Marketing Report free essay sample

Executive summary This marketing report for Whitcoulls calculates the businesses present situation by examining the threats, weaknesses, strengths and the macro environment. The analysis of these factors displayed that the opportunities Whitcoulls has would change the image, quality, and market the business currently has. With over 50 stores nationwide and 130 years experience, Whitcoulls has a firm understanding of their market and their competitors. With this knowledge Whitcoulls are able to create a range of products that suit the needs of their diverse target market, which therefore increases their market share in the book industry. A large percentage of Whitcoulls cliental are made up from the low to middle population scale. This is largely due to Whitcoulls efforts to ensure their products of high quality are affordable through sales. The main recommendation for the future of this business is to create a more positive media image, rebuild in Christchurch, expand its partnerships, and stock more NZ made merchandise. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Report or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The main affects that have taken their toll on Whitcoulls is the Christchurch earthquake, the recession, the business nearly facing liquidation and the ever changing trends consumers go through. Whitcoulls is known to be New Zealand’s most popular book and stationary retailer and had been for many years head of the book industry. Being a multi-product organization Whitcoulls offer a variety of stationary for the office and personal needs, such as; puzzles, DVD’s, learning and entertainment devices games and books, Children’s toys, board games, Blu-Ray’s, newspapers, magazines and an extensive range of books fit to meet all ages (Facebook, 2012). With 60 or so stores nationwide, although facing some harsh times in business Whitcoulls is still one of the leading competitors in the book market. Whitcoulls are also now offering their customers an online shopping option, the company has adapted to modern times with the addition of ‘eBooks’ to their site. ‘eBooks’ is essentially a online book, readers are able to buy and view the product online (Scherer, 2011) Whitcoulls also have a website in which enables customers to view the ‘top 100 staff picks’ or ‘50 best kids books’ (Whitcoulls, 2012) making it easy for customers to check out the updated favorites and buy these books online. Whitcoulls mission, as quoted from their Facebook page, is to â€Å"be the number one destination for all New Zealanders’ entertainment, work amp; learning needs† (Facebook, 2012). 4 Situational Analysis PESTE Economical Many economical factors have impacted on the book market but some of the most substantial effects were that of the 2008 global recession, with the 2008 unemployment rate rising to 4. 6% (Statistics NZ, 2008) many business including Whitcoulls found 2007-2009 a tough period and with consumers adjusting their spending habits to the recession the book industry was at a downfall. Other economical factors that impacted Whitcoulls was the food prices rising 7. 6% between 2007-2008 (Statistics NZ, 2008) this impact further reduced the consumers expenditure rate meaning customers began searching for alternatives such as renting books from the library or from friends and even buying them second-hand. In response to these impacts Whitcoulls offered numerous sales, buy one get one free sales and other alternatives such as customers being able to win prizes by shopping or even winning book vouchers. Socio-cultural An important socio-cultural trend to remember when analyzing the market for book stores is the 18 to 50’s age group this is because books such as â€Å"50 Shades of Grey† with a target audience of adult women that enjoyed the â€Å"Twilight† series but are after a more ‘intimate’ storyline (Massey, 2012), and â€Å"The Hunger Games† with its target audience of 18-34 year olds (Hinckely, 2012) are selling high and new books of similar content are being published and selling at the same successful rate. As a result, there will be an increase in demand for products aimed at the 18+ target market. Whitcoulls is a community based business and with the recent selling to the Normans they intend to return to being a New Zealand owned and operated store, while also reigniting the tradition of keeping Whitcoulls ‘in the family’ (Scherer, 2011). Whitcoulls is known for its participation in sponsorship and fundraising. For the past 5 years Whitcoulls fundraised for Plunket every Christmas (Plunket, 2012) and (following the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch) Whitcoulls began fundraising with The Red and opened the â€Å"Red Cross 2011 Canterbury Earthquake Appeal† setting up donation boxes in all stores nationwide (Facebook, 2012). 