Waitrose: Strategies For Sustainable Competitive Advantage And Segmentation Essay.

Future Economic scenario

Writer need to make a project on the Waitrose. Which is an retail store of uk.

You will be assessed on your ability to:

• Within a potential future economic scenario, critically evaluate the company’s strategies for sustainable competitive advantage, segmentation (including targeting and  positioning) and branding

• Using the same future economic scenario, critically evaluate the potential impact of the company’s strategies on customer behaviour

• Identify and critically assess opportunities for growth within the organisation’s MACRO environments

• Make clear links to the marketing theory that underpins your work

• Write a logical, well-presented and accurately referenced piece of work

The future economic scenario will be different than what it is today. Waitrose will have to plan the competitive strategies so that they can survive in the competition. In the near future, there will be plenty of supermarkets. Even today, the number of supermarkets isn’t less but in the future, the number is going to increase further. There are high possibilities that supermarkets like Tesco will have their presence in all possible places. The competitive will be tougher so it is the responsibility of Waitrose to look for ways by which they can the customers more effectively so that the customers are retained.

Secondly, the disposable income of people will increase further and hence, people will be willing to spend on luxury goods. Waitrose can make use of this opportunity and ensure that they are getting in more luxury goods so that the customers are motivated to be a loyal customer at Waitrose.

Lastly, the customers will be very much concerned about the quality that they are getting from a particular supermarket. Waitrose will have to ensure that they are providing the best possible quality to the customers at an affordable. In case of any discrepancy in the quality said and quality provided then Waitrose will lose its competitive position.

Segmentation is one of the basic things that is undertaken by Waitrose so that they can reach out to people who are interested to buy from Waitrose. Few of the market segments that have been identified by Waitrose are discussed below.

First and foremost, Waitrose considered the age of the customers who will be coming to the supermarket to buy things. Below the age group 18 are dependent on parents. People between the age group of 18-40 will walk into the store and shop whatever is required for themselves and whatever is required for their family. People between the age group of 40-55 are very busy with their work and hence, they prefer someone else getting things for them. Lastly, above the age of 55, people walk in to supermarket to spend some time rather than that of trying to shop.

Demographics of an individual matters the most and this should be considered by Waitrose while they are considering the demographics. If an individual is located far away from Waitrose then they won’t prefer to walk-in to Waitrose to shop. Each Waitrose will have to ensure that they have a specific target location.

Segmentation of Waitrose

Gender of the shopper can also be considered during the segmentation process. The requirements of the males will be different than that of the males and hence, they will have to be targeted separately. Females will generally shop for all the household requirements but men may do this very rarely. Men should prefer to buy things like eatables, electronic appliances and other things so they can also contribute to the revenue of Waitrose.   

The disposable income of the customers will matter the most to Waitrose. If the disposable income of people is low then they would prefer to walk-in into Waitrose so that they can save their money and at the same time, they will shop more. If the customers have average disposable income then the customer will walk-in into Waitrose and shop for things that they require on monthly basis. On the other end, they will also shop additional things at Waitrose which may really not be a part of their daily needs. Lastly, the people with high disposable income will look for luxury goods at Waitrose. Waitrose will have to stock luxury goods for these people specifically so that they can walk-in and shop the luxury items (Anonymous 2011).

It is merely impossible for Waitrose to target all the segmented market and hence, they believe in targeting the market based on demographics and disposable income. Waitrose believes that the UK market has the potential to grow and hence, they continuously look for ways by which the market presence can be increased. Waitrose doesn’t believe in having large stores and hence, they ensure that they have their presence at different corners so that the customers in the nearby locality are motivated to walk in into the Waitrose store rather than that of buying the necessary things from the local store.

Disposable income of the customers is considered by the management of Waitrose so that they can target the customers accordingly. Waitrose wants to target employees whose disposable income is low or average. Waitrose doesn’t want to target customers who prefer to use luxury goods. The luxury goods are not considered to be profitable by Waitrose and hence, they don’t want to serve that particular market. The disposable income of the customer whose income is low and average will be targeted by Waitrose. Waitrose have also started with their own in house production so that they can help the customers with best products at an affordable price (Internet Business News 2011).

