The main aim of this paper is to provide better information on the market entry strategies of Haagen Dazs. Primarily the company’s focus on aspects such as exporting, acquisitions, direct investment and the company’s alliances or partnership with other companies just in order to sustain business or gain competitive business. This paper also provides some relevant and standard information about the company and how it operates in the market.
Introduction
In the present way of competing business around the world, most companies automatically considers that in order for any company be respected and be competitive globally, it needs not only to be innovative but should also know how to manage resources well, particularly human resource is the key to achieve in performing well in the global market. Innovating in a way like focusing on how they can developed new or re-developed their own current product that address issues affecting quality and affordability are two of the main reasons and most of the time main reason why innovations is needed. Innovativeness also in terms of providing after sales service for some and not just products are also one vital key as well, most particularly those companies that would require services very much like products such as appliances, cars and other manufacturing products are the ones that needed to focus on by these kinds of companies. But, there are still no question that for any company to achieve sustained competitive advantage, it is still the effectiveness of companies to understand the culture and behavior of the company which should be well exploited for better reasons.
The Human resource management is still the ones that address this kind of issues. With the right and effective application of HR theories and concepts which not only focus on how employees perform well during work but also a way on how the work becomes a motivating system and not just a simple part of the requirement for employee. But, still most companies focus also in the marketing strategies, most specially in entering foreign territories; it has become a very challenging for the company. Learning the local needs of that new market, carefully complying of the local policies and the changes and dominance of local brands which is most likely one of the biggest challenges that is also expected for any foreign market or business. It is like how can a global company if the local company has establish better connection with the local market, but instead the company has to make sure that they have the right foreign marketing strategy that will help them in effectively entering that market. This will be the main focus of this paper, and for the company, Haagen Dazs. This paper will focus on the different market entry strategies of the company, such as: exporting, acquisitions, alliances and direct investment that is needed in order to have better business in the new territories they want to do business.
Haagen Dazs Brief Corporate Profile
The company has already been more than half a century in the dairy business, particularly back to the dates of 1920’s. It was Reuben Mattus, a young entrepreneur who really grew up in the ice cream business and who has the passion for quality. With his vision of providing not just a simple ice cream but something that is more than just the taste and look of a simple ice cream but this time it is more of a full bodied and only the finest ingredients will be acceptable in formulating their ice cream and that is now popularly known as Haagen Dazs.
He’s great influence was his mother whose family has been in the ice cream business for a long time and that was easy for him to get focus on it since his own family already has established some kind of a full blown business when it comes to ice cream, but the only difference is that this time it is a more of the high end quality and finest ingredients is needed. Form there, the company has been successful throughout the succeeding decades, like from 1930’s, 40’s, 50’s, but during these years it were not yet totally the Haagen Dazs business, until it was in the 1960’s with Mattus’s wife Rose, has started to launch his own vision of ice cream and this is now the start of Haagen Dazs. With dedication and real focus to quality, as the main core strategies until now, the company has survived all the challenges, in fact the company’s success was mainly brought about by word of mouth and praise which has help the company to expand much more in order to gain larger market and with that it helps the company in improving its financial status as well.
That is why in the year 1973; Haagen Dazs has already established better presence in the entire American market, where every main city in the US, there will be a Haagen Dazs store that they can reach for. Then followed by 1976 success of his daughter’s Haagen Dazs shop which has further helped the company to rapidly expand throughout the big US country. And in 1983, it was the year where the company was sold to Pillsbury and those was then the start of something big for them as Pillsbury ride along to the success of the company and continue to serve quality ice cream and that produces a global presence as well of the company in 54 countries around the world.
And from there on the company still continue to focus on providing extra attention to their main strength and that is providing only the best product with high priority to quality taste and tasteful ingredients, in fact in that time, the entry of Vanilla Swiss almond and Butter Pecan and Dulce de Leche are some of the all times favorites that has given the company success all throughout the years of its existence, even up to now. Then as the company continues to target the global market and be able to compete with the giants in the business, it also manage to introduce its bar line product of Haagen Dazs in 1986. Then, another premium and innovated products that were also launch in 1991 and that is frozen yogurt. Then it was in 1993 where the sorbet where also introduced. From these years of continued success and careful study in both customers demand and quality initiative, it was enough for the company to achieve sustained competitive advantage. (History, n.d.).
