Cover Letter
Darshana Lad
1605-100 Parkway Forest Drive,
Toronto,
M2J1L6
Rick J. Duha,
Managing Director
750 Bradford St
Winnipeg, MB
R3H 0N3
Dear Rick,
I’m grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to research Duha group and the benefits it will get by exporting its product that is colour systems, in the new markets of Singapore, Mexico, Germany, and China. I have always had a strong interest in such issues. I truly believe that I could provide some useful opinion on the new markets.
Duha Group is Connecting the World With Colour! The Duha Group is widely recognised as the global leader in the design and manufacture of colour sampling tools. They are experts in detailed colour matching, colour trend forecasting, and the manufacturing of colour systems and colour cards.The supply chain of the Duha Group has been transformed into a culture of continuous improvement. They motivate employees to improve and remove waste by using a system-specific tool.
I will submit a copy of my research report for your review before submitting the presentation. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Darshana lad
Darshana Lad
Global Business Management
Centennial College
Tel: (437)985-0257
E-mail: dlad7@my.centennialcollege.ca
Duha Group
By
Darshana Lad
Graduate student, Centennial college
Prepared for
Research Methods for Trade and Development
February 20, 2022
Global Market Analysis of Duha Group
Abstract
International trade is critical and involves local industries investing in foreign countries. Many businesses usually invest in foreign countries to enhance their revenue and offer more services to countries that lack infrastructures to produce particular goods and services. In my case, I will analyze Duha Group, a Canadian international company headquartered in Winnipeg, MB. The Company has invested in various countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, Peru, New Zealand, Mexico, Malaysia, Japan, Chile, Brunei, and Australia. Duha Group Company deals with colour systems and colour marketing tools. The research paper will concentrate on the identification of new market company can transport their goods and the new trends in the market. Additionally, the paper will provide insights into trade agreements that can benefit the Company and various ways to increase its competitive advantages. Key Words: trade, competitive, markets, and technology
Introduction
The Duha Group Company is a Canadian international market headquartered in Winnipeg, MB. The Company has more than a thousand employees distributed across the globe. The Company has penetrated to approximately six continents. The Company has been aggressive and proactive in producing colour systems and colour marketing tools that include automotive to cosmetics, carpets and blinds, and textiles. The Company also offers painting services to colour sampling systems, fan desks, and chips.
Duha Group Managing Director (Right) and his son Emeric Duha (left) started Duha Group as a family business. Their first investments were in Chile since there was less competition in the country for the painting companies. Duha becomes aggressive and proactive to more form trade partnerships with hardware stores in Canada. The Company was established in the 1940s as an old printing press. Still, the founders remained optimistic that the business would expand and become an international market, as we can see today (Chen, Wang, Li, Magalhães, Song, Lu & Sun, 2020).
Currently, Canada only consumes about twenty percent of Doha’s product, and the rest is exported to more than one hundred and thirty countries worldwide. The Company has significant operations plants in seven countries, namely Singapore, Mexico, Germany, and China. The main reason for Duha’s success is the excellent reputation of Canada internationally. People have the perception that Canada’s product is of high quality, sustainable and the Canadian citizens embrace diversity. Duha Group has attracted many investors due to its sensitivity to sustain a clean environment. For instance, the Company recycles paint and paper and has a comprehensive supply chain management that monitors the products from procurement to transportation. The Company also conducts community-based education to train its clients and suppliers on effective methods to minimize pollution and enhance a clean environment.
Background information
Duha Group Company is an international company based in Canada in Winnipeg, MB. It provides goods and services related to color systems and color marketing tools; The current Chief Operating Officer is Rick J Duha. The company has approximately 1000 employees that are distributed across the globe. The company was started in the 1940s as a family-based enterprise, but currently, the company is an international enterprise.
Which is the new market that Duha Group can export to?
Before deciding the best market for the Company to export its products, it is essential to a competitive environment. Duha’s main competitors include ColArt, Benjamin Moore, Amotech, Colorcon, Crafter’s Companion, Dorn Color and Color Communication. All the competitors are ether are American or Europe-based international companies. Therefore, the industry has been aggressive in exploiting markets in Europe and America. Duha company should think about exporting its products to underdeveloped and developing countries where the main competitors have not concentrated.
Therefore, the Company should concentrate on conducting research and development in Asian and African countries where the main competitors less penetrate the market. Currently, due to the advancement in technologies, it is easier to ascertain clients’ needs concerning its products (Byskov, Maluka, Marchal, Shayo, Blystad, Bukachi & Bloch, 2019). For example, Duha Group’s major exporting countries are Vietnam, Singapore, Peru, New Zealand, Mexico, Malaysia, Japan, Chile, Brunei, and Australia. The main export for Colorcon Company in Bangladesh and the United States.
Therefore, the analysis shows that the colour systems and colour marketing tools based-company have concentrated on providing products in first-world countries, thus leading to stiff competition in the industry. Therefore, I would recommend Duha Group penetrate the Asian and African countries where the main competitors do not exploit the market. Various countries are developing and creating demand for the Duha Groups’ products. The Company can invest in South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt, where major construction and innovation projects occur.
The trends in the sector
Based on the advancement of technology, there is a trend where the firms are using emerging technologies to promote the promotion and production of quality products that meet customers’ needs and preferences. For instance, firms use business analytics to reduce recruiting qualified and competent workers. The business analytics technology can filter the quality required by the employer during the recruitment process. Therefore, instead of inviting many people to attend the interview where many of them might not be meeting the threshold, the technology can identify a few people with the specific qualification required by a firm. Business analytics technology increases accuracy and reduces the cost of recruiting employees. It reduces the number of people who could have overwhelmed the human resource department by interviewing huge participants.
