Standards for Operation: A large number of the hurdles associated with introducing a product into a new country are already somewhat taken care of due to the fact that Pepsi already has established a presence in Sweden. This alleviates the stress of having to build and establish regional channels in the country. The Mountain Dew branch can easily report back to the local Pepsi Co. office that is in the region. Since Sweden is a largely Lutheran country, religion will not need to b factored in when dividing the country into regions.
However, the act that the northern portion of Sweden has multiple languages, there may want to be a regional office devoted specifically to this area. For the initial launch of Mountain Dew in the single serving size the ideal way to do this would be to use existing unused space in Pepsi Co. ’s bottling plants that are already established in Sweden. During the initial launch, they will also want to focus on the building of new factories to cater to the demand for Mountain Dew and to produce the full line of sizes both in individual and multi pack sizes.
This would also create the ability to expand the plant if it is decided that other products in the Mountain Dew line are to be offered. Distribution will not be a problem for Mountain Dew considering they will be able to use Pepsi Co. ’s already established distribution channels in convenience stores, grocery stores, and pop machines. Measuring Performance: Since the initial objective of Mountain Dew is to penetrate the market and establish brand awareness by selling individual serving sizes, the number of products sold should be the initial focus at the beginning of the 2 year period.
As the 2 year period continues to progress, the focus of the company should switch to market share. In evaluating the market share Mountain Dew should see if the market share is continuing to grow or if it has become stagnant. At this point Mountain Dew also should see if it is on track to meet its 5% market share. If not, it should evaluate whether or not the advertising and promotions are effectively reaching the intended audience.
Another thing they will need to take a look at is whether or not the product line is wide enough to cover all of the different demands of the target market. Addressing Discrepancies: As the introduction of Mountain Dew goes on, discrepancies between the standards set by the company and the actual sales may arise. If this does occur, the first thing Mountain Dew needs to do is to evaluate whether or not they are effectively catering to the market by providing all the needed sizes and quantities that the market demands.
Also, they need to see if the market is demanding a wider product offering such as Diet Mountain Dew, Code Red, or even the new flavor such as Voltage. If after going over all of these aspects Mountain Dew decides that they are fully covering the market in all of these areas, they next need to take a look at the standards they set for the product and see if they are unreasonable. If they decide this is so, they need to re evaluate the market and adjust their standards for the product accordingly.
