Brands
Chile AllStar Marketing Report
Prepared for: BA 447 International Marketing Prepared by: Ryan Gardner, Elizabeth Smith, and Thomas Bredin 20 February, 2009
Executive Summary
Objective
The purpose of this report is to present evidence in support of AllStar Brand's expansion into the Chilean market with its Allsmile brand toothpaste. This group believes that Chile offers opportunities for AllStar's business, and seeks to present a balanced view of the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats involved in this venture.
Goals
AllStar seeks to build its brand initially in select Latin American countries such as Chile. Gradually, AllStar will use this entry to expand to Latin America as a whole.
Solution
To be successful, AllStar must carefully determine its type of entry, target market, product selection, pricing, advertising, and distribution. Successful entry into the Chilean market hinges on AllStar's understanding of the country of Chile and where its products can fit in this important market.
Company Background
AllStar Brands operates in the United States and Europe, with partnerships in Asia, producing over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and other consumer products. Recognizable brands owned by AllStar include the cold medicine Allround and the soon to be OTC heartburn drug, Zemlef. Furthermore, AllStar consumer products division offers items such as soaps, detergent, and toothpaste. AllStar has been successful in this business,s but the markets it currently operates in have matured and are highly competitive. For continued growth, the board of AllStar feels that Latin America is where AllStar's Allsmile brand toothpaste needs to be.
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Market Background
Introduction
Chile is stable, democratic, and supports free market trade. It has a developed economy and does not receive any foreign economic aid. It is a narrow country, but it stretches quite far, covering much of the Pacific coast of South America. (Appendix p. 3) Because of Chile's location on the Pacific, it plays a significant role in shipping in South America and for the rest of the world. Chile has the infrastructure, from a transportation and telecommunications standpoint, to support distribution and marketing of Allsmile toothpaste.
Social
According to 2006 figures, Chile's population stands at 16,134,219. Its population has grown at a rate of 0.94%, which is in the middle of the pack for most Latin American countries. It's urban population is quite high at 84% percent, and heavily concentrated, as 36% are in the three largest cities. (Appendix p. 1) The infant mortality rate is 8.58 deaths/1000 live births. Life expectancy at birth is 73 years for men and 80 years for women. The birth rate is 15.23 births/1000 population compared with the death rate of 5.81 deaths/1000. Persons 0-14 years of age make up 24.7% of the population, ages 15-64 make up 67.1%, and people 65 years and older make up 8.2%. There are slightly more women than men in the total population, however, this ratio is reversing according to 2006 figures. (Appendix p. 2) Whites and white-Amerindians make up 95% of the population, with Amerindians at 3% and other groups at 1%. Spanish the primary language spoken in Chile. Literacy is at 96.2% for the total population.
Economy
With the second highest per capita GDP in Latin America, at $11,300, Chile has been an example for stable and steady economic growth in Latin America. It's total GDP has grown at a rate of 6.0% and the consumer price index (CPI) has grown at a rate of 3.2%. Of the Latin American nations Chile is considering entering, Chile has the lowest poverty rate, at 18% and a low unemployment rate of 8%. (Appendix p. 1) In terms of household income, the lowest 10% consume 1.4% and the highest 10% consume 46.1%
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Chile exports more than it imports (Appendix p. 3). Their largest export partners are the U.S., Japan, China, South Korea, Netherlands, Brazil, Italy, and Mexico. Primary exports include commodities like copper, fish, and paper. Chile's main import partners include Argentina, U.S., Brazil, and China. It's main imports are petroleum, chemicals, telecommunications equipment, and industrial machinery. The Chilean peso (Ch$) is the unit of currency used in Chile. Since the early 2000's, the peso has steadily strengthened against the US dollar, going from 634 pesos/USD in 2001 to 549 pesos/USD in 2006. (Appendix p. 4)
Future Trends
Chile's economy and population are both expected to gain for the foreseeable future. Projected GDP growth is expected to reach 12.5%. (Appendix p. 5)
Cost Structure
Across the board, Chile is more competitive than the U.S. when it comes to unit costs and comparable with other Latin American countries (Appendix p. 6) Administrative costs When looking at administrative costs, Chile's costs per SKU are lower than all other countries, on the lower end on a perchannel basis, and in the middle based on per direct outlet. Sales-force expenses for Chile, in total, are higher than other countries. These expenses include sales representative salary, average expenses, and hiring/training. (Appendix p. 6)
Trade Issues
Chile has a significant advantages when it comes to tariffs and shipping. The country has no tariffs on on trade between the U.S., Argentina, and Brazil. Furthermore, it's tariffs for goods between Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela are the lowest of any country. Shipping costs are also on the lower end of the spectrum except for the U.S. For these reasons, it is recommended that AllStar build a production facility in Chile. This facility not only support growth in the Chilean market, but future expansion into the rest of Latin America as well.
