References (Use APA 6th edition format.)Da Vielle Vinson
DeVry University
Course Project
Fenty Beauty International Marketing
Fenty Beauty
Fenty Beauty brand is owned by Robyn Rihanna Fenty that deals with cosmetics and it was launched on September 8, 2017 by Rihanna. Fenty Beauty is famous for its vast inclusivity across different sex and skin tones, the most popular is Pro FiltâR foundation.
Product name
Fenty Beauty
Product attributes
Attributes refer to the characteristics of a product, service, place, thing, or a person. Fenty beauty has been created to feel lightweight, and they strive to give their customers a creatable coverage that flawlessly layers, to eventually make skin look like skin. The Fenty beauty brand creates makeup to inspire and have fun with.
Product value creation
Creating value is always the main objective of any business and Fenty Beauty is no exception as the brand made a record $72.0 million through the media in its first month of being launched. The brand has made huge profits owing to the value added to the products. Fenty Beauty brand prides itself in having the best human resource team which ensures the timely deliveries and customer related issues are taken care of immediately when they are raised. Rihanna is a popularly known singer, songwriter, and the owner of the Fenty Beauty brand, as such most of the customers are her fans. Fenty Beauty believes that every person should have access to beauty regardless of the gender, race, or culture. Fenty beauty aims at filling the gap left by other brands in the market, where foundation colouring and product standards is exclusionary to most people in the society, involving individuals that require both lighter and darker shades. The response to the darker shades was so immense that they were sold out very fast.
Environmental Scan
Geographical
Fenty Beauty is located in the United States and it has plans of expanding their operations to Hong Kong and South Korea where there are big expat communities enough to sustain the brand alone like in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s cosmetic market is approximated to grow 3 times more than South Koreaâs value, which is as a result of the over 30 million tourists in 2018, breaking the record of being the most visited city on earth.
Political factors
The stability of the place you plan on expanding your business should be politically and economically stable. Fenty Beauty has chosen to expand to Hong Kong and South Korea since the two countries are politically and economically stable. Political instability brings along chaos and lawlessness that are not favourable conditions for a business to thrive in.
Societal
The Fenty Beauty products are well manicured to fit well in any society as it puts in mind factors like gender and age.
Economic
The economic stability of a country is a very necessary factor to consider before expanding your business. The expansion to Asia is strategic as Hong Kong and South Korea boast of having a stable economy.
Legal
Every country has set aside terms of engagement that should be observed by foreign brands in case they do business in that country. Fenty Beauty is dedicated to following the set legal standards of business engagement when it expands to Asia and Hong Kong. Fenty Beauty is dedicated to delivering environmentally friendly products that won’t harm the environment.
Ethical
Fenty Beauty has a responsibility to uphold ethical behaviour when conducting its business by promoting a culture that observes and promotes ethics and the managers and leaders lead by example.
Cultural.
Setting up a brand in a foreign country can be challenging if the country is not market prepared for the product being offered. Different cultures live differently and have different beliefs as such when expanding internationally Fenty Beauty has made sure to understand the consumer and business culture of Asia.
Entry Strategy
Exporting is the most basic traditional and well-placed form of operating in international markets. Fenty Beauty exports its products all over the world through shipping companies.
Fenty beauty understands the risks related to exporting like loss of parcels along the way, and it has security measures good enough to ensure the safe passage of your parcel.
Entry mode
Exporting is the most basic traditional and well-placed form of operating in international markets. Fenty Beauty exports its products all over the world through shipping companies.
Fenty beauty understands the risks related to exporting like loss of parcels along the way, and it has security measures good enough to ensure the safe passage of your parcel. Later this year Fenty Beauty plans on expanding to Hong Kong and South Korea.
Control versus risk
The associated risks such as loss of parcels along the way, late deliveries, delayed deliveries are all examples of risks in the cosmetics market and Fenty beauty has put across measures that ensure the risks are controlled in advance.
