For my essay the main focus will be around the growing German supermarket ALDI and the ways in which they use business tools to assist their management strategies and decision making. Therefore I have conducted a SWOT and PESTEL analysis to help support my answer. ALDI are a global business who have over 500 stores in the UK with plans to double this by 2021. They are rapidly growing due to their combination of low prices and convenience so therefore tempting shoppers away from the market leaders such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s. (http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/sep/11/aldi-extend-uk-hq-70m-pounds).
First of all the PESTEL model is a great way of highlighting potential threats to a business and therefore can help to reduce the negative impact that it has on the business. In ALDI’s case it is useful as in the economic section it highlights the current high unemployment
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It is a great business tool when regularly updated but some businesses do not invest the time for it to be very effective. There is no use looking at legislative data for example, that is 1 or 2 years old as it will almost certainly have changed significantly. In ALDI’s case for example, if they were to look at rules concerning changing agreed prices with suppliers, they may find that this used to be more lenient but is much stricter now. Therefore when planning to minimise variable costs further to keep with their low price strategy they would encounter unnecessary issues which could damage their reputation if made public. It could be seen as exploiting suppliers when really they were just trying to cut costs in a way they thought was complying with the rules. This would have a negative impact on their brand image, just like the horse meat scandal did to Tesco and take large amounts of time and money to turn around. To overcome this they should simply keep information in their PESTLE analysis up to
Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) came into being more than eight decades ago when several independent retailers decided that the power of a cooperative far outweighed the influence of any one individual retail grocer. AWG provides distributor services to independent grocers in over 30 states with nine distribution centers throughout the South and Southeast regions of the country. In addition to their wholesale foods department, AWG offers a myriad of services from new store design, construction, marketing, product placement and “world class” logistical consultation (cite 11). AWG faces many of the same logistical challenges that other similar wholesalers face to include rising fuel costs, inclement weather, stringent timelines and an ever evolving need for stringent quality. One method to exploit a business’s positive and negative attributes is through the use of a Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat analysis, or SWOT analysis (Cite 11). If used correctly, the analysis results can give insight into potential market areas of expansion and expose vulnerabilities to senior leadership so that they can be mitigated. AWG looks at its Supply Chain Management (SCM) as an integral part of its core business offering multiple services such as logistics to new co-op members. The team members of AWG are positioning themselves for sustainable success, now and in the future.
One of the benefits from having low prices is that customers tend to migrate to the store that offers the cheaper products. Low prices and happier customers will have a positive impact on ALDI’s sustainability. Competitors that offer substitute goods are a step behind ALDI’s lower prices. However, because other companies such as Wal-Mart and Target, who are large corporations that have their hand in thousands of areas around the country, also sell products that are similar to what ALDI sells, ALDI is still faced with a
Abstract: This paper will address the needs for demonstration of proficiency in information research, while understanding the workplace, competiveness and business communication. Included in this paper is the following: Abercrombie’s mission, the current strategic plan the company uses, the firms culture, organization, and SWOT analysis. This paper will also focus on an analysis of the company “Abercrombie and Fitch” and the major issue facing the company.
Understanding and tracking competitors allows IKEA to learn from their competitors’ mistakes. It is also an opportunity for them to learn about strategies that have worked for their competitor(s) and apply them to their own business. Learning from competitors also leads to the discovery of new opportunities in the market; firms often find new markets for a product or service through competitors. IKEA’s competitors include Wal-Mart, Amazon, Ashley Furniture Store, and KIKA. Wal-Mart earned impressive revenue of $485 billion in 2015. The company serves 27 countries, including the U.S and Mexico. Wal-Mart strengths include experimenting (with little or no risk), demanding lower prices from suppliers, achieving economies of scale, using resources more effectively, and earning more profits. One of Wal-Mart’s weaknesses, however, is the number of lawsuits-- related to labor-- that it continuously faces. Former employees have accused the company of mistreatment and discrimination. These accusations have hurt Wal-Mart’s reputation over the years; individuals are now thinking twice before accepting a job at Wal-Mart. Another weakness is Wal-Mart’s high employee turnover; the necessity to train employees is high and thus costly (SWOT Analysis of Walmart, 2015). Amazon, on the other hand, is a company whose main focus is e-commerce. Amazon’s strategy is
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.
