Thesis, Graduate (Master in Management)--University of Philippines Mindanao, December 2012.

Confidential.

Gensan LCL Trading is a flour distributor and is a family-owned company based in General Santos City and in Davao City. It is the executive distributor of General Milling Corporation. The growing demand for breads and pastries coupled with the mushroom growth of bakeshops all over Mindanao have increased the demand for flour. The opportunity for growth is also coupled with threats of competition within the country and from outside. Unlike other companies which are loaded with weaknesses, Gensan LCL Trading is well managed and maintained by its owners. Thus, major economic downturns were survived in the past. In the present global situation, even the largest and most stable companies suffer unprecedented losses in many industries. Thus, Gensan LCL Trading must also learn from the mistakes of other companies and move to create new strategies for growth in the same industry. In the analysis of the internal and external environment, the company was found to respond well to the forces that affects the profitability and even sustainability. Results also of the QSPM Model showed that the best growth strategy is Joint Venture. Joint Venture Strategy involves 2 or more companies lacking the necessary component for success in a particular environment. This strategy is expressed in various ways such as infrastructure development to facilitate entry to market with particular form of joint ownership. In the case of Gensan LCL Trading, forging joint ownership particularly in Mindanao Market is most attractive. The company may opt to create joint venture agreements with the flour supplier and the immediate institutional user of flour for breads. The partnership of two companies to create a vertically-integrated project is lucrative. For the coming years, the paper outlines the strategies and organizational changes needed to establish and operate the Joint Venture strategy.