Loblaw’s Strategy and Performance Loblaw’s strategy consisted of two objectives, the first objective is driving down costs through size and operational efficiencies, and the second objective is by differentiating its products by having its own private label ( No Name/Presidents Choice) and its stores by expanding their banner into multi-format approaches( No Frills/ ValuMart). Loblaw used size and scale to achieve cost leadership. Their strategy consisted of the following elements, invest In the future by using generated cash flow, own real estate for future business opportunities, maximize market share, enhance price competitiveness through a control label program and constantly strive to improve the value proposition. Overall, Loblaw’s …show more content…
That being said, companies who offer shopper loyalty programs will be able to retain their customers, which will ultimately lead to a lower threat. The products being sold to consumers are standard and not differentiated this will cause a higher threat. Threat of Substitutes (Low-Moderate) The threat of substitutes is low-moderate because seventy percent of Canadian meals are consumed at home, in which this requires consumers to purchase their groceries from surrounding grocery stores. The substitutes to groceries are fast-food restaurants or growing your own vegetables and fruits at home. Threat of Rivalry (High) The threat of rivalry is high because there are several firms in the industry such as Safeway, Sobeys, Atlantic and Pacific, Metro, convenience stores, and online grocery shopping. Moreover, with the addition of Wal-Mart in the mix this increases the threat among the rivalry which will cause an intense price rivalry. This is also caused by firms unable to different their products in the industry, in this case they are forced to compete on the basis of price which will result in price competition. VRIO Analysis Valuable Rare Costly to Imitate Organization Sustained Competitive
They anticipate competition between supermarket chains will be fierce this year as food prices continue to stay low. The Canadian grocers have been grappling with declining food prices, especially for meat, and Loblaw’s said “The notion of a shift into a steady inflationary environment is going to be offset by what we see as a continued level of competitive intensity”
As soon as a competitor changes their plans or a new competition comes along customers may not want to change their mind about going to a different location (Belonwu). Having a “rivalry” may help concentrate on what needs to be improved in a business depending on what their weaknesses and strengths are. Having competition may be wonderful for the consumers because they have different choices to select what kind of brand of clothing, shoes, or a variety of tools, food and etc. Being able to choose a certain type of customer, may bring in a flow of customers that they’re are trying to reach out for; such as Walmart, they chose to sell products that are family oriented while having different areas in the store pertaining to men’s, women’s, and children’s necessities. If a customer is loyal and you all of a sudden are raising prices on items where they can get goods at a lower price elsewhere, that is causing a business to be disloyal due to competition.
The literature reviewed to produce this report consisted of different online trusted sources, and official data from Loblaw Canada Limited website. Tangible and intangible assets have been taken into consideration, as well as the company’s stated goals, vision, mission and an overall structural review of the company. In order to properly conduct the analysis of Loblaw Canada Ltd., some well recognized tools were used, such as Porter’s Five Forces, SWOT analysis and PEST. Online journals, additional publications, and Loblaw’s annual reports were consulted throughout the report producing
America 's grocery industry is a big business. It is so big in fact, that a few major corporations dominate it. For example Walmart 's grocery business in the US accounts for approximately 56% of the company 's sales. This is the equivalent of $188B per year. It 's nearest competitor, Kroger 's total sales volume for 2014 was less than one third that of Walmart. (Soni, par. 1) Another
The main rivals among the merchandising companies are Wal-Mart, Kohls, Family Dollar and Target among many more. Wal-Mart and Target are their main rivals, this is because Wal-Mart is known for their niche as having the lowest prices and Target is known for their fashions and home furnishings both of these items Kmart tries to compete against. Also buyers see Kmart as a discount store which doesn¡¦t stand when other competitors have lower prices. Kmart¡¦s customer service and available products are two other items that Kmart fails to be a strong competitor in against these rivals. Therefore, the rivalry among the merchandising stores is a strong competitive force in this market. Another external force that affects the market is substitutes.
