Retail Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Retail Marketing - Case Study Example Tesco PLC is the largest British retailer based on both global and local shares. Traditionally, the UK-based international retailer specializes only in the distribution of food products but it currently adds other goods and services to its product portfolio which ranges from clothing to consumer electronics to consumer financial services to internet services to internet service and consumer telecom. Last February 26, the company announced a total annual turnover of 33.974 billion and reported a pre-tax profit of 1.962 billion. It is estimated that in every 8 UK retail sales, 1 is spent on Tesco. Tesco is currently one of the world recognized retailers. The phenomenal success of Tesco as a retailer is recognised even in the global arena. The company lags behind Wal-mart in terms of global sales, staying ahead of other retail giants like Carrefour, and Home Depot. The company's success and even mere existence in the strategies it employs to capture new markets and retain its current buyers. Its well-crafted marketing strategy is a huge factor becomes a main driver in the company's success. However, as the company focused on capturing other geographical regions in the world, it is irrefutable that the Tesco also needs to modify its current domestic strategy and design other strategies taking into account the features and issues in the new market. Together with other large global companies, the strategies employed by Tesco are met by a lot of criticisms from commentators. As societal marketing is becoming a trend and a common feature in the businesses, it is imperative that Tesco adapts ways to mitigate the identified harmful effects of these issues in its operations. This report will look at the phenomenal success of Tesco PLC both in the United Kingdom and other geographical markets. The first section will identify and explain the key success factors in its operation. Recognizing that marketing is fundamental in its operation, an in-depth exploration of its marketing mix will also be done. Another section will be devoted to the issues and challenges faced by Tesco when trying to capture foreign markets. The last part will look at the implications of Tesco's rapid growth in the market environment and the possible recommendations on how to minimize its harmful effects. The report will conclude with its findings. II. Tesco's Success Drivers As with any business organization, the success of a retailer is based on having a distinct competitive strategy. Accordingly, retailers' competitive advantage should come from critical success factors in the value chain. Market oriented and customer focused companies undoubtedly become successful in their industries as they focus on understanding customer needs, motives and patronage decisions. The current business arena shows companies being transformed into lean organizations as they evaluate their value chains and including only processes which add value to the customers. The evolution of new technologies which drives competition into higher intensity calls for a system for which to hear, understand, and respond to customers' needs in order to succeed. The factors discussed above become the most important tenets of retailer's success.