What are the key strategic issues underpinning buying decisions, what is a product mix, the importance of it and the advantages and disadvantages of one for the large retailer Marks and Spencer plc and its competitors
There are four main strategic issues behind buying decisions for a business; the first is “who are our target customers?”, for Marks and Spencer plc, their products and services are based around home, food, as well as women’s, men’s and children’s wear. They appear to mainly attract middle aged customers. Attracting particular age groups can have advantages and disadvantages; this can be a benefit as it creates an opportunity to reduce investment costs by spending more money on products/services aimed at middle aged customers and reducing expenditure on other customer groups. On the other hand, this can be a disadvantage for them as it leads to a gap in their potential market; as they are not targeting a wide enough market they are not meeting all customer demands therefore losing customers. They only sell products under the Marks and Spencer brand; this can be a disadvantage as it decreases customer options. “Marks and Spencer has confirmed it will start selling branded goods at its stores across the UK” (BBC News, 2009, p.1). This may increase their customer base and create a more appealing image of the company to new customers.
“Which of their needs can we satisfy?” Marks and Spencer plc fulfil consumer needs in a variety of ways, “Marks and Spencer have led the way in establishing a more efficient approach to the total logistics problem of getting merchandise to the customer at the lowest cost, through employing specialist logistics concerns to contribute to efficiency” (Baily et al, 2005, p. 324). They ens...
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The most important stage of the value chain is inbound logistics, because they have the chance to build value in advance. Thus, the factors of this phase are considered to be upward action. In this case, logistics task including the goods received from suppliers cargo storage, loading and unloading and the inside of the transport of goods, and lay the product on the shelf. Tesco is trying to retain consumer choice, at the levels of the store, at the same time increase the efficiency of its distribution system. For damaged goods and products quality control program of the application, it provides less unfairly assume cost, company a great opportunity, therefore, to prevent these costs on to consumers by to potentially add value for the company.
However a continuous rise in globalisation could be presented as a challenge for Sainsbury’s. One of the biggest economic factors is the rising costs of fuel which will impact right through the supply chain of Sainsbury’s leading to increase of its products. Social factors to consider due to increase in trend in healthy foods, so for Sainsbury’s to keep up with trends, it would be something to consider. The use of technology for great retailers such as Sainsbury’s is an important factor, persistent upgrading of technologies such as self-checkouts, computerised stock control etc., means less room for human errors. Concerning environmental, reducing carbon footprint is emphasised to big companies. “Companies like Sainsbury’s can contribute a lot of impact on the environment. To do this Sainsbury’s would have to put in more towards the green issue” (UK Essay 2014) Legally, Sainsbury’s would have to make sure to follow policies concerning label and packaging which could be an added financial load to Sainsbury’s. Sainsbury’s should act on its threats, to achieve its goals and
Firstly, one of the most important focuses would be given to the target customer as we will need to know more about their taste and preferences. What it is they need and or want. Particular topics covering this area will be, the need for ‘Market segmentation’, identifying a competitive position in the market about to enter in the market and studying consumer behaviour, will all be discussed.
Marks & Spencer is one of the UK's foremost retailers of clothing, foods, homeware and financial services, boasting a weekly customer base of 10 million in over 300 UK stores. Marks & Spencer operate in 30 countries worldwide, and has a group turnover in excess of £8 billion. It has specific values, missions and visions. It’s main vision is ‘to be the standard against which all others are measured’, it’s main mission is ‘to make aspirational quality accessible to all’, and it’s main values are quality, service, innovation and trust. (www.marksandspencer.co.uk).
According to the annual report of Mark& Spencer, they has been set up 776 stores in the Uk and aim to keep selling high quality ,great value food and staying ahead in womenswear, lingerie and menswear. Moreover, M&S has attributed the high level of trust on the high street, and has also concentrated on ensuring their corporate governance is meaningful, relevant and underpin their decision-marking with high quality in all areas of strategy, performance, responsibility and accountability. Their collective and individual performance review is constructed by honest and constructive feedback to make the border play the biggest role in the boardrom. The goverance framework is also published on their website. Therefore, M&S's shareholders and stakeholders can easily find what standards the board of M&S set for themself.