Cultural imperatives, electives, and exclusives
Fenty Beauty is prepared to adjust accordingly in the respective markets in order to adapt well. Organisations fail internationally due to lack of adapting to the new environment.
Legal and ethical implications
Fenty Beauty is a law-abiding brand, and it plans to stay that way even in future.
Market Segmentation
Demographic
Fenty Beauty uses demographics like age, race, gender, and income when developing the products.
Geographic
Fenty Beauty is available worldwide as they offer delivery services all over the world.
Psychographic
Fenty Beauty has several categories of products to accommodate their diverse customer base.
Behavioural
Fenty Beauty is key in dividing people into different groups with similar behavioural patterns to understand their customers better.
Product Positioning
Fenty Beauty is competing with the best brands in the industry which only shows the level of commitment to the product.
Product user
Fenty Beautyâs cash cow is the FiltâR foundation that sold out in the very few days after launching. The inclusivity of the Fenty Beauty product is key in the market.
Brand Development and Management
Brand development is multistage seeking to build equity in the customer’s mind. The brand development for Fenty Beauty in the host market aims to make the product distinct from its close competitors. The Fenty Beauty brand development would seek differentiation to accommodate all genders, skin texture and color, and albinos into the market segment. The host market’s brand development is used to represent beauty by associating it with other reputable brands. Brand management seeks to maintain and advance the brand through partnerships and promotions. Canada, as the host market used in this analysis, brand development has been achieved through price differentiation. More so, the brand management of Fenty Beauty uses online marketing and onsite retailers for promotion.
In the domestic market (U.S), Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty not only focused on dark-skinned consumers but also incorporated other sections of the market, such as albinos and pale people. Similar to the host market, Fenty Beauty utilizes several ethnicity models for including different market segments (Indigo9 Digital Inc., 2019). The brand made a world-class partnership with the LVMH’s Kendo Beauty opening a wide distribution channel in the domestic market (Indigo9 Digital Inc., 2019). Contrary to the brand management strategies of price differentiation in the host market, the domestic market enhances brand management through quality over the competitors and through social media promotion via Rihanna’s social media accounts, making it famous worldwide.
Product standardization and adaptation
Having traveled across the globe during her career, Rihanna made it possible to source ingredients globally like vitamin C-rich Barbados cherry combined with the clinically acknowledged skincare components (Kendo Holdings, 2020). The brand has enjoyed vast economies of scale in research and development and marketing. Adaptively, Fenty Beauty leverage competition to acquire a product that incorporates a broad market, including the pale-skinned and albinos compared to the competitors solely focusing on the dark-skinned consumers.
Standardizing a product enhances the uniformity of various aspects relating to shape, size, and quality (Rao-Nicholson & Khan, 2017). Using the product standardization and adaptation in this context would involve using social media promotion and uniform production technology across the globe. Additionally, recognizing the preference differences across regions and continents would be essential to adopt different packaging, different countries for the same product. This combination of standardization (same product) and adaptation (different packaging, different countries) is essential to incorporate the beauty industry’s differences for different countries, ages, and gender of the target market.
Product Pricing
A common strategic objective for international pricing is penetration to create a demand for the new entrants’ product by lowering the price and diverting the demand from a regular supply channel to a new demand. Additionally, holding a larger market share is essential to survive competition by offering low or fixed prices to encourage new customers. This approach is designed to enhance sales objectives and adapt to the competition. The other aim is strengthening the share by offering comparatively lower prices, which may end not bringing profit but improves the market share by fighting competition, shortening the payback period, and preventing new entry.
A pricing plan for Fenty Beauty that achieves purchasing power parity (PPP) with competitive products should allow a comparison of the purchasing capability across currencies. Creating an effective pricing plan for Fenty Beauty in the host market adopts variable cost-plus pricing, which entails adding a fixed markup percentage on the variable costs (Corporate Finance Institute, 2020). This approach attains PPP since one cannot buy at a cheaper market and sell it in a higher market. Secondly, adopting competition-based pricing would help achieve PPP with competitive products. It involves using the market information to operate the competitors’ prices for standard products based on price setting (SammutâBonnici & Channon, 2015).
