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Zespri Case

In: Business and Management

Submitted By jdent17
Words 3048
Pages 13
Key Issues

Zespri is one of the largest producers of kiwifruit, located in New Zealand it produces Green, Gold, and Organic Green and Gold kiwifruit seasonally in New Zealand and from globally sourced producers. As the number one exporter in New Zealand of kiwifruit it continues to grow globally with focus on quality, innovation and marketing. Recently, competition has increased with new innovation and new brands. One of key issues for Zespri is if they are on the right path to maintain its leadership position and increase its commitment to increase exports to $3 billion by 2025. The other is if Zespri is to double in size, it will need to triple its global sourcing needs to satisfy demand when New Zealand fruit is out of the market.

Macro Analysis PESTEL analysis can help us determine important features associated with the specific industry. Political: Regulations on exports were created by the New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing Licensing Authority, with hopes of eliminating New Zealand Origin Kiwifruit competing against itself. As well as the Kiwifruit New Zealand exclusively authorizing Zespri to export New Zealand fruit. Turners & Growers, a New Zealand fruit marketing company, added kiwifruit to their global brand and legally attempted to challenge the SPE structure that critical for 90% of Growers future success. Economic: The exchange rates between critical markets in the Kiwi industry is considered as Zespri sells products in different currencies at a premium and uses hedging to ensure that currency fluctuations are managed and there are smooth returns. The local employment level is rather high as growers and local staff are being hired, in response to the expansion of the industry. Sociocultural: The dominant regions in this industry are Italy & Chile (supplies kiwi from October or November/December to April), China and New Zealand (supplies kiwi from April to October/November). Consumers are purchasing Kiwi because it is seen as a “super fruit” based on its nutritional properties, while providing an enriched taste. European countries purchase for nutritional benefits, while in Japan they purchase for beauty benefits and Chinese consumers are encouraging children toward a healthy lifestyle. Consumer are also willing to pay premium price for kiwi that satisfies their needs. Technological: One of the biggest technological advancements that kiwifruit industry is faced with is the supplement pollination and gridling that enhanced fruit quality and yields for Zespri. This allows them to increase production without a comparable increase in growing area. However, an issue arises in the three new intellectual property protected varieties, as Zespri wanted to expand the shelf life of the Zespri Gold kiwi from 20 weeks to a full year. In doing this 30% of Zespri Gold plantings in Italy were lost due to an outbreak of the highly virulent bacterial disease Pseudomonas Syringe Actinide (PSA) in 2009. Environmental: One of the biggest environmental issues is producing the appropriate yield amount of kiwis, where there has been a decline in kiwifruit growing in Japan and the U.S for several years now. Legal: Within any business there are laws that need to be taken into consideration, especially those of other countries in which you do business with. Porter’s 5 forces Porter’s 5 forces can help us determine important features that cater to profit. Threat to entry: Kiwifruit is small niche production in the global fruit spectrum, and is dominated by kiwifruit producing countries leaving it too hard to penetrate and become established. In order for one to enter this industry, consideration of providing high quality kiwifruits, with year round shelf space, while selling at a lower price compared to potential competitors, have to be taken into effect in order to successful. Supplier Power: The supplier power is limited as kiwifruit can be grown in temperate climates with adequate summer head and a light freeze in the winter, which can pertain to a vast majority of countries. However, Zespri has developed strong retail relationships with local distributors that are loyal to distributing only Zespri products, regardless of their premium pricing. Threat of substitutes: Kiwifruit is the most nutrient dense of all popular fruits, providing only 90 calories, has twice the amount of vitamin C contained in an orange, high in fiber and similar levels of potassium as in a banana in one serving (two kiwifruit). Vitamin C from Zespri Gold and green had about 10 times the uptake by human tissue than that of a supplement. The health industry may be the only threat, as they can produce new supplements that replica kiwifruit taste and nutritional benefits. Buyer Power: The buyer power is limited as the global demand for kiwifruit has increased as it considered as a super fruit which resulted in production increasing as well. Zespri catered to the needs of the buyer by providing a well tasting fruit with exceptional nutritional benefits, while selling at a premium price. Countries have no issues regarding playing high prices for high quality kiwifruits to accommodate their consumer’s needs,

Rivalry: Turners & Growers, a New Zealand fruit marketing company had decided to add kiwifruit to its global multi fruit brand, Enza. In addition, Turner & Growers introduced to a new “red” kiwi fruit based on a Chinese variety and sources to similar countries as Zespri such as Chile and China. Turners & Grower may find it difficult to compete with Zespri, as Zespri is well known for producing the finest New Zealand kiwifruit and their differentiation strategy puts them in top of the industry

