Sephora is a French beauty company looking to expand into Egypt. There are cultural differences between France and Egypt that will impact Sephora's marketing strategy. Egyptians value modesty, family, and beauty. Sephora will need to adapt some aspects of its marketing mix like products, pricing, and promotion to suit Egyptian culture and customers. A franchising strategy is recommended for Sephora to enter Egypt, as it involves low costs and risks for Sephora while allowing an Egyptian company to sell Sephora's products.

1. 13
Marketing across cultures
Draft
Introduction Comment by Elisa Paz: emphasise countries and
WHY THIS IS A GOOD CHOICE Comment by Elisa Paz: IN-
TEXT CITATIONS
Sephora is a French based organization which sales beauty and
skin care products. The business has online presence where the
customers get the opportunity to view and order the products of
their choice including fragrances, skin care and make up. The
company also sells the tools and brushes which are used in the
application of make up by individuals. Sephora is not currently
and this assignment focuses on expanding the operations of the
business. The course work two has various objectives and one
of the objectives is to explore the cultural differences between
France and Egypt and also look at the impact of the cultural
differences on the marketing mix and the marketing strategy
which will be adopted in penetrating the Egyptian market.
Comment by Elisa Paz: make sure to proofread

2. Part 1: Social and cultural factors and the marketing mix
Overview of cultures Comment by Elisa Paz: IN-TEXT
CITATIONS
The two cultures; Egyptian and French culture are different
from each other and the French culture can be described as more
modern compared to the Egyptian culture which holds on so
much to tradition and ancient teachings. The French are mostly
known because of the much value which they attach to
nationality and government which makes the politics of the
country a sensitive topic which could result into offending the
French people. The Egyptian can be described as very modest
people which is because of the influence of religion and the
ancient Egypt practices. Egyptians value beauty so much and
this means that the culture is ideal for Sephora products which
are used in enhancing and bringing out the beauty of a person.
Cultural framework of France (please include all culture
frame work for both countries even if you add them to the
appendix and reference that they are in the appendix because
you will need them later in the assignment to compare how
cultures framework affect the marketing mix) Comment by
Elisa Paz: introduce (and ref) the cultural framework, and
clearly identify the elemtns
The main language spoken in France is French which is spoken
in most parts of the country. English is not widely spoken in the
country but is spoken in the tourist attraction parts such as Paris
and other major cities in the country. French is the official
language in the country and is spoken by 88% of the country’s
population. There are different religions practiced in the
country and the main religion in the country is Christianity
where there are different denominations such as Catholicism
and Protestantism among others. The French people value their
government and nationalism and hence take so much offence
when people make negative comments on their nation and
government.
Another thing that is valued by the country is equality. In
France, the people want to be treated equally and even in the

3. work setting there is equality of the different genders and
ethnicities. The country is known to be a home of various high
end fashion houses such as Dior, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. The
people are known to be highly fashionable and also very
presentable both in the workplace and other settings. French
aesthetics include the culture of writing and theorizing.
Cultural framework of Egypt
The official language of Egypt is Modern Standard Arabic
which is widely used in the country. Cairo which is the capital
city of the country makes up the highest concentration of
international schools which offer top notch education to the
people in the country. The country still has high illiteracy levels
despite a lot of efforts to encourage more people to go to
school. The educated Egyptians normally are fluent in foreign
languages such as English and French. 90% of the people living
in Egypt identify themselves as Muslims and the remaining
population is made up of Coptic Orthodox Christians and other
denominations of Christianity.
One of the things which the Egyptians value is modesty and this
is influenced by their religion and religious values. The people
in Egypt are known to value the institution of a family and
maintaining the honor and dignity of a family. The
communication style of the Egyptians is expressive and the
people are known to express themselves so much. They have a
good attitude and in their communication Egyptians are known
to freely display happiness and gratitude. They are known to
communicate indirectly where most of them avoid using the
word “No” directly and also make use of so much humor in their
communication (Quach et al., 2020). When it comes to the
business culture in the country networks tend to be valued more
compared to the expertise of the individuals. Linen is the
material that is associated with Egypt’s dressing and clothing.
Additionally, Egyptians value beauty so much and want their
women and men to look good at all times.
Hierarchy of needs Comment by Elisa Paz: discuss first
implications on the mkmix

4. There are different needs according to the Abraham Maslow
needs and Sephora satisfies the esteem needs. Esteem need can
be described as the desire that one has to feel good about
themselves. One of the components of esteem needs is self-
confidence which can be gained by customers when they use
Sephora products(Valeri, 2021) . Some people especially
women say that using cosmetics and beauty products helps
boost their self-confidence and also enhances their self-image.
This is because the products which are sold by the company are
useful in helping enhance the beauty and how one looks.
Comment by Elisa Paz: cultural assessment
Influence of cultural differences on the marketing mix
The cultural differences between the two countries will have an
influence on the product, place, price and promotion. When it
comes to the products which are sold by Sephora the company
can still maintain selling the products which they are selling
currently and this is because people in Egypt are also interested
in the beauty and skin care products which are currently sold by
the business (Trompenaars, & Woolliams, 2020). When it comes
to pricing, Haggling is a common practice in Egypt and other
African countries which means that the people are price
sensitive and hence the company should focus on offering prices
which are affordable to the people. Comment by Elisa Paz: it is
not that they are/are not interested in cosmetics, but rather if
any of the cultural aspects that you disccussed in the cultural
framework AFFECTS this (packaging, formula...) Comment by
Elisa Paz: implications for Sephora when expanding?
Sephora should operate both online and physical stores and this
is because most of the people prefer to have physical stores
where they can select the products of their choice and get to try
out some products which the business is selling (Quach et al.,
2020). The culture also affects the promotion of the products
where the business will need to focus on the traditional methods
of promotion such as use of print and broadcast media but
should also use the online marketing methods. Comment by
Elisa Paz: Regarding place, Comment by Elisa Paz: why?