Foreign Currency Implications
According to the Morningstar for Currency and Coinbase for Cryptocurrency as of 22 November 2020, 1 Canadian dollar exchanges for 0.76 U. S dollars. Therefore, a decline in the host currency means will make the U.S imports expensive, and it will open a broader opportunity for business expansion (Gulyi, 2020). However, due to the fluctuations in the host currency, the interest rates will be low, and the Canadian dollar value might be low. It will require a change in pricing strategies to lower the prices to make the imports affordable and change the marketing strategies for cheaper and less vibrant ones. However, an increase in the Canadian dollar value will make exports to Canada expensive and less attractive to invest in. As a result, it will need a change in strategy to adopt competitive approaches to gain broad market influence and adopt sales-based and competition-based objectives.
Channel Mix
A channel distribution plan is a strategic document which points out the types of communication channel which can best reach out to priority audience and deliver the necessary information. Ideally, a channel mix comprises of three major things. The first one is the information on the most effective channels that can be used taking into account the priorities of the consumers. This is executed based on past information, customer preferences and the availability of channel distribution to be used. Secondly, the mix comprises of the recommendations to be followed based on how the cannel can combine multiple channels, associated advantages and disadvantages of the combination (HR & Aithal 2020). The third is the information about the resources present and how they can be utilized to ensure that the goals have been attained. Ultimately, the communication channel that will be selected will all depend on the characteristics of the audience, the communication landscape in place as well as the objectives of the program.
Direct distribution channel allows consumers to directly buy products from the manufactures while indirect distribution channel allows the consumers to receive the products through intermediaries, and not directly from manufactures. Retailing and exporting are direct distribution channels that will allow consumers to get the audience to get Fenty beauty products directly (HR & Aithal 2020). There is a situation in which manufactures are unable to directly link with consumers. In such situations, intermediaries play an essential role in making the product available to consumers.
The following procedural plan will be followed in examining establishing the right marketing distribution channel to be followed. Identification of the right distribution channel, which best works with the kind of target customers and which are compatible in terms of technology and communication linkages in place. The channel that supports retailing, exporting, or selling the product through intermediaries is best looked at in this case. The second step is the appropriate consideration of the audience includes understanding their needs, and ways through which they will be in a better position of accessing products they require (HR & Aithal 2020). Lastly is regular evaluation and updating of the distribution channel to be used. This will help in detecting potential difficulties and addressing them in the required manner.
Channel Management
Materials handling, inventory location, inventory control, order processing, and modes of transportation available in the host market are important elements to take into consideration when executing channel management. Being vital activities involved in channel management, they all rely on certain factors. These factors can have a positive or negative impact on channel management. From a general perspective, the following are the factors impacting channel management. The first factor is the unit value of the product under consideration. When handling costly products, small distribution channels should be used. Less costly products can employ the use of long distribution channels. The second factor is the technical nature of the product. Some products are best supplied to the users directly while some require intermediaries. Supplying products to the consumers directly allows the users to have a better understanding of the technicalities involved in handling the products. The third factor is the perishability of the product being distributed. Based on the item’s nature, manufactures can choose to have intermediaries or work on their own. This will ensure that the right decision in the distribution channel has been arrived at. The last factor is product standardization or customization (Kaye, 2016). Customized products are the ones made based on customer needs. Standardized is the one made based on the product development scope in place.
Integrated Marketing Communications
Integrated marketing communications facilitate the adoption of the products into the market both at local and international levels. Both pull and push strategies will be utilized simultaneously to ensure that regardless of the situations presented, the consumers can access the products they intend to. Pull strategy will be attained through developing desirable and eye-catching products that will draw the attention of customers. The push strategy will incorporate making the products available for customers and presenting them closer to them.
