INTRODUCTION:
Second part of this report will evaluate arguments and present conclusions about the UK supermarket sector being described as oligopolistic and how oligopolistic markets often suffer from collusion. This report will present findings if UK supermarket sector is oligopolistic or otherwise.
2.0 FINDINGS:
Market structures:
Market structures are classified with regards to the competition – either their presence or absence. There are different types of market structures: perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly. The characteristics of the product or service and the number of suppliers determine the market structure. This report will mainly focus on oligopoly market structure.
What is perfect competition?
In perfect competition market structure there are no barriers to entry into or exit out of the industry and companies produce identical units of output that are not branded. By looking at these two key features, it can be determined that UK supermarkets are not operating in that market structure.
What is monopolistic competition?
Many small companies operate in monopolistic competition market structure, including independently owned and operated high-street stores and restaurants. In the case of
These are the firms that differentiate their product or services, making them unique but in the end are all competing for the same customers, for example hairdressers or restaurants.
What is monopoly?
A monopoly is a type of market
Therefore it may give a more accurate picture in saying that the market structure in Tesco 's case
Product offerings by these contenders are similar as Tesco’s to a huge degree. This procedure helps Tesco to ensure its commercial center by expanding competition. A large portion of the contenders of the Tesco have an equivalent or a bigger market share in the store business. By industry investigators, Tesco PLC has a twenty nine per cent of shares the grocery store industry.
In the United States, the food retail industry is absolutely massive. According to Statista, this industry brings in nearly 5.27 trillion dollars annually and 594.4 billion of that is from grocery store sales. In this market, the 20-ton gorilla in the room is Walmart, racking in nearly 20% of the entire market at around 118 billion dollars in 2013 according to the Harvard Business School case study. Following Walmart, Kroger and Costco own the biggest next largest slices bringing in 76 billion and 71 billion respectively. In this highly competitive market that has some of the smallest margins of any industry it can be tough to get ahead and even tougher to grow. However, Trader Joe’s has managed to pierce what was once a very small world
Trader Joe's faces several threats to its business, as competitors try to invade the company’s niche and attempt to imitate the company’s core strategies. The supermarket industry itself faces a major threat, as larger chains such as grocery retailers Wal-Mart and Tesco have begun to open small-format stores that mimic the Trader Joe's approach. This invasion results in additional cost pressure for incumbents like Trader Joe’s, which had to let go employees in order to become more cost competitive.
Businesses are not only faced with competition within the industry they operate in. They also face competition from businesses in other industries.
The UK supermarket industry is a very competitive and profitable industry. It is made up of four main players with significant share of the market, and then various smaller companies who focus on smaller niches in the market such as the bottom of the market discounters and the top of the line speciality stores. It is an interesting market and this report evaluates the attractiveness of the industry using Porter’s five forces model with an insight into how market nicher Waitrose sustains a competitive advantage. Next this report looks at how major player Sainsbury’s successfully competes against its rivals using differentiation strategies, and analyses current consumer trends and problems can effect this industry.
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
Markets differ in a variety of ways including the degree of concentration and competitiveness, a fact which is reflected in the concept of ‘market structure’. Economists’ models link the structural characteristics of a market to the behaviour of firms in that market and subsequently to their performance. A key question therefore is how far a firm’s strategic decisions are shaped by the structure of the market in which it operates.
Whole Foods Market is a superstore chain in Austin Texas that deals in natural and organic food products exclusively. The organization ranks among the most socially responsible organizations in the world, and the fourth placed in the US Environmental Protection Agency list. The trading organization exists within a market crowded with competitors from its area of operations, and those who offer contrary products to what it proposes. Therefore, answer to the question of how it manages to survive within such a competitive environment is only understandable if we evaluate the different types of market structures. The markets have different characteristics, which determine the strategies applied by the various organizations in the continuum (Etro, 2009).
The organization and characteristics of a specific market where a company operates is referred to as market structure. While markets can basically be classified by their degree of competitiveness and pricing, there are four types of markets i.e. perfect competition, monopolistic competition, monopoly, and oligopoly. In perfect competition markets, many firms are price takers whereas monopolistic competition markets are characterized by the ability of some firms to have market power. In contrast, oligopoly markets are those in which few firms can be price makers while monopoly market is where one firm can be a price maker.
The competition to a chain retail grocery store, such as Kroger, is not limited to other
The Australian Supermarket Industry is the very hot topic that’s why very interesting topic now days. The Australian supermarket and grocery stores have a very severe competition in Australia mainly because of organizations competing in this mature industry are going towards cost reduction initiatives with competing advantage rather than product differentiation strategies, In other words business in this industry increase market share by charging lower prices while making reasonably fair profit. The growing popularity of ALDI – German based company of introducing its own label goods (products manufactured and sold under the retailers own brand) with low cost has forced the two giants –Woolworths and Coles to cut price
The UK supermarket industry resembles an oligopolistic industry, with several characteristics. Oligopolistic markets tend to be characterised by high concentration ratios, barriers to entry and…Since the turn of the century, the industry has been scrutinised by both the Office of Fair Trading and has been referred to the Competition Commission on two occasions. (Seely, 2012)
Market structure is when an industry has a number of firms making identical products. An industry’s market structure depends on the how many firms are in that in industry and how they will compete in the market.
The supermarket wars has been increasingly frustrating for consumers as sometimes consumers tend not to know where to get the best deals, as they all advertise the same price and brands, in the UK companies such as Tesco and Asda advertise and sell the same products but also claim to low on prices for the customer satisfaction, but in fact they charge more when it comes to their own brands, looking in the telecommunication sector is clear that with the privatization of the telecommunications industry, the mobile phone industry experiences transformations that enhance the dynamics of competition.