Country Road Limited

CR worked very hard at capturing the essence of the Australian lifestyle and design clothing that reflected it. They developed the brand on providing “simple, uncluttered clothes” (Women’s Wear Daily, 1997). Since Country Road inception, marketing focus has been directed towards middle to upper socio-economic demographic, this hasn’t changed in 36 years. Country Road continuously talk to a

Country road has always been one of Australia leading premium stockists of apparel and home wares. Country Road began as a small manufacturer but expanded and diversified to become a leading wholesaler/retailer of apparel and home wares in the Australian market. The great success of this fueled the company into an expansionary strategy into the lucrative yet highly competitive US markets and also further along the way into the Asian markets. The strategy of international expansion into Asia had involved alternative strategies instead of the aggressive strategy into US. Such strategies included strategic partnerships and franchising agreements. Country Road was successful at first with its defined higher quality products and

There is potentially a huge and growing profit pool due to the growth of the middle class and high income people. This means people have more disposable income to spend on retail shopping. This growing profits pool is increasingly affected by the customer service sector as there are more high income people who prefer good shopping experience.

Helen’s is an upmarket fashion boutique store in Sydney’s east. Falling sales have been reflected by surveys that reveal consumers view the business as outdated and no longer relevant to consumers’ needs. Strong competition in the area has placed considerable pressure on pricing. The business’s target market, 50-65 year old females, no longer dominated the now younger demographic character of the area.

“That as long as we are being remembered, we remain alive.” Charles Zafan, puts it best when he explains what it really means to be remembered. So often, the only people that are actually remembered in any significant way, are those who we wish were still with us. There are very few people that were famous for one reason or another, and are not still alive today. While most of these historical figures are beyond the date upon which their physical bodies gave up, they live on through the memory in which we create them in and capture for all of time. No doubt, there is a part of human nature that feels the need to memorialize those who have fallen victims to the deadly hand game with death. By simply travelling to our nation’s capital, one can

If focusing on the retail industry it involved, such as Coles supermarket, the main competition comes from its countpart, Woolworth. Coles and Safeway are the two main retailors in Australia as analysed by Inside Retailing organisation in Australia. Australia’s retail industry has developed to become a leading industry in the national market as well as in the world market. As this article indicates, all entities in the retail industry confront pierce competition. Also cited in the article, a 1966 issue of trade magazine Inside the Food Industry observed that: Woolworths and Coles are now nearing 10% of total Australian retail sales. They are opening more stores than anyone else. Up until now, this figure can be much bigger than 10 percent; and the competition between retailers is increasingly intense.

The industry does not possess major threat from new entrants due to strong barriers to entry and strong competition for retail space. There is also a strong rivalry between competitors as limited space is being contested by major players alongside

For this capability, strong financial support and effective saving processes as fundamental resources enable Woolworths Ltd to provide products at relatively lower prices. The effective saving processes include the global sourcing process and direct store deliveries also play an important role to achieve competitive prices by reducing inventory costs and operating costs. Besides, the long term and good relationships with suppliers makes Woolworths get this capability to get lower cost products. Then combining the online network and existing delivery system makes customers purchase more conveniently. Last, Woolworths Ltd is also engaging in product expansion in different industries.

The current economy has hurt many retail businesses. Every month another retail giant closes its doors. Retail stores which we never would have imagined have gone bankrupt. Retail sales have declined greatly. Major cause of this declination is because many people are unemployed and cannot afford to purchase anything. Retailers are forced to discount prices to increase sales, but discounting still hurts margins. Retailers are assuming a very

Today’s customers are more aware and empowered, and have more bargaining power due to the exponential increase in competition – direct, indirect or substitute. In retailing, they want hassle-free shopping, have less time at their disposal to locate the shop and the merchandise and are reluctant to keep waiting. The modern format retail stores are doing their best to anticipate the customer’s demands and are going all out to redesign their store interiors, offer more choices in varieties and assortments, and are giving as many services as feasible.

“We are on the cusp of exciting change in retail as we enter the new era where the customer is in charge. But far from being daunted by change, I firmly believe it brings opportunity for our business, our employees, our suppliers and of course, our customers. You just have to look for that opportunity. Woolworths is leading this shopping revolution in Australia and there’s a lot more opportunity still to be realised.”

The recent recession has hurt the entire retail market and regaining profits will be a constant challenge for the entire industry. In order to remain competitive, Ann Krill states,” value and versatility have become very important. She needs an incentive to shop.” (Hymowitz, 2012) Ms. Krill goes on to say,” I think in uncertain economic times, value becomes more important...” (Hymowitz, 2012)

Country road has been well established as an Australian brand in Australia before it engaged in globalization. Having a strong foothold in the Australia fashion, it is one of the most representable and well-favoured fashion brands in Australia. With its growing success, this gave the firm the confidence to venture into the global market and had the capabilities to do so after Myer Emporium

Harvey Norman is now a public company that is listed on the stock exchange, whose principal activities primarily consist of an integrated franchising, retail and property entity. It is one of Australia’s most successful retail groups, operating more than 150 franchised department stores, which focus on selling computers, home entertainment equipment and home appliances. It offers Australian consumers an extensive product range, cutting edge technology and market leadership in most product categories. In this report, an in depth industry and company analysis will be provided in order to gain an understanding

Hand in hand with a recession goes unemployment. Due to the severity of the slowdown the telegraph.com forecasted 100,000 – 145,000 jobs were lost in 2009 within the retail industry in Britain. Using PESTLE highlights the need for retail organisations to implement increased scrutiny on employment law as the number of unfair dismissal cases being brought forward have risen. As reported in the Acas annual report 2009/2010: