preview

Challenges Faced By The Stores Face A Number Of Challenges

Better Essays

Challenges
Despite Agora’s overall operational success, the stores face a number of challenges. Mr. Rahim and other senior executives have identified the following major challenges:
Supplier Management: Although initial efforts were geared toward an alignment of philosophies with suppliers, this has been difficult to achieve. Suppliers are known to be short-sighted and have been historically accustomed to a different manner of doing business, and it is taking time to adjust their objectives and operations to meet Agora’s vision. Specific challenges regarding suppliers include inconsistent supplies that result in frequent stock outs, ineffective quality control mechanisms that cause increased monitoring costs to ensure high quality …show more content…

The attempts to differentiate Agora from its competitors seem to be causing some of the confusing results. Successful communication regarding Agora’s superior service seems to be reinforcing consumer associations about higher prices and limiting the number of new customers. Successfully delivering superior service, on the other hand, seems to be generating satisfaction among those customers who have chosen to shop at Agora. The challenge then is to develop strategies to attract large numbers of new customers who will continue to shop at the stores. Advertisements that feature prices for specific product seem to generate more traffic from new and occasional customers, but featuring product prices tends to undermine positioning the Agora brand along non-price dimensions. This positioning dilemma is creating uncertainty, particularly in the advertising decisions being taken to increase customer traffic volume. A related issue is the definition of competition. Agora’s strategic position is to differentiate itself from the local Kaccha bazaars on all dimensions except price. Since Agora built its first supermarket at Dhanmondi, the industry has seen several changes, including the appearance of other supermarkets offering products in environments similar to Agora’s. It is not clear whether the target market’s definition of “competition” is the same as Agora’s strategic definition of competition. There

Get Access