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Fig. 1
The Market For Toothpaste
From 2001 to 2006, Chile's market for oral hygiene products increased at an annual rate of 4.0%. (PDF) Toothpaste sales have risen steadily over the past six years in the country and it now has the highest per capita sales of toothpaste in Latin America by far.
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Competition
Global
In the global toothpaste market, AllStar has several competitors to consider. AllStar currently has 13% of the global market. Its main competitors are B&B with 15%, Caremore with 21%, Driscol with 10%, and Evers with 7%. B&B Healthcare, with its Britesmile brand, is currently the only global competitor operating in Chile.
Fig. 2
Chile
Along with B&B, there are two Chilean toothpaste manufacturers of note. They are listed as Local 1 and Regional 1. In terms of market share, both are beating Britesmile. Local 1 has 62.3% market share and Regional 1 has 27.1%. Britesmile has 10.5%. Both of the Chilean toothpaste companies focus solely on economy and healthy toothpaste, with Britesmile filling a niche with whitening products under the two SKU's it produces.
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Target Market
After considering Chilean preferences and social characteristics, as well as current competitive conditions, we have made a determination on who we should be targeting. Families with children is a segment that has not been catered to in the market. Considering Chile's birthrate and low infant mortality, this is a lucrative segment. Young people have shown a preference toward whitening toothpastes. Currently only one competitor offers whitening toothpaste. Chileans put a heavy emphasis on price when it comes to their purchasing decisions. While the economy toothpaste market has many offerings already, this market is too large to ignore, and AllStar has the ability to take a significant amount of market share.
Country Argentina Brazil Chile Mexico Peru Venezuela
Price Effect 40.8% 44.3% 40.4% 48.0% 51.0% 48.7% 35.9% 31.4% 34.7% 29.4% 27.8% 28.4%
Size Vehicle 17.0% 17.9% 18.0% 17.5% 16.6% 16.7% 3.2% 4.0% 4.5% 2.9% 2.9% 3.9%
Delivery 3.1% 2.4% 2.5% 2.2% 1.8% 2.2%
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Product
Families - Kids
Based on our market research, we believe a more conservative approach would be the best way to enter the Chilean market. This involves entering the market with a limited number of products, substantially less than we offer in total. We determined that no brand in Chile offered a toothpaste suitable for children. Demographic trends in Chile, such as Low infant mortality and a high birthrate, indicate that the country would be an excellent market for children's toothpaste. Currently, no brands are directed towards the children's toothpaste market. The AllSmile brand fill can this gap. This product would be targeted toward families with children. Unlike most of our other products, it will be gel based, and in a pump. Attributes of the product like gel and pumps make it more expensive to produce, but as you can see in the table below, consumers in this segment overwhelmingly prefer those attributes.
Size Small Medium Large
30.0% 35.0% 25.0%
Delivery Tube Pump
25.0% 75.0%
Vehicle Paste Gel
10.0% 90.0%
Younger - Whitening
We also found that the current offering of whitening toothpastes targeted towards younger people was quite small. This is another under-served segment that can be taken advantage of.
