[Type the company name]
Introduction In this research, the researcher has incorporated with the various discussions related to the strategic management of an organization. Here, this can be stated that an organization has to face several challenges that are prevailing within the market. The market is highly competitive in nature and hence every company are focusing much on developing the marketing strategies that would enable them to cope up with the competition. In this assignment, the researcher has considered the marketing strategy of the Primark. It is an organization, which deals with the trending fashion of both men and women. It is an Irish company having it’s headquarter in Dublin, Ireland. The company successfully operates in Belgium, France, UK, US, Austria, Ireland, etc. the company is now developing plans to introduce its products in India. As they are the new entrants in the market, they have to develop a well-defined marketing strategy.Mission, vision, goals, objectives and core competencies of the company In this section, the Mission, vision, goals, objectives and core competencies of Pri mark will be briefly discussed:
Mission of Pri mark
To serve their ordinary folks with the opportunity to purchase the products as rich people but at low prices. Vision
To be the first choice of the customers
Grab the opportunity to be the market leader
Proper training to the employees
To operate being customer centric Goals and objectives
Offer customers with low price products
New innovated products
To be the first choice of the customers
Make strong marketing strategies to be the market leader
Operate sustainably Core competencies Develop strategies that would help them to be the market leader and to pose high competition in the market. The competitors are mainly Pantaloons, Zara and H&M (Alexis, 2012, p.67).
1.1 Factors contributing strategic planning There are certain factors that contribute to the strategic planning of the organization named, Primark. According to Sadler (2003), it can be stated that strategic planning is
considered to be the step wise and systematic process to develop the strategy for an organization (Bravo, 2010, p.65). It was further mentioned, that there are three issues that contributes to the strategic planning which are mainly the detachment from reality, lack of ownership and dampening of innovations.
Figure 1: Issues in strategic planning (Source: Created by Author) It is very essential to overcome the issues and to make suitable plans that would develop brand image of the organization. Five major factors contribute to the development of strategic
planning
are
mainly
the Engagement,
Innovation,
Culture,
Communication and Project Management. The development in these factors would help in better strategic planning for Primark.
Figure 2: Factors contributing to strategic planning (Source: Created by Author)
1.2 Effectiveness of techniques used for strategic planning There are certain techniques that would help the management to develop a well- defined marketing strategies. For instance, the command planning is only applicable for small business, which has a stable environment (Cohen, 2011, p.61). On the other hand, another technique that would help in strategic planning is the directive planning is only applicable for the large organizations having stable environment. In addition, the top- level management is highly involved in this planning. The third techniques are the emergent strategy planning. The Primark mainly makes the use of the emergent strategy
planning, as it is only applicable for complex organizational environment and mostly performed by expert teams or corporate strategic department.
2.1 Analysis of Strategic position by SWOT analysis In order to analyse the strategic position, it is very important to undertake a SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis of Primark
Strength
Weakness
Opportunities
Threats
Have highly
Poor customer
Have several
High competition
trained staffs
services as in
opportunities to
prevails in the
several cases the expand. staffs failed to provide the customers with
market.
their required or choice of colour, size etc.
Have the opportunity to The products
develop its
Makes the use of
sold by Primark
communication
Threats prevails
highly developed
are of low cost
as well as
in the
technologies for
but is not trust
transportation
distribution of
production
worthy.
system.
goods.
The company has specific and abide by their policies, procedures,
With lost cost
objectives,
Showrooms have
products can
mission, vision
no parking area
easily enter into
and goals.
for vehicles.
new markets.
Product cost is low as compared to the competitors.
Table 1: SWOT analysis (Source: Cohen, 2013, pp.46)
2.2 Environmental Audit In order to proceed with the environmental audit it is very important to make a PESTEL analysis for the organization. In the below table the PESTEL analysis of Primark has been clearly evaluated.
Political
The business is
The VAT also
failing to keep
affects other
their low price
business, which
due to
in turn enables
increasing VAT in Primark to be the business.
cheapest product
seller.
