MGT604 Strategic Management

Introduction

Woolworth is a famous chain of supermarkets in the retail industry which is based in Australia and New Zealand. The average number of consumers of Woolworth per week is about 29 million people. There are about 995 stores in the operation of Woolworth Company which is using a large team of 115,000 members. Another grocery company called Coles of Australia is giving tough competition to Woolworth Company. There is also tough competition from rival companies like Amazon and ALDI. There are various competitors in Australia for Woolworth but there is a new entry of competition in the grocery market called Kaufland Company. The online strategy for marketing and improving sales is adopted by Woolworth to deal with Competition Company. The sustainability activities are having difficulties for the company to attain a better manner. The report discusses the various aspects of strategic properties that impact the outcomes and results of the strategies of Woolworth Company.

Aim

Identification of the various strategic influences on the resultants of Woolworths Company together way is the aim of this report. The various influences which impact on the Woolworth Company are as follows:

  • Competition
  • Technology
  • Environment sustainability

On a further basis, the various recommendations will be provided in this report which will help in the overcoming of various issues that affect the development and growth of Woolworth Company.

Discussion

 

Information regarding analysis of key deliverables:-

External analysis:- The evaluation of the environment condition of the external market is in regarding to Australian industry of retail, in the respect of Woolworths which came out with the evidence that the strategy which is adopted by Woolworth is influenced by external conditions(Meyer, et. al., 2017).

  • PESTLE analysis:-
  • Political:-The situation of politics in a country affects the retail industry by pricing taxation and imposing regulations.
  • Economic:- Economic conditions of Australia was getting worst which affect the performance of Woolworths. Such as, exchange rate, unemployment rate ,economic growth rate and decline in per capita income etc. are some factors which affected the performance of Woolworth(Rosenberg Hansen, et. al., 2016).
  • Social:- Woolworths initiated a new technology to make the life of customers easy. They initiated shopping methods on internet so they tied up with Google.
  • Legal:- Government imposed some legal factors such as carbon emission tax and banned the plastic which was implemented in whole Australia which affected the Woolworth(Zhao, et. al., 2017).
  • Environment:-Woolworths is also working to manage the wastage of food and ecological products so their waste for landfills was reduced and started to use energy efficient products.

Internal analysis:- To know the internal position of an organization SWOT analysis is used. It stands for strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats.

  • Strengths- Woolworths has a very good position in retail industry of Australia. it offers good range of products and it is a very reputed company and has great good will among customers(Karadag, 2015).
  • Weakness:-The product which is offered by Woolworth is expensive in the comparison of its rivalries.
  • Opportunities:-Woolworth has a great good will and a strong base for it’s customers moreover it provides healthy and hygienic food and it also initiated the online shopping mode which bring new opportunity for the growth.
  • Threat:- Entry of new company in the retail market is a threat to Woolworths additionally , the dominating nature of the suppliers of Woolworths can affect the business of Woolworths.

Three strategic influences that impact the Woolworths:-

Technology:- Woolworths use technology to increase the sales of the company by giving a good experience of shopping to its customers. Customers can visit to stores and it is easy for those In the new technology customers can scan their product and directly put the product which they have scanned in their bag(Engert, et. al., 2016). When customer will complete his shopping, they will do one last scan on the exit terminal. After than the app will sum up the total amount and it will be deducted from linked card or account.so, there is no need to check out. Woolworths is planning to tie up with Google so, customers can create shopping list by using Google home. After creating shopping list customers will tell to Google about their shopping list and it will be directly added in the online app of Woolworths and it will be in the state of use.

Competition:- Woolworths get threats from its rivalries like Coles and Aldi . Apart from facing competition of existed rivalries Woolworths get threats from new entries in the retail industry(Durand, et. al., 2017). These entries come with new strategy so, Woolworths need to implement new strategy in an innovative way which will help in increase the sales and enhance the goodwill. Occasionally Woolworths adopts the trick of providing coupons on different items.

Environmental Sustainability:- Achieving of sustainability target Woolworths finds it difficult. Although Woolworths cut the use of plastic and working towards reduction of greenhouse gas emission. Woolworths initiate to install solar panels on the roof of stores. It has set a goal of no food waste.

Strategic implications:-

Woolworths is using new strategies for the growth of the business ,although Woolworths is doing good in the business but it is also facing some problem because of the entry of new companies in the retail market as well as Woolworths is facing competition with existing retail organizations such as, Coles and Aldi.