5. Standardize or adapt (Sephora) Comment by Elisa Paz:
Focus on pros/cons of each method Comment by Elisa Paz: with
references
The company should use adaptation as opposed to
standardization if it wants to succeed while selling Sephora to
the Egyptian people. In adaptation, the company should modify
the products and product offerings to ensure that they suit the
needs and wants of the people. The skin texture and tone for
instance is different between the people in France and Egypt
which means that some face creams and products will not work
on the skin of the people as good and hence they is need to
modify the products to suit the market. Adaptation means that
the company will be taking a higher financial risk as opposed to
if they decided to use standardization but this risk will pay off
since the products have a huge potential of making profits and
high sales in the market.
Part 2: Market entry strategies
Review of market entry strategies
There are different market entry strategies which can be
effective for Sephora’s entry into the Egypt market. One of the
strategies which can be used by the organization in the entry
into Egypt is a Joint venture which means that the company will
be combined with another company. These means that the
companies come together and become a totally different
company. The joint venture as an entry strategy means that
Sephora can take advantage of the other company’s reputation
and infrastructure in the country. The strategy can be used as an
alternative to establishing a wholly new owned subsidiary in
Egypt to sell the make up and skin care products. The strategy
has various advantages and one of them is that the strategy will
make sure that the company has access to greater resources and
will also help the company share the risks with the company
that it chooses as its venture partner. Comment by Elisa Paz:
before this, mention all of the MES and
control/risk/invovlement...
However, there are various disadvantages of using a joint

6. venture as an entry strategy to the Egyptian market. The
companies could have different objectives and goals and it will
take a very long time for the two companies to build a
relationship which is solid enough to do business together .
Because of the differences in the cultures between the two
companies then there could be a challenge in achieving
integration and cooperation between two companies. The
success of using joint venture as an entry strategy requires
intensive market research to understand the objectives of the
partnering firm into depth.
Sephora can also use an acquisition as an entry strategy into the
new market. An acquisition means that the company will
purchase majority of shares in another firm so that its able to
gain total country over the other firm. In an acquisition the
company that is acquired by Sephora will cease to exist once it
has been acquired by Sephora (Pfarrer et al., 2019). The
company could enter the Egyptian market through acquiring a
firm in the beauty industry in Egypt which is already known by
the customers and has created a good reputation so that the
business can take advantage of the positive reputation of the
business. The use of an acquisition as an entry strategy to Egypt
will have various advantages and disadvantages for the
organization.
One of the advantages of the strategy is that the entry strategy
has limited barriers and will help overcome entry barriers that
are associated with the other market entry strategies. The
company will be able to achieve market power using an
acquisition as an entry strategy and this is because of market
synergies. The company will be able to acquire any new
competencies and resources which it does not have currently in
the acquired firm. The company can enjoy the marketing
connections and networks of the acquired firm (Pfarrer et al.,
2019). The company can also enjoy fresh ideas and a new
perspective from the use of an acquisition strategy. However,
using this strategy could damage the reputation of Sephora if
the acquired firm is weak or has a bad reputation.

7. Recommended market entry strategy Comment by Elisa Paz:
Address the opportunity analysis (slide 8 week 13)
The appropriate entry strategy for Sephora into the Egyptian
market is use of a franchising strategy and this is because of the
low-cost involvement and the low risks involved in the strategy.
A franchising strategy shall entail Sephora who in this case is
the franchisor granting some rights and authorities to the
franchisee which will be an Egyptian company (Deepak &
Jeyakumar, 2019). There will be a contractual agreement
between Sephora and the franchisee that will give the franchise
the rights and authority to make use of the trademark and brand
name of Sephora and also give the organization the rights and
authorities to sell the products and services of Sephora where
the franchisee will act as a dealer.
The reason why this is an appropriate strategy for Sephora at
the moment is that the company does not have to use its capital
and resources since the franchisee will use its own resources.
This is a good entry strategy that Sephora can use at the
moment before it moves on to further establish subsidiaries and
branches of its company in Egypt. The company will gain so
much popularity and a positive brand image from franchising
and this is because the franchisee uses Sephora’s name which
means that once the company decides to enter the market fully
then it will be a known brand that has established customer
loyalty already.
Part 3: Marketing strategy for the new country Comment by
Elisa Paz: adapt/standardize
Application of the market entry strategy Comment by Elisa Paz:
probably better for section 2
The selected marketing entry strategy for the company will be
franchising where Sephora will enter into a contractual
agreement with another firm so that the other firm can sell the
company products and also use the company’s name. The
process of franchising will entail various steps. The initial step
in the application of the franchising strategy is determining
whether the strategy is good for the organization (Makadok et

