Strategic Analysis Uk Retail Industry

When examining competitive advantage, it is also important to consider the market and take into account the existing competition against larger firms.

1.3 Physical Resources & Capabilities The ALDI brothers took over the family business of their parents in 1946. World wide expansion led to enormous growth. This comprises around 9800 stores (1000 to 1500 SQM each). The layout is simple with wide ails designed to refill shelves in the fastest, most convenient way {Brands, D. 2003}. They offer a small assortment of mainly fast-moving items (approximately 700 food – including a slim and organic line- and non food products). Small warehouses are located at the back of each store. Affiliates are equipped with limited technology such as intelligent cash systems high-end product concerning quality and price and bottle deposit machines. ALDI won the 2008 energy management award for great results in terms of cooling systems, illumination etc. Most stores have about 100 parking space and a shopping cart area near the entrance. ALDI has a long history which implies that they have gained great experience over the years. The location and layout of stores are designed to support fast and efficient supply and not especially aimed at customer needs. This is a weakness. Stores advantageously located as there are in convenient reach for consumers. Their product range is adapted to various consumer needs (organic, healthy living). The technological equipments are of high quality enabling fast operations at the checkout (ALDI’s staff are two times faster compared with other similar operations). This is

Threat of new entrants: Retail industry has a higher barrier to entry. First, it is difficult to work out a good value chain as it involves a complex process. Second, it is difficult for new entrants to gain competitive advantage and earn above-average returns in such a highly competitive market. Besides,

Retailing building supply stores have become a popular retail industry sector due to increased public awareness and the need of many homeowners for the home improvement products. Back in the 1970s, long before warehouse stores ruled home improvement land, do-it-yourselfers shopped at “home centers.” These 30,000 square foot stores offered cheaper prices and wider selection of products, about 25,000 more than local hardware stores and eliminated the extra trip to the lumberyard. The dependence of many of these retailers upon the homebuilding industry for much of their business has also been reduced and the warehouse superstores, such as Home Depot, have become more important. The smaller companies in the

The threat of entry of the supermarket industry in US is low, which base on the analysis of the three major sources that related to the entry barriers. The first barrier is the economies of scale of the existing large supermarkets. When these incumbents achieved larger volume sales, they can have lower unit costs than new entrants, and it will very difficult for those new entrants to compete with them (Johnson, Whittington, &Scholes 2011). For example, Wal-Mart had invested in innovative procurement, automated distribution centre and bar coding to increase its economies of scale, and these investments created a great barriers for new small retailers to enter into the supermarket industry (Porter 2008). The second barrier is the incumbency advantages, which mean the incumbents established their own strengths that cannot be used by competitors (Porter 2008). For example, the top ten supermarkets in US have accumulated extensive experiences on how to run their businesses more efficiently than new entrants (Johnson, Whittington, &Scholes 2011). The subtle differentiation between the products that sold in supermarkets is the third barrier for new entrants. Because most of the product assortment is same or similar between each supermarket,

The retail market for home décor is very competitive. There are a variety of stores and catalog retailers that offer similar merchandise. Major players in the industry include Bed, Bath & Beyond, Cost Plus, World Market, and Williams-Sonoma. Specialty sections of large department stores also provide competition. Opportunities in retail home décor include attracting viewers from television networks, specializing in home décor. Home & Garden (HGTV) and the Do it Yourself (DIY) network are two examples of networks that encourage interior home design by the novice. Retail home décor products are often featured on television networks which provide a way to market their merchandise to consumers. Threats to the industry include an increasing number of home décor retailers that provide competition. In addition, wholesale clubs contain home décor departments which have a tendency towards lower prices. The current energy crisis, sub-prime mortgage debacle, and increasing unemployment rates also pose a threat to the industry.

Low product differentiation and economies of scale: There isn’t much product differentiation at play in the retail industry as there are well known manufacturers whose products are offered for sale, which leaves price to compete on. Current well established retailers with thousands of stores enjoy the economies of scale to control their cost that a new entrant might not be able to replicate after immediately entering the industry.

Retail: The sale of goods to the public in relatively small quantities for use or consumption rather than for resale.

To analyze the home improvement warehouse store competitive environment, we use the Five Forces model to evaluate five crucial competitive aspects: selling rivalry, supplier resources, buyer power, outside industry substitutes, and the threat of new entrants to the marketplace.

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

The retail industry is a sector of the economy that is comprised of individuals and companies

High capital requirements, specialised assets and economies of scale of existing retailers reduce the incentive of competitors to enter the market. Similarly, the customer loyalty and brand awareness of David Jones’ differentiated product category reduces the incentive to penetrate the

Retail is when business sells products and provide service to the customer to make a profit. An example of a retail business is TESCO. There are many different types of retail sectors in UK which have different organisation and structures. In order for business to operate they will need to find the appropriate location, products they will sell to customer in order to gain profit for the business.

This paper critically analyses the past and the current market trend, operations, and marketing strategies of Sainsbury’s Company. Different models of analysis were employed to clearly understand the current and previous state of Sainsbury’s. Some of these models include SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, CORE analysis, Porter’s Five Forces model, Key Success Factors, and Ansoff’s Matrix These models help in understanding all aspects that play a role for the success and the failures of the company that include its strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats, and several factors that bolster of hinders the success of the company. I also looked at deep analysis of the success of introducing “Dark

The economies of scale in the retail industry are huge. All of the companies in this industry have first mover advantage. Many of the competitors in this industry already have immense and diverse relationships with many of the suppliers they obtain and any new competitor will have a tough time trying to squeeze into the dealer network in order to establish themselves as any type of threat to another retailer.