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> There are lots of different social, financial and environmental challenges concerning Fiji Company. Being successful in the first years of the new millenear, as new trendy product, bottled water suffers financial instability with the instauration of the new corporate tax in Fiji. This new tax impacted investment and confidence which resulted in lots of people losing their jobs for a while. Even more, the company was accused of transfer pricing by Fiji government because the biggest portion of the profit was funneled to the United States as a safe heaven. Fortunately, the government accusations have been temporary discarded and Fiji Water actions were judged as fair. Environmental problems such as carbon emissions, lack of safe tap water on Fiji itself and plastic waste from the bottles used affect also the bottled water industry in general. Additionally lots of Environmental activists argue against the need of imported water in places where tap water is freely available and the probability of ‘greenwashing’ ambiguity of Fiji Water. On the social side, Fiji Water insists on their reputation of very corporate responsible. They sponsor projects on Fiji Island to improve quality of life of the local community. Examples of these developments are funds for potable water, reduction of pollution, better education and employment. The question is if the enterprise can live up to government and consumers’ expectations about the positive contribution on locals. By analyzing and criticising different strategies and a socially responsible marketing plan a logical next step for Fiji water will appear. This plan should be supported by concrete actions and facts resulting in growth for the company
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> Industry Context and company positioning
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> The bottled water industry is a relatively new one . It is in the beverage industry and has been been evident comptetion to the soft drinks market. Per capita consumption of bottled water has been increasing by one gallon annually, more than doubling between 1997 and 2007. The consumer preferences have been changing drastically from traditional beverages towards new generation ones . Within the segment major manufacturers account for a big share of water bottle sales, and the company in question Fiji waters is in the small manufactures segment. As Exhibit 1 shows the consumption of bottled water increases systematically all around the world by 7.6%. The biggest consumer is the United States, but China and India markets are rapidly catching up with the first one. However, the biggest per capita consumptions of the world are in United Arab Emirates, Mexico and Italy (exhibit 2). Interesting markets that bottled water industry has not yet found its way are Australia and United Kingdom, probably because of the important environmental awareness of the population. So now let’s reflect on Porter’s Five forces, the buyer’s power is not very big because there are multiple distributors, wholesalers, retail chains and even online sales in some countries. Basically Fiji waters can sell to any outlet but their share of sales is not big enough to affect retailer's business. On the concurrence side, the bottles water market is extremely competitive and in most places local companies are holding huge shares of the market. Because of the nature of the product, the consumers will switch easily. This is why Fiji water enhances