The positioning of Waitrose is well planned so that the customers in the nearby locality are motivated to walk in and get the regular things that they require. Waitrose will be positioned as a retail wherein people can get the best of products at the cheapest possible price. Currently, it is seen that the management is coming up with their internal brands of all the products so that they can offer the best of products at an affordable price. The management of Waitrose wants the retail market to be a convenient store wherein the customers can just walk in and get what they want. Overall, Waitrose wants the customers to see the retail market as a convenient retail market that offers the best of products at an affordable price (Anonymous 2011).

Target market of Waitrose

There are various competitive advantages in Waitrose and hence, many people in the UK prefer to shop at Waitrose rather than that of the other retail outlets. Few of the competitive advantages of Waitrose that allows the supermarket to be better than that of the other retail stores are as follows: -

The fruits and vegetables that are available at Waitrose is fresh as compared to that of the other retail stores. The inbound logistics of Waitrose is quick and hence, the distance between the farm and the supermarket is automatically reduced. Waitrose also have tie-ups with local suppliers and hence, there is never any shortage of fruits and vegetables in the retail store.

Category leadership program is implemented at Waitrose to select the suppliers and hence, the management can be rest assured that they can get access to the best of suppliers and at the same time, the waste is reduced to the extent possible.

Recently, Waitrose expanded to the Northwest of UK and hence, they got a new market to capture. This allowed Waitrose to grow further. There are plenty of people in Northwest who are willing to buy products at low cost so Waitrose can serve them now.

Waitrose is also known in the market for the customer service that they provide. Due to this, most of the customers prefer to shop at Waitrose.

Most of the suppliers are also willing to work as they are known in the market for the better prices that they pay. This helps Waitrose to ensure that there isn’t shortage of supplies.

Waitrose believes in retaining the employees rather than that of hiring new employees. The tenure of employees at Waitrose is more than that of the tenure that an employee would spend in any of the other retail stores. Rather than hiring, the money is invested in training the existing employees.

Waitrose believes that the best of suggestions comes from the front-end employees who interact with the customers. This is the best motivation for employees. Due to this, the employees stay back for a longer duration (Anonymous 2012). 

Various branding strategies are undertaken by Waitrose so that they can be liked by people. Few of the branding strategies that are used by Waitrose so that they can retain their competitive position are discussed below.

Waitrose has its internal production and most of the customers believe that it is better than that of the other products which are available in the market. The marketing team of Waitrose is well aware that the internal products of Waitrose can make or break the reputation of product in the market and hence, they ensure that they strictly stick to the quality. The pictures on the product are also well planned so that it can attract the attention of the users.

Waitrose is well aware that they can attract the customers only when they provide the customers with fresh supplies. The management of Waitrose plans the branding so that the customers get to know that the products are fresh. Lastly, the management of Waitrose maintains a good relationship with media. This helps the customers to be updated with the things that are going on at Waitrose. This ensures that the relationship between Waitrose and customers is well maintained (Nicola 2011).

Positioning

It is very important for Waitrose to understand the consumer behavior so that the management can ensure that the customers are attracted to Waitrose. The competition is very tough in the retail industry and hence, attracting the customers is not an easy job. Few of the customer behavior that have been noted by Waitrose so that they can attract new customers and also retain the existing customers are discussed below.

The customer behavior starts with the duration that a customer spends inside the supermarket. If a customer is in a hurry then they will buy whatever they require and quickly walk out of the store. On the other end, if the customer is not busy then the customer will take their own sweet time, look for multiple options before they finalize on one and then they will finally buy the product. It has been seen that the customer will walk slowly if the music at the retail store is pleasant. Waitrose ensures that they play soft and slow music at low volume so that the customer can stay back in the retail store. Music can create a great impact on the quantity of shopping that the customer can do. This shopping behavior is applicable only when the customer has time to shop peacefully.

