Assignment Paper

Assignment Brief

Background and Scenario for the Assignment
This assignment is based on the ‘Ring’ range of products, which you can see on https://en-uk.ring.com/

The Ring company was founded by Jamie Siminoff in the USA in 2013, its headquarters today are in Santa Monica.

A number of different investments have enabled the company’s expansion and most recently, in February 2018, Amazon acquired Ring for an estimated 1.2 to 1.8 billion dollars. For more information about the company’s development, and further commentary on its products, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_Inc

The company states that its mission is ‘to reduce crime in communities’, see https://en-uk.ring.com/pages/about

One study in Los Angeles showed a 55% reduction in home break-ins, after Ring was installed in only 10% of homes, see https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180718005220/en/New-Study-Ring-Finds-Homeowners-Victim-Home

It seems that through the Amazon network, Ring products can already be purchased in several countries outside the USA, see https://shop.ring.com/pages/country-selector

However, for the purposes of this assignment, you should make the assumptions below. Please read all of these very carefully as they will influence market selection:

• In Europe, in terms of fulfilling its mission of ‘reducing crime in communities’, Ring has had less success than in the USA.

• The company wants to fulfil this mission via profitable business, not by giving units away free of charge.

• Their immediate goal is to focus on a small number of countries, where Ring might have the most appeal.
• Ring would then push sales harder in those countries, hopefully leading to reductions in break-ins. This would enable favourable publicity via a bank of success stories and case studies, and in turn support further sales/expansion beyond the initial target countries.

• The UK and Eire may not be chosen as target markets (this is an International Marketing module!)

• The products work well and any teething or internet security problems identified in earlier versions, or reported on the web, have been fully resolved.
1.
In the role of lead consultant to Ring you have been asked to complete the tasks below (see The Assignment Task). In doing so you will need to draw on wider research into the potential market, its potential competitors and customers. Use of Passport and other sources will be imperative. This wider research will be needed to underpin – and justify your answers.

Guidance on using Passport and other sources, will be provided in classes.

The Assignment Task

This assignment has two tasks.

• Task A Market Selection
• Task B Market Entry Strategy

Your work should be presented using a report format, and include a single list of references covering both tasks. Please use line and a half spacing in the body of the report.

Task A Market Selection (60% of marks)

Process

Develop a set of screening criteria (maximum SIX), to help identify FOUR European countries for Ring’s special focus, as outlined above. (Remember that you may not choose UK or Eire)

In making your choice, it is recommended that you stick to countries included in our Passport subscription. Details of the European countries in our subscription, have been posted in the Assignment Two folder.

Remember that criteria = conditions that should ideally be present in the chosen country, so be as specific as possible

Maximum of 6 means just that, please do not break each criteria down into a further 3 or 4, thus giving yourself 18-24 separate pieces of information to find for each country! You do not have to use a filter approach; use a screening or criterion-based model that you think makes sense for the task.

Collect relevant secondary data to help assess how your chosen countries perform against the chosen criteria. Data may be a mix of quantitative and qualitative information – either way you must seek authoritative evidence to inform your criteria.

A range of sources will be introduced in classes; you MUST use the Passport GMID resources and additional sources are welcome.

You may not get 100% of the information you require but a serious and persistent search needs to take place! If you experience problems, think about redesigning your criteria or redesigning your search!

What do you now write in the assignment?

(20% of assignment marks)
Create a table or tables which summarises each of the criteria and the data/facts obtained to assess each, with sources referenced by author (year). Place this table in the appendix. Do not exceed 2 sides of A4.

(40% of assignment marks)
In the body of the assignment, write a section, which:

a) Provides a clear explanation for why you have chosen those particular four countries to explore in detail.

b) Discusses and justifies the choice of criteria (e.g. Are some more important than others? Should they be applied in any particular order?)

c) Critically evaluates how your chosen countries perform against the criteria and suggests a rank order (1 to 4) for the four countries. In this part, you need to provide a fully reasoned evaluation and argument for your ranking, drawing on relevant information in your table(s).

Remember to cite your sources in the body of the report as well as in the Appendices.
(Suggested max word length 1300 words excluding the appendix table)

Task B Market Entry and Distribution Strategy (30% of assignment marks)

Ring already has a distribution arrangement through Amazon, however they want to add further channels in the expectation that this will help to increase sales and thus meet their goals faster.

They would like you to evaluate the following options and recommend which should be the primary focus, with clear justification:

Option 1
A specialist distributor would be chosen, who is able to distribute the product to a wide range of home and garden, and home improvement specialist retailers, in your chosen four countries.

Option 2
This option would involve entering into a joint venture with Euronics International Ltd, http://www.euronics.com/ an international association of independent electrical retailers – who sell a wide range of TV and audio goods and many other household appliances.

Again Ring wants to see plenty of evidence for your points and clear links to your understanding of the consumer and the retail environment. Both secondary research such as Passport and academic research should be used here.

(Suggested max word length 650 words)

Report Writing, Citing and Referencing (10% of assignment marks)

The final 10% of marks will be given for this, taking into account the whole report. Your report should include a contents page, introduction, conclusions and list of references as well as your responses to the tasks above. All pages should be numbered.
Use line and a half spacing in the body of the report

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcome:
2. Assess, analyse and conceptually apply the process and practice of market-entry planning and selection.

Task requirements
This is an INDIVIDUAL piece of work and must be undertaken on your own, based on your reading and your ideas. It should therefore NOT be undertaken in collaboration with other student(s).

Collaboration may result in a ‘fail’ mark being awarded.

Your report should not exceed 2500 words INCLUDING INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSIONS.

Please note carefully that tables, diagrams, or additional words contained in text boxes within the body of the report WILL be considered part of the word count. A maximum 2 sides of A4 only is allowed for the Appendices (apart from the list of references). Appendices can include tables, as detailed in the brief.

Report Writing
Your report should use line and a half spacing.
The list of references will not be included in the word count.

Referencing and research requirements
Please reference your work according to the Harvard Referencing style as defined in Cite Them Right Online (http://www.citethemrightonline.com). This information is also available in book form: Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2016) Cite them right: the essential reference guide. 10th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Copies are available via the university library.
The Cite Them Right database can be accessed via the Library – A to Z list of e resources

How your work will be assessed
Your work will be assessed using the separate assessment grid, which takes into account the learning outcomes and the grading descriptors for Level 6.