How does your organization compete?
Walker et al. (2010) write, “competitive strategies are based on overall patterns of purpose, practice, and performance.” After reviewing the annual report and company website, it appears that Limited Brands Inc. (LTD) does not only have one competitive strategy. Since the firm is divided into several distinct strategic business units (SBU) with differing core competencies and available resources, as well as disparate customer and competitive characteristics it employs different strategies to create value, promote growth and profitability (i.e. Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works; Walker et al., 2010).
For instance, the Victoria’s Secret SBU appears to leverage a “differentiated analyzer strategy” by “actively seeking to expand into related product markets with differentiated offerings” (Walker et al., 2010). Not only does Victoria’s Secret offer a differentiated line of lingerie, but it also has expanded its product offerings to include beauty, apparel, and accessories. These expansions are largely financed and supported by the SBU’s core business (lingerie) and its profitable, strong brand reputation.
In contrast, the Bath & Body Works SBU seems to employ a “differentiated defender strategy” (Walker et al., 2010). Its activities focus on constantly improving existing offerings by modifying products as well as processes. In addition, it also defends its market position through line extensions to help insulate and fortify the company’s position from competition.
In its annual report LTD notes “we are aggressively focusing on bringing compelling merchandise assortments, marketing and store experiences to our customers” (LTD, 2011). This implies that LTD’s overarching strategy is driv...
... middle of paper ...
...ity.
Resources:
Anderson, J.C., Narus, JA., & van Rossum, W. (2006). Customer value propositions in business markets. Harvard Business Publishing. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/
Johnson, M.W., Christensen, C.M., & Kagermann, H. (2008). Reinventing your business model. Harvard Business Publishing. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/
Limited Brands Inc. (LTD). (2011). Proxy statement and annual report. Retrieved from https://materials.proxyvote.com/Approved/532716/20110328/CMBO_86861/HTML2/default.htm
Porter, M.E. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/
Treacy, M., & Wiersema, F. (1993). Customer intimacy and other value disciplines. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/
Walker, O.C., & Mullins, J.W. (2010). Marketing strategy: a decision focused approach (7th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
After co-branding the Macy’s name with local Federated stores in 2003, the Macy’s division became the central focus for revamping. Federated descri...
Thus new products/line extensions will be based on Allround brand, each one with a unique target market, delivering different value proposition to the respective customer.
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.
Soman,D & Marand, S (2009). Managing Customer Value: One Stage at a Time.: World Scientific Publishing. p9-14.
Zott, C., Amit, R. And Massa, L. (2011) ‘The Business Model: Recent Developments and Future Research’, Journal of Management, vol.37, no.4 pp.1019-42 [Online]. Available at http://jom.sagepub.com/content/37/4/1019 [Accessed 24th November 2013]
Given the dominance and fiercely competitive nature of Wal-Mart and Target within the big box discount retail industry, Dollar General avoided competing head-to-head with these larger rivals by differentiating a classic generic bu...
Mujtaba, B., & Johnson, W. (2012). Case 5: Publix Super Markets--Achieving Customer Intimacy. Weinstein, A. Superior customer value: strategies for winning and retaining customers (3rd ed., pp. 269-286). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Shafer, S. M., Smith, H. J., & Linder, J. C. (2005). The power of business models. Business
Wiersema, M. T. a. F., 1993. Customer Intimacy and Other Value Disciplines. Harvard Business Review, p. 92.
Unilever’s Dove is part of the consumer goods company’s many brands which have historically lacked global identity amongst its many products. The lack of global identity resulted in issues such as diverse marketing standards, varied product development, and lack of brand recognition by consumers worldwide. Unilever’s solution to this problem was to group similar product lines under a few recognizable umbrella corporations. This initiative gave birth to the one of the most controversial marketing strategies in the history of business.
It is important that an organization develops a coherent promoting strategy for the launch of every individual product in its portfolio. It’s of equal importance that these methods area unit compatible and support the firm’s overall objectives.
Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L., (2009), A Framework for Marketing Management. 4th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall: USA
When the buzzword of business model was very active and reactive during the internet boom, many individuals did not understand the concept of the proper business model for the proper business (Magretta, 2002). When not utilizing the right type of model for the organization, the model will be misused and distorted (Magretta, 2002). Understanding the traditional organization and learning organization, will allow an organization to determine which time of organization they desire the most.
As the retail industry is confronted with extraordinary challenges (Deloitte LLP, 2011), firms are facing increased competition. Porters leading authority on competitive strategy is largely accountable for the increased importance to a firm’s strategy. The retail industry is becoming highly saturated as the world is becoming smaller; this point alone makes strategy a vital component to a firms success.
Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. F. (2009). Strategic marketing (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.