Prompt: Harwell ltd. was established in 1974 in Scotland by Lewis and Rebecca Harwell. Their vision is to build a chain of companies within the Harwell group. Currently they have established four different companies which are up and running in various industries, they include: fashion, sports, events and fitness. Their most recent investment was in the IT industry but this eventually became unsuccessful. Lewis and Rebecca are now set to take on a new investment and the group’s net worth has recently been valued at £6.7 million. They plan to venture into the food and drinks industry particularly focusing on the production of canned energy drinks. Although this is a highly competitive sector of the food industry, they have both chosen this because of the increase in demand for energy drinks. Based on your knowledge of strategic position, Lewis and Rebecca have requested you carry out a thorough analysis on their new investment carefully considering the followings:
- The external business environment and how this may influence the new investment
- Competitive/market forces that would impact this business both positively and negatively
- What marketing/penetration strategies do you think can be implemented to boost the market share of this product, hence increasing sales and profit margins
- Critically analyse the marketing mix and suggest the most appropriate marketing mix for this product.
Hint: Your advice should be mainly based on key strategic theories and frameworks. You are allowed to make reasonable assumptions stating clear reasons for these if you need to do so – Harwell energy drink business –Harwell Group Investment in Energy Drink Business (below).
Harwell Group Investment in Energy Drink Business
Introduction
Deciding on whether or not to venture into a particular business is an important strategic decision. Careful consideration guided by a thorough analysis of different factors should be done before making such a decision. An analysis of the internal and external business environments should be done to help decide whether or not it is worth venturing into the new business (Pal, 2000). The external business environment greatly affects the chances of a company succeeding in a given industry or market (Thilakasiri, 2018). It is also crucial for business owners and managers to evaluate the competitive forces, penetration strategies, and market mix to be applied by their business as these also significantly affect the chances of the business’ success. Against this background, Harwell Group, which is considering the option of venturing into the energy drinks business in the United Kingdom, should analyse the external business environment and competitive forces in relation to the energy drinks market before deciding on whether or not to invest in this business.
This paper analyses the external business environment in relation to the energy drinks market in the UK through a pestle analysis. A pestle analysis evaluates the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors that make up the business environment (Kayumi, 2014). A pestle analysis has been chosen in this case, considering its capacity to assess the prevailing business environment and changes that can potentially affect it (Kayumi, 2014). In addition, the paper will analyse the competitive environment in relation to the energy drinks market. Based on the results of these analyses, recommendations will be made on whether Harwell Group should go ahead and invest in the energy drinks business, the most appropriate penetration strategy, and the best marketing mix to apply.
External Business Environment
Political Factors
Political factors touch on how and the extent to which government intervenes in the economy. Given that Harwell Group is based in Scotland, it is subject to the political environment of the United Kingdom. The UK has enjoyed political stability for a long time, is governed by the rule of law, and is based on democracy (Trading Economics, 2021). The political environment of the nation is such that doing legal business is encouraged. Recently, there have been growing calls for Scotland to break away from the UK, which could have far-reaching effects on the political, economic, social, and legal environments, and by extension, the business environment in Scotland and the rest of the UK (Milligan, 2021). From the outlook, there is little chance that such a change can occur within the next five years, which possibly implies the continued political stability of the UK in the next ten or so years. The UK government constantly monitors the inflation level and takes appropriate measures to see that the annual rate averages 2% (Bank of England, 2021).
Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
External Business Environment
Political Factors
Economic
Social
Technological
Legal Factors
Environmental
Competitive/ Market Forces
Buyer Power
Supplier Power
Competitive Rivalry
Threat of Substitution
Threat of New Entry
Marketing/Penetration Strategies
Marketing Mix
Conclusion
References
Appendix 1: Prompt
Keywords: Harwell external business environment, Harwell Competitive forces, Harwell market forces, Harwell Marketing Strategies, Harwell Penetration Strategies, Harwell Marketing Mix, Harwell Energy Drinks.
