TABLE OF CONTENTS

HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC: 1

STRUCTURE: 1

PESTLE ANALYSIS: 1

PUTTING MEANING BEHIND THE ACRONYMS: 2

PESTLE ANALYSIS’ IMPORTANT IN THE GLOBAL MARKET: 2

EXTERNAL FACTORS FROM PESTLE ANALYSIS OF HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC: 3

POLITICIAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC: 3

ECONOMIC FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC: 3
SOCIAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC: 4
TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC: 4
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC: 5
LEGAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC: 5

REFERENCES 6
Hilton Food Group PLC:
Hilton food is a food packaging business that is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is also
included in the FTSE 250 Index. The company was originally launched in 1994 in Huntingdon to operate a
packing facility that lamb and beef central meats. Company went public in May of the year 2007 where
it was valued for a total of 105 million pounds. Company has done several acquisitions including one of
the companies called Sachill in the November of 2007. Seachile is a supplier of chilled and frozen
salmon. Hilton Food sells their products in the fourteen different countries in the Europe and has a total
of six production facilities. Hilton Food is currently in a joint venture with an Australian company called
Woolsworth group. Woolsworth is a retail business that overlooks meat storage. Hilton Food is also in
partnership of a joint venture nature with a company from Portugal called Sonae Modelo Continente
which is also a retail business that provides packaged meats.

Hilton group operates through 3 segments:

1. Western Europe: This segment of Hilton Food Group is responsible for operations in western
European countries like the UK, Ireland, Holland, Sweden and Denmark.
2. Central Europe: This segment is Poland based and it is responsible for supplying packaged food
across central Europe, that is, from Hungary to the Baltics.
3. Australia: Joint Venture with Woolsworth.

Structure:
As of 2020, Hilton Food Group employees a little below 5,000 employees and their revenue as of
2020 is 1.6 billion pounds with a market Capital of 947 million pounds with their Share price averaging at
11.6 pounds as of November 2020.

Board of Directors:

1. Robert A Watson – Executive chairman of the board – Male

2. Nigel Majewski – Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director – Male
3. Neil George – Company Secretary - Male
4. Philip John Heffer – Chief executive officer and Executive Director – Male
5. Angus Porter – Non executive director – Male.
6. Christine Cross – Non executive Director – Female
7. John Worby – Senior Non-Executive Director – Male
8. Rebecca Shelly – Non-Executive Independent director – Female
9. Julia Brown – Manager/Investor relations – Female.

PESTLE ANALYSIS:
A pestle analysis is a tool that is used to acquire a big picture, aka macro image of an industry
and its environment. PESTLE stands for Political, Economic, Social, technological, Legal and
Environmental factors. PESTLE analysis makes room for a company to gather an impression of the
factors that are likely to cause an impact on a new business or industry. Depending on the nature of the
business and the nature of the industry different factors affect and impact different aspects differently.

Putting meaning behind the acronyms:

 Political changes are news that get most attention and this news can affect the business or the
entire industry if sensitive enough news is released. For example, election results can put a pro-
government out of business and replace it with one that doesn’t rely heavily on governmental aids or
funds and helps. So, it is extremely important for such governmental firms to pay close attention to
political changes as they affect their entire future prospect. Also, companies that have extensive
contracts with the government need to be vary of these political changes as well.
Businesses should be in tune and almost synchronized with the economic changes happening in their
zones of operations. This close monitoring of the market and the economy is important so that company
can hedge themselves from any potential losses or risks and rewards themselves from analyzing ways to
beat the market. Another reason why monitoring the economy is important because many corporate
budgets are heavily affected by changes in inflation rates, interest rates, cost of labor and foreign
currency rate.

It is also very important for businesses to monitor and keep the social factors in check as they
reflect the trends in use of the product. In order to segment the market in a better way it is very
important to know the social basis upon which and amongst who’s the market is divided. This is how
companies become able to understand the demographic shifts and divides and then utilize this
information to better position their product and brand image. They also use demographic content to
specify their target market which helps them to focus sales on a smaller niche rather than plundering
money into less effective projects and markets. Technology probably plays a role bigger than any of the
other factor but this statement can vary on a scale depending on the type of industry we are talking
about.
The heavy and rapid developments in technology and electronic communication has abled many
companies and industries to move from being a zero sum game to a positive sum game which means
companies now have the ability to perform better than they have ever performed and their productivity
caps up each time something technologically innovative is rolled out in the market.