Lidl is a food retailer with its roots in the 20th century, being founded in Germany and expanding to the UK in the early 1990s – with amazing growth in the 21st century, a century of change. Since being founded and also in future, revolutionary leadership and exceptionally organised management are grown though in the fundament of Lidl’s success and have encouraged one of Germany’s biggest grocery market share holders to have reached 4.6% of the market share in the UK in September 2016, with some of its competitors being the German food retailer Aldi, but also the British “Big Four” food retailers Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. According to Hett of n-tv (2016), the “German Discounters are conquering foreign countries”,
The Merrymen’s dilemma is that they must overcome their largest competitor, the Sheriff, who is growing stronger and becoming better organized. The Sheriff has gained the money and men and is beginning to cause problems for the Merrymen, looking for their weaknesses. The Merrymen have several strategy options in order to triumph over the Sheriff. There are three approaches we will focus on to find a strategy to overcome the Sheriff and his band. First, Robin and the Merrymen can find ways to improve their internal operations in order to compete. By finding internal strengths and weaknesses the Merrymen can capitalize on their strengths and improve their weaknesses. Second, the Merrymen can focus externally on market opportunities, competitive advantages, consumer expectations, competitor’s actions, and technological advances. Third, Robin could chose to mix internal and external focus and perform a SWOT analysis to find the complete standing of the Merrymen compared with their competitors.
America is a capitalist society. It should come to a surprise when we live like this daily. We work for profit. We’ll buy either for pleasure or to sell later for profit. It should come to no surprise that our food is made the same way because we are what we eat. We are capitalist that eat a capitalist meal. So we must question our politics. Is our government system to blame for accepting and encouraging monopolies?
David Frankel’s 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada features many examples of the concepts found in the realm of business management. In my paper, I will note and expound upon some of them.
Costco is one of the companies that have started from humble beginnings to become one of the most recognized institutions in the wholesale industry. Based on the Costco case, there are valuable lessons I have learned and the look of things is that Costco is here to stay. One of the insights I have gained from the Costco case is that organizations should understand their value chains and focus on their strengths to drive competitiveness. Another lesson that I have learned is that information technology can be used by organizations to improve their levels of competitiveness. Also, the Costco case study has enabled me to realize that the management of organizations should constantly evaluate the impacts of the strategies they employ because it is through such evaluations that the best practices can be adopted to improve the performances. Costco has applied these aspects in its different areas of operations, and they have advanced the organization since its inception days to present. From the strategic management practices, the organization has grown from strength to
This report will discuss about how external environment affects Harrods’s modus-operandi and the appropriate marketing strategies that they have to apply in the future.
"(Davenport, 2006) Data is compiled to enhance business practices. When samples are taken, they are used to examine research and understand how to solve problems or why situations are as they are. Furthermore, in this article, Thomas Davenport discusses analytics from a business
Managerial decisions are an important component in achieving the objectives of the organization. The success or failure of a business depend upon the decisions made by managers (Jurina, 2011). Today’s increasing complexity in the world of business brought forth greater challenges for both the firm and its managers. The rapid rate of technological and digital advance as well as greater focus product innovation and processes that influence marketing and sales techniques have contributed to the increasing complexity in the business environment.
I conducted master’s thesis, titled as ‘Category Management: The Effective Way of Managing Retail Business’, under the expert guidance of Prof. Heikki Mattila, Tampere University of Technology, Finland. In this thesis, a perfect scenario through different stages starting from zero is brought out to show how retailers and suppliers can overcome the power game and collaborate with each other. It may be mentioned in here that a well reputed digital library of Europe named as Boras Academy Digital Archive (BADA) restores my master’s thesis which is accessible to everyone through this link: http://bada.hb.se/handle/2320/6727. My research interests in the areas of fashion supply chain and sustainability persuaded me to write articles and deals with relevant business and economics. I have so far ten publications; and among them five are in international peer-reviewed
... and nutritious experience by giving people actual experience to see, feel and taste what is nutrition about (Hegler, 2010).