  • Partnership with Suppliers:- Woolworths should connects itself with more suppliers to reduce the dominancy of suppliers. Woolworths should provide fresh and hygienic food to make the approach to its customers and reduce the dominancy of existing suppliers.
  • Reduce the price:- Woolworths should do work to convert its weakness into its strength. Woolworth should reduce the price because many rivalries are reducing the price in order to grab the market(Darling, et. al., 2019).
  • New outlets:- Market developments should be adopted by Woolworth so, it should open its stores in the sub town.
  • Innovation:- Woolworths is adopting new ways to consolidate the position in the market by using the new and innovative technology .

Strategic course of action adopted by Woolworths

  • Good market Strategy:- Woolworth should adopted good and effective market strategy by setting up feasible prices on which customer can afford the product.
  • Good web presence:- Woolworth should try to grab its position in online shopping by adopting new and innovative ideas(Certo, et. al., 2016).
  • Realistic business plan:-Woolworth should set effective plan in terms of business. A good business plan will help Woolworth to grab the market and can think over important issues by ensuring that business plan should be realistic.

Strategic goals for Woolworths

  • Customers:- Woolworth should the target to increase in the sales by increasing the customers. It should the target of increasing some percentage of customers every year.
  • Employees:- Woolworths should use it’s working force at maximum level and use their potential at their best. Woolworths should achieve employee engagement at highest level.
  • Market:- Woolworths should adopt the strategies to grab the market and try to consolidate their position in the market by adopting new methods .
  • Online market:- Woolworths should adopt the technology in the way through which it can grab the online market and build the trust among customers.
Conclusion

The Woolworth is the leading company in the retail sector of both Australia and New Zealand. The market share of the company is very huge in the retail industry. Various issues are being faced by Woolworth due to environment, technology enhancement, and the existing or new revealing of competitors. The analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of Woolworth has been done in the report. It has shown that there is more strength in Woolworth than weaknesses in every factor of industrial working in Australia. The Woolworth can retain the existing consumers of the company by using the techniques for price drop just as their competitors. The involvement of new technology means can be used for increasing the interest of customers. Woolworth has a political impact which is shown in the macro analysis of the environment. The application of the tax system for the products and services of Woolworth has shown the impact of politics which is creating issues for the company. The dominants of the retail industry are the suppliers which are highly impacting on growth factors of Woolworth Company. The innovative strategies will be helpful for Woolworth in the growth and development of the company. It is used in sustaining partnerships with suppliers and also helps to decrease the price of products and services offered to customers similarly with rivals. But the compromising of the brand is not offered in Woolworth Company.

Recommendations

Woolworth is the leading supermarket chain in Australia and New Zealand but using some recommendations will help in boosting profit percent of the company and also increasing the market share in the Australian retail industry.

  • Attracting new customers should be done using new technologies and strategies. This will be helpful for the company to enhance the consumer base which is directly related to the profit percentage of the company. There are various ways to attract more customers in Woolworth by offering lower prices of goods and products in comparison with the rival companies of Woolworth. The advertisements and online campaigning will be useful in attracting a new range of customers for the supermarket which will enhance the prosperity and sales increment of the company.
  • The use of new technology should be promoted for the implementation of strategies in retaining the customers for the company. The use of new technologies will help in attaining more consumers who are from the young generations which can be attracted by the use of new technologies(Aguinis, et. al., 2017). The latest technologies can be useful in the billing system, packing system of products and services offered by Woolworth Company.
  • The use of new technology usage should be taught to the workers of the company and proper training should be provided which will help in growth and development. The training should be imposed on the workers of the Woolworth Company which will help gain an advantage in the various factors. The use of the latest technology will help the company to keep up with the new generation and modern people who are always involved in the use of new technology devices.
  • The communication level between suppliers and consumers should be improved and encouraged in Woolworth. This will help the company in using the suppliers who are dominant in the retail industry to use in increasing the attraction of consumers. The communication should be established to have a better advantage and using this situation for the growth and development of the company to increase the sales and revenue of the company.
  • Suppliers should be encouraged for reducing the domination of management in the company. This will help increase the sales of the company and in dealing with the competitive rivals of the company. This will improve the relations within the company and suppliers and will ensure stability in sales and profits will be increased.
References

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