PESTLE Analysis’ important in the global Market:

PESTLE analysis majorly focuses on the outside environment, meaning this analysis would prove
most useful to people who are doing business overseas and in foreign populations. They can use this
information to determine whether or not they should expand their operations on a certain foreign soil
or not. Since the world is becoming more and more connected each day and regulatory restrictions have
been falling ever since after the 2nd world war, companies are almost always looking for newer markets
to tap into, which is where the PESTLE analysis proves to be the most useful. Companies can use PESTLE
analysis to determine whether or not a certain area, population or market does or does not hold the
potential to generate profits that are enough to sustain the operations. So, PESTLE analysis serves as an
objective metric of that potential by providing necessary data and encouraging strategic planning.

But it doesn’t work as simply as it sounds. A considerably significant amount of data and
information is required to generate a meaningful inference upon which a strategic decision or strategy is
formulated for implementation. Since PESTLE analysis is a tool that concentrates majorly on external
factors it therefore needs to be in total collaboration with other data sources like internal capacities as
well. Such intermingled scenario of data can lead to paralysis by analysis but even with that risk on the
stake it can’t be denied that PESTLE analysis is no doubt a really reliable tool to gauge the external
environment of a company. Generally, leaders and managers end up taking big decision half headedly
and make guessed decisions, data supplied by PESTLE analysis allows managers and directors to know
exactly what they need to know. Every company want to optimize their presence and market share and
profits in foreign market, to make that possible it is it important to have a properly done PESTLE analysis
which gives strangers like us a better insight into the environment in which we are about to start our
operations. Which further helps us in making better, cost effective and result efficient decisions and all
of this leads to the increased likelihood of the business being a success.

EXTERNAL FACTORS FROM PESTLE ANALYSIS OF HILTON

FOOD GROUP PLC:
POLITICIAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC:
Political factors play significant role in determining the aspects that directly or indirectly impact
Hilton Food Group PLC and its long-term profitability that too in a certain country or market. Since
Hilton Food Group PLC’s main operations relate to food and beverages, they expose themselves to a
number of political factors and political environment that can cause an impact on their organization.
And like all environments, political environment too comes with a shutter of systematic risk and Hilton
Food Group PLC will have to diversify this systematic risk of the political environment. Following are the
risks or the factors the determine different types of impacts on company and its performance.

1. Country’s political stability: Countries with frequently toppling and changing governments are
no place for smooth operations and growth of a company.
2. Importance of Food and Beverages in the Country’s Economy: It is important to know where the
public perception about food and beverages stand in order to cater to the market. Can’t supply
similar products or types of products everywhere. People in some countries don’t much care for
bottled water so it would be a total disaster to heavily influence in the bottled water for such
countries. People from such countries pay more attention to solid foods and items they can’t
produce themselves.
3. Level of Corruption (levels of regulations in the CPI) of the country: CPI is an important factor to
consider when pricing the item. And if the CPI of a country frequently changes due to corruption
it makes it harder for the companies to revise their prices as that leads into the label change
costing
4. Intellectual Property protection
5. Favored Trading partners
6. Laws that are anti-trust in nature for Food and Beverages.
7. Taxation
8. Minimum Wage of the country and overtime charge
9. Governmental regulations about food and beverages ingredients, protocols and labelling.

ECONOMIC FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC:

Economic factors like inflation, savings, interest, currency exchange rates, cycles help determine and
then aggregate the demand of the country which further helps aggregating the investment that needs to
poured in for that country. Hilton Food Group PLC is definitely impacted by the microeconomic factors
but the macroeconomic factors like the ones mentioned above heavily impact not only the company but
also helps determine the industry dynamics in a certain market. Following are some macro-economic
factors that impact Hilton Food group PLC:
 1. The type of economic system, is it socialistic, capitalistic, mixed or communistic economy in the
country where we wish to expand.
2. How much does the Government intervene to regulate the market?
3. Currency exchange rates of the host country is extremely important to cater for.
4. How well educated are their financial markets.
5. Food and Beverage industry infrastructure.
6. Workforce skill level.
7. Education level of the economy
8. Economic Business Cycle Stage
9. GDP change rate
10. INFLATION rate.
11. Interest rate.

SOCIAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC:

A company’s culture is majorly determined by the geographical and social aspects of the country the
company is operating in. Shared beliefs and attitudes of the population play an important role how
marketers currently working at Hilton Food Group PLC will understand that business environment and
consequently results in understanding how they design the product for that social environment. Social
factors that should be considered by Hilton Food Group PLC should be considering for PESTLE analysis
are the following:

1. General Demographics
2. Skill level of the population.
3. Education Level of Population.
4. The society class structure. How hierarchy is built in that society.
5. Cultural values.
6. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.
7. Public Leisure activities.

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC:

Technology is perhaps the fastest thing in the human history to have disrupted so many industries
so quickly. Technological changes and advancements spare no one not even the biggest and established
players of the industry. Taxi Industry is now ruled by UBER or LYFT in the US. Self-driving cars are
overtaking on the highways now. Firms should not only perform technological analysis on the industry
but also should built analysis on the speed at which the industries are being disrupted by technological
innovations which is important for the product life cycle of different products in different industries.
Following are the technological factors that should be considered for the PESTLE analysis of Hilton Food
Group PLC:

1. Technological developments made by Hilton Food Group PLC’s competitors

2. How product offering can be changed and will be impacted by technological advancements
3. Cost structure and its impact on Food and Beverages industry.
4. Impact on Value chain structure in Consumer Goods sector.
5. Rate of technological diffusions.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC:
When working in different markets it is observed that each market their own unique
understanding, sensitivity and approach towards the norms and standards of the environment in which
the company is operating which is a major determinant of the speed and volume of the profit that will
be generated in that specific environment. It is the company’s responsibility to cater to the smaller
environments divided amongst the population like for example cultural values change very much when
travelling from south to north in the US and different states have different liability clauses for mishaps
and environmental changes. Similarly, a lot of European companies gives companies significant tax
breaks if they operate in renewable energy source sector.

Before entering a newer market or targeting a new population it is extremely crucial to determine the
environmental factors of that place in order to be well versed with the small litigation changes that can
affect our profit making. Following are some factors that should be considered by the firm:

1. Weather
2. Change in climate.
3. Environment pollution laws.
4. regulations regarding air and water pollution in the food and beverages industry
5. Recycling efforts
6. Consumer Goods’ sector’s waste management system
7. Public perception of Green products and ecological activities.
8. Species that are endangered
9. Public perception towards renewable energy sources industry

LEGAL FACTORS THAT IMPACT HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC:

Many countries have weak copyright infringement laws and weaker intellectual property rights
law which makes room for exploitation of a any company in the sense that their products could be faked
and copied by non-branded and non-authorized entities and a cheaper quality can be sold in the name
of the same brand. It is extremely crucial to perform an analysis of the legal framework and the strength
of the law in a country before deciding to expand operations into that country. Any sort of theft, be it
physical or intellectual can put the competition up a notch.

Following are some very important legal factors the Hilton food Group PLC should consider for their
PESTLE analysis before entering a new market

1. Antitrust laws in food and beverage industry and generally in the entire country.
2. Discrimination laws.
3. Copyright laws.
4. Patenting laws.
5. IP (intellectual property) laws
6. Laws regarding employment.
7. Consumer protection
8. Data protection
9. Health and Safety laws

_____________________________________________________________________________________
REFERENCES
 Hilton Food Group plc (2020) Our Responsibility Outlook. Available at
https://www.hiltonfoodgroupplc.com/en/responsibility/

 Brighton School of Business and Management (2020) Why is PEST Analysis Important for a
business. Available at https://www.brightonsbm.com/news/pest-analysis-important-for-a-
business/

 Fern Fort University (2020) Hilton Food Group Plc PESTEL & Environment Analysis. Available at
http://fernfortuniversity.com/term-papers/pestel/nyse4/6645-hilton-food-group-
plc.php#:~:text=PESTEL%20stands%20for%20%2D%20Political%2C%20Economic,players%20in
%20the%20Food%20%26%20Beverage.

 The University of Sydney (2020) International Business: PESTLE Analysis. Available at

https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508109&p=6621287#:~:text=A%20PESTLE
%20analysis%20allows%20a,large%20and%20small%20scale%20projects.

 Market Screener (2020) HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC (HFG). Available at

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/HILTON-FOOD-GROUP-PLC-4007044/company/