The other trend is social media to communicate and promote their products. Decades ago, many firms in the industry were using the traditional method of promotion such as personal selling by displacing their products in the major streets. However, the industry uses social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to create awareness of its products (Kang, Shim & Kim, 2019). The industry uses other methods technologies such as cookies and ads to improvise the social media platform. Cookies technologies are used to track, monitor, and follow potential clients that have shown some interest in a firm’s product by visiting its website more frequently.
The technology also implements cloud computing technology to enhance data analysis and promote privacy and security for clients and the organization’s sensitive information. Due to the many clients transacting with the industry, it becomes difficult to analyze data using traditional means. Cloud computing technology is essential since it promotes automation and interprets data based on demand (Reyna, Martín, Chen, Soler & Díaz, 2018). Any time there is an input in the technology, data is automated, and analyzed information is provided based on the new information. The technology provides real-time data based on evidence-based information, thus critical for informed decision-making.
Is there a trade agreement that can benefit the Duha Group?
It isn’t easy to make considerable progress in international trade without making agreements that will foster growth and development in a firm. The Duha Group Company has been in existence for many decades without forming an agreement with other firms in the industry or outside the industry. The recent agreement is the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). CPTPP has opened more market opportunities for Duha Group in the international market.
The CPTPP involves the trade agreement between countries living in the Pacific Rim. The countries include Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Mexico, and Canada (Wu & Chadee, 2022). The agreement between the countries has enhanced trade by removing various restrictions for the imports and exports of goods within the eleven countries. Duha Group has benefited from the agreement since it can sell its products in the ten countries without major trade restrictions. The agreement has increased the market for the Duha Group Company.
How to increase the competitive advantage?
Duha Group can increase its competitive advantage by balancing core competencies, capabilities, and resources. The first strategy is to produce a quality product and sell them at a relatively low price than its main competitors. The Company should hire experts in the research and development and production process. Experts should test the quality product before it is released in the market. It is critical to enhancing an organization’s reputation since it can be destroyed in days or hours. Restoring faith and confidence is a complicated process that requires a lot of resources. For instance, Samsung Company destroyed its reputation in 2007 when it released a default Samsung Note 7 in the market. The phone was unsafe since it was prone to catching fire, and its battery was catching fire. The Company used a lot of resources and years to restore its reputation. Therefore, the best strategy is to employ qualified personnel in the production and testing department to ascertain the products produced meet the needs and desires of the clients.
The other strategy is to establish plants areas that the major competitors have not penetrated. In a case where there is stiff competition, main competitors tend to use unfair methods to access markets’ advantages. For example, the main competitor might hire black hat hackers to compromise the data of other competitors and destroy its reputation. The other strategy is to collaborate and merge with other industries with similar missions and visions to secure more market share. Acquisition and merger will assist Duha Group Company in distributing risks and enhance economies of scale. The Company should use emerging technologies to enhance data analysis. Due to various dynamics in the market, companies today need to make accurate and updated information concerning the customer’s desires and preferences.
Future research
Based on Duha’s analysis, various researches can provide insights and uncover patterns that could enable the company to make more profit. Future researchers should investigate the significant acquisition and mergers in the industry to allow Duha Group Company to distribute its risks and enhance its economies of scale. The possible research I could recommend is how the CPTPP agreement can create vulnerability to the Duha data attacks by the black hat hackers to give the main competitors an unfair advantage in the current market. Current main competitors hire black hat hackers to compromise the data of their main competitors to destroy their reputation and access unfair competitive advantages.
Conclusion
Duha Group started as a family company, but the Company today has made progressive efforts to control significant markets in the industry. Through the agreement, the Company can trade within a larger market. It is critical to note that CPTPP is also creating a platform where a firm can advance its technological skills through collaborating in meeting the cost that could be difficult to complete by a single country. Implementation of technology, production of high-quality products, and conducting research and developments will enable the Company to make considerable revenue (Song, Zhang, Zou, Sun & Yue, 2018). It is also essential for the Company to embrace acquisition and mergers with other firms to increase productivity, distribute risk and enjoy high economies of scale.
References
Byskov, J., Maluka, S., Marchal, B., Shayo, E. H., Blystad, A., Bukachi, S., … & Bloch, P. (2019). A systems perspective on the importance of global health strategy developments for accomplishing today’s Sustainable Development Goals. Health policy and planning, 34(9), 635-645.
Chen, J., Wang, L., Li, L., Magalhães, J., Song, W., Lu, W., … & Sun, Y. (2020). Effect of forest certification on international trade in forest products. Forests, 11(12), 1270.
Kang, S., Shim, K., & Kim, J. (2019). Social media posts on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 explosion: A comparative analysis of crisis framing and sentiment in three nations. Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research, 2(2), 259-289.
Reyna, A., Martín, C., Chen, J., Soler, E., & Díaz, M. (2018). On blockchain and its integration with IoT. Challenges and opportunities. Future generation computer systems, 88, 173-190.
Song, Y., Zhang, M., Zou, D. C., Sun, C. Y.,s & Yue, R. H. (2018). Destroying a near-extremal Kerr-Newman-AdS black hole with test particles. Communications in Theoretical Physics, 69(6), 694.
Wu, T., & Chadee, D. (2022). Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP): Implications for the Asia-Pacific Region. In International Business in the New Asia-Pacific (pp. 53-74). Springer, Cham.
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