“The Miles and Snow’s typology is based on the idea that managers seek to formulate strategies that will be congruent with the external environment” (64). There are four types of strategies that can be established under this typology that is, the prospector, the defender, the analyzer and the reactor. While prospector is innovative and risky, the defender is conservative and concerned with stability. I have mentioned above that HBC is now able to compete with premium brands retailer due to an acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue, and yet they are not utilizing low-cost leadership as their main competitive strategy. Nonetheless, Daft and Armstrong showcases a perfect example of the defender positioning using HBC’s case. “HBC has carefully monitored its margins and spending, maintained its discount brand (Zellers) in order to successfully compete with Walmart, and survived as one of Canada’s only two national department store” (65). Then they further describe how HBC refurbish its brand, “HBC hired Bonnie Brooks in 2008 to revamp its brand”, “She dropped many underperforming product lines and brought in trendy product lines such as Coach and Top Shop” (65). This explanation also supports my
In the warehouse segment, Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club competes harshly with Costco. Costco has fewer warehouses but greater sales and revenues. Costco customers also shop at Costco more frequently than Sam’s Club customers and, on average, spend more each visit as well. Costco’s dominance may be the result of better innovation. Costco offers luxury items and was the first to sell fresh meat and produce, and gasoline. This is important because innovation is a key factor in assessing competitors in an industry.
For Oliver’s Market among the five Competitive forces, pressures associated with the threat of new entrants into the market are the strongest one. Because Wal-Mart and Target had announced plans to develop regional supercenters in the Sonoma county region. They are strong candidates for entering the market, because they possess the res...
The framework that will compare Publix Super Markets and its competitors is the Five Forces Model of Competition. The five aspects that will be discussed are the threat of new entrants into the market, the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, threat of substitute products and rivalry among competing firms. Striving for the optimal position in each of these categories has given Publix Super Markets the reputation it has pride towards earning. It is important to every compa...
Rivalry among established firms is fierce. There are several factors that illustrate this: established market players (6.1). The product is highly standardized and the switching costs of the customers are low. Players are aggressive (6.2)
These forces include the intensity of rivalry from traditional competitors, threat of new market entrants, threat of substitute products and services, bargaining power of customers and bargaining power of suppliers (Laudon & Laudon, 2007). See diagram below for more information. Traditional Competitors (competitive rivalry). McDonalds traditional competitors include many of the other fast food outlets across the country, i.e. Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, Wendy’s. It has been shown by Professor Michael Waterson (2004) that the presence of a Burger King, for example, will increase the likelihood that McDonalds will open nearby.
Degree of Rivalry - Very High to Intense – Multiple competitors, high strategic stakes, innovation often easily imitated, and low switching costs for consumers
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various formats in the United States and Internationally. It has two segments: The Wal-Mart Stores and The Sam's Club. The Wal-Mart Stores segment includes Discount Stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States, as well as Walmart.com. It offers apparel for women, girls, men, boys, and infants. They also offer hardware, electronics, home furnishings, small appliances, automotive accessories, sporting goods, toys, pet food, cameras, health and beauty aids, pharmaceuticals, jewelry, optical department and photo processing services. The Neighborhood Markets include dry grocery, meat, produce, deli, bakery, frozen foods, pharmaceuticals, photo processing, health and beauty aids, household chemicals, general merchandise, and a pet supplies departments. The Sam's Club segment comprises the warehouse membership clubs in the United States and samsclub.com. It offers electronics, jewelry, sporting goods, toys, tires, books, grocery items, and selected private labels. As of July 31, 2005, Wal-Mart operated 1,276 Wal-Mart stores, 1,838 Supercenters, 92 Neighborhood Markets, and 556 Sam's Clubs in 50 states in the United States. The company operates various retail formats in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. It operates 261 Canadian Wal-Mart stores and Sam's Clubs, 11 units in Argentina, 150 units in Brazil, 88 units in Germany, 16 units in South Korea, 697 units in Mexico, 54 units in Puerto Rico, and 292 units in the United Kingdom, as well as 48 units in China under joint venture agreements.
An oligopolistic market has a small number of sellers dominating market share and therefore barriers to entry are high. These sellers are highly competitive and do not act independently of each other. Access to information is limited so sellers can only speculate of their competitor’s actions. Sellers will take advantage of competitor’s price changes in order to increase market share.
Examination of the eight factors of rivalry intensity shows a number of competitors with many of them producing very similar product lines.