Analysis of the Retail Industry in South Africa

The grocery industry has a relatively high market commonality; a lot of grocery stores are somewhat related in terms of technologies used, labor force and the products or services offered in the stores. Differentiation with other competitors is key for survival in this highly competitive industry.

While examining the community of Valdosta, Georgia there were some common themes throughout the city. In this community there are multiple grocery stores spaced throughout the city, such as Publix, Winn-Dixie, and Walmart. Even though there are quite a few grocery stores for people to buy food to cook, on weekdays

Excess Inventory. If the Company Slashes Prices or Creates a Low-priced Brand to Get Rid of the Surplus, It Could Trigger a Price War, Cannibalize Sales of Its Other Products, and Destroy Its Premium Image." Harvard Busin

Even though most people lived more than a mile from a supermarket – and half didn’t have a car – they still traveled outside of the neighborhood to shop at supermarkets.

Larger stores also offer people the convenience of additional services along with their shopping, for example post office, pharmacy and opticians. By addressing consumer’s expectations and using their buyer power they can offer a choice of products to reflect consumer’s diverse budgetary, dietary, ethical and environmental requirements. Furthermore their global buyer power enables consumers to benefit from choosing exotic produce all year round. With 30,000,000 customers (Bevan cited in Allen, 2009) choosing to use the big four supermarkets on a weekly basis it would suggest that they provide a format that consumers want.

Inventory Management- The entire supermarket must be working closely on inventory management so the perfect amount of inventory is always on hand. As I mentioned before, too little of a product results in loss of sales and unhappy customers, but too much is a waste of resources.

Specialty grocery stores have grown in attractiveness to customers, but the main issue is that often specialty stores have restricted locations which in turn limits their reach to customers. Whole Food’s Market and Trader Joe’s are two specialty grocery stores who have increased locations to the hundreds while adhering to an unforeseen market standing for formerly untargeted market segment.

The grocery store industry is a retail business that offers food and other products to

The grocery retail industry worldwide has grown in recent years to become one of the most intensely competitive industries due to the continuous amounts of new entrants. A grocery retailer is one that sells food and other general household items. Hypermarkets, supermarkets, discounters and small grocery retailers are all under the grocery retail umbrella. Between 2003 and 2008, the grocery retailing industry accounted for 45% of store-based retail values sales over the world. The figures

Table 2: Scenario framework analyse business environment and its uncertainty variables, either for rapid change or complexity.

The industry I have chosen for my paper is the Specialty retail industry or the clothing industry which has the SIC code of 5651. This industry consists of companies that are primarily in the business of clothing and accessories for men, women and children. These companies include unisex clothing stores and jeans stores for all ages instead of stores aimed at a particular age group or sex.

Others also sell propane or butane and have added shops to their primary business. Conversely, some chain stores, such as supermarkets, discount superstores, warehouse clubs, or traditional convenience stores, have

The discount stores offer a variety of merchandise for the consumers, including items such as: electronics, hardware, jewelry and toys just to name a few. In 1988 the company opened their first supercenter. A supercenter offered all the merchandise that a discount store has, but also offered to the consumer a grocery store as well. Supercenters offer the consumer such merchandise as: bakery goods, fresh produce, deli foods and frozen foods as well. This became a very popular idea among consumers that they could go and pick up an item that is sold in the hardware department and also pick up a frozen pizza under the same roof. It eliminated the need to travel to various stores when one trip to a supercenter could provide the consumer with all the items needed.

Macy's is one of the premier retailer franchises within the United States. To begin, Macy's Inc. is one of the nation's largest and well known department store chains. Started over 150 years ago, Macy's has continually generated excellent returns for its shareholders and employees. Currently, in the midst of a global recession, Macy's has generated huge profits with same store sales increasing 5.3% year to date. In 2012 same store sales increased 4.6% in the month of February alone (Macy's Inc., 2012). In fact, throughout the duration of 2012, Macy's is projecting even larger profits for its underlying business operations. Even though Macy's has experienced success with both its assortments and brand, its competitors haven't faired so well. Sears, due in part to part to a lackluster holiday season, has been forced to close nearly 120 locations to generate excess liquidity in an effort to shore up its balance sheet (Isadora, 2011).Other competitors who cater specifically to the middle class consumer have also lost significant amounts of market share as consumers trade down due to the economy. Macy's, with its ride array of assortments and products continues to grow as it attempts to capture market share from failing competitors. Macy's is also unique as it operates in a unique market demographic. It is upscale, but not to the extent of Saks Fifth Avenue or a Nordstrom. It is also not as low scale as a JC Penny

Inditex ensures that its fashion is fast through its supply chain efforts. They have created new methods to enable store managers to order and display merchandise faster and added cargo routes for shipping goods. The company ships clothing straight from the factory to stores and makes two-thirds of its goods in Spain and nearby countries, compared to most competitors who manufacture most of their clothing in Asia. Inditex has their sales managers monitoring computers, which are reporting sales at every store around the world. When a garment does well or fails, they are able to quickly tell designers if they need to come up with new ideas. They also have generated