Poor brand image L’ Oreal Group is faced with a challenge in the introduction of two products in Netherlands. The two products include Belle Couleur and Synergie. L’Oreal Group sales have been on an upward trend as a result of the large size of market for cosmetic products. In France, its domestic market, the firm has witnessed a 10.2% growth in sales which is equivalent to 9.67 billion Euros (Mann 2010, 6). In its quest to attain its profit maximization objective, the firm’s management team has made a decision to venture the Dutch market. Introduction of the new product was to be undertaken by Laboratories Garnier which was its major competitor. Despite Laboratories Garnier being recognized in France prior to its acquisition, very few Dutch customers knew of the firm’s products. This arises from the fact that Laboratories Garnier had not established a strong brand image in Netherlands. The low brand image in the market limits the probability of the two products succeeding. In its decision to expand its operations within Netherlands, L’Oreal Group management team should conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the two products in order to determine the probability of success. The management team should undertake this by only introducing products with identifiable differential advantage in the market. L’Oreal Group management team is faced with a challenge on how to ensure that the product penetrate the market. Key issue The key issue facing the firm is lack of awareness of Garnier’s products through which the firm intends to introduce its products. In addition, the two products are facing stiff competition from other established competitors. The firm is faced with a challenge of attracting customers to purchase the new product. This arises from the fact that customers in the Dutch market feel attached to their traditional brands which makes them reluctant to try new beauty products. Competitors in the Dutch skin care market have a well established customer loyalty. The loyalty resulted from the effective distribution strategy adopted. Personalized service is one of the ways through which firms in the beauty industry can create customer loyalty. In addition, some of the players in the industry are multinational and regional companies which are widely recognized in the market. In comparison to these firms, L’Oreal Group has a relatively low competitive advantage. According to Jones (2010, 359), the beauty industry is very competitive as a result of the high rate of innovation resulting from increased research and development. Lack of an effective market penetration and promotion strategy poses a threat in the introduction of the two products. Evaluation If the firm does not formulate an effective market penetration strategy for its products, there is a high probability that the firm will perform poorly in terms of sales. The resultant effect is that its long term survival will be threatened. The Dutch market is feasible for the firm to introduce its products. One of the key factors which are enhancing the market feasibility is the demographic characteristics of the population. Aging is one of the factors which have contributed to an increment in the rate of consumption for anti-aging products (Patzer 2006, 47). A significant proporti