Table of Contents

1.0 Executive Summary 3

2.0 Background 4

2.1 About Charles & Keith 4

2.2 Reasons for Choosing Ireland 4

3.0 STEEP Analysis 5

3.1 Socio-cultural Factors 5

3.2 Political Factors 5

3.3 Economic Factors 6

3.4 Technological Factors 6

3.5 Ecological Factors 6

4.0 SWOT Analysis 7

4.1 Strengths 7

4.2 Weakness 7

4.3 Opportunities 7

4.4 Threats 8

5.0 Market Analysis 8

5.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers 8

5.2 Rivalry among competitors 8

5.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 8

5.4 Threat of Substitutes 9

5.5 Threats of New Entrants 9

6.0 Marketing Strategies 9

6.1 Marketing Objectives 9
This proves to show that Charles & Keith is strategically located in a trading hub where importing and exporting do not require additional taxes or tariff barriers from those countries with FTA.

3.3 Economic Factors

Ireland inflation is likely to remain on the high side until mid 2013 before easing as slow economy growth. The Monetary Authority of Ireland states that for the whole of 2012, Ireland’s headline inflation rate is expected to be around 5 per cent, with core inflation at 2 per cent (Markides, C. C., & Williamson, P. J. 2009). And the forecast for 2013 for headline inflation is 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, while core inflation is expected to come in at 1.5 percent to 2 per cent.

Ireland has decreased in the price of commodities. In September 2012, the consumer price of clothing increased by 4.6%, footwear and consumer prices of other shoes increased by 3.3%.

3.4 Technological Factors

Rising social media are important for business of Ireland. For example, face book, since its introduction in 2004, has recorded sky high figures of more than 2 million users; penetration rate of 55.37% compared to the country’s population and 71.5% in relation to the number of Internet users just in Ireland alone (Irish Face book Statistics 2012).

With the advancement of internet technology, Charles & Keith can now tap on a new channel by offering new designs through their website. However, this can also provide a threat to the