Nippon UK

　　Nippon UK was established in 1993 with the aim of delivering Martial Arts tuition, mainly Ju Jitsu, to children and adults in a number of town and village locations. From humble beginnings, being that of a small van and one set of mats traipsing from village hall to sports centre on a nightly basis, Nippon UK was born. Now in its 19th year, Nippon UK boasts a membership well in excess of 20,000, as well as teaching Martial Arts in more than 300 primary and secondary schools.

　　In addition to just the delivery of Martial Art classes, Nippon UK has also over the past number of years been at the forefront of other activities in the Martial Art world, including devising and writing a unique NVQ qualification (National Vocational Qualification), holding large scale Martial Art events and competitions, and taking small groups of students from the UK to Spain to train in a different environment.

　　In August 2012, the decision was made to sub brand the Nippon name and to develop these other areas almost as separate entities whilst keeping a connection with the Nippon brand. For this reason, we now have a number of different sub brands – they are as follows:

　　NIPPON UK MARTIAL ARTS (http://www.nipponuk.org)

　　NIPPON RETREATS AND MARTIAL ARTS HOLIDAYS (http://nipponretreat.com)

　　NIPPON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (no website yet)

　　NIPPON UK PRESENTS (no website yet)

　　Below is a brief description of the activities to be carried out from each sub brand.

　　NIPPON UK MARTIAL ARTS

　　Unchanged from the original concept, Nippon UK will continue to deliver quality Martial Arts tuition to its thousands of members. All Nippon UK instructors are full-time professionals, some of whom are employed directly by the company, whilst others work on a franchise model. On a day to day basis, instructors go from school to school delivering Martial Art classes before attending an evening time venue, usually a sports centre, to hold both children's and adult's classes. Nippon UK's head office is there to oversee such things as memberships, gradings, technical advice and merchandising.

　　NIPPON RETREATS AND MARTIAL ARTS HOLIDAYS

　　This company gives people the opportunity to practice their chosen Martial Arts in sunnier climates. They offer both retreats for small groups of dedicated Martial Artists, along with holidays for whole classes. The retreats side of the business is split into three sub sections, known as The No Contact, Semi Contact and Full Contact Retreat. What keeps these miles apart from each other is simply the accommodation and surroundings. The No Contact Retreat is a no frills back to basics experience; the group live in a farmhouse high up in the mountains. The accommodation offers limited facilities, such as electricity and there is absolutely no contact with the rest of the world, i.e. no Wi-Fi or telephone lines. This retreat in particular attracts groups of people who, not only want to develop their physical skills, but also explore the spiritual side of Martial Arts.

　　Next we have the Semi Contact Retreat, which again is three days of intense Martial Arts training. However, the accommodation is a comfortable hotel located less than 200 meters from the beautiful golden sands of the Costa Blanca. The tag line which is used for this retreat is "Welcome to sun whilst doing Tai Chi on the beach, watch the sunset whist doing Kata on the rocks, in between spend the day practicing Martial Arts in our beautiful beachfront Dojo".

　　The last retreat which is offered is the Full Contact. This has the same Martial Arts training package as the retreats above, but the main difference is the accommodation. The Full Contact Retreat houses guests in the most beautiful modern and luxurious villas in the area. The retreat is run on the same model as a skiing holiday and chalet where guests are catered for by live-in staff.

　　Finally, full package holidays can be offered. These holidays are not marketed to individuals, but to Martial Art instructors. Instructor are given the opportunity to offer all of their students the chance to go away to Spain on a 7 day all inclusive package. Nippon Retreats organises everything including transport from their club to the airport, flights, transfers, hotels and a full 7 days training package. The training package is offered as an option due to many Martial Art instructors preferring to teach their classes themselves. When this is the case, they are given full use of the Dojo.

　　NIPPON PROFESSIONAL DEVEOPMENT

　　Nippon UK was at the forefront of creating an NVQ applicable to all styles of Martial Arts. It is offered to any instructors regardless of organisation, politics or governing bodies. The NVQ is delivered in conjunction with Preston College and City and Guilds. It is marketed both in trade magazines and by way of a trade stand in major Martial Art seminars and events.

　　NIPPON UK PRESENTS

　　Over the past number of years, Nippon UK have held seminars and competitions for their own members. Each one has been successful, usually attracting 400-500 students. It is the intention to replicate this model with the major difference being the opening up of all events to other organisations. This will be done by both marketing the event independently, as well as selling tickets in blocks to Martial Art instructors at a discounted face-value ticket price. The long-term plan with this involves two concepts. One is buying power; at the moment Nippon UK host one seminar every 12 months or so. The biggest cost implication in this is the guest instructors. If an event was replicated four or five times each year in a different venue and a different city then the cost of booking guest instructors would dramatically be reduced. The second concept is that of trade stands. The intention would be that each event would attract stands from companies wishing to tap into their client base. The income generated from this would then offset the cost of hosting the event, thus increasing profit margins.

　　Your Brief:

　　The team at Nippon UK is now keen to develop its brands further before expanding its operations into new markets.

　　As a student of International Business Management, you have been invited to write a report to the management team to address the strategic issues facing the company as it embarks on expansion including international expansion.

　　You need to carry out the following tasks in order to complete the assignment:

　　· Select one of the brands (NIPPON UK MARTIAL ARTS, NIPPON RETREATS AND MARTIAL ARTS HOLIDAYS, NIPPON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, NIPPON UK PRESENTS)

　　· Develop a brand identity (logo, mission/ vision statement, slogan, etc.)

　　· Carry out an internal and external analysis of the company, and the potential markets(include country?customers?and products/services) it intends to enter. When completing the company analysis we suggest you use the appropriate analytical tools discussed in Semester 1

　　· Make an informed recommendation as to which market would be most suitable for entry based on your research and current management theory/ thinking.

　　· Decide on the target market e.g. Nippon Retreats: will you target nationals from that country or other countries e.g. attract non Spanish nationals to train in Spain.

　　· Devise a strategy you would recommend them to follow.

　　The company has left the brief open as it wants to see if you can show entrepreneurial flair, but think carefully about the financial costs involved; BE REALISTIC!

　　IMPORTANT

　　· Do not contact the company directly. David will field questions for you. The company will also be present at one of our lectures

　　· It is important that you do not simply explain theory introduced, but that you apply that theory to the organisational situation. DO NOT simply explain theory…USE theory!

　　Here is a list (although not exhaustive) of theories/models that may be potentially useful for this report:

　　· SWOT analysis

　　· PESTLE analysis

　　· Porter’s Diamond

　　· Hofstede’s Five Cultural Dimensions

　　· Value Chain

　　· Porter’s Five Forces

　　· Porter’s Generic Strategies

　　· Product Life Cycle

　　· And/or any other theories/models that may be relevant