Haagen Dazs International Market Entry Strategies
As a premier brand in the business, it is always hard to compete in the market whether it is local or international market. This is exactly what the company is facing all throughout its existence in the business. But, this does not prevent the company from still producing quality and highly refined product in the market. Because for the company, downgrading the business just to compete in the business where there is no security at all in the outcome, is not the main focal point of Haagen Dazs. That is why until today, they still remain a well respected and well trusted quality product in terms of ice cream and other dairy products. Not only that, the company main strategy also goes to excellent customer service, where people who works with the company are not simply assigned to the store but they have been given extensive customer service training and product training in order for them to carry the high standard level of business approach of the company. With these two main focuses, the company remains to be a top competitor in this kind of business, and it carries loyal customers from the high end class and even up to middle class level as well.
Also in terms of its international strategy, actually the business mainly focus also on how they can added more improvement in the quality of their main product and that is ice cream, it was just the extension and introduction of yogurt product to the market that has been recognized as a genuine expansion that the company has made. Another strategy the company also applied is developing new packaging ideas, most specially the cost of the product is high, and in this way the market segment may have a better choice. In the internal company side, they also have formulated a regular brainstorming session with the executives and consultants particularly with the marketing and R&D team in order to critically analyzed the need and study the cost and benefit that the company may have if in case they will venture for new innovations or initiate for process improvement of developed new product lines. This has become one of the strength of the company because it will not engaged immediately to drastic measures and decision just for financial gain, instead the company will study first on the potential of it and be able to make sure that it will work both ways, for customers and the company as well. And the last was the creation of consumer focus groups, which also helps the company in segregating segments in order to have a much better look at the different types of customers that the company serves. (Case Studies, n.d.).
The one listed before are purely based on the standard international marketing strategy of Haagen Dazs and how they really perform business and some of its current marketing developments as well. In the succeeding discussion that will be presented in this paper, it will now be directly focusing on how the company performs international market entry strategies, which is sometimes a very difficult and drastic move as well for some global companies these days since the continuing changing trend in the business are still a factor that prevents it. For Haagen Dazs, first in terms of exporting, the company always focuses on what they called as “dedicated to pleasure” meaning the strategy is always export only products that people demand for it, the company will not be delivering products for export that are not known to be accepted. The company does not want to export products that does not have proven acceptance from the market. Most specially you are competing with giant global companies as well like, Mars and Nestle, where they are well positioned in terms of price and product choices. That is why for the company, they only exploit on the product that they know effective and would really give the company better revenue and from there they will continue to improved on that in order for the product continuously be loved by their international market. (Champy, J. & Nohria, N, 1996, p130-131).
In terms of international alliances, the company is also known to be picky and very choosy in forming up partnership with other companies. The company will make sure that in the process of partnership, it is important that both the customers and the company itself will benefit from it. The strategy is really to find a bigger company to sell the local product. Like what happened when Nestle bought the rights of selling Haagen Dazs in most outlets in the US. This has been a good move for the company, because the company really understand that it is hard to compete with Nestle so what they did is that they made a partnership with them and with the agreement that they will still used the name of the company and will still follow the rigid quality process of selling the product. In this way the company continuously earns in this international market and at the same time establishing still its name to the public, less burden since the one who bought the rights is the one working with the market. And for the Haagen Dazs, they can continue to focus on other territories that they are working well with it. (Vevey, 1999).
The company also engaged itself in forming a partnership with some latest trends in business marketing like it also dips into the world of internet and gaming. This has been a way of expanding the company’s customer awareness, most specially when the summer season is coming. There was also partnership with some well respected websites, which these international markets would also be more enticed in patronizing the products. Hot prices such as cars and money are being given and these are not just a small promos, it even gives cars that are luxury ones, like jaguars and big amount of money as prizes. The partnerships with some online marketing companies are only performing during peak season in order to attract more customers. Banners and big signage’s are also some of the standard procedures that also added in order to make the marketing strategy more encouraging for the public and all of this is being done in order to attract international markets. (Khan, M, 2001).