Size Small Medium Large
40.0% 55.0% 5.0%
Delivery Tube Pump
70.0% 30.0%
Vehicle Paste Gel
60.0% 40.0%
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Families - Economy
As you can see from the current market (Appendix p. 16-17), Chile is well served when it comes to economy toothpaste. However, this segment of the market is too large for us to ignore. AllSmile can be sold for a lower price than competitor's products and grab market share in this segment. Size Small 5.0% Delivery Tube Pump 60.0% 40.0% Vehicle Paste Gel 40.0% 60.0%
Medium 60.0% Large 35.0%
Out of the four variations of AllStar's brand Allsmile, there are 24 SKU's that are offered. At entry, AllSmile should only be sold in medium sized products across the segments. Emphasis on value and the overall preference for that size has led use to conclude this would be the best size to offer.
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Pricing
There is $104 million being spent on toothpaste in Chile. This represents a lucrative market for AllStar. In the economy SKU we are using medium sized tube with paste. This costs $.50 to produce in the United States. The shipping costs to Chile are 0.030 per average unit. The production costs, if produced in Chile, would be 11% cheaper and the shipping costs would go down to 0.005. The average total cost to produce and ship from the US to Chile would be $.53 and $.45. If a plant is built in Chile, the COGS will decrease by 8-10% whenever the production doubles. The MSRP that the competition is charging varies. Brightsmile charges 852 (Ch$) for whitening type toothpaste and the local and regional brands are charging 714 (Ch$) for basic toothpaste. In US dollars, those prices are $1.53 and $1.28 respectively. The economy/paste/tube should have a cost of 700 (Ch$) so that it is cheaper than the local toothpaste but is only about $.02 less. It needs to be cheaper because AllSmile is directly competing with the local and regional brands. It costs $.53 to produce and ship the economy/tube/paste. It costs 5% more to produce whitening toothpaste than economy toothpaste, so to produce and ship whitening/tube/paste it will cost $.56. It should cost 800 (Ch$), which is $1.44. It is 25% more to produce kids/pump/gel than economy/tube/paste, so it costs about $.63 to produce and ship kids/pump/gel. It should cost 830 (Ch$), which is about $1.49.
Argentina Approx. Cost Reduction 9%
Brazil 13%
Chile 11%
Mexico 19%
Peru 26%
Venezuela 28%
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Distribution
This is a new environment for AllStar, and we lack connections with many of the businesses in Chile. As we are marketing our products to different segments, it will take a hybrid strategy to distribute our product. Initially, this will involve direct channel deals with hypermarkets, but a dependance on wholesalers for most traditional and self-serve stores. As well develop relationships with smaller businesses, we can eventually shift over to direct channels, if we feel it necessary in the future.
The shopping habits of our targeted consumers is mixed and doesn't heavily favor any specific venue. Therefore, AllStar must concentrate on most of these channels equally.
Young FamiOlder er lies Traditional 27.6% 61.8% 40.8% Self Serve 33.2% 22.1% 21.4% Hypermarket 37.7% 14.9% 35.9% Web/Other Home 1.6% 1.2% 1.8%
Overall 42.2% 24.5% 31.6% 1.6%
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Another distribution channel AllStar should look into is selling direct to consumers through the web or some other ordering system. Currently, the percent of shopping it makes up is quite small, but we believe early entry using this method we give our brand a head start as it becomes more popular. We will begin selling through this channel some time after market entry and after our brand has been thoroughly developed in Chile.
Sales Force
A sales force will work with retailers and current customers to keep them current with AllStar's products, promotions, and programs. Along with these duties, they will work on obtaining additional and different accounts, and maintain current industry connections, and affiliations, broadening the brand awareness for AllStar's products. AllStar should dedicate 3 salespeople to each channel and 1 to wholesale, as that method usually requires fewer people.
Cost
Sales force costs in Chile are somewhat higher than in other countries. This will be a significant expense at first Average Salesperson Cost For Chile (U.S. $) Salary/Comm...