Economical
The recession
By selling cheap
caused huge
price cloths, they
loss for
The purchasing
attract a
organization and
power got
customer who
shifted towards
adversely
moves from up-
the down-
affected due to
market to the
market.
recession.
down- market.
The main customer base of Taste and
Social
Primark is around
preferences of
Due to recession, the age of 35
the customers
un-employability
years but it has a
change a lot and
increased which
huge proportion
it sometimes
limited the
of age 55, which
affects the
opportunity of
is a better
organization.
growth.
opportunity.
Using social medias for Uses highly
Make
advertisements
innovated
advertisements
helps to reduce
technologies in
over social
advertisement
Technological
production
media.
cost.
Environmental
The method of
Primark follows
production is
certain policies
eco-friendly.
and procedures that are
concerned with the well- being of the environment.
Legal
Primark highly
The organization
complies with
is abided by the
the laws,
rules of
regulations and
Consumer Act
policies while
and is a
trading and
customer centric
operating.
company.
Table 2: PESTEL analysis (Source: Mullin, 2014, pp.40)
2.3 Stakeholders analysis The main stakeholders of Primark are the Employees, Government, Suppliers, Customers and the Shareholders.
Figure 3: Stakeholders of Primark The company must be able to keep the following two stakeholders in order to achieve their objectives: Employees- the employees are considered to be one of the main stakeholders of the organization, Primark. In this case, it can be stated that the activities of the organization also influences the employees and depends into the fact how the organization treat its employees. As Primark is customer centric, it tries to develop a soothing relationship with the employees that motivate them at work (Mullin, 2014, p.41).
Suppliers- the suppliers are also observed to play a very significant role in the organization as they are directly linked with the distribution of raw materials and goods. The suppliers also ask the company regarding the taste and preferences of the customers, demand for any products and supply. This enhances their production strategy at the same time.
2.4 Developing New strategy In order to enter into the new market of India, the company has decided to enter into a Franchising with an existing company. This would help the company to understand the specific requirements of the customers (Finkin, 2013, p.44). Franchising is considered to provide a better growth to the business along with limited risk. This is a partnership for long-term basis in order to be successful. In addition, the company must launch new fashion trends that are prevailing within the Indian market. The taste and preferences of the customers differ and hence based on the similar aspect, Primark have to launch new fashion dresses (Nash-Hoff, 2013, p.40).
3.1 Appropriateness of the alternative strategies A business organization should always look for different ways in which it can expand its operation. There are different ways, using which the organization can expand their business. The present section will discuss about the probable ways in which Primark will be able to carry out their expansion. In addition this, an effective future strategy for the organization will also be proposed. To expand further, it is important for the organization to develop some market-entry strategies. These market entry strategies can be framed by keeping in mind the country or the region in which they are trying to enter. After serving the developed countries, it will be beneficial for the organization to expand in developing countries. Expanding in India will be a good choice (Ctb.ku.edu, 2015). There
are
different
kinds
of
market-entry
strategies.
However,
for
Primark, Franchising will be good option. Franchising is expected to provide a good
growth of the business but with limited risk. This is a partnership for long-term basis in order to be successful. Different big companies like McDonalds, Coca Cola and Singer has opted for this strategy to carry out their business. This is type of marketing procedure which creates an image of the product and the service of the company in the minds of the consumer. In a developing country like India, it is very significant to repartition the products and service so that the needs of the customers are fulfilled. According
to Thomson
(2010),
there
are
two
factors
which
help
to
implement substantive growth strategies. These two factors are mergers and acquisition. Merger is the amalgamation of two initially separated organizations. Primark has more potential to develop merger as a substantive growth strategy due to its market strength. Another substantive growth strategy which can be implemented for Primark is Diversification in which the company will introduce new products for new market. Considering the taste and the culture of the Indians, the organization should frame the diversification strategies (Small Business - Chron.com, 2015). For Limited Growth strategies, the organization can go for market development strategies. In this strategy, Primark will introduce their existing product in the new market. However, it is important to analyse the taste and preference of customers before using this strategy. So, Limited Growth Strategy is not recommended for Primark.