In the contemporary world, technological advancement is on the rise. Therefore, social media marketing will be given more weight compared to print and traditional advertisement strategies. The content to be shared will be evaluated in the required manner and any form of bias eliminated. This will ensure that the advertisement is ethical and culturally friendly. Consumer and trade promotion will be undertaken at regular intervals. This is to ensure that customers do not forget about the products, and in case they need them, they will be in a better position of looking for them. trade promotions will be designed in a manner that is focused on company customers. Ensuring that the customers have been satisfied and all that they need is made available will ensure that sales are stimulated. Public relations refer to strategic communication which results in a mutual benefit between the parties involved (Meynhardt, Brieger & Hermann, 2020). It is the practice of managing communication made by a company about the product in the broader media.
Sales Management
Taking a more global requires a company to venture into international markets. In-depth knowledge of the language and culture of various global markets where the company does business is critical. Despite culture and language being a barrier to international sales management, success in selling at global level relies on an effective understanding of these two aspects in terms of precise translations. Doing research is very vital. A business venturing or aspiring to international sales needs to carry out research to make a generalized comparison between it and other business that have succeeded in the market (Baldauf & Lee, 2011). By doing the research, a business understands how to organize itself to start or initiate international sales with internal and external connections.
According to the 2016 report by the Harvard Business Review, considering developing an assessment tool helps in gauging internal readiness for making significant sales at the international market (Baldauf & Lee, 2011). For instance, external aspects set the way for international opportunity. Thus, succeeding in these international sales will require a collective understanding of the adaptation language and cultural skills in a new global market. Therefore, recognizing the essence of language and culture makes a business not to have ill-prepared for what awaits it at the international level.
Also, having global business to business sales helps in making sales to a team of real individuals and connecting to various people or business at advanced levels in the market. A business needs to make adjustments to its compensation systems to fit the global environment where the rewarded business employees or salespeople can help the business achieve its international sales (Gebauer et al., 2009). Thus, paying salesforce determine their motivation level and how they will be a vital contributing factor to global business sales.
Organizational Structure
Multinational companies rely on either functional, divisional, matrix, or flatarchy organizational structure. However, these four structures give different results when used. Thus, they have a significant impact on planning, organization, and control of market operations of a business or company. For instance, the divisional structure has more impact compared to functional. Within the divisional organizational structure, a company enables or facilitates more freedom, autonomy among workers or existing groups within the organization (Gebauer et al., 2009). Thus, planning, organization, and control of market activities become challenging since every existing group of the company may operate differently from one another despite working toward achieving shared goals. In contrast, functional structure enhances planning, organization, and control within the business because people of groups are formed and assigned to work on only the assigned specific roles or tasks (Gebauer et al., 2019). For instance, a group can be formed to work on IT and another in marketing. Thus, coordinating these two groups becomes easy because they do not interfere with the activities of one another. The work structure is clear.
For my course project, I will use a matrix organizational structure. With this structure, it means Fenty Beauty employees or workers report to at least two seniors depending on the circumstance or project (Ahmady et al., 2016). For instance, under usual functional situations, Fenty Beauty marketing manager will work for one boss, but a new business project can arise his skills are required. For the projectâs duration, the workers would report to the manager of the project and his boss for all daily roles or assignments.
Generally, this structure will make business employees have an in-depth understanding of their roles, work priorities, and responsibilities. They will have to share their skills across various functional divisions, thus improving communication and developing knowledge of each otherâs task. Working across functions, workers will expand their skills, abilities, and knowledge, thus growing their professional within the business (Ahmady et al., 2016). However, the business must have a well-defined priority to prevent confusions since employees will have to report to many managers.
Recommendations for Future Marketing
The emerging changes in global marketing involve more informed customers and increased business competition (Rana et al., 2020). These two trends will make my product uncompetitive in the market since the customers will have the ability to determine if the product meets their needs. To change over time, my global marketing of product needs to adjust to media mix and exhibit overseas. For instance, determining the best marketing channel in each global market and taking a position at trade shows at the international level to know what competitors are doing.
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