1. Background of the Business

Sanford Limited is a company based in New Zealand which manages and owns inshore and deep-water fisheries across the country. The company, which initiated its operations in 1904 sells seafood products in the country and exports them on a global scale. The business activities of the company also include harvesting and processing seafood and operating the supply chain and engineering associated with the delivery of seafood. Sanford Limited has an extensive product line which includes salmon, muscles, tuna, squid, hake, blue mackerel and gem fish among other products. Sanford Limited owns a large fleet of vessels which perform deep water and inshore fishing. These vessels also enable the processing and freezing of seafood. The company is listed on New Zealand’s Exchange and its executive team consists of Sir Robert McLeod who serves as Chairman while Katherine Turner serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Clement Chia is the Chief Operating Officer (Bloomberg, 2020). Sanford Limited operates under a functional organization structure which provides the company with the clear focus and promotes accountability. Apart from its native New Zealand, the company has an international presence across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Sanford Limited ships 4500+ containers per annum to its global locations (Sanford Limited, 2020).

2. Market Selection

1. a) The two countries which would be appropriate for Sanford Limited to expand its operations are Taiwan and Nigeria. Taiwan is a developed country with a bustling capitalist economy which is spearheaded by industrial manufacturing. The key exports to the country include petrochemicals and electronics. Nigeria is the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa and is heavily dependent on oil exports to generate government revenues and foreign exchange. Prominent industries in the country include telecommunications and agriculture, however, the country faces rampant challenges due to growing poverty and inefficient legislative systems (CIA, 2019)
2. b) The selection of an appropriate international market to expand into is a critical strategic decision which defines the future course of a company. The market screening approach is one of the ways through which various factors are assessed in a bid to select the most appropriate market. These screening parameters include demographics, political, technological, geographic and social cultural aspects (Hollensen and Opresnik, 2015). In comparison with other market selection methods such as market potential indexes, the market screening approach is a more comprehensive and detailed approach because it requires marketers to engage in in-depth analysis and research about the dynamics of the market. The research process includes identifying the viability of the market in terms of customers, assessing potential revenue and sales targets and identifying the challenges that the company may face once it enters the market. Other aspects which are considered in the research process for market screening include exploring ways for developing the business in the future and tracing patterns of growth and competition. The market screening method is therefore the most appropriate approach because it allows a company to explore a wide array of factors which exist in the present and may occur in the future before taking a strategic decision. Rather than taking only financial aspects into consideration, this approach considers the product portfolio of the company and the value that it can offer to the customers in another geographic location.
3. c) Taiwan is a developed country with a high household income per capita (CIA, 2019). Taiwanese cuisine is heavily inspired from Japanese and Chinese cuisine moreover, the country’s cuisine is also impacted by its location, as the country is located on an island its inhabitants consume seafood to fulfill their protein requirements (Kim, 2015). Seafood is therefore a dominant feature of popular Taiwanese dishes. The cultural preferences of the Taiwanese people make it an attractive market for Sanford Limited because buyers in the country are on the lookout for high quality and exquisite seafood.

Despite its volatile economic conditions, the middle-class in Nigeria is growing at a steady rate. Moreover, the households belonging to this income class are well educated and urbanized (Corral Rodas, Molini and Oseni, 2019). The presence of this economic class makes Nigeria an attractive export market in Africa compared to other countries in the region. While Nigerian cuisine is dominated by mutton and beef, the market could serve as a viable entry point for Sanford Limited to expand operations in Africa. The company can actively target the urbanized and well-educated middle class in the country which is more open to exploring new culinary options and high-quality export products.

3. Culture

New Zealand, Nigeria and Taiwan are located across three different continents and have a significant geographic distance. According to Hofstede’s insights about the countries’ culture it is important to note that the three countries have very distinct views regarding long-term orientation where Taiwan scores the highest compared to Nigeria and New Zealand because individuals in the country believe that education is the way to move forward and like to take a more pragmatic approach towards life (Hofstede, 2020). On the other hand, the three countries have comparable levels of masculinity which indicates that they believe in assertiveness, achievement and material success. However, Nigeria has the highest power distance compared to Taiwan and New Zealand where Taiwan scores moderately on the power distance parameter, New Zealand has the lowest level of power distance and a high level of individualism whereas Nigeria and Taiwan are more collective of societies in comparison (Hofstede, 2020).

The cultural symbols in Nigeria are molded by the diversity of the country in terms of different ethnic groups and a plethora of languages which are spoken by them. The two prominent religions in the country are Islam and Christianity. The culture of Taiwan is a combination of Confucian Chinese ideology and the beliefs held by the country’s indigenous population. Accordingly, cultural symbols in the country are also influenced by Korean and Japanese traditions (Shih, Thompson and Tremlett, 2008). However, over the years the country has developed its own unique cultural identity by moving beyond the traditional concept of duality between Taiwan and China, which shows the political influences in the nation’s cultural development.

In comparison with Taiwan and Nigeria the culture of New Zealand is significantly influenced by Western ideology in addition to the ideology of the indigenous Maori population. The country has continuously experienced the migration of multi-ethnic groups and shows influences from the era of British colonization. Taiwan has a rich history of folklore which is tied to rituals, customs and traditions. People in Taiwan believe that it is not a good sign to leave a clean plate as it implies that the guests are still hungry because the host did not prepare enough food. The locals in the country also believe that four is not a lucky number. Another interesting ritual from the country is that they avoid having cold fruits which are rich in Vitamin C when they have a cold because they believe that it can get them sick even though other cultures believe that having such foods can help heal them.

The cultural traditions in Nigeria are different from that of Taiwan and New Zealand. For example, Nigerians have extravagant wedding ceremonies, and each couple is expected to have three events. An interesting culinary tradition which is prevalent in Nigeria is that of cooking rice on Sunday which people like to savor on once they come back home from church services.

Many cultural traditions in New Zealand are influenced by the Maori people. For example, the globally popular Haka dance is a display which was traditionally performed by the Maori people on the battlefield. Now the Haka which is practiced by the New Zealand All Blacks is recognized as a symbol of pride and strength (Brown, 2018).

1. b) Cultural influences have a significant role to play in the execution of marketing decisions. The culture of Taiwan is highly collectivist as it is inspired by Confucian ideologies and other East Asian countries including China, Japan and Korea (Shih, Thompson and Tremlett, 2008). These aspects can transform the marketing strategy of the company when it enters the Taiwanese market and the way it promotes the products in the country. For example, advertising for the product will feature families and the bond of kinship, for example, by showcasing people gathering and eating in one place.

The most important element of the culture which will define the strategy of the company when entering these two markets is associated with the culinary practices of the two nations. Taiwanese cuisine is dominated by the use of seafood and being an island country, the locals have a diverse taste palette when it comes to the consumption of seafood (Kim, 2015). Therefore, based on this concept the company should consider launching an extensive product range in Taiwan as the people are familiar with the taste of seafood and would be willing to purchase high-quality and exotic seafood products.

Based on the discussion regarding culture, the implications which should be considered for Nigeria are linked with the presence of a masculine culture where people believe that material rewards are a sign of success. Nigeria has a growing middle class which is urbanized and well-educated (Corral Rodas, Molini and Oseni, 2019). The individuals belonging to this class want to showcase their material achievement and one of the ways of doing so is by purchasing high-quality exported products. This cultural implication will shape the decision-making regarding the target market of the company and the market segmentation in the country.