Research Report

Woolworths

Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 2

Company Overview ...................................................................................................... 2

Internal analysis ........................................................................................................... 3

Strength .................................................................................................................................. 4

weakness................................................................................................................................. 4

opportunities ........................................................................................................................... 5

threatened .............................................................................................................................. 5

External analysis .......................................................................................................... 6

Technological ........................................................................................................................... 6

Legal ........................................................................................................................................ 7

Environmental ......................................................................................................................... 8

Social ....................................................................................................................................... 8

conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 9

Reference List ................................................................................................................... 9

Introduction

With the growth and development in the technological, economic, and

social aspects, companies have been forced to employ certain strategies

to survive in the market. The process of establishing brand loyalty and

awareness is stiff in nature. It requires the contribution of all

stakeholders in the firm to guarantee the success of any strategy.

Corporations should note that the business environment in the 21st

century is multifaceted, highly competitive and global, and dynamic. The

circumstances imply that they have to struggle with the challenges

presented by the market to ensure that they remain afloat and generate

revenue while meeting the requirements of the customers.

Company Overview

Woolworths Limited is one of the leading service industries in Australia.

The company operates personal retail stores that engage in activities

that sell liquor, food, fuel, home improvement goods and services and

general merchandise (Woolworths Limited SWOT Analysis 2016).

Woolworths operates both in Australia and New Zealand. Apart from the

retail stores, the firm also operates hotels that have dining, bar, venue

hire and gaming operations facilities. The company has close to 197000

employees (Woolworths Limited SWOT Analysis 2016). Woolworths

headquarter is at Belle Vista in Australia. From the companys financial

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statements, there was a decline in revenues by approximately 12

percent in 2015 (Woolworths Limited SWOT Analysis 2016).

Woolworths trades on the Australian Stock Exchange under the ticker

symbol, WOW.

Internal analysis

The corporation focuses most of its efforts on the Australian liquor and

food business market (Recker et al. 2014). The focus is evident by the

expanding number of stores and the introduction of innovative programs.

In 2015, Woolworths opened ten more stores making a total of 961 at

the end of the year (Woolworths Limited SWOT Analysis 2016).

Moreover, the diversification strategy has helped in pushing the

company forward in the already flooded market. The multiple retail

formats and banners have enabled Woolworths to maneuver effectively

with the presence of competitors such as Coles, Aldi, and Lidl

(Woolworths Limited SWOT Analysis 2016). Woolworths need to

improve on the reliance on Australian to other international markets and

avoid product recalls (Recker et al. 2014). A significant percentage of

revenue comes from the local market. For example, in the financial year

2015, 90.7 percent of the income came from Australia. The New

Zealand market generated only 9.3 percent of the total revenues.

(Woolworths Limited SWOT Analysis 2016).

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Strength

Woolworths has a strong customer base as depicted by the increasing

number of retail stores in Australia. Innovation will enable the

corporation to meet the needs and wants of the customers by improving

efficiency (Lendel et al. 2011). Customer innovation plays a significant

role in understanding the pricing and range strategy.

Weakness

Various steps should be followed before adopting a given innovation. An

analysis should be conducted that examines the market environment,

competitors, and consumers needs and wants. There should be proper

consultation with the employees and customers on ideas that will

improve the relationship (Schuster et al. 2014). It is also important to

seek advice from relevant people as mean to drive the innovation ideas.

Innovation will only work if the organization is open to new ideas and can

quickly adapt to the changes (Pisano 2015). There is need to create a

strategic plan to ensure that the ideas are wholly fulfilled. The

employees should also be empowered and trained on the significance of

innovation (Jayaram, Oke&Prajogo 2014).

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Opportunities

With the increased competition in Australian retail stores, Woolworths

need to adopt an active, innovative strategy that is focused on the

employees and customers (Kask 2012). The employment of innovation

in the business operations assists in saving resources such as time and

money while giving the organization a competitive advantage (Pisano

2015). In the long run, the firm can adapt and growth in the marketplace.

The implementation of innovations requires the contribution of all

stakeholders, particularly the employees (Schuster &Holtbrgge 2014).

In the service industry, innovation implies the creation of new ideas,

goods, and improvement of the existing services.

Threatened

There is a high likelihood that customers will move to the competitors if

the prices offered by their most preferred brand are expensive. The

innovations should address the challenges such as customer service,

web navigation, value for money and food freshness.

With the growth and development of the technologies, most

organizations have focused on the online trading as an innovative option

(Afcha, 2012).

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External analysis

Woolworths should ensure that the innovative culture has been created

in the organization to make it easy for them to drive the practices (Harris,

2016). The talent management department should establish a room for

implementation because the recruitment process and training programs

start with them. Practices such as crowd sourcing will guarantee that the

implementation has taken consideration of all stakeholders in

Woolworths starting from management to customers.

Technological

Online retailing is whereby the customers can access goods and

services through a platform, website, with the help of internet.

Woolworths should adopt the innovative online strategy as means to

improve its strength in the Australian market (AFN, 2015). The online

platform should have categories of products and services offered by

Woolworths. Categorizing the goods would ease the time spent on the

site looking for them. It should be noted that customers prefer a place

where they can get their products without much struggle. Moreover,

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there should be a click and collect feature on the site to shorten the time

of the transaction (Yang, Liu, Gao& Li 2012). The employment of the

technologies such as online retailing practice will improve the

competitive advantage of the company. There would be increased

retention and addition of customers to the already present consumer

base.

Additionally, online retailing is effective to Woolworths because it gives

them an opportunity to receive timely response or feedback from the

customers (AFN,2015). The online retailing strategy will adequately

address the growing local and international consumer demand. Most of

the time it is simple to reach the wide customer base through the online

platform. The online retail innovative practice will improve the

competitive advantage of Woolworths because they will reach more

consumers both in the domestic and foreign market (Kask, 2012).

Legal

The competitors such as Coles will take more time to fill the gap that has

already been created Woolworths. From the competitor analysis, Coles

and Woolworths offer closely related goods and services (Woolworths

Limited SWOT Analysis, 2016). For example, they are located in the

same place or location with equal marketing capabilities. Therefore, the

only means to achieve differentiation is through online retailing.

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Customers will be inclined to visit Woolworths stores because they have

the opportunity to air their complaints pertaining the goods and services

on the online platform.

Environmental

The service innovations involving the employees and customers should

be constant and steady in nature to avoid discouraging them from

accepting the changes. The innovative practices usually take a

considerable time to implement (Yang et al. 2012). Open innovation is

crucial in the implementation of training programs and setting up of the

website will require the permission of the senior management as the first

step of the process (Aboobaker, 2015). Moreover, the employees should

acknowledge the need to participate in the innovative practice.

Social

Woolworths should create a culture of innovation by giving way for

thinking and creative means of problem-solving (Recker, et al. 2014).

The implementation of the innovative culture will create opportunities for

efficient work practices, which translate to improved productivity and

performance.

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conclusion

In conclusion, Woolworths should start by training schemes or programs

before implementing the new technologies such as online retailing. The

training programs would establish a strong relationship will among the

employees such that they quickly accept any change without much

insistence from the management. On the other hand, the online retailing

would improve the visibility of Woolworths in other new international

markets, which will help in improving the revenue status.