Marks and Spencer Strategy Evaluation

When it comes to pricing we always strived to provide one of the lowest prices in the market. We decreased product prices by $0.50 on each product each year to appeal to consumers. Since providing a low cost product was one of our strategic goals we did not stray from decreasing prices. Looking back, perhaps we shouldn’t have been so loyal to our strategy when we were unable to turn a profit. While a strategy is important to stick to, being a profitable company is the ultimate goal.

They produce low quality and high price products. It shows to us fashion isnot always good

Woolworths Limited is a retail company made up of a range of businesses that provide customers with quality, range and value. This report focuses on two parts, Woolworths Ltd Strategic analysis and strategic review in order to provide advise to the Board and Senior Management of Woolworths to obtain a higher achievement in 2012. In the first part, the report demonstrates analyzing the business environment by SWOT analysis, key capabilities, major stakeholder interests and identification of generic business level strategy of supermarket unit. Then the second part provides analysis on two strategies from internal and external environment and the Corporate Balanced Scorecard analysis contributing better implement their

DSH employed a rapid growth strategy by opening new stores at a time when the retail industry is in decline and retailers are focusing on capturing the online market. Poor online strategy led to a bad reputation as customers left numerous negative feedbacks and complaints on their eBay store.

The Great Brand Controversy is written very one-sided; however, Lewis does have a good point. A “brand” name does not constitute the perfect product. Ingredients, quality of workmanship, and cost are what a consumer is looking for. While the brand name item may offer all of these, consumers need to be aware of their own needs and use resources available to them in order to make good decisions. For example, you don’t have to go to Dorothy Lane Market to get the best foods. The no-name

In the food and beverage industry, this equates has a competitive advantage because it is easier to maintain an already established brand than to create a new one. This allows General

One of the industries main weaknesses is the fact that they have a low industry ratio. Furthermore, one of their issues in past years was being geographically impotent in their retail locations, but as mentioned before, this issue is declining due to the fact that more locations are being opened worldwide.

Sainsbury’s plc has been operating in the UK market since 1869. Annual report’09 suggests that the company is currently serving 18 million customers each week with strength of 150,000 staff. It floated itself in 1973 under London Stock Exchange in 1973 as the biggest floatation at the time.

The reason companies start to co-operate is due to technological and psychological changes of the business environment. There are two reasons why this occurs (Uggla, 2000): First, technology and new distribution patterns open up new possibilities for cooperation where brand extension and brand alliances become more interesting from a strategic point of view. Second, consumers look for risk reduction, and brand extension and brand alliances might be the right strategies to reduce consumer risk. Strategies to meet the demands of a changing world are co-branding and ingredient branding.

Major restructuring and changes in its top management corporate retrenchment; significant corporate changes that led to unloading the company’s financial services and oil and gas divisions. The company’s performance turned into losses.

| Weaknesses * Brand perceived by consumers as being behind competitors in product trends * Brand perceived by retailers as not innovative and less profitable – reduced shelf space

For brands to remain in today’s market place, they need to offer a more competitive added value in their products to cope with this shift of power from the brand to the consumer. (Toffler, 1980)

Brands play an important role in our lives. Brand-based differentiation and branding are very powerful means for sustaining and creating competitive advantage. We, the consumers, form relationships with the brands just like we form relationships with our loved ones around us. The relationships formed between brands and consumers mirror the consumer's social relationships. The brands start behaving like socialized members and they have to act according to the rules of the respective society. The marketing and distribution strategies of the brands greatly support the development of the bond between brands and consumers. This essay is supports the idea of Susan Fournier (1998) that consumers have relationships with brands.

➢ Product differentiation - Products that are relatively the same will compete based on price. Brand identification can reduce rivalry.

There exists a highly competitive marketing environment; however, Benetton strategically shapes the entire marketing mix, to remain on top of their game, in relation to the business and marketing environment. By definition, the marketing mix is a commercial tool applied in marketing. It is crucial when shaping a brand 's offer or product, and often linked with product, price, place and promotion (Bowman & Gatignon, 2010). The firm’s core business is clothing line, with a robust brand name such as: ‘Sisley’, ‘United Colours of Benetton,’ ‘Undercolours of Benetton,’ and also ‘Play life’. Their products entail menswear, women’s wear, underwear and children’s wear.