5 Technological With Whitcoulls’ main competitor Paper Plus (Scherer, 2011) taking to the web in order to entice customers Whitcoulls has also taken to the ‘World Wide Web’ in order to increase customer interest and profit. Having this online  option enables customers to search for books, view up and coming items, see the most popular books and even purchase items from their own home. Whitcoulls have also taken to Facebook with a current 4,705 ‘likes’ (Facebook, 2012) the aim of this page is to further advertise things such as current sales, up and coming books, hold discussions about books, allow customers to ask questions or lay c omplaints/compliments and also to inform customers of the latest Whitcoulls news. This social media allows Whitcoulls to communicate with their customers. In order to persuade customers to buy online Whitcoulls have begun to offer more online sales and competitions solely for their online customers. Environmental The largest environmental impact that has taken its toll on Whitcoulls is its consumers demanding Whitcoulls remains a New Zealand business and not once again sold to Australia. Consumers are showing an increasing interest in Whitcoulls being ‘revived’ by the Normans and are looking forward to Whitcoulls being restored to its original place and hoping to see it grow as a New Zealand business. The Normans being the new owners of the business are promising to keep it New Zealand based but with the growing number of consumers wanting New Zealand merchandise the Normans have also promised to continue dealerships with New Zealand businesses in order to keep consumers happy and to uphold the reputation of the business. Andrew Baker, who’s Palmerston North Company IQ Ideas, supplies puzzles for Whitcoulls believes that from his experience with the new owners that the decisions they’ve made are good and that in terms of what the new ownership means for New Zealand businesses ‘it’s all good news’ (Scherer, 2011) 6 Market Analysis Whitcoulls have a remarkably diverse market. Although certain items at Whitcoulls are aimed at a particular age group, they also have many items that can cater for the needs of many New Zealanders. It is for this reason that Whitcoulls is able to have a successful market. Whitcoulls recognize that there are certain ‘buying trends’ within the market like the current ’50 Shades of Grey’ and it is for this reason they stock these item in bulk, put them on displays and on their website make sure they are at the top of the page and in the ‘recommended’ section. Although books only count for 30% of Whitcoulls’ market revenue (Scherer, 2011) due to the demand for books such as this and their history as originally being a book and printing shop before merging with a top competitor stationary brand that they continue to focus largely on the book industry. In terms of buying patterns Whitcoulls have had some very inconsistent years, due to voluntary administration the consumer base fell dramatically leading Whitcoulls to near liquidation, but with the new owners it is beginning to be turned around and restored to its original state. Whitcoulls has a Psychographic segmentation strategy; it builds its business around the needs, interests, attitudes and lifestyles of individuals in order to help class them into small groups. Through this strategy Whitcoulls is able to meet the standards and needs of a remarkably diverse group and in doing so they are able to target a vast revenue of consumers. * 7 Competitor analysis Within Whitcoulls there are two significant competitors, Paper Plus and Take Note. The reason for this is because they are both successful New Zealand owned business and are able to take the financial risks needed to become the leader in the book market. With ‘Take Note’ having over 80 stores nationwide that are all locally owned and operated they have long been recognized as a trusted store by many New Zealanders and make up for a large part of the market (Take Note, 2012). While they are in fact owned by the ‘Paper Plus Group’ they are still a huge competition for Whitcoulls (Paper Plus Group, 2012). Take Note also have a partnership with AA meaning customers can collect ‘Smartfuel’ points from shopping with them (Take Note, 2012). This partnership is a huge advantage to the store due to the attraction of having a ‘2 in 1’ for consumers, meaning not only can they get their stationary and books from a leading New Zealand store but they can also collect Smartfuel points at the same time. Many Take Note stores also have a full NZ Post agency and some incorporate Lotto and Kiwi Bank services (Paper Plus Group, 2012). Paper Plus is the leading competitor for Whitcoulls, this is due to their partnerships, franchises and also because they also own Take Note. With Paper Plus turning over a remarkable $100 