The Success of Woolworths Essays

The Success of Woolworths Essays The Success of Woolworths Essay The Success of Woolworths Essay The following report will investigate the Australian retail/grocery supermarket Woolworths and its parent company Woolworths Limited. This report will explore the success Woolworths and its contribution to the Australian economy. It will examine the following subjects: * About Woolworths * Business Structure * Responsibilities to Stakeholders * Internal and External Influences * Strategies for Future Growth About Woolworths Woolworths is a conventional supermarket owned by Woolworths Limited. It started as a basement store in Pitt Street in 1924, and is now one of the leading competitors in the supermarket business.With over 850 stores in Australia, and 110,000 Woolworths staff, they provide their customers with great service, products and price. With 96% of their fresh fruits and vegetables are Australian grown and 100% of their beef is Australian made, the aim to live to their slogan ‘the fresh food people’. They aim to develop long-term relatio nships with their producers and farmers, to have a consistent quality of fresh produces. Business Structure * Size Woolworths is classified as a national company. * Location Woolworths run their business in Australia, having a store in almost every regional and metropolitan area. Industry Type Woolworths is a tertiary retail company, providing the service to sell products made from other companies. * Legal Structure Woolworths is a subsidiary company, owned by Woolworths Limited. Responsibilities to Stakeholders Woolworths holds many responsibilities that their various stakeholders expect. They have taken the measure to make sure that the correct steps are taken to uphold these responsibilities. Stakeholders| Responsibility| Measures Taken| Investors| Competitive ROI, and being informed on the path the company takes| Quarterly investor briefings, open to all shareholders. Employees| Safe and healthy workplace | ‘Destination ZERO’, a project that plans to have zero harm to the employees. | Customers| Great service, and value for their money| Monitoring on the Australian shopping behavior and implements ideas that benefit the customers| Environment| Minimizing the impact on climate change and carbon footprint| $55. 7 million was spent energy efficient technology| Internal and External Influences Woolworths has been impacted both internally and externally to become what it is today. They have responded to these influences as they see fit.Internal Influences Marketing Strategies Woolworths has capitalized on the idea of becoming ‘the fresh food people’. They have implemented various different ways to approach the customers by informing them of healthy food choices, as well as fresh food facts. They have created a website that informs them of how and where their produces are made. They create commercials of ‘Fresh Market Update’, which summarizes which fruits and vegetables are in season. Their magazines, the Fresh magazine an d Australian Good Taste, are a monthly magazine that shows healthy recipes to recreate.This marketing push on their slogan reassures the customers that their choice in retailer to buy from is the healthiest choice. Location With over 850 store across Australia, customers are much more connected to the business. They are located in almost every metropolitan and regional area, with their fruits and meat suppliers close to the eastern suburbs. Figure 1 Source: woolworthsfacts. com. au/our-suppliers. php This strategy to keep most of their supplier close to the eastern suburbs can significantly decrease travel time; make sure they have the freshest fruits and meat to sell.Not only does their supplier’s location important, but also the store’s location is also strategically placed. As most of their stores are located in suburb areas, they are located in shopping centres that could attract the most visibility and exposure. Figure 2 Source: woolworthsfacts. com. au/our-supp liers. php Figure [ 2 ] Source: woolworthsfacts. com. au/our-suppliers. php Visibility Directly linking to location, visibility for any business is crucial for attracting customers. Woolworths can be located in different shopping centres that may also contain other competing supermarkets.This allows the customer to compare their prices to their competitors. Another benefit for visibility having exposure in busy and populated areas. For example, Woolworths’ large store in Pitt Street, Sydney is in a central hub of the city. They are able to gain a large amount of visibility and can attract the potential customers walking past. External Influences Economical The typical Australian household is budgeting their expenses due to the rising prices of everyday living. They have counteracted this by giving their customers a special sale of a different variety of products every week.This has allowed the customers to be able to spend less but still be able to get the same products they desired. Technology The accelerating technology today is rapidly increasing and people are becoming more connected to each other. The use of apps in phones is becoming more frequent and everything is becoming on-the-go. Woolworths has created a Woolworths App to seek an opportunity to connect to this audience. It is able to tell what is on season, what products are on special, as well as being able to create shopping lists with prices.Social Media The rise of technology has also given the rise to social networks. Many companies have risen to generate publicity within these social networks. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are the few names that Woolworths has created its Internet publicity. Strategies for Future Growth International Presence As of now, Woolworths is a household name across Australia. It is known best for its fresh produces and service. Their presence in the world has already reached New Zealand, with over 100 stores.A strategy for growth could be spre ading to different countries neighboring Australia, such as the South East Asian countries. This can help build relationships with neighboring countries and able to seek new customers on an international level. Pre-Prepared Meals and Home delivery Another recommendation would be having pre-prepared meals delivered to the doorstep. A problem most family households have is having the time to shop in the supermarket and cook. These pre-prepared meals will start off as a survey on how large your family is, as well as the variety of food they like to eat.These deliveries will also contain the other items you would likely get from the store. Summary The report above addresses Woolworths and its parent company Woolworths Limited the success and contribution to the Australian economy. The report identifies its business structure, responsibility to their stakeholders, explained 6 various influences (both internal and external) to their success in Australia and recommends strategies for futur e growth.