You are hired as an Intern in the Global Strategy department of the company you have chosen from the list of companies provided (https://startups.co.uk/startups-100/2016/ (Links to an external site.)). The Global Strategy Director of the chosen company has asked you to prepare a Report for the senior management of the company to address the following tasks:
Give a brief profile of the company including the following information:
Year company formed
Product or service offered
Financials – sales and profits in the last year
Number of employees
Number of countries it currently operates in
2. Recommend a country for the company to expand into using the Porter’s Diamond Framework.
3. Propose, explain and justify at least two SMART objectives that the company should seek to achieve in the new country within the first two years.
4. Specify and justify the company’s main basis for competitive advantage in the country it is expanding into.
5. Recommend and justify the most suitable foreign market entry strategy that your chosen company should adopt to enter the new country identified.
6. Identify three key challenges that the company will face in the new market and then propose suitable recommendations for dealing with these challenges.
ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS
The assignment should be presented by means of a Report of a maximum of 2500 words excluding company profile, references and appendices
Reference all sources of external information used in your work and any additional information to support your answers can be included in the appendix
This list of companies and year (2016) is chosen because these companies have grown since 2016 and are fast expanding into new markets / countries. These companies were chosen by Startup.co.uk due to the following reasons:
An innovative proposition – whether that’s disrupting a stagnant market with a new twist or (increasingly rare these days) a brand new and original product or tech
Impressive founders – from young founders with incredible drive to experienced entrepreneurs with a stellar track record
Employee numbers – we’re looking for businesses that can truly scale and make a positive contribution to the UK economy
Funds raised – although we’re also impressed by lean businesses that have grown organically
Traction to date – it’s not all about the numbers but they certainly help. Impressive turnovers, and even better profits, are a great indicator of early success
Potential – this is crucial. While traction is important we’re not afraid to back early-stage firms that we feel could be the winners of tomorrow…
Global ambition – we want businesses that aren’t afraid to dream big