Essay Topic:

Storck′s entry into the Swedish candy market

Name: Cyril

Alias

Module: Cross-Cultural

Management

Due Date:

November 2nd, 2005

Storck′s entry into the Swedish candy market

torck is a medium-size candy company headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Few

years ago, Storck moved there from their original place of foundation, Halle/

Westfalen, Germany, where they still have located a vast majority of the production

process.

21 years ago1, they actually went international by selling their products, with strong

brands domestically, to new markets abroad. These products today are Werther′s

Original, Riesen, Campino, Toffifee, merci, and Mamba, among others.2

In the following analysis, the whole "going international" process shall be simulated with

the aim at a perfect internationalization of Storck′s. A focus within this comprehensive

procedure will be laid at

Storck′s entry into the Swedish candy market

.

First of all, a strategy formulation will be carried out via both an environmental

scan and an internal resource analysis. The environmental scan is put into effect with

the help of a PEST analysis in order to identify opportunities and threats awaiting Storck.

The internal resources will be analyzed with the object of discovering the company′s

strengths and weaknesses.

After generally formulating the strategy, goals will be set with regard to Storck′ s

strategy and performance in general. To achieve the goals set, the implementation of

that strategy should be thoroughly thought through. The perfect implementation of an

internationalization strategy manifests itself by choosing the correct entry strategy and

the organizational structure most suitable to Storck′s needs.

1 Storck Sweden. 2004.

Storck ­ Part of your world: History

.

(

Available at

: http://www.storck.com/en/history/index.php;

visited on

: Oct. 9th, 2005)

2 Storck Sweden. 2004.

Storck ­ Part of your world: Brands that capture your heart

.

(

Available at

: http://www.storck.se/en/brand/index.php;

visited on

: Oct. 9th, 2005)

Cross-Cultural Management

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Storck′s entry into the Swedish candy market

At last, recommendations shall be given to Storck in terms of dealing with

internationalization as a medium-size company with limited personnel, knowledge, and

financial leeway.

Since the home market is exhausted, internationalization makes sense to Storck.

Although the foodstuff industry often being equipped with a high national

responsiveness, the strategy that should be formulated for Storck′s entry into Sweden

should be the

international strategy

as the need for global integration is low, so is the

one for national responsiveness.3

Storck is right at the beginning of its internationalization, therefore the first entry strategy

should be an

import and export facility

, whose main advantage is the perfect suitability to

SMEs because of the "minimum of investment"4 required. But this means also a strong

need for trustworthy foreign distributors. For the case of Sweden, this may not be a

problematic issue as the legal surroundings are safe.

A newly installed international division should deal with the import and export activities,

esp. with the upcoming paperwork.5 By an

international division structure

, "top

management attention"6 and a "unified approach"7 to operations abroad are ensured.

But one should also note that this can only be a strategy for the "developmental stage of

international business"8 because difficulties in strategic acting and global sourcing9 and

3 "Strategy formulation and implementation" in Hodgetts et al. 2006.

International Management:

Culture, Strategy and Behavior

. Page 243. Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Boston.

4 "Entry strategies and organizational structures" in Hodgetts et al. 2006.

International Management:

Culture, Strategy and Behavior

. Page 266. Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Boston.

5 ibidem

6 "Entry strategies and organizational structures" in Hodgetts et al. 2006.

International Management:

Culture, Strategy and Behavior

. Page 271. Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Boston.

7 ibidem

8 ibidem

9 ibidem

Cross-Cultural Management

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