Bibliography: Lawson, A. (2013). Analysis: Is Asda’s five-year strategy the right one?. [Online] Retail-week.com. Available at: http://www.retail-week.com/sectors/food/analysis-is-asdas-five-year-strategy-the-right-one/5054989.article [Accessed 23 Jan.
After the mistake that Tesco did, they begin to loose their market share so, the competitors were trying to gain what Tesco was loosing, and they did. For example, Lidl had increased 10 percent in their sales, which is a big threat for Tesco because other companies are taking Tesco’s place in the market. In United States and Australia there are some stores that it sell very cheap products without looking at their quality. This was very tough for Tesco to handle because they cannot compete with this amount of discounts. In the same time, Tesco are trying to return to its position as before but, their competitors are using Tesco’s falling into their benefit by expanding more and making offers so they can get higher market share. For example Sainsbury, Asda, and Morrisons are investing more while expanding as well to take Tesco’s position and prevent Tesco from coming back as they were
This part of the report will highlight the problems within the external environment that affect Marks and Spencer. Before planning and decision making can take place an organisation must be aware of these issues. The key factors that impact upon all organisations are Political, Economic, Social and Technological. These factors are commonly referred to as PEST factors. Political changes like change of government could affect the minimum wage that M&S workers are paid. Economic factors such as inflation could affect the pricing of garments. The Social factors that would need to be taken into account are lifestyle changes and demographics, M&S would need to consider where their target market stood. Technological advances could also affect M&S sales just recently their website has been updated from a corporate site to a new website offering online buying. Globalisation is a huge environmental factor affecting M&S. Globalisation is the increase in cross-border economic, social and technological exchange. For organisations it increases competition and the search for cost advantages.
Coyle, J., Langley, C., Gibson, B., Novack, R. and Bardi, E. (2008).Supply Chain Management: A Logistics Perspective. 8th ed. Cengage Learning, p.366.
The United Parcel Service has taken steps to restructure itself from an operations-oriented company into a market driven industry. Recent findings suggested the need to achieve better external customer satisfaction. The steps taken were to improve the overall of all customers that utilize the services at UPS. Other key areas that need improvement are volume logistics and customer logistics. The main priority at UPS is to deliver the package on time. They provide a much-anticipated alternative to the monopoly of the United States Postal Service. This competitor has been unreliable on multiple occasions. The average customer is feed up with the inconsistencies of the United States Postal Service. Unlike this company, the United Parcel Service helped define the word efficiency. Even from the earliest days, when Jim Casey and Claude Ryan, two Seattle teens, gave life to the now world-known UPS delivery company. ”Management is the...
Customer service is usually only considered between retailers and end users; however, customer service is the “fuel that drives the logistics supply chain engine” (Coyle 92). It’s important for logistics companies to look at customer service from all aspects, since it is one way that companies can have a distinctive competitive advantage over competitors.
The food and staples retailing is an increasingly competitive industry. The market giants (competitors) are Coles (owned by Wesfarmers) which has 741 stores across Australia and plans to add 70 m...
Business strategy is the means by which firm’s plans to achieve its goals and objectives. It can also be termed as organization long-term planning. The strategy covers periods between 3-5 years and sometimes longer. Businesses use two major types of strategy, general or generic and competitive strategies. The overall strategy involves strategies of growth, globalization and retrenchment. The competitive advantage includes low pricing, product and customer differentiation. We will look at the business strategy used by Marks and Spenser (Cole, 1997). The company is a British multinational located at Westminster London and specializes in clothes and luxurious food products.
The advancements in the technological world have allowed supermarket chains and other national stores to quickly dominate the market and are driving out the concept of the ‘local stores’. This surge in the market has seen shares rise and profits bulge with the three main contenders in mind being Sainsburys, Safeways and Tescos who now serve the whole of the UK between them and are the household names of the shopping world. The ICT input to these businesses is vital in that it provides speedy service; controls stock levels and will even allow bank balance transfers to be carried out with minimal difficulty or technical experience.
In logistics, the focus is on customer. When planning for the logistics function, firms consider the needs of the customer first. The customer’s goals become the logistics provider’s goals.