In terms of other international entry strategy, like in terms of acquisition, actually the company has not been very much into it. Since it continues to focus mainly on how to produce quality products instead it was other company that acquires some of the company’s business. Like for instance what Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream did when it acquired Haagen Dazs Shop Inc. This was the time were the company has acquired; the main reason was just like for other companies, what they want is to really focus all its attention and innovation on its main product. This is also has been the key for most industrialized companies. Because being diversified these days would not also give great success in the long run, most specially as customers starting to be very keen on the products and services, many companies are now re-establishing themselves and try to be focus only on those they know they have great advantage. In other words, in terms of acquisition, the company is very careful about it, because what they do is to keep up the quality of the product and do the standard way of marketing the product itself. Instead what the company do is let other company acquired some of its business, particularly those that are not anymore giving benefit for the company. (Dairy Business Briefs, 2004).
In terms of direct investment, there is no question for a company that is well focused on enhancing the quality of its product, what is important most of all is investing on the ingredients and these are egg and milk. The company has been very careful and at the same time focus on investing substantial amount of money just to keep up with the quality of its product that is why two of the most important ingredient of its success needs to be carried on and these are mild and egg. Other investment like warehouse and transport equipments and vehicles are also important. These are very important strategies that the company is focusing in every place they do business. This is one of the main reason why the product continues to provide high quality everywhere in the world. (On the Watchlist, 2006).
Analysis on the Achieved Market Entry Strategy of Haagen Dazs
In the market entry strategies that the company has applied in its foreign or international market, it only shows that focus and being able to prioritize on the safekeeping of its product through its ingredients and supply is important. This was also the main key for its current success and the success that it achieves even from the past. It also shows also in the set of strategies that the company also made it clear that quality is the main key, downgrading it and be able just to serve for greater masses is not the idea of the company.
This is only due to the fact that it also caters and continuously keeping the high standard customers that is also keeping them in the business. This is also what the value of the company is all about. It also protects its credibility by not only focusing on just product excellence but also service as well, because the company knows that much better progress can be achieve if you have both excellent in product and services.
Conclusion
In this study it clearly shows that for any company to succeed, it is not only just following the certain guidelines and theories and applies it, what is important is that company must clearly understand on how it will react on the situation. Like in the case of Haagen Dazs, the company is not afraid of losing some part of the business, if that does not really provide better support for the company, instead its main focus is mainly on how to deal with quality of its product and everything follows on it.
References
- “Case Studies.” Retrieved n.d, from
- http://www.newmarketingnetwork.com/case21.html#haagen_dazs
- Center. Retrieved August 19, 1999, from
- http://www.nestle.com/MediaCenter/PressReleases/AllPressReleases/UsIceCreamMarket-
- Champy, J. & Nitin, N. Fast Forward: The Best Ideas on Managing Business Change. Harvard business School Press: US
- “Dairy Business Briefs.” (2004). IDFA. Retrieved February 18, 2004, from
- http://www.idfa.org/dbrief/dbrief021804.html
- “History.” (n.d.). Haagen Dazs Corporate Website. Retrieved n.d, from http://www.haagen-
- dazs.com/company/history.aspx
- Khan, M. (2001). “Haagen Dazs dips into the Net With Games for New Sundae.” DM News.
- Retrieved June 20, 2001, from http://www.dmnews.com/H%C3%A4agen-Dazs-Dips-Into-Net-
- “On the Watchlist.” (2006). FDI – Foreign Direct Investment. Retrieved October 5, 2006, from
- http://www.fdimagazine.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/1789/On_the_watchlist.html
- With-Game-for-New-Sundae/article/73424/
- Vevey. (1999). “Nestlé and Häagen-Dazs Combine Forces in the US Ice Cream Market.” Media
- 19Aug99.htm