8. al., 2018). From the analysis of the cultural differences between
Egypt and France and also the company a franchise will be a
good strategy for the business.
Since we know that the franchisi ng strategy is ideal for the
organization the next step for the business should be preparation
of a franchise disclosure document. The FDD is a document that
will provide the franchisee with the important and critical
information about Sephora including the legal history of the
business, company structure, financial structure of the company
and any current franchisee which Sephora has. The document
should also include the audit of the financial statements of
Sephora so that the franchisee can have the confidence that the
company is ideal to do business with (Kalaignanam et al.,
2021). The company will also need to issue an operation manual
to its franchisee (s). The manual will offer information on the
system requirements and any other information that will be
needed in opening and operating the franchise.
The company should ensure that it has registered its
business and trademarks so that the issue of franchising does
not put the company at any risk or result into legal
consequences for the firm. The business should also ensure that
the FDD document has been registered and filed as well. The
company should additionally create a sales strategy and a
budget. A budget will entail the costs that Sephora will incur in
initiating and finalizing the franchising process. The budget
should be in line with the size of the Egyptian market and the
proportion of customers which the company hopes to attract and
retain.
Product/ Branding strategy
There are different branding strategies that the company can use
in its franchising to help ensure that the company succeeds in
the new market segment. Considering the nature of the products
and offerings of Sephora an attitude branding strategy will be
ideal to assist the company create a feeling and evoke emotions
and an emotional connection of the company’s products with the
customers. Creating an emotional connection could entail

9. assuring the customers that this is a brand which cares about
their skin, beauty and is not only focused to making profits
from the market segment but is determined to offer the
customers an option that will ensure that they have a smooth,
flawless and protected skin (Kalaignanam et al., 2021). The
company should create a positive brand attitude through
focusing on how using Sephora beauty and skin care products
will make the customers feel about themselves and the
confidence that is associated with the brand.
There are various considerations that the company should
make when doing the attitude branding and one of the
considerations is that any marketing campaigns in Egypt should
focus on how the customers will feel when they associate with
the brand as opposed to putting more emphasis on the products
and pricing (Velikorossov et al., 2020). Promote the brand as
confidence and self-esteem; the customers in Egypt should
know that using the company’s products brings out their beauty
and hence they should feel more confident about themselves and
how they look after using those products. Comment by
Elisa Paz: Missing product policy (presentation available from
our classes) and branding = profile strategy
The business will need to identify what the priorities of the
customers are and assist the franchisee use the priorities in
creating a sales plan that will reach more customers. The
potential customers will have an interaction with the products of
the company before making a decision to buy and this means
that logos, colors, packaging and designs are important in
helping boost the emotional connection between the customers
and the company products (Deepak & Jeyakumar, 2019). The
company should select colors and designs that will make the
products sold by the business in Egypt easily distinguishable
with any other similar products sold in the country.
Communication strategy Comment by Elisa Paz: Push? pull?
Communication is very important in the business when it
decided enter into the new market segment and even after
successfully penetrating the market. Communication will focus

10. on ensuring that there is exchange of accurate and up to date
information between the franchisee and Sephora so that the
company is able to successfully enter the market segment. The
communication with the franchisee can be done using different
strategies to ensure success. The company needs to use verbal
communication to discuss with the franchisee on the system
requirements and also help the business in ensure that the
strategy is a success (Dzwigol, 2020). Verbal communication
shall entail physical face to face meetings with company
executives in the franchisee where the face-to-face meetings
will assist Sephora brief the company on the pricing of the
company products and also the features of the products.
Due to the advancement in the technology the company can
use tele conferencing where the meetings can be done virtually
so that the company can minimize transportation costs of going
all the way to Egypt. However, there must by physical meetings
held in both France and Egypt so that the two companies are
able to know more about each other and create a rapport with
each other. The company will also use written communication to
communicate details such as the company trademarks, FDD and
also the contractual agreement (Velikorossov et al., 2020).
Emails should also be used in communicating between the two
companies and following up on the progress of the franchise.
Good communication between the two firms will ensure that the
company is able to create a positive image in Egypt and its able
to grow its brand and sales in the market segment. Comment by
Elisa Paz: It'd be best to at least mention distribution + pricing
Conclusion
Sephora is a leading make up, beauty and skin care organization
which sells beauty products to be used to enhance the beauty of
the customers. The business can benefit through expansion into
Egypt but to do so the company needs to research on the
cultural differences between France where the company is
currently set up and Egypt. Egypt is a good market segment and
this is because the people in the currently value beauty in their

11. daily life and also in their ceremonies. The company should sell
in the new market through a franchising strategy that will help
reduce the costs and the risks of expanding into the new market.
The business could also benefit from ensuring that it uses an
attitude branding strategy that will assist Sephora create an
emotional connection between company products and the
customers.
References
Deepak, R. K. A., & Jeyakumar, S. (2019). Marketing
management. Educreation Publishing.
Dzwigol, H. (2020). Methodological and empirical platform of
triangulation in strategic
management. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 19(4),
1-8.
Kalaignanam, K., Tuli, K. R., Kushwaha, T., Lee, L., & Gal, D.
(2021). Marketing agility: the
concept, antecedents, and a research agenda. Journal of
Marketing, 85(1), 35-58.
Makadok, R., Burton, R., & Barney, J. (2018). A practical guide
for making theory contributions
in strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 39(6),
1530-1545.
Pfarrer, M. D., Devers, C. E., Corley, K., Cornelissen, J. P.,
Lange, D., Makadok, R., ... &
Weber, L. (2019). Sociocognitive perspectives in strategic
management. Academy of Management Review, 44(4), 767-774.
Quach, S., Thaichon, P., Lee, J. Y., Weaven, S., & Palmatier, R.
W. (2020). Toward a theory of
outside-in marketing: Past, present, and future. Industrial
Marketing Management, 89, 107-128.

12. Trompenaars, F., & Woolliams, P. (2020). Marketing research
across cultures. In Handbook on
Cross-Cultural Marketing. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Valeri, M. (2021). Organizational Studies: Implications for the
Strategic Management. Springer
Nature.
Velikorossov, V. V., Genkin, E. V., Balakhanova, D. K.,
Sidorov, M. N., Maksimov, M. I.,
Sulimova, E. A., & Loshkov, B. D. (2020). Strategic
management.
Marketing Across Cultures
Student Name:
Amr Mohamed
Date:
11/18/2021
Contents
INTRODUCTION 3
PART 2: Hofstede and Lewis theory 4
Part 3: Justification of cross cultural analysis approach 6
References: 8
Appendix 10
Hofstede’s 6 cultures dimensions 10
Lewis model elements: 10

13. INTRODUCTION
It’s a necessity to understand the cultural differences as it may
have a significant influence for new business opportunities
(Why Cultural Differences in Business Matter, 2021). In order
for any new company to implement its tactics or strategies, they
would have to cast around for new cultural differences in new
diverse markets they are recently ingoing (Marzena, 2021).
Settling advantages and the disadvantages of cultural
differences in contrast with the companies’ home strategies
increases the possibility of having a successful execution of
new business opportunities. Understating the culture your
business is moving in is more important than the business itself.
(Marzena, 2021)
The assignment focuses on cross culture analysis betw een Egypt
and France and I will be introducing Sephora the French
company to Egypt. Firstly, Sephora is a French worldwide chain

14. of personal upkeep and exquisiteness stores. It was established
in 1970 via Dominique Mandonnaud and preserved by LVMH
Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (2021) . Remarkably, the name
Sephora originates and stems from the Greek word sephos,
meaning beauty, and Zipporah, the wife of Moses in the book of
Exodus (Schwanke, 2021). Sephora is mainly from France but it
participates in a dominant beauty existence in many countries
around the world (Schwanke, 2021). However, Sephora has been
able to achieve such a reputation because of its incomparable
collection of prestigious products in every class, impartial
provision from beauty professionals, cooperative shopping
atmosphere. Sephora also partakes an online website that
initially made a start in the U.S in 1999 where its customers can
enjoy the experience of engaging with the beauty community
(Schwanke, 2021). Moreover, the launching of Sephora stores in
Egypt is essential because there is not any beauty store in Egypt
that covers all the brands and products. This fact will give
Sephora stores an advantage in the Egyptian market. (Egypt
Cosmetic Market Size, Share & Demand | Research Report
2026, 2021)
PART 2: Hofstede and Lewis theory
Due to new business expansion and new technological factors,
cultures around the world are now being linked together (Why
Cultural Differences in Business Matter, 2021) . Enterprises are
going global, which means that managers of today's era may
have to deal with many different cultural backgrounds (Why
Cultural Differences in Business Matter, 2021). However, this
fact may seem enlightening to new career opportunities but
regularly managers miscarry to foresee how cultural
backgrounds affect employees’ performances and intelligence.

15. In time, a great deal of studies has been made to assess different
cultural issues and to combine them together in anticipation of a
certain outcome solution. In 1980, Hofstede’s cultural
dimensions, which was constructed on ranking cultures into 6
different categories in order to be able to identify cultural
backgrounds to function based on them (The Hofstede model,
2021). The dimensions consist of power distance, individualism,
masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, time orientation, and
indulgence. (for explanations in the appendix) (The Hofstede
model, 2021) Moreover, the prodigious dimensions of
Hofstede’s were applied by Sondergaard on 61 replications
focusing on validating his work. The results were respectable,
most of the duplications were identical, and a partial percentage
corresponded to his work. Even from the point of view of
individualism, which wasn’t a flawless match, the researcher
clarified that cultures will regulate over time (Hofstede's
Cultural Dimensions: – Understanding Different Countries,
2021). When companies start to expand and become
internationalized, more conflicts arise. Businesses then were in
much need of guidance and dependability on reliable studies
and research. Hofstede’s dimensions were in a position to
satisfy requests therefore, companies started surviving which
demonstrates it is revolutionary. (Hofstede's Cultural
Dimensions: – Understanding Different Countries, 2021)
Despite being successful, people believe that only 6 dimensions
aren’t enough to compete with numerous cultural background
issues. Hofstede himself believes that his work must be further
supplemented with new dimensions. What's more, Hofstede’s
theory combines the entire population as a whole regardless of
the different regions and several traditional backgrounds
(CRITICISM OF HOFSTEDE, 2021) . The process led to doubts
of its effectiveness due to several different characteristics of
people answering the survey; that would then affect the entire
country. (CRITICISM OF HOFSTEDE, 2021)

16. Secondly, Lewis's model was created by the researcher Richards
D. Lewis. The basis of his research focused on data collection.
The researcher gathered data from 150,000 online surveys,
50,000 administrators over 65 nationalities in order to reach a
precise diagram (The Lewis Model – Dimensions of Behaviour |
Cross Culture, 2021). However, after long research and
questioners, he settled on dividing them into 3 groups of people.
The divergent groups are linear active, multi-active, and
reactive. (for meanings in the appendix) (The Lewis Model –
Dimensions of Behaviour | Cross Culture, 2021). Even though
the dividends might be dissimilar but they comprehend a small
percentage of similarities. Anyhow, people criticized the model
uttering that it has no scientific foundation by blaming it to be
more of general research that’s unreliable for businesses to
depend on . Basically, it's believed to be more of general
research that focuses on the basis of how different cultures may
react to different situations. The research should be assisting in
foreseeing issues between communities in the sector of
communication. (The Lewis Model – Dimensions of Behaviour |
Cross Culture, 2021) Though, it’s impossible to be 100%
accurate due to different factors an individual may face during
different days that could deeply affect his decision-making and
behaviors. However, the diagram could positively support
understanding how different businesses favor cultures; long or
short-term-oriented cultures. (2021)
Lastly, Hofstede’s and Lewis’s diagrams are similar but for the
application of one of them, I choose Hofstede. It’s more clear
that Hofstede is the best applicant since after experimenting the
replications of the 6 diagrams were more accurate and some of
them were typical to his research. New business opportunities
can rely more on the 6 diagram theory. On the other hand, the
criticism for Lewis is model is vast and some believe it’s not
reliable enough because of how many different factors can
affect the results. (Country Comparison - Hofstede Insights,
2021)
Part 3: Justification of cross cultural analysis approach

17. As Sephora is a brand that is loved and known by many people,
it is an advantage to have a Sephora in Egypt because
throughout different countries it is the number one leading
makeup and skincare brand (2021). As Sephora is also skincare
inclusive it provides a chance for people in Egypt to have both
aspects of makeup and skincare in one place instead of having
to order the products they need online. Ordering online works,
but people prefer to have physical stores to choose the products
to their liking with the aid of the employees. With the
allowance of Sephora having all the makeup brands in one
place, expansion of the store increases profits as well as the
number of customers. Seeing as France is a modern country,
bringing that aspect of modernism to Egypt (a country that
continues to develop), Sephora will increase the chance of
having a partnership between these two countries as the same
brands will be available for customers.
By using the Hofstede 2010 theory, breaking down the
marketing aspect linked with the psychological aspect, using a
social media campaign implying that they are expanding to
Egypt from France can create a sense of attachment to Sephora,
thus allowing the brand to meet its customers’ needs that those
other existing brands in Egypt were not fulfilling (Sondergaard,
1994; Steenkamp, 2001). Linking back to Part 2 above, talking
about the cultural aspects as well as the conservative aspect, it
allows majority of the different cultural backgrounds in Egypt
to be more educated when it comes to different makeup brands.
Even though they are educated now it allows them to create a
broader sense of awareness of other brands that may be
presented to them, i.e., those that they are unfamiliar with. This
may also give a chance to employees working for other makeup
stores in Egypt to be presented with the same opportunities as
those in France. This can be linked back to the economic aspect
that Hofstede’s theory provides, i.e., the dimension of power
distance states that power is distributed unequally within a
country to less powerful members of organisations (Country

18. Comparison, 2021). Through economically creating more job
opportunities for people in Egypt, it allows for individualism as
in Hofstede’s theory (Kale and Barnes, 1992). Currently, Egypt
is a collectivistic society (80), as Sephora moves from France –
an individualistic society – there is a better chance for
individuals to gain interdependence and thus have more jobs
available. In addition to that, since France is an individualistic
society, expanding Sephora from there to Egypt can also be
challenging due to the vast cultural differences, mainly the
beliefs. For example, the Egyptian culture can tend to be more
conservative and therefore for an individual to work for Sephora
it can be considered offensive as the family of an employee has
to take responsibility for their actions in such societies. On the
other hand, the expansion can continue to infuse and influence
the marketing mix such as providing the people in Egypt with
services, e.g., free makeup trials, as well as the use of
promotions. Once a Sephora has been opened in Egypt, it gives
customers the chance to feel the products before purchasing as
compared to when they ordered online.
The move from France allows the customers to give feedback
and recommend more products. The reason this is beneficial is
because even though the Sephora in France is fully equipped
and the country itself is developed, it lets the two countries
collaborate and work as one to better each other in their weak
points. This can be linked to Hofstede’s dimension of
uncertainty avoidance. As seen in Hofstede’s Insights, (Country
Comparison, 2021), the uncertainty avoidance for Egypt (80)
and France (86) is close, now with the opening of Sephora and
sharing thoughts and communicating with one another regarding
new prospects uncertainty avoidance for both countries can
reduce as they will automatically disregard their previous
beliefs. Furthermore, using Hofstede’s theory to explain the
expansion has proven to be quite thorough and comprehensive
(Smith et al., 1996).

19. References:
· Hofstede Insights. 2021. Country Comparison - Hofstede
Insights. [online] Available at: <https://www.hofstede-
insights.com/country-comparison/egypt,france/> [Accessed 18
November 2021].
· Kale S, Barnes J. Understanding the domain of cross-national
buyer-seller interactions. J Int Bus Stud 1992;23(1):101.
· Smith P, Dugan S, Trompenaars F. National culture and the
values of organizational employees — a dimensional analysis
across 43 nations. J Cross-Cult Psychol 1996;27(2):231–64.
· Sondergaard M. Research note: Hofstede's consequences: a
study of reviews, citations and replications. Organ Stud
1994;15(3):447–56.
· Marzena, A., 2021. [online] Econstor.eu. Available at:
<https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/229732/1/cerem-v1-
i2-335.pdf> [Accessed 18 November 2021].
· 2021. [online] Available at: <https://craft.co/sephora>
[Accessed 14 November 2021].
· Schwanke, C., 2021. [online] Makeup.lovetoknow.com.
Available at: <https://makeup.lovetoknow.com/cosmetics-
brands/what-is-history-sephora> [Accessed 14 November 2021].

20. · Allied Market Research. 2021. Egypt Cosmetic Market Size,
Share & Demand | Research Report 2026. [online] Available at:
<https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/egypt-cosmetic-
market> [Accessed 14 November 2021].
· Taylor & Francis. 2021. The Hofstede model. [online]
Available at:
<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2501/s0265048709201
04x> [Accessed 16 November 2021].
· Day Translations Blog. 2021. Why Cultural Differences in
Business Matter. [online] Available at:
<https://www.daytranslations.com/blog/culture-nuance-
business/> [Accessed 16 November 2021].
· Mindtools.com. 2021. Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions: –
Understanding Different Countries. [online] Available at:
<https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm>
[Accessed 16 November 2021].
· Crossculture.com. 2021. The Lewis Model – Dimensions of
Behaviour | Cross Culture. [online] Available at:
<https://www.crossculture.com/the-lewis-model-dimensions-of-
behaviour/> [Accessed 18 November 2021].
· Jogsc.com. 2021. [online] Available at:
<http://www.jogsc.com/pdf/2018/2/theanalysis.pdf> [Accessed
18 November 2021].

21. Appendix
Source: Mindtools.com. 2021. Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions:
– Understanding Different Countries. [online] Available at:
<https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/ newLDR_66.htm>
[Accessed 16 November 2021].Hofstede’s 6 cultures dimensions
· Individualism: The scale of reach of one individual to other
people. A high scale of an individual culture means that each
individual is more responsible for himself and mostly their
family. As for a collective culture is when people become more
responsible for each other and is usually in superior societies.
· Power Distance: Is when lower class population accept and
believe the inequality of health and influence between them and
other higher classes. The point is acceptance of personal status
between all classes.
· Masculinity: A high scale of masculinity in a society means
there is more competition between people. So to be successful is
having the highest performance in the society. As for lower
scale it means, that people only focus on what they really relish
doing and that’s the real meaning for success to them.
· Uncertainty Avoidance: is the when people are more

22. concerned in fear about what the future embraces and the
actions they will do to avoid future responses.
· Time orientation: Is when a society focuses more on what the
future holds and they’re more alarmed about long term visions.
· Indulgence: The scale of how a society of individuals can
maintain self-control over their desires and wishes concerning
something. Lewis model elements:
Source: Crossculture.com. 2021. The Lewis Model –
Dimensions of Behaviour | Cross Culture. [online] Available at:
<https://www.crossculture.com/the-lewis-model-dimensions-of-
behaviour/> [Accessed 18 November 2021].
· Linear active: is when a culture focuses more on having plans
for the future. They fancy more reasonable tactics and they are
always organized and like to do each task at a time.
· Multi active: when a culture feels comfortable with doing
multi tasks. They organize their tasks based on personal
partialities.
· Re-active: when a culture respect each other, signify
politeness, loves other people, and they always react well to
conversations.
Outline:

23. Introduction
o Introduce company and both your countries
o Introduce cw2 objectives
o Overview of cultures
o Cultural framework of France (language, education, attitude,
religoun, values, aesthetics , material culture)
o Cultural framework of Egypt (language, education, attitude,
religous, values, aesthetics , material culture)
o Mention hierarchy of needs (where to put Sephora on the
hierchy of needs and explain why)
o Influence of cultural differences on the marketing mix ( how
the difference of cultures of france and Egypt (collectivest)
will affect the marketing mix.
o Standardize or adapt ( Sephora )
Part II
o Review of market entry strategies
o ABC countries (for Egypt only), level of involvement (Egypt
only) (address as risk assessment control, cost, and
involvement)
Part III
o Apply marketing strategy
o Product (SWYG, SWAG, GLOB) and communication strategy
o Summarize ( relative summary)
3000 words
1