Consumer behavior at Waitrose towards the internal brand products would be different than the customer behavior of customers towards the popular brand. If the customer is willing to buy an internal brand product then there are very high chances that they will undertake proper research so that they can be sure of what they are buying. If a shopper is willing to buy lemon juice then they will go by the look of the internal brand. If the look of internal brand’s lemon juice is not good then the customer will not check on the details at all. On the other end, if the look of the product is good then they will check on the details like nutrients and price and they will compare this with the regular brand that they purchase. The customer will buy Waitrose’s lemon juice only when they think that the financial gain is high or when they believe that the nutritional value is high (Felsted 2012).

The number of brands present, of each product, can create an impact on the buying behavior of the customer. If a customer is planning to buy some cosmetics product then they will check all the options that are available so that they can make a decision that is feasible. If the options available is very limited then the customer will either buy the product that is available or the customer may not buy whatever is available. If options are given to customers then the customer will take time to shop. Waitrose should ensure that they have good brands when they are providing plenty of options otherwise there are very high chances that the average products will be sidelined.

Besides food, Waitrose can explore other markets as well. They can stock other household things as well. Waitrose is known in the market for the quality of products that they provide to the customers at an affordable price. There are plenty of customers who prefer to buy fruits, groceries and other eatables at Waitrose only and this is because of the quality of products provided by Waitrose. The management of Waitrose can continue with the same quality of product and service in other departments as well. This will ensure that the customers would prefer to buy the household products from Waitrose rather than that of any other retail outlet. 

Competitive advantage of Waitrose

Waitrose can enter into developing nations like China and India. China and India is considered as an attractive market by many retail outlets so Waitrose can get into the competition. At this point of time, the customers in China and India are looking for ways by which they can get access to retail stores that offer products to the customers at the best possible price and if Waitrose is able to do the same then nothing better than that. China and India have a belief that the organizations from developed market would offer them with products that are best in quality and hence, Waitrose would be preferred by people in China and India rather than that of the retail outlets from the local market.

Waitrose can increase the number of products that are offered to the customers or they can grow their business to different locations. It is the responsibility of the management to ensure that they make smart investment decision. Waitrose should undertake a proper market research to understand the growth in the business or in different location. The market research will help the organization to understand the business that they can generate in next five years’ time. If the growth opportunity seems lucrative then they can enter the market otherwise it can be ignored (Internet Business News 2011).

Making an investment for growth may sound to be a good decision for Waitrose but it is the responsibility of the management to look for ways by which they can decide on the areas wherein they are willing to grow. If the management decides to enter in the household market then they cannot stock everything. They should confirm on the things that will be stocked in the product. The management should also understand the demand for the product and also the availability of expertise. If the required expertise is not available with the organization then the organization should ensure that the hiring is done before they enter the new business. If Waitrose thinks that they can hire the required resources later and as of now, they can start with the business then there are very high chances that the business will not succeed and it is a very big risk to enter a business randomly. The management of Waitrose should always remember that if the reputation of the organization is spoiled in some other business then that can create an impact on the existing business of Waitrose.

References

Internet Business News, 2011, Waitrose to start marketing plan for online services, ISSN 1363-9919

Felsted, A, 2012, Symbol of model of ownership, The Financial Times, pp. 14

Nicola, C, 2011, It’s wonderful but too heavy for Waitrose, Financial Adviser, ISSN 0953-5276

Anonymous, 2012, Widdowson Group Joins forces with Waitrose, Motor Transport, pp. 3

Anonymous, 2011, Waitrose to open distribution hub in London, Internet Business review, ISSN 1363-9919

Internet Business News, 2011, Ocado remains calm to Waitrose market efforts, ISSN 1363-9919

Anonymous, 2011, Waitrose fulfils customer’s online orders at Acton Facility, pp. 6