First draft of our business

plan

Kseniya Tarasova,

Hannu Kouhia &

Arthur Duchamp--

Bertrnad

Tampereen AmmatikorkkeakouluKuntokatu 3, 33100 Tampere

+358465982549+358425862485

Competitor descriptionThere is a Norwegian company called Voss that currently sells its products all around the world as

well as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Voss sells

both still and sparkling water which makes it our main competitor in our target country. However,

Voss’ sales strategies differ from ours since it tries to aim its water to everyone by selling it in

stores and our products are only available in restaurants and offered to the upper class. Voss

promotes its products by selling them in unique bottles and has been operating for several years.

Perrier is also one of our main competitors in mainland China, but does not try to reach the same

part of the population as we do.

Competetive advantage and Competitive positioning : Our main advantage is that there is no clear competitor in our specific market, which allows us to enjoy the blue ocean state, as our first launch will be in Shanghai, where our market does not yet exist. This allows flexibility in our operations as we do not have to worry about competition. It is also unlikely that our main competitor Voss or any other companies would show sudden interest in our target market making entry and brand knowledge increase easier. The following SWOT analysis details our strengths and weaknesses.

Considering the tough competition on the market of bottled water in China the best approach to

get the niche here is to use Blue ocean strategy. Chinese market is still very attractive for luxury

Strengths:- Something new to a new

market- Potentially low operational

costs

Weaknesses:- Customers may be unable

to differentiate our product from already existing ones

- Relatively small target market

- No first hand knowledge of target market

Opportunities:- Potentially a huge market- No direct competition

Threats:- Failed market penetration

results in business failure- Sudden interest in the same

market from competitors may hurt business

goods manufactures or companies oriented on rich customers. Even though there are a lot of local

brands and some foreign competitors we can use the size of the country as the opportunity to

succeed. The main competitors as Voss or Perrier are operating only in Hong-Kong. Our company

is going to concentrate on another huge business center of China – Shanghai. Another advantage

or “blue ocean” is that our company offers sparkling mineral water. Color coding of the strength of

the water could be pretty interesting marketing trick. Moreover our company refreshes traditional

Asian philosophy and ideas that busy successful people usually forget.

Background and competenceThe members of our management team are all graduates of business administration from

Tampere University of Applied Sciences. We have differing specializations ranging from

consultancy to finance.

Weaknesses and how to develop for themWe are a small startup company with little knowledge of the target market. We must adapt quickly

to the market’s needs and tailor our products to match customer’s needs. We also have little

influence over our water supplier if we receive abundant orders and are unable to match demand.

Additional competence and resources requiredWater transportation from France to China will be outsourced, which requires a business

relationship with a logistics company. We also require an agent from China to relay us invaluable

market knowledge and forward our products to customers. Our company also needs a website

and as none of the team members has competence to design or maintain it we must hire a

designer with relevant skills.

Company name and logo :

The company name is QingMing, and the logo represents the two characters that compose the

name, as well as their romanization, on a rainy background. Despite the product originating in

Europe, we try to give a Chinese feel to it. We try to bring our customers a product that they feel

comfortable with, and ensures a standard of life they will find only in their country. We produce it

in Europe to ensure the quality of the water, but the customers remain Chinese, and therefore, we

have to make it feel like a Chinese product without lying on its origin.

Description of products and code-coloring :

The company would essentially be dealing sparkling water into mainland China (not comprising

Hong-Kong and Macau). But, in order to adapt to different tastes, we would have to vary the

intensity of the sparkliness into three main products : lightly sparkling, sparkling, very sparkling.

The code coloring in Europe is usually, respectively, green-blue-red. We however feel that it would

be a better idea to use different shades of a different colors, in case our range of products extends

in the future, and as not to make confusing changes for the customer. Our basic product would be

blue-colored, with electric blue being the color for lightly sparkling, brandeis blue for medium

sparkling and duke blue for very sparkling.

Specificity of the product :

Our brand of water is one of the rare brands of mineral water in Mainland China, and even then, is

distinguishable by the minerals and nutrients. It does you some good inside, in your body, as well

as in your mind.

Industry environment and market trends & market needs:With the improvement of living standards, more and more people want better quality drinking

water, as well as safer options. Unlike in Western countries, tap water in China is undrinkable and

has to be boiled before ingested. The increasing demand for quality drinking water has made

more companies jump into the high-end bottled water market, transporting the finest water over

a long distance. The size of the bottled water market has grown at an average of 20 percent a year

over the past decade.

The days of French brands Evian and Perrier having a hold on half the premium bottled water

market in China may be over.

Consumers can now find plenty of domestic high-end bottled water at any medium-sized

supermarket, ranging from glacier mineral water from Tibet to spring water from Qingdao

Laoshan.

Clean water and China are not a likely pairing in most consumers’ minds, but upscale Chinese

bottled water company Tibet 5100 Water Resources Holdings has big plans fto expand sales of the

Chinese water overseas in a few years, hitting Singapore and the Middle East first before going on

to Europe and the U.S.

However, getting a piece of the pie in the market that has long been dominated by Western

premium bottled water giants is not an easy task, analysts say.

Statistics from CIC industry research center, a Shenzhen consulting company, shows that about 50

percent of the premium bottled water market in China is held by Western players such as Evian

and Perrier.