24. Sensitivity: Internal
Marketing across Cultures: CW2 Assignment Brief
Submission deadline Thursday 13th January 2022 by 23.59 hrs.
Assignment CW2 (70%) – Individual assignment brief
An individual 3000 word (+/- 10%) critical, structured business
report is required on the key issues contained
within the module, based on an organisation of the student’s
choice (Note: such choice must be agreed in
advance with module leader).
The assignment is detailed as follows: Taking the role of an
international marketing consultant,
commissioned by a company (marketing an organisation’s
product or service of your choice), prepare a
further business report, based on the findings of the first report,
aimed at the organisation’s marketing
director with a recommendation for the company’s market entry
and marketing strategy in the new
international market (of your choice).
As this may be the first time your company will be targeting
and entering a culturally very different
country, your (second) report must include the following:
• Introduction (not included in word count): introduce the
project objectives (using the brief above),
the organisation and its product or service, the home and host

25. countries/cultures. You need to
justify why you have chosen a certain destination country, using
the information gathered through
the opportunity analysis.
1 Social and Cultural Factors and the Marketing Mix (25%):
examine and explain how the social and
cultural factors of your target internationalisation country could
influence consumer behaviour
towards your product or service, together with an evaluation of
the strategic implications this may
have on the marketing mix.
Note: It is imperative that you also consider the elements raised
in the cross-cultural analysis of
report 1.
Further details:
An understanding of the different social-cultural factors that
will be encountered in different geographical
locations/cultures needs to be identified. This should include
social factors such as social class, the role of
family etc., and an understanding of the cultural factors that are
the “norm” in the particular location
selected.
Beliefs, values and customs should be explored and their
influence on the construction of the marketing
mix should be identified, e.g. Bikes in UK and China! Issues of
language (spoken and silent), motivation,
buying behaviour, the decision making process and acceptable
methods of promotion should be highlighted

26. as areas where the mix may need adaptation. The “cultural
framework” (Tepestra Sarathy et al 2006)
should prove very useful in this section; do take into
consideration the elements raised in report 1.
The relevance (or not) of Maslow, linked with the buying
process and distribution channels, is also
important. The principles of standardisation v adaptation
require consideration here also.
It is important to clearly define the direct benefits of
standardisation for firms, such as economies of scale
and efficiencies from the learning curve effect, but also to
consider the indirect benefits that come from
2
Sensitivity: Internal
consumer perceptions of the consistency of company image of
the firm and the effect of this on the
perceived brand value. The obvious barriers to implementation
include market led factors, such as the legal
and cultural differences between countries, but also company
factors, such as the integration (or
independence) of the strategies pursued by individual SBUs and

27. competitor led factors, for example, where
a firm is weak in different markets and has to follow different
market leaders. In Saudi Arabia, for example,
all advertising is subject to censorship, and regulations prohibit
a long list of subject matter.
The good student will seek to identify and recommend
differences required in the marketing mix for
successful market entry into the host country.
Again, if “re-entry” is selected, previous marketing mix and
consumer behaviour issues that denied or
restricted success should be discussed.
2 Market Entry Strategies (30%): conduct an evaluation of the
various international market entry
strategy options available to the company, and present a
justified recommendation to the company
for the market entry strategy that the company should adopt.
The recommendation could include
brief details of the new marketing mix.
Marking Scheme:
A brief assessment of the different types of market entry
strategies is needed with an explanation of which
(and why) each is appropriate at a particular stage. As a fir m
reaches globalisation it will require a
combination of entry strategies in order to respond to the
market, company and environmental factors.
Some understanding is needed of the firm’s required level of
involvement in each market as this will be
linked to the level of control the firm might wish to exert over

28. its activities and the level of risk the
organisation is prepared to take. Where it has high levels of
investment it must ensure that it is able to
maximise its impact and not be reliant on third parties. High
levels of involvement have implications in
terms of a variety of associated risks.
An explanation of the criteria for choosing a market entry
strategy must be the starting point and this will
inevitably focus on the need for different levels of market
involvement, investment and control over
marketing operations in the target market needed to deliver the
firm’s objectives. It is worth considering in
detail the benefits of certain strategies, such as strategic
alliances and joint ventures which are attempts to
achieve a balance between control and exposure in challenging
market situations where neither partner
has all the necessary capability.
Again, if the “re-entry” approach is taken, previous market
entry strategies should be discussed, with
analysis of the failings/limitations that ensued.
3) A marketing strategy for the new country (20%), including
considerations regarding
product/branding strategy, communication strategy; the
candidate could also discuss pricing and
distribution strategy, in cases where the complexity of the MES
choice grants this discussion.
The choice here should be based on the findings of section 1,
starting the discussion from the potential
strategic implications identified in section 1. The strategies
proposed should be chosen in relation to the
choices emerged from Section 2 related to the debate

29. standardisation versus adaptation; usually there is
some degree of adaptation which are due to the socio-cultural
differences highlighted in Section 1. The
other factor to consider is the level of control, for example
where there is more control from the HQ (i.e.
direct export), means a marketing strategy that mirrors the
strategy of HQ, on the other extent where there
is less control (for ex. in a strategic alliance), more changes are
expected in choices of pricing strategy and
choices of distribution.
3
Sensitivity: Internal
Further Notes:
A) Please discuss your product/service, market and organisation
selection with your tutor, as you are
required to stay away from products or services that are already
well-established in your chosen
target country, e.g. Coke to Canada! because making an
inappropriate selection/pairing may
ultimately affect your grade! Alternatively your choice of
destination market may be selected on
the basis that international market entry has previously been
affected but with little or no success.
B) The two international markets you choose must be culturally
very different – pairings such as