million a year it is clear this industry is overwhelmingly competitive (Paper Plus Group, 2012). With over 100 stores between Kaitaia and Invercargill Paper Plus has gained a strong presence in cities and local areas (Paper Plus Group, 2012). With Paper Plus also having a partnership with ‘Fly Buys’ customers can not only earn ‘Fly Buys’ points when they shop but they can also earn ‘Fly Buys airpoints’ this partnership has existed for over 10 years and has resulted in over 26 points being issued from Paper Plus stores (Paper Plus, 2012) not only do they have this partnership but in many Paper plus stores private mailbox’s are available and post shops and services are offered. While these stores have a huge chunk of the profit within the market Whitcoulls still holds a large place within this market and with its new owners is going to continue to grow in profit and recognition. 8 Competitors Strengths/weaknesses grid Paper plus Strengths| Paper plus Weaknesses| Take Note strengths| Take Note Weaknesses| Partnership with Fly Buys| Lacks in the ‘eBooks’ department| Partnership with AA| Not recognized a ‘book shop’| Built in postal shops| Not recognized for the sale of books| Owned by Paper Plus| Poor advertisement| Offer private mail box’s| Poor advertisement| Incorporated Kiwi Bank | No sale of eBooks available| Locally known| Reasonably expensive| Incorporated Postal Shops| Lack of stores in bigger cities like Wellington| Stores in both provincial and city areas| Not as much range in stock as Whitcoulls| Very cheap stock of great value| Still reasonably new to the market| 9 Macro Environmental Analysis The Macro Environment has had its toll on Whitcoulls with the effects of the Christchurch Earthquakes three Whitcoulls stores were extremely damaged and therefore not included in the sale to the Normans (Scott, 2011). Due to this these three stores are not set to cl ose (Scott, 2011). This uncontrollable natural factor has had its impact on Whitcoulls big time, with the departure of these Christchurch stores many consumers within Christchurch are upset due to the long relationship and history Whitcoulls has had with Christchurch since it first opened there on Cashel Street as Whitcomb and Tombs (Whitcoulls, 2012). Technological changes have also had an uncontrollable impact on Whitcoulls with the Normans pointing out Whitcoulls lack in technology, and the computer system was installed in 1999 (Scherer, 2011) due to this the technological processes have been diminished and not up to standard. With competitors taking to partnerships and higher technology and high standard websites Whitcoulls has had an uncontrollable loss in the market. With the economy facing numerous recessions Whitcoulls has been effected by consumers becoming ‘penny savvy’ and not being as likely to ‘splash out’ on new books or stationary and are instead choosing cheaper options such as renting books from libraries or turning to the ‘Warehouse Stationary’ for cheaper stationary and office needs. The media environment for the business plan has been remarkably positive since the turn over of the company to the Normans and many articles are positive about the change in ownership and the Normans’ future business plans. 10 TOWS Analysis Threats Whitcoulls have a huge range of potential threats, which have the possibility to cause extensive harm to the success of the business. One of Whitcoulls’ more obvious threats is the strengths of the current competitors present in the book market. Because of this Whitcoulls must continue to find new ways to compete with these firms in order to maintain their competitive advantage, for example Whitcoulls taking up the eBooks partnership has increased the amount of online shopping and internet purchases for the company. Further threats include the current economic situation and the financial problems Whitcoulls currently have. The global economic crisis of 2008 caused incomes to drop considerably, which caused a plunge in consumers’ disposable income. This resulted in consumers being less likely to purchase expensive new stationary or a brand new book collection. Consumers are instead choosing to save their money by changing to more affordable options like; Trade Me, The Warehouse and The Warehouse Stationary and more consumers are turning to second hand stores and markets for new books. To cancel out these threats, Whitcoulls has begun to introduce more ‘relevant’ stock and less ‘nic naks’ in an attempt to clear clutter and provide customers with a wider range of books and stationary rather than useless items (Scherer, 2011). Opportunities Because Whitcoulls is now in the hands of the Normans, the opportunities for the growth of the business are endless. With more and more consumers supporting the new owners the Normans are already building an even steadier clientele.