having certifications from JAKIM is essential. JAKIM is the most convincing and highly credited department for approving “Halal food”. Marks from such institution would comfort local consumers even better.4.2.2. Emphasis nutrition in productsIn Saudi Arabia, housewives love fast food because they do not have enough time to prepare a meal. However, they want high nutrition at the same time. Indeed, healthy food is so popular in Saudi Arabia that they usually have olives, garlic and onions in daily meals as these foods are often recognized very beneficial to health. Owing to their concern to health and nutrition, producing more nutritious products and promoting them as gimmicks could successfully enlarge market share and competitiveness. These localized products could rt