Introduction
Operating in the global economy environment is a challenging task even for an organization as well established in the environment of the home market as Emicos International. According to the latest data provided by the company, Emicos International (EI) has been doing quite well in the home market because of the corporate policy that compels the firm to cater to the needs of the general population (“About us” para. 1).
Situation Analysis
External Environment
The atmosphere in which EI exists can be deemed as fairly favorable for the company. However, the regulatory requirements that are applicable to the company based on the UAE government’s decision are admittedly harsh. For instance, the company needs to register its products in accordance with the technical instructions issued by the corresponding authority. Furthermore, the need to meet the highest quality standards, including the absence of any possible health issues, is clearly a challenge, especially for the firm that produces the goods that affect customers’ appearances and health in a direct manner (Government of Dubai – Public Health and Safety Department 2).
Corporate Review
The current mission statement of EI can be deemed as acceptable in the context of the UAE cosmetics industry. According to the information provided by the firm, EI focuses on delivering cosmetic products of the finest quality to UAE citizens. While being rather simple, the identified mission is quite clear and therefore easily understandable and acceptable to the customers.
Product Review
As far as the cosmetics produced by the organization are concerned, the organization offers a rather small range of goods. Particularly, the organization has two types of perfume-based cosmetics (roll-on and non-alcoholic perfumes), color cosmetics (including products for nails, lips, eyes, face, and hair care), and products for maintaining healthy skin (creams, gels, moisturizers, etc.) (“Product Profile” para. 1-4). Therefore, one must admit that the range of products offered by the organization to its customers could be expanded. Even though each of the product types released by the company must meet the current quality criteria impeccably and, therefore, requires a significant amount of time to be developed, the organization must take risks and come up with a wider range of options for the target audience.
Competitive Analysis
Unfortunately, EI has been facing rather stiff competition even in its home market, which means that the firm will have to reconsider its current approach toward resources management in order to succeed in the realm of the global economy. Although the firm is quite well known in the realm of the UAE market, it still needs to compete with the corporate monsters, such as Aris Cosmetics, L’Oréal, Unilever, etc. Seeing that the latter two have long-standing global recognition and have been expanding into new markets ever since, EI needs a very powerful campaign in order to find a unique niche in the realm of the global economy (see Table 1).
Table 1. EI: SWOT Analysis.
As the table above shows, EI’s current problem is a lack of identity. Whereas the rest of the organizations have a very recognizable image, EI tends to build a generic image that leaves a very insignificant impression on the target audience. Although the identified outcome is probably not the goal of the organization, its present-day strategy inevitably leads to the creation of a very bland, generic, and, therefore, forgettable image.
Therefore, the firm needs to place a heavier emphasis on the process of searching for its identity. The fact that EI complies with a set of rather rigid quality standards set by MENA shows that the company is highly likely to gain an instant recognition as the producer of quality cosmetics in the global economy environment. Therefore, the firm definitely should explore the said opportunity.
The legal issues, in turn, are unlikely to be an issue for the organization. When it comes to meeting the legal requirements set for the firms in the cosmetics industry, false advertising seems to be the primary area of concern. Therefore, there is a necessity to make sure that the promotion campaign should include only the information that reflects the properties of EI’s goods in a clear and honest way.
The pricing strategy can be deemed as fairly sensible, although EI might want to drop the prices a bit to make sure that it is not squashed by its key competitors, such as L’Oréal, Unilever, etc. Furthermore, a rapid development of distribution channels is strongly recommended given the fact that EI will have to increase its market share and gain weight in the designated area of the global market. Similarly, the current market share of the organization is comparatively small. Thus, there is a need to promote EI in the context of the UAE market before it starts establishing a presence in the context of the global economy.
As far as L’Oréal and Unilever’s progress in the UAE market is concerned, one must admit that the companies’ success leads to the creation of a rather stiff competition. A recent report about L’Oréal’s evolution in the context of the UAE economic environment has shown that the company has increased its profit margins significantly over the past few years. Particularly, the 13% rise in sales, which L’Oréal announced in 2011, can be viewed as a mark of achieving significant success in the context of the UAE market (U.S. Department of Commerce 95-97).
Table 2. L’Oréal: SWOT Analysis.
As the SWOT analysis provided above shows, the large number of suppliers and partners that the company has in the UAE economic environment serves as the foundation for its success. By creating opportunities for partnership, the firm gains the opportunity to extend its distribution channels; as a result, L’Oréal is capable of extending its influence in the UAE environment even further.
Furthermore, the marketing approach used by L’Oréal in the context of the UAE market is worth making an example of. According to the company’s statement, L’Oréal strives to adapt its approach toward the unique environment of the target market. Consequently, the organization manages to stay relatable while at the same time retaining its originality (Euromonitor International 8).
Therefore, L’Oréal clearly has a tangible influence on the UAE cosmetics market and industry. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to assume that L’Oréal calls the shots in the said realm seeing that another world-renowned organization also has a very tight grip on the UAE cosmetics market. Unilever’s marketing strategy can be deemed as fairly efficient since the organization has been focusing on introducing the elements of the UAE culture and specifics into its products. Indeed, according to the policies that the firm heralded as its priority in the UAE market, Unilever is planning to make the “Made in UAE” (Staples para. 1) concept a brand that every single resident of the state will not be able to resist (see Table 3).
Table 3. Unilever: SWOT Analysis.
As the SWOT analysis of the organization indicates, Unilever has the greatest opportunities in the UAE cosmetics market compared to L’Oréal and EI. However, the firm’s inability to design a comprehensive marketing framework that would allow for a detailed analysis of the target customers and their needs may become the loophole that will help EI take Unilever’s place in the target environment.