3.2 Justification of the selected strategy For market entry strategy, Franchising has been selected for Primark. With this strategy, the organization will be building a long-term partnership with some existing organization in new market. This strategy will provide Primark with the opportunity to expand more but with minimized risk. Most importantly, with franchising, Primark will be able to set the brand standard for the products. It will also help in building consumer relationship and carry out Brand management marketing (Startups.co.uk, 2015). Diversification has been chosen for substantive growth strategy of Primark because it will help Primark to build a strong base in India. The culture, choice and preferences of the Indians and the Europeans are not same. So, to gain competitive advantage and customer
loyalty in the new, Primark should introduce such products which are preferred by the customers of India. 4.1 Roles and responsibilities of the personnel charged with strategic implementation After the selection of the strategy, it is significant for the organization to implement it. The personnel, who are in charge with the strategy implementation, should carry out with his roles and responsibilities in an efficient manner. This section will discuss about the basic roles and responsibilities. Envision Future Strategy A successful personnel, who is in charge with strategy implementation, should envision the future strategy of the organization. The personnel should communicate the strategy to the internal as well as to the external party. It is important to make the stakeholders as well as the other members of the organization to know about the future strategy of the organization. Aligning organization for delivering strategy All the individuals who are associated with the strategy should be fully aware of the strategy that has been framed. At the same time, all the individuals should fulfil their roles and responsibilities so that the framed strategy is successful. Everyone should be motivated and enthused so that they follow the strategy and get engaged in delivering the change (Johnson et al. 2013, p.56) Exemplifying Change The implementations of strategy will be highly successful with proper organizational change. The individuals should embrace the change with the implementation of new strategy. Saddler (2003) stated that there are two parties involved in the process of strategy implementation. Middle managers are responsible for implementing the strategic plan of the top level management. Outsiders possess more responsibilities for implementation of strategy. They are responsible for framing strategy for carrying out the change process.
4.2 Resource required At the time of the implementation of the strategy, it is very significant for any organization to allocate the resources effectively. However, the process of resource allocation can be different in different organization. It is evident that environment of the organization as well as the nature of the resources ascertain the requirement of resources. As mentioned above, Primark should make use of Franchising and Diversification strategy to enter into new market nd gain competitive advantage. As a result, Primark requires three specific resources
for
implementation
of
these
strategies
and
they
are physical
resources, human resources and the initial start-up-cost (West, 2015). The physical resources involved the resources which are associated with the production, finance and marketing resources. These resources are necessary for implementing the above mentioned strategies in Primark. These resources are focused on developing more products for entering in new market and hence it advisable to make use of more physical resources. Development of human resource is also very important for strategic implementation. Primark can develop their human resource through more learning and development activities. For the initial start-up-cost, the organization should acquire enough financial resources. To make the strategy successful, it is important for any organization to arrange for financial resources.
4.3 Contribution of SMART objectives in strategic planning Specific The objective specifically mentions that the Primark will enter into a new market with its existing product as well as with some new products. This will help them to maximize the profit of the organization. Measurable
With the aim to increase the profit and the market share, Primark has framed the strategy of diversification and Franchising. With these strategies the organization will be able to increase their profit by 12%. All these will also help the organization enhance their market share (Montgomery, 2011, p.67). Achievable All the business organization should determine their abilities as well as the marketing environment before setting the objectives. This would help the business organization to make sure whether the objective framed is achievable or not. Primark is no exception. For determining the market condition, the organization has carried out SWOT and PESTLE analysis. It has also listed the resources which will be required to fulfil the strategy. After all the analysis, it has been seen, that it will be possible for the organization, to achieve its objective. Realistic It is also important for Primark to make the objective more realistic by reviewing its resources, employees, competitors as well as current market. The strategy of Primark to enter into new market is realistic because it would help the organization to gain success and maximize its profit if everything is done accordingly. It will help to provide identity to their brand (Basili et al. 2013, p.45). Timescale To attain the objective the organization has included a time span of two years.
Conclusion Primark is responsible for contributing to the contemporary trend of fast fashion. Primark is best known because of its trendy clothes and cheap price. This feature of Primark has made
it quite famous all over Europe as well as in USA. The organization is now required to expand further in some other.
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