You will write a situation analysis report based on an organisation’s marketing programs using SWOT and PESTEL to reach a conclusion of the attractiveness of that market for the organisation See the Course Outline for additional information about the submission requirements.
Woolworths limited Executive Summary Woolworths, Australia’s first nationwide retailer with more than 196,000 members working together to meet customer needs and demands. Valued at 11 billion dollars, this retail company has delivered its services dating back to 1924 due to Percy Christmas the founding CEO. In this report we will cover vital information on findings, conclusions and some recommendations. Introduction With more than 995 stores all around Australia, Woolworths has been the country’s biggest distribution chain. This report strongly highlights what how Woolworths creates values such as customer experience, share value and branding. An individual as a consumer they look for fresh produce.
Woolworths partners with the local Australian farmers giving us a local experience. The company has certainly done a remarkable job in relation to the marketing prospect and reaching their purpose to ‘Create better experience for better tomorrow’ ( Woolworths Group, 2020). The readers for this report will have a broader understanding on the relation between Woolworths and its marketing prospects that is used daily. I have chosen Woolworths because it has an extensive area of research.. Firstly we will have a look on its marketing strategy and Value. We will also analyse the SWOT, PESTEL and BCG matrix. Marketing Strategy No business can go long enough without a good marketing research and strategy. Likewise, Woolworths has done their part on reaching its customers and creating values. Percy Christmas’s vision that inspired from a big dream to bring Sydney people to a cheap and affordable shopping.
Percy’s vision has also reached New Zealand as well as covering a lot of branches around Australia. Woolworths now has also rebranded all its’ New Zealand Branches as Countdown.( Brook,2019) The culture is supported by a Logo, a strong team and a store that is without any doubts different from any of its branches regardless of the size that is the design and structure. The motivation that of the staffs are certainly high. We couldn’t possibly relate this more without the current situation where they are operating safe with safety checks such as use of hand sanitizer, disinfecting trolleys and store, temperature check which I believe strongly contributes to the company’s concern for its customers and staff.
Marketing Analysis For the marketing analysis, we will be looking at a SWOT, PESTEL and BCG matrix which will cover micro, macro and growth index for Woolworths groups. SWOT analysis Woollies internal factors can be determined briefly by looking at the core marketing and environment. Woollies has its upper hands over its customers for the following reasons. (Bhasin, 2019).
Less competition Woollies as the biggest Australia’s retail store has become the prime market holding more market share than Coles.
• Produce for all (Bhasin, 2019) writes that Woolworths was first started for the upper class. Now that very market is transitioned into a free for all with the very presence of upscale stock with value brands.
• Highly trained staffs Woollies again without a doubt has one of the most well trained staffs with a good product knowledge and training.
• Discounts and promos Woollies not only comes with schemes of everyday steal of the day but also with promo codes which can be linked with QANTAS points, fuel outlets at CALTEX and reward points as for the Woolworth stores that is Big W etc. Being a big market, woollies has its drawbacks so the weakness of Woolworths can be as follows:
• Market segmentation Having multiple income segments can surely cause confusion in pricing and market segmentation. ( Bhasin, 2019)
• Pricing With so many competition mainly being companies such as Coles, Aldi etc low pricing and value has certainly caused a price war.
• Variation in products The products in stock certainly doesn’t have more variety then Coles. Especially fresh farm produce which can be felt once one someone is inside the store Overcoming these strengths and weakness can be done by analysing the opportunities
• Use of technology Personalized cards to encourage discount by checking ones’ previous purchases, self-checkout. ( Bhasin, 2019) • Big Data Use of big data can heavily influence peoples’ expectations towards products they would like to see. Some of the threats for Woolworths can be seen as follows.
• Covid-19 This pandemic certainly will affect the staffs and overall performance of Woolworths as for staffs, customers and its suppliers. One most important effect can be delay in the delivery of supply.
