Can anyone help me with a SWOT analysis of why Dover is a good location for a business to set up...?

Question

When the other options are also near ports so this can't be used as a reason. Please help, anything will be apprecitaed.

The situation is that a firm from America who makes sportswear is locating in Europe and is choosing between a site in Dover, Hamburg, Antwerp and Lille, but for this question I am only interested in Dover, it will be produced in Dover and then exported all over Europe. Need any more details, just say and I'll give you them.

Answer 1

SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

1. List Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of Dover relative to other ports.
2. List Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that Dover possesses in absolute terms, not relative to other ports.

Think about what TYPEs of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats there are, such as -

Business Facilities
Transport Links
Legal Threats
Changes in legislation and treaties by the UK Government, EU, WTO, etc
Education/skill-level of local workers
Attractiveness of the area to attract key staff
Ease of commuting to Dover by people living in France.
House-prices and trends
Demographic trends
Population shift within the UK and to/from the UK
Population growth
All types of trends.
How predictable is the future for each port/business
Terrorist threat to each port/transport link.
Risks from global-warming, such as sea-level rise, flooding, accessability of harbours, sea-conditions, etc.

Make a very long list.

In the investment book "The Buffetology Workbokbook", it explains that Warren Buffett, the world's 2nd richest man, when making investment decisions, divides businesses into 'Fortress' businesses' with high-barriers to entry by competitors (protected by patents, trade-marks, a strong brand (like Gillette razor blades), high start-up costs like Boeing or Airbus or a Drug Company) and 'Commodity Businesses', such as hair-dressers or clothes-shops, where your product or service is indistinguishable from anyone elses and almost anyone can start up a rival business selling the same product or service, driving down prices. You need to think - What type is yours? If yours is a commodity-business, how do you intend to outperform other similar businesses and defend your profits from rivals.

Dividing businesses into 'Fortress Businesses' and 'Commodity Businesses' gives you a whole new way to think of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Other ways to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats are :-

List the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of other similar or dis-similar businesses.

Look at each factor of the business and ask yourself - Is there an upper limit to how far the aspect can be expanded/grown and what are the contraints e.g land, labour, office-space, roads, etc.

One source to find a list of Threats is to read the annual reports of big American companies such as General Motors on the Investor Relations section of their websites. These list common business threats/risks that investors are entitles to know about, such as litigation, intellectual property disputes, strikes, accidents, etc. If you read the reports of several companies, you can make a list of the threats to your own business.

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Now that you've said it's an american sportswear manufacturer, some strengths of the UK are :-

English Language
Similar Legal System, especially compared with France, which uses the Napoleonic Code.
Low minimum wage
Labour Laws make it much easier to hire and fire workers.
Easier immigration means that there is no shortage of minimum-wage employees from eastern-europe and the rest of the EU.
Similar Business Culture
Similar Stockmarket System and Culture
Similar Intellectual Property Laws
Time zone: 1 more hour of time overlap with US compared with CET.
UK Suppliers, partner-companies, transport companies, etc, also speak English, operate under UK law and have all the above advantages.

Weaknesses of the UK :-

Other countries give more grants, regional aid and tax-breaks
Shorter/cheaper transport links
Threat of disruption to transport links, such as the channel-tunnel

Answer 2

sorry mate but Lille looks the best geographically speaking! Dover will cost them a lot to move products across the channel!

Answer 3

It is a destination which recieves quite alot of visitors in its own right due to the natural attractions it has, and has enough amenities to cater for tourism, including business tourism for conferences etc, in turn this will bring more exposure for the business to a wide range of potential clients.
All i could think.xx

Answer 4

S great location, close to ferry, regular tourists arriving, large town

W **** place, no good nightlife, some cheap properties

O Ability to expand with cheaper rents for warehouses

T you might hate the place, not enough trade, too much competition

Answer 5

all depends on what sort of business you want ......export or import would be ok