30. UK/US, UK/Australia, UK/Ireland, Germany/Austria,
Malaysia/Singapore – are NOT acceptable!
C) This assessment CW2 specifically relates to Learning
Outcomes 2 and 3, where Learning Outcomes
2 and 3 are: “on successful completion of the module, students
will be able to:
• (Learning Outcome 2) Critically examine how the social and
cultural factors of a selected foreign
country could influence consumer behaviour towards a
particular product or service, and evaluate
the strategic implications this may have on the marketing mix.
• (Learning Outcome 3) Critically evaluate the various
international market entry strategy options
available to the company seeking international expansion to a
culturally-different destination,
and make justified recommendations for the market entry
strategy that the company should
adopt.”
D) Further marks are given for:
• Quality and sufficiency of referencing also carries 10% of the
available marks
• Finally Presentation quality of your report also carries 10% of
the available marks
• See below the marking grid

31. 4
Sensitivity: Internal
MaC CW2 90-100% 80-89% 70-79% 60-69% 50-59% 40-49%
35-39% 5-34% 0-4%
Introduction (not included in
word count): to the project
(objectives), the organisation and
its product or service, the home
and host countries/cultures. (5%)
Exception
al
standard.
No errors
Outstanding
standard.
Trivial errors
only
Extremely
good
standard.
Trivial or
very minor
errors
Very good

32. standard.
Minor
errors
only
A good
standard.
Some
evidence of
misunderstan
dings
A sound standard.
Some significant
misunderstandings
and errors but
satisfactory overall
Marginally unsatisfactory.
Not well researched.
Ideas unclear and
incoherent. Some
significant
misunderstandings and
errors. Marginal fail.
Well below the pass
standard.
Poorly researched.
Ideas confused and
incoherent. Serious
misunderstandings
and errors. Clear fail.
Nothing or
hardly anything

33. of merit. NS
notation
applies if no
work
submitted
Social and Cultural Factors
and the Marketing Mix:
examine how the social and
cultural factors of your target
country could influence
consumer behaviour towards
your product or service; this
should be then integrated with
report 1 findings’ to evaluate the
strategic implications this may
have on the marketing mix (25%)
Exception
al
standard
almost at
profession
al level.
No errors
Outstanding
standard.
Trivial errors
only
Extremely
good
standard.
Trivial or
very minor

34. errors
Very good
standard.
Minor
errors
only
A good
standard.
Some
evidence of
misunderstan
dings
A sound standard.
Some significant
misunderstandings
and errors but
satisfactory overall
Marginally unsatisfactory.
Not well researched.
Ideas unclear and
incoherent. Some
significant
misunderstandings and
errors. Marginal fail.
Well below the pass
standard.
Poorly researched.
Ideas confused and
incoherent. Serious
misunderstandings
and errors. A clear

35. fail.
Nothing or
hardly anything
of merit. NS
notation
applies if no
work
submitted
Market Entry Strategies: an
evaluation of the various
international market entry
strategy options available to the
company, and a justified
recommendation to the company
for the market entry strategy that
the company should adopt (30%)
Exception
al
standard
almost at
profession
al level.
No errors
Outstanding
standard.
Trivial errors
only
Extremely
good
standard.
Trivial or

36. very minor
errors
Very good
standard.
Minor
errors
only
A good
standard.
Some
evidence of
misunderstan
dings
A sound standard.
Some significant
misunderstandings
and errors but
satisfactory overall
Marginally unsatisfactory.
Not well researched.
Ideas unclear and
incoherent. Some
significant
misunderstandings and
errors. Marginal fail.
Well below the pass
standard.
Poorly researched.
Ideas confused and
incoherent. Serious
misunderstandings

37. and errors. A clear
fail.
Nothing or
hardly anything
of merit. NS
notation
applies if no
work
submitted
Marketing Strategy for the New
country: including considerations
regarding product/branding
strategy, communication
strategy; pricing and distribution
strategy if applicable (20%)
Exception
al
standard
almost at
profession
al level.
No errors
Outstanding
standard.
Trivial errors
only
Extremely
good
standard.
Trivial or
very minor

38. errors
Very good
standard.
Minor
errors
only
A good
standard.
Some
evidence of
misunderstan
dings
A sound standard.
Some significant
misunderstandings
and errors but
satisfactory overall
Marginally unsatisfactory.
Not well researched.
Ideas unclear and
incoherent. Some
significant
misunderstandings and
errors. Marginal fail.
Well below the pass
standard.
Poorly researched.
Ideas confused and
incoherent. Serious
misunderstandings
and errors. A clear

39. fail.
Nothing or
hardly anything
of merit. NS
notation
applies if no
work
submitted
References and Presentation
quality
(20%)
Exception
al
standard
almost at
profession
al level.
No errors
Outstanding
standard.
Trivial errors
only
Extremely
good
standard.
Trivial or
very minor
errors

40. Very good
standard.
Minor
errors
only
A good
standard.
Some
evidence of
misunderstan
dings
A sound standard.
Some significant
misunderstandings
and errors but
satisfactory overall
Marginally unsatisfactory.
Not well researched.
Ideas unclear and
incoherent.
Well below the pass
standard.
Poorly researched.
Ideas confused and
incoherent.
Nothing or
hardly anything
of merit.

41. 5
Sensitivity: Internal