• COLES and ALDI Coles and ALDI as the biggest competitors along with online firms and retail stores can be seen as the biggest threat to the company
• Trends Big trends such as eating healthy and not contaminated , chemical free products and “ say no to plastic” movements causing awareness among the consumers. ( Bhasin, 2019) PESTEL ANALYSIS Political factors Australia being a financially stable country certainly expects supermarket companies to comply by food and beverage regulations.
Certain legislations need to be looked upon while making strategies. However, the operation is looked after by the government as there is very less corruption and more policies. Political change and change of legislation especially food and staples retailing is a big concern. Economic factors While analysing the economic factors it is heavily influenced by the economy of the country. Numerous factors such as unemployment rate, exchange rate, inflation rate and economic stability has been kept in consideration. With the economic stability of the country comes a somewhat clear image of how the demand of the market is going to be. This has helped Woolworths limited make economic decision and planning.
Social factors Australia has a well-educated population with growing awareness for health and body food. This has heavily affected the expectation of the customer. The multi culture environment has been tried at its best to be covered by having international stock such as Asian, Italian produce. Likewise, the different class of people has been kept into careful consideration while introducing and setting price. The high, middle and low class of people are all connected and given variety of choice in regards to quality and price. Technological factors The growth of digital technology has increased the numbers of players in the industry. ( Pratap, 2017) Woolworths deals with online orders and delivery operation, another big technological aspect which needs its own pace to grow, in order to give the experience for its consumers.
The brick stores will certainly be at its loss when everything is technology based but does given an opportunity for the company to implement technology especially in the present pandemic situation. Thus, more of selfcheck outs, automation tech, smart warehouse for in store and focusing on delivery and delightful online experience for the rest of the consumers. Environmental factors On this very days’ context, majority expects the reputation of any store to be eco-friendly. That is the expectation of both environmental and social understanding. The use of paper or bio degradable bags, waste reduction and body food. Along with, woollies should always be updated by laws in environment regulation. Investment in this growing trend is certainly going to be tough but fruitful for the future. (Strategic Analysis, 2018) Legal factors Legal factors has certainly worked forand against Woollies.
Strict policies such as corruption check, illegal trafficking, helps with reducing supply issues. (Kasi, 2016) however, external factors such as employment law, safety laws, e-commerce can be. A different head of investment. With todays’ world situation, the limitation of customers inside the store and social distancing has caused tension and loss for the business and given rise to online business. BCG matrix The Boston’s growth matrix helps us get an image of the cash cows and dogs of the certain aspects of Woolworths limited while considering some parts regards to more investment and capital. The reader will be taken to the different sectors of the company categorized under different headings STARS The supermarkets of the Woolworths limited brings the most profit for them. According to Woolworths group (2020) 995 stores operating all around Australia together effectively brought 55,114 million revenue as per the Annual report (2018).
Stores including the metro has collectively contributed to the revenue. Besides from Being the biggest retail store this sector has high shares and high growth. For the very reason of supermarkets being a star, close research and strategic planning is done. This march however has seen a 22% increase sale which would lead to more share buys according to ( Harrison, 2020). This is heavily affected by online orders and more eating in due to the pandemic. The share price has also increased due to the low interest rate says Harrison ( 2020) Cash cows BIG w certainly has a high share but comparatively less growth than that of K mart or Target. According to Peacock ( 2020) K mart has dominated the Aussie market when it comes to cheap homeware. However, Woolworths is trying to hit back its’ competitor with quality products and better pricing ( Peacock, 2020).
There is certainly a battle between these two discount stores however, Big W can be seen as cash cow and this has been heavily influenced by the use of technology and apparel at very cheap. Question marks BWS can be seen as having comparatively less growth and market share. However the Woolworth group chairman says “The Board believes that a merger of Endeavour Drinks and ALH followed by a separation, is in shareholders’ best interests and will benefit customers and team members of both groups. The decision has been taken after consideration of the future prospects of both businesses and how they can be best realised. It reflects the Board’s focus on maximising long-term shareholder value.” ( Business magazine, 2019). This merge will allow the Endeavour drinks and ALH will allow to unlock their full potential and simplify the retail eco-system and planning.
