Ba 194 Final Paper On Universal Robina Corp
Ba 194 Final Paper On Universal Robina Corp
Ba 194 Final Paper On Universal Robina Corp
2015-89536
BA 194 – International Business
Prof. Lizares
Final Paper
As per the company’s Annual Report for 2015, management’s 2020 vision puts URC on
...a leading, respected, and recognized corporate brand spanning the PAN-ASEAN-
TASMAN region with leading consumer and household brands in snack foods and
multinational business focusing on its five strong consumer brands -- Jack ‘n Jill, C2,
Great Taste, Griffin’s and Nice & Natural. This vision in anchored onto the company’s
orientation towards product innovation and scale in the markets they serve,” (URC
Considering the company’s growth trajectory given its long history of expansion, it’s not
difficult to see how this vision may be well within reach. This growth, however, wasn’t just a
result of the scale to which the company has been able to grow its operations, but how well URC
has been able to capitalize on opportunities in the various markets it has entered over the years.
That said, the success of URC’s current strategy, one that can be surmised as a stability strategy
given its intention to maintain market leadership, will largely depend on two aforementioned
factors – 1) the scale and quality of the company’s entire value chain, from production to
distribution and 2) how well the company can capitalize on current trends in the market and
URC can produce its products and distribute them. From its numerous acquisitions of companies
like NZ Snack Food Holdings and Snackbrands Australia, to its joint ventures with companies
like Calbee and Danone, URC’s various modes of entry over the years have not only given the
company exposure to international markets, but have allowed them to access a wider range of
product offerings which, due to their organizational structure as discussed later on, allows them
to offer them to other markets with demand for these same products e.g. Vitasoy and B’lue
flavored water.
division structure, this allows country managers to employ a more decentralized decision-making
process and therefore an adaptive, international approach to managing product portfolios that suit
the tastes of markets under their purview. This type of structure was useful in situations like the
company’s introduction of C2 to the Vietnamese market and will thus be integral to capitalizing
on unique consumer profiles in various markets. This is significant attribute is in line with the
company’s aim to create a “more responsive supply chain to better serve customers.”
With that in mind, it is worth considering how the company ought to employ strategies
across markets where they might find their market leadership threatened by other competitors.
Such is the case in the ever-present challenge it faces against competitor Oishi in the salty snacks
space in the Indonesian market. At a glance at the figures outlined in Exhibit 4, one can see that
Oishi’s cost advantage on a per gram basis range in upwards of ~20%, thus making them more
appealing in a market where competitive pricing is key given the average consumers spending
capacity and the high costs of maintaining shelf space, particularly for larger retailers.
If URC’s Jack and Jill is to encroach on Oishi’s market share in this space, the company
will have to find means in employing a low-cost leadership strategy possibly by evaluating areas
in their value chain where they may lower costs such as alternative means of procuring raw
An equally viable business-level route that the company might be able to take would be
in product differentiation. If URC cannot compete with Oishi in terms of pricing, they might be
able to capitalize on the consumers’ openness to trying new products (p 343) by constant
Last but not the least, URC is faced with the challenge of capitalizing on emerging trends
in the current competitive landscape. Going back to the 2020 vision of the company, achieving
this vision goes beyond just product innovation, but involves improving the overall supply chain
and “more intensive brand-building programs.” This is especially important in lieu of “new
external realities” that management has identified for them to strategically compete. These, as
the case mention, include the prevalence of convenience stores as a key segment in URC’s retail
channels as well as the rising power and influence of social media, both of which are results of
millennial behavior.
Keeping that in mind, as important push strategies might be to capturing demand on the
side of distributors and resellers alike, adoption of a dual adaptation pull strategy is vital to
capitalize on the rise of social media as an integral marketing value to build URC’s brands in
All in all, the company for the most part already has the scale and capacity to meet the
current demands of the market. What will determine the company’s success in the near future
regarding their goal of meeting their 2020 vision, will be their ability to leverage their flexible
international structure into finding the appropriate business-level strategies that will capitalize on