Problems and Opportunities
As the analysis carried out above shows, the lack of focus and the power of rivals are the key stumbling blocks in EI’s way to taking over the UAE cosmetics market and entering the realm of the global economy successfully. Despite the power of its competitors, there is a possibility for the organization to gain influence in the designated environment. Particularly, the firm should focus on appealing to the target members of the population by combining the UAE traditions and a global, more general approach toward the idea of beauty and care.
Furthermore, a more elaborate segmentation of the target population compared to what L’Oréal and Unilever carry out in the UAE market should be viewed as an opportunity for the organization to attract a larger number of customers. Indeed, as stressed above, neither of the current market leaders is capable of catering to the needs of the UAE citizens appropriately. While one of them creates a brand image that is too generic, the other one strives to dissolve into the UAE culture, which cannot be viewed as a successful attempt at creating an impression of a unique organization. Therefore, by applying a sensible combination of the two ideas, EI will be able to come up with a brand image and a branding approach that will propel it to the top of the UAE market.
Marketing Strategy
Product
As stressed above, the range of products that EI has to offer to its customers is rather sparse. Thus, it will be necessary to create a wider range of options for the people that the firm views as its prospective clients. Furthermore, the choice of the product types and the means of marketing them to the target audience must hinge on the specifics thereof.
Place
At present, it is imperative to make sure that the organization segments the population successfully and designs a brand product that could appeal to all members thereof. Furthermore, it will be required to come up with a marketing framework that will help make the products easily recognizable among the UAE residents. For these purposes, a combination of IT tools and the traditional media will have to be used.
Specifically, EI may have to consider using billboards and public transportation as a means of product placement. The advertisements will attract the audience’s attention immediately. However, apart from the traditional tools, the use of social networks as the platform for building loyalty among customers will also have to be considered. Therefore, EI will have to invest in its R&D department as well as in the progress of the IT team so that the communication processes, including that with customers and that between the members of the team, should remain consistent and successful.
Pricing
Using median prices and providing customers with discounts and savings options should be viewed as the basis for the company’s strategy.
Promotion
As stressed above, the segmentation process needs to be updated significantly. It will be necessary to introduce the products for different age groups (e.g., lotions and oils for infants and toddlers and products for children, teenagers, young adults, adults, middle-aged people, and senior citizens), genders (i.e., male and female cosmetics), groups of different income statuses (e.g., cheaper yet quality products for low-income families, luxurious options for the wealthy members of the population, etc.).
Furthermore, the promotion campaign will have to reflect the identified changes. Hence, the idea behind the company’s brand product will have to be universal and stress the organization’s willingness to satisfy the needs of all members of the population.
Financial Projections
Control Tools
Establishing a tight control over the key processes in the organization, especially as far as the marketing issues are concerned, is crucial. The first and most obvious is that audits should be used as the primary tool for carrying out supervision. Furthermore, regular reports must be submitted by the company staff so that the managers can track down the accomplishment of the key goals and objectives. Finally, the use of tools such as the competitor analysis, the cost analysis, and the customer analysis will have to be introduced into the framework of the company. As explained above, it is imperative for EI at present to make sure that it does not remain in the shadow of its more well-known rivals. Furthermore, the acquisition of new customers is considered to be one of the primary objectives. Herein lies the importance of customer and competitor analysis. Identifying the weaknesses and strengths of the rivals and determining the essential trends in customer demand, EI will be capable of using its resources adequately to come up with a marketing approach that will set it apart from the rest of the companies.
Risk Management
The process of managing risks will be carried out by using the principle of sustainability. By definition, the identified approach implies that the process of costs allocation should be based on the specific needs of each department. Furthermore, the threat of a financial loss may be curbed by introducing the waste management approach based on the sustainable use of the available resources.
Implementation Control
Audits
As stressed above, audits will be viewed as an important tool for controlling the changes in the company’s design.
Cost Analysis
The cost analysis will serve as the means of determining whether the current framework of resource management is sustainable.
Share Analysis
The share analysis will shed light on the overall performance of the organization as well as how it compares to the rest of the firms in the UAE cosmetics industry.
Marketing by Objectives (MBO)
The focus on the company-specific objectives will allow for improving the performance of EI in the UAE setting. Furthermore, the introduction of a set of clear and attainable goals will serve as the foil for enhancing the overall performance of the organization and introducing the staff members to the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility (Hirshman and Rachman 28).
Conclusion
Entering the realm of the global economy clearly is a challenge. The task becomes even more difficult once a company needs to locate the niche that will allow it to coexist with corporate giants. To make sure that its product will find its customers, EI will have to focus on developing the branding strategy and the distribution channels that will help it showcase the quality of its products and, therefore, attract the attention of the target audience. As soon as EI establishes a strong presence in the global economy, it will be able to attain significant success.
Works Cited
“About us.” Emicos International. n.d. Web.
Government of Dubai – Public Health and Safety Department. Cosmetics, Personal Care & Perfumes Registration Procedures. 2012. Web.
Hirshman, Elizabeth, and David Rachman. Market Information and Research in Fashion Management. Marketing Classics Press. 2012.
“Product Profile.” Emicos International. n.d. Web.
Staples, Andrew. “Unilever Inaugurates Dubai Factory.” Gulf News Economy. 2016. Web.
U.S. Department of Commerce. Cosmetics & Toiletries Market Overviews 2015. 2015. Web.