International marketing: reentering the chinese salmon market: a case study of Leroy Seafood ASA

The farmed salmon industry has developed and grown rapidly over the last four decades. Today, there are more actors in this industry than ever before and the competition is growing. The demand for salmon is not being met in many of the markets, especially in the Asian part of the world. This master thesis gives a general overview of the Norwegian salmon exporting industry. It takes a marketing perspective, and its main focus is the Chinese market. The high demand for salmon in the Chinese market, the growth of the middle class and the end of the political cold front between Norway and China are the reasons for this study. The thesis is written from Lerøy Seafood ASA perspective, trying to analyze and characterize the Chinese consumers regarding demography, income, geographical position, age, cultural differences and social class. The main objective of the thesis is to develop a marketing strategy for Norwegian salmon in the Chinese market, with specific resolution proposals regarding how Lerøy can re-enter the Chinese salmon market successfully.