ZZZ: Business Consultancy Group Report

Abstract

This report is investigating the opportunities for ZZZ to move into Spain, more specifically Barcelona and San Sebastian. ZZZ will have the opportunity to increase their market share in this region, and make a profit. Existing clients and network can help with an easy entry. When it comes to challenges, it is found that creating a network of suppliers and the licence laws in Spain are the most important. Looking at the business environment, it is found that Spain has some differences with France, where pre business meeting is more common. Furthermore, some political issues have been found with Catalonia pushing for independence in 2017. The economic growth in Spain is decreasing, however, still growing by 0,7%. ZZZ´s suppliers will be apartment owners in Spain, where it is found to be a significant supply. The government is trying to control this by requesting licences for renting out apartments. This can be seen as an issue, however, there are about 9.700 licences in Barcelona alone. Beside existing clients, previous experience in Barcelona is an important opportunity for ZZZ to take an advantage of, together with the fact that competitors are competing by lowering their prices. Looking at challenges, it is also worth motioning the need to acquire local knowledge and additional employees to handle this market. In the research conducted, different locations in Spain were considered, mainly with a focus on important events and trade shows. Moving on, enquires by email was sent to different hotels and tourist offices to get a sense of the demand during the events. Online enquires was also conducted. The result was further elaborated with databases and statistics. To strengthen our arguments and primary research, we created a questionnaire and phone interview, but had no luck in retrieving data from this. Findings from our research revealed that San Sebastian and Barcelona was good alternatives for ZZZ to expand. The Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona and San Sebastian Film Festival both had over 90% booking rate at hotels, and ZZZ had existing clients at both. Furthermore, it was found other events in these cities that could be beneficial for the company. Looking at what presented, the consultants are recommending ZZZ to enter Spain, with a prioritized effort on Barcelona. Both because of a high booking rate, existing clients and previous experience. San Sebastian could also be a great opportunity for ZZZ, with high booking rates, existing clients and a lower need for resources. When estimating a profit, we used rates from existing sites, and found prices on a three bedroom during the MWC on £1,050. Adding the 40% raise from ZZZ and comparing with the number of apartments in Cannes, we think a profit of £142,800 during the MWC is within reach, only considering the cost of the suppliers. This estimate could change over time, both because the prices change closing in on the congress and that estimating 400 apartments would probably be too high in the short term. There have been limitations when conducting this report mainly in terms of research. Access to the network of clients and their contact info would help this in some extent. Furthermore, financial limitations prevented the access of data for research. Additionally, some limitations were found in terms of language and time.