Reference no: EM133087577

SECTION A: Answer BOTH case study based questions from this section (Q1 and Q2).

Bloomfield Designers is a UK fashion retailer which designs and sells its own brand of women's clothes through its chain of shops in Wales. However, it is facing tough operating conditions in its home market where strong competition means there is little opportunity for future growth. The Board has taken the strategic decision that expansion can only be achieved through market development abroad.

Initial research has identi?ed Venezuela as offering the potential to be a possible suitable location for Bloomfield Designers to develop a new market. Further information now needs to be collected on the external environment and competition in Venezuela in order to help evaluate the viability of the strategy being proposed.

If the outcomes from the research are positive Bloomfield Designers intends to ?nd an existing retail chain in Venezuela that it can acquire, rather than set up a new operation through internal development.

Required:

(a) Apply Porter's Five Forces Model to explain the key external environmental and competitive factors on which information should be collected to help Bloomfield Designers evaluate its proposed strategy to move into Venezuela.

(b) Explain the possible cultural in?uences on the effectiveness of the workforce in respect of local education and training, technology, working hours and local housing provision.