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This draft included my work on the McGill St Laurent Case: Introduction, CREST;
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IntroductionCommodity trading firms have existed since around 4000 BCE, and have advanced
tremendously over the millennia. Commodities were naturally occurring raw materials and
fungible economic goods; commodities in the Canadian sector include lumber, electricity, grain,
minerals, cannabis, and freshwater. (Ivey Business School Foundation, 2020, pp. 5-9)
Founded in 2009, McGill St Laurent (MSL) is a Canadian commodity trading firm which
trades, sells, and distributes commodities worldwide in 30 countries across 5 continents.
Founders Phillippe Boisclair and Chris Labbé initially started the company under Canadian
Wood Products (CWP), which specialized in softwood, hardwood, specialty wood, industrial
lumber, and architectural wood products. As of 2017, MSL is operating at a total gross profit of
nearly $14.06 million (Ivey Business School Foundation, 2020, p. 17).
Our consulting group has been hired by Phillippe Boisclair, president and co-founder of
McGill St Laurent, to conduct several strategic analyses and extract necessary information
needed to implement a practical growth strategy. We plan to conduct strategic analyses such as
SWOT, CREST, Porter’s 5-Force, and Stakeholders. Through these analyses, we aim to perceive
any barriers our client faces or could potentially face, identify, and elaborate possible alternative
solutions, and highlight the best possible solution.
, CREST Analysis
Another major decision-making analysis a company conducts is the CREST analysis.
CREST is an acronym that stands for competitive, regulatory, economic, socio-cultural, and
technological environments, all of which affect a company’s performance and products. Our
consulting group has been tasked to carry out a CREST analysis on McGill St Laurent’s
performance, and sync our results with the firm’s growth strategy.
Forest City Trading Group LLC
Competitive Taiga Building Product Ltd.
Universal Forest Products
Regulatory oversight/intervention
Regulatory
Electricity sector
Capital allocation
Economic Advisory board
Linear growth in EBITDA
Exports to Europe, Middle East, & Asia
Socio-Cultural
Lebanon, China, UAE, & India
Internet/telephone services
Technological Online search markets
International trading
The analysis above presents the several environments in which McGill St Laurent
operates. MSL operates in niche markets, therefore the competitive environment presents the
firms competition in North America. As most commodity trading firms, MSL also has regulatory
oversight over its methods of conducting business. The most prominent commodity over which
regulators oversee and dictate is the electricity sector, as a means to prohibit market abuse
(KPMG AG, 2015, p, 44). MSL operates under a unique economic environment, where the
corporate strategy, including capital allocation, is set by MSL’s executive committee. The firm’s
advisory board is formed by members not involved in the commodity trading business, allowing
them to brainstorm unique ideas. MSL has had great experience in exploring the socio-cultural
environment through CWP (lumber trading), the company’s core business. CWP is one of the
biggest exporters of cedar to Lebanon, and has found potential growth opportunities in China,
UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Despite the potential of growth, the company has encountered
challenges breaking into India’s lumber market, mainly due to cultural differences and lack of
proper infrastructure (Ivey Business School Foundation, 2020, p. 11). MSL has found
tremendous success in its technological environment. Transactions have shifted telephone and
Internet over the traditional face-to-face interactions. Online search markets through the Internet
has also allowed MSL to conduct business internationally with much ease.
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