Managing Price Pressure By Means Of Price Reduction

Rivalry: The rivalry in the retail industry is medium/high. Even though there are may retail companies in Australia with similar product offerings, only few belong to David Jones strategic group. On the other hand, the high fixed cost and industry overcapacity will eventually lead to the exit of the weakest market players.

More recently, the recession impelled many bricks-and-mortar retailers towards a damaging focus on discounting that eroded not only many stores’ price positioning but also any point of differentiation or exclusivity.

In this article Michael Baker discusses the livelihood of small retailers in a market subjugated by the financially dominant oligopolies, Woolworths and Coles. While the small independent retailers in direct competition with Woolworths and Coles provide some competitive respite for consumers, as they encourage competitive pricing, albeit predatory pricing, it is clear that Woolworths and Coles control the supermarket industry in Australia, in the formation of a duopoly. It is evident that Woolworths and Coles engage in predatory pricing in an attempt to eliminate independent retailers from the market. This article discusses recent efforts made by the Australian government and the Australian Competition

By emphasising on product quality and customer service, it differentiated itself in the Australian market as the leading branded department store with 174 years heritage (DJS Announcement, 21st March 2012). However, David Jones currently faces significant threat of the structural changes of the modern retail industry. The globalisation effect of the internet has brought in greater global price comparisons, hence more competition from high growing online retailing. This includes not only domestic and international online retail pure-plays but also bricks and clicks retailers, brands selling through aggregator websites, as well as established international retailers opening stores in Australia. This threat is detrimental to David Jones as its weakness is its failure to keep up with technology and invest in its online store chain. In addition, David Jones is facing high and increasing funding costs. Nevertheless, there is still an opportunity for David Jones to be present in the new technologies distribution markets and appeal to online customers.

Shopping has become a daily activity which happens a billion times in America and around the world. We cannot imagine how our lives would be affected if shopping was suddenly stopped. Malcolm Gladwell and Anne Norton both write articles about two sides of modern day shopping: how consumers have impacted the retail industry and how the industry influences consumers. In the article " The Science of Shopping," Malcolm Gladwell, a well-known writer and journalist, analyzes the shopping behaviors of customers and how retailers can lure customers; while Anne Norton, a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, in

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

“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.”

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.

First, there are good numbers in the higher income categories in Australia. Second, there are an increasing high income earners and middle class which present a great market opportunity. Third, the Australia’s brand conscious society is well suited to the department store concept. Also, advanced computer-based technology and stable political environment contribute to a favourable business climate. The only drawback is economic uncertainty which hinders firms future strategic direction.

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 strategy for setting a product’s price often has to be changed when the product is part of a product mix. In this case, the firm looks for a set of prices that maximizes its profits on the total product mix. Pricing is difficult because the various products have related demand and costs and face different degrees of competition.

The bargaining power of customers is high. First of all, the customer size is tremendous globally, which also has an accelerating growth rate in recent years. Customers’ leverage is strengthening as a result of this. Another inevitable factor is that with countless retailors online, there is low switching cost for customers to find other alternative companies that suits their desire to conduct purchases. Moreover, consumers today are more sophisticated. Consumers are less commit to impulsive-buying, yet are more willing to study about product features and evaluate their options before purchasing online. Their purchase pattern can also be hard to learn too.

Companies in the retail industry operate in a high price elasticity environment as there is not much product differentiation to leverage. Buyers face almost no switching cost if they chose a substitute offering better value. On the contrary, large and diverse population making small purchases works in favor of the industry. No one individual or a small group has the power to significantly impact the industry, but overall buyers enjoy have a high bargaining power in the industry.

Keeping these realities in mind, it is very much obvious that for this market, we choose and follow a value based pricing and do not keep the price of the product too high. It is advisable rather to follow an average pricing and let the consumers build some enthusiasm around the product.

Consumers today are increasingly demanding and expecting to be able to browse, buy and return goods through various channels and not just the traditional in-store way. Further the growth of the middle class means consumers have more discretionary income. To