Financial Analysis After analyzing Zespri`s financial statements we can understand that Zespri has been very successful in the years, 2006 to 2010. In each of those years Zespri has been able to generate a significant amount of after tax profit. Zespri has had consistent revenue growth in the previous five years and it appears as if this growth will continue into the future. However, even with revenues increasing every year, Zespri has not been able to increase their net profit in these years. Between 2006 and 2007 their net profit decreased even with the increase in revenue. This can be attributed to an increase in expenses and taxes. One of the largest increase in expenses was in freight. This could be due to the increase in sales, thus needing to ship more, or could be the result of increase in shipping prices. Another factor to the increase in expenses was from promotion costs. Zespri is continually trying to increase their sales and in order to do so they must advertise and promote their product. Comparing the five years of financial information the promotion costs increased by $2.4 million NZ. In addition to looking at an overview of Zespri’s income statement, we will analyze different ratios to look more in depth into the financial situation of Zespri for the five years given. All of the data that will be discussed, were calculated and are provided in Appendix A-1. The first ratio that we would like to look at is the debt-to-equity ratio. This ratio looks at Zespri’s financial leverage and indicates how much equity and debt is used to finance Zespri’s assets and its ability to repay the debts. Based on these calculations, Zespri’s debt-to-equity ratio has been increasing over the past five years. Although a lower ratio is generally better, the increase is not necessarily a bad thing. The reason for this increase is because they had been investing more money into new programs to grow the company. The next financial measure we looked at is the current ratio. This ratio looks at the ability of Zespri to pay back short-term obligations and higher ratio means a higher ability to pay back its debts. Between 2006 and 2010, Zespri’s current ratio has been on a decline, with some years of increase. Although this is not preferable, we do not feel that Zespri is in any need to worry. Over these five years Zespri has been investing more money into research and development to come out with more innovative products. Investing in R&D could make Zespri’s financial record look bad in the short run, such as in the case with the current ratio but in the long run it will help grow Zespri and become a leader in innovation. The quick ratio is also very similar to the current ratio, except that is does not include inventories and measures the company’s ability to meet its short-term obligations with its most liquid assets. As with the current ratio, the quick ratio has been on a steady decline. This is also due to Zespri’s increased investment into R&D. Even at a ratio of 1.14, Zespri is in a healthy situation and would be able to meet its short-term obligations. Additional financial measures that we analyzed are return-on-equity (ROE) and return-on-assets (ROA). These are good ratios to see how much of a return Zespri is receiving from the investment. Both of these ratios took a hit in 2007 and 2008 however, this was during the global recession. ROE has since been able to increase and is almost back to where it was in 2006. ROA however, is still declining but this could be due to the increase in R&D funding. The financial measure we looked at was net profit margin. This is a good way at determining how well Zespri is in controlling costs and keeping them low. It looks at the efficiency of converting its revenue into actual profit. Net profit margin has been on a steady decline since 2006 but this is due to Zespri’s increased spending on developing new products and promoting their existing products. This investment in new products and promotion has already started paying off as net profit margin increased from 2009 to 2010, although it is miniscule. Overall we believe that Zespri is in a healthy financial position. Although many of the financial measures we looked at are declining, we still feel Zespri is doing well. One factor for the decline of the financial measures is due to the increased spending in research and development as well as promotion. These two things are vital for the success of Zespri and will greatly benefit them in the future. They may hurt their short-term outlook but overall it will only help grow the company and make them even more competitive in the future.
Alternatives

The alternatives will now be evaluated based on specific decision criteria to establish the ultimate recommendation.

Decision Criteria:

1. Can it improve export earnings to reach $3 billion by 2025?
2. Can it maintain and expand the company’s brand?
3. Is it feasible with the current/future resources and capabilities?
4. Is it consistent with the company’s strategy and risk parameters?
5. Does it increase grower returns?

Alternative 1 – Continue current operations

This alternative suggests Zespri maintain its current business practices and strategy because it has proven to be successful in the past. The company is at the top of the market where it holds the lead in marketing worldwide. The company’s current products have a higher quality than their competitors which enables them to be price setters and it re-optimizes product allocations to ensure optimal profits. Its branding, strict growing standards and patents also increase its customer satisfaction and retention. Although growth is forecasted to increase and with its global producers increasing availability it still may not reach its exporting target. While being financially stable, Zespri’s growth is seen as being minimal which could indicate its ability to reach $3 billion in exports. Alternative 2 – Economies of scale

The second alternative recommends that Zespri expand in scale. Increasing the number of producers will increase the company’s supply. Gaining more producers also reduces the impact of damaged crops (outbreak of PSA, wind, storms, etc.). It also will add to the advantage of lowering shipping costs because the supply will be exported closer to its destination. Since freight is an increasingly large expense for Zespri this could free up funds for future investments. With this increase in producers comes the burden of an increase in quality management. Globally sourcing producers can reduce the quality of the kiwifruit and ultimately the Zespri brand if the producers are not following the strict growing standards. These strict growing standards will have to be monitored regularly if it chooses to implement this alternative. With this alternative we figure that revenue will increase by about 20% and freight and duty will decrease since the suppliers will be closer to its destination. All other expenses should increase at about the same rate as revenue as Zespri has not found a way to be more efficient in other areas. (See Appendix A-2).

Alternative 3 – Economies of scope

The third alternative suggests that Zespri expand in scope. Increasing investment in R&D will increase innovation which will allow them to continue to compete globally. The company produces one product with only 3 varieties which allows them to focus on high quality kiwifruit. Although the variety of its Gold kiwifruit sells at a premium price because of its sweetness, it only accounted for 22% of the sales quantity in 2009. If Zespri chooses to enhance its variety of products to include sweeter Green, Red and Organic kiwifruit this could increase profits with higher margins which will be the best option for its growers. The company could also increase the number of products produced such as developing a variety of juices. This innovation will have to be tested to ensure potential success which could be costly and divert from the company’s core business. This alternative will increase operating revenues, we feel by about 18%. The area that it will greatly effect is other revenue due to the increase in products that are outside their main product line, such as juices. Other revenue we predict will increase about 50% as a result of the new products. All other expenses we predict will increase at a steady amount of 20% which is in line with what we predict revenue will increase by. (See Appendix A-2)

| Alternative 1 | Alternative 2 | Alternative 3 | 1. Can it improve export earnings to reach $3 billion by 2025 | no | ü yes | ü yes | 2. Can it maintain and expand the company’s brand | ü yes | no | ü yes | 3. Is it feasible with the current/future resources and capabilities | ü yes | ü yes | ü yes | 4. Is it consistent with the company’s strategy and risk parameters | ü yes | ü yes | no | 5. Does it increase grower returns | no | ü yes | ü yes |

Recommendation

After considering the alternatives it is evident that a change needs to occur for Zespri to attain their long term objectives. If they continue down the same path such as in alternative 1 the main downfall would be the lack of increase to grower returns, hence why this option is not feasible. Alternative 2 and 3 are superior but each also lack in one respective department: #2 with expanding the brand and #3 with grower returns. Considering these advantages and limitations alternative 2 appears to be the best course of action since it is a lower risk operation and can be accomplished within the specified time period. Throughout the next decade Zespri needs to continue to expand continuously to meet their goal of $3 billion in exports.

Implementation

To begin, they need to encourage more growers to come on board. This will require marketing to increase the scope of awareness of the opportunities these growers will have as part investors in a growing company in a relatively stable environment. This will happen during the first couple years until it has reached enough potential growers. Perhaps the biggest issue would be to train these new growers in the “Zespri system” because it is continuously evolving but after a couple of seasons they will learn to adapt to the requirements. Next is to update the supply chain to be able to accept all this new product. The first five years will have a steady increase in growers until there is enough so the rest of the timeline is based off that. The first obvious step to this is to increase the amount of orchards with the increase of growers. Then to pack and store these new kiwis more pack houses and cool stores need to be built throughout the country. An increase in their distribution methods would also need to come into play to ship the kiwis. As mentioned previously, quality assurance is an issue with expansion since an increase in quantity sometimes means a decrease in quality. This cannot happen because Zespri relies on selling premium priced kiwis. Therefore, their rigorous quality inspection needs to expand as the volume does. The following is a Gantt chart representing these adjustments:

A benchmark system needs to be in place to compare their incoming results with what they were planning on accomplishing. For this it would be useful to have monthly revues of the quantity exported compared to how many new growers are being brought on and if this is keeping them in a profitable situation. As projected before revenue should increase around 20% so this is a good mark to measure against.

Contingency Plan Any plan can be derailed which is why it is important to have a contingency plan. As Zespri is such a large part of the agricultural revenue in New Zealand, the government is willing to aid in the maintenance and development of the company to ensure its success. For example, during the 1992 disaster the government intervened to make the necessary changes so that Zespri wouldn’t continue to lose profits. Essentially the contingency plan is if the expansion does poorly and ends up being a financial loss for the company, than it is rather easy to downsize since it is only made up of individual growers. During this downsizing the government would need to intervene once again and basically Zespri’s worst case scenario would be to end up slightly better than they are currently. If the expansion is only going mediocrely, they also have the option to expand in scope concurrently to help with an increase in sales and brand awareness.

Appendix A

A-1 Zespri’s Financial Measures

A-2 Projection Income Statement for 2011

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...(For Course participants only) Reading Material & Work Book On Effective Noting & Drafting (Edited by Smt. Jayanthi Sriram, Asst.Director) GOVERNMENT OF INDIA INSTITUTE SECRETARIAT TRAINING & MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL & TRAINING ADMINISTRATIVE BLOCK, JNU CAMPUS (OLD) OLOF PALMS MARG, NEW DELHI-110067 TEL. 26105592 TELEFAX: 26104183 Revised - 2005 FORWARD In responsive administration it is obvious that the response has to be meaningful. Yet, it may not be effective unless the response time is optimised. This twin objective can be achieved through streamlining of the decision making process itself. In the Central Secretariat, as in other spheres of Government, contribution by all rungs of employees particularly by those at the cutting edge level, namely the Section Officers and Assistants, generally helps arriving at the right decision. Besides collection of information, such contributions are rendered through Noting & Drafting. Effective noting & drafting at every level, therefore, is a matter of prime concern. 2. To address this concern, we in ISTM have been according utmost importance to the inclusion of 'noting and drafting' as a subject in all our foundational and refresher Courses. Besides, focussed workshops on effective noting & drafting are also organised in large numbers. To help participants team effectively, the need for practical exercises cannot be overemphasised. Similarly,...

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