Strategic Marketing Management Essay

Before Ian McLeod landed at Coles head office in May 2008, Coles had a poor performance because of broad factors. There are 7 elements in cultural web that might explain the roots of the problems in Coles. The first element in culture web is rites and routines. Coles management had unfavorable culture, which is bureaucracy. This bureaucracy is interrupt communication between head office and stores because there are substantial gap between them, so that many brilliant ideas and initiatives from store employees do not reach the top management desk. Poor customer service is also their main problem at that time. For example, there is no help desk at the store, which is very important for customers who confuse to find specific items. Thus, Excessive queuing times also quite annoying because it is very uncomfortable for the customers. This problem is occur because of many checkout machines are broken or simply because the store had only small number of checkout machine or cashiers. Lastly, poor training programs for managers an employees are is the important factor why the employees seem less passionate and excited. First thing that Ian McLeod doing at his arrival is removing ‘head office” mindset and change it to ‘store support centre” term and improving communication pattern between head office and shop fronts, so that, Coles becomes

David Jones Ltd (DJS), one of Australia’s oldest and most recognised department stores was founded in Sydney in 1838 and is a retailer of diversified products ranging from clothes to daily home products. This report’s purpose is to provide the David Jones’ Board and Senior Management advice through the assessment of SWOT, resources, capabilities and strategies with a Balanced Scorecard and Strategy Map as the measurement of the strategies.

Bolland’s Strategic Rethink – An article by Rosie Baker appeared in Marketing Week, UK (News Section, Page 19 under the section of Retail. October 18-24, 2010).

In the past, JCP had, on average, one price campaign every day. The stores were full of sale signs and retail rise was getting out of control. JCP partnered with numerous exclusive collaborations which was hoped to bring about an expansion for the firm. However, due to the economic slump, the oversaturation of the market, and an expected lack of quality in the goods from the consumer perspective, JCPenney’s success was degrading in contrast to its competitors. (Sloan, 2010).

Question: Outline the marketing process and explain the importance of each element of the marketing plan.

For this Outcome I was split into a small group of people within my class and was asked to prepare a PowerPoint presentation of no more than 10 minutes addressing the various elements of the marketing process and the benefits and costs of a marketing orientated business giving examples. (PowerPoint presentation attached and notes)

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.

Cole is an Australian supermarket with large influence and market share in the country. In addition, the company contributes significantly to the nation’s economy. In essence, the company has acquired more than 30% of the market share of the supermarket industry in this nation. Specifically, the company’sproduct line consists of daily products, grocery, meat, deli, fresh produce, bake house, cigarettes, liquor, apparel, general merchandize and over head products. Notably Cole has a culture of low price as its marketing strategy of attracting and retaining customers.

In this assignment I will identify what competitive factors and changes Tesco faces in the retail sector and how it might respond to these under the following headings; retail environment using PESTEL, and competitive environment based on overcoming barriers to entry, pricing, new markets and mobile population. In this assignment I will be talking about how Porter’s five forces are being used by Tesco.

The intensity of rivalry and the threat of substitutes are strong components for J.C. Penney to consider as they continue to strive for increased revenue and market share. Their two primary competitors are Macy’s and Kohl’s, both of whom have fiercely competitive strategies to be strong retail operations. For instance, while Macy’s offers a multitude of promotional deals and is working hard to choose products based upon demographics and geographic segmentation, Kohl’s is attempting to reduce their inventory levels and improve their marketing strategies in order to become a stronger competitor in the department store segment of the retail industry. In order to compete with their competitors, J.C. Penney aims to focus on their previously successful promotions and home department segmentations by bringing in new reputable designers in order to attract a larger customer base. Due to the fact that the intensity of rivalry and threat of substitutes are both moderately strong in the retail department store industry, J.C. Penney ought to be diligent in their implementation of strategies in order to achieve success in the retail business.

Coles thrive to make itself a better shopping and working place, therefore they lay stress on achieving the goal i.e.

Jones Blair Company, JBC, currently faces a unique challenge in which the upper level management must act in order to maintain its profitability. Jones Blair current market position is in the process of being eroded due to the mass merchandising efforts of companies like Kmart and Sears. In developing their strategy forward, Jones must address two key issues to address the problem statement. First, Jones Blair must determine which marketing medium they will use to access their potential customers. Secondly, they must determine the geographic locations in which

‘We aim to return the UK High Street Retail business to its role as Britain's most popular stationer, bookseller and newsagent … Our plans encompass improved efficiency through cost savings and margin enhancement, while rebuilding the competitiveness and depth of our product ranges.' (Ms Swann BBC, July 2005)

Briefly state your marketing strategy (horizontal vs. vertical); summarize your product positioning and launch strategy (5 Marks Total)

Country Road has been an iconic Australian brand for 36 years, building its success on its high quality and unique designs that look effortlessly casual yet stylish. Following the high financial performances of their Australian stores, Country Road decided to embark into the United States of America (US) in 1989, in hope of realising the financial gains they saw here. Unfortunately, their strategies didn’t work, and they found obstacles which hindered their success in the US. This essay examines the types of strategies Country Road has pursued and what led Country Road to follow an international expansion strategy. Further, we discuss the impediments to Country Road succeeding in the US retail market, before suggesting strategy options for