Marketing Strategy of Tesco Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Strategy of Tesco - Case Study Example From its humble beginnings, Tesco Plc has gained the reputation of being the largest British retailer in terms of global and local shares. It is estimated that in every 8 UK retail sales, 1 is spent on Tesco (Tesco Plc 2007). Recognizing the growth opportunities in the virtual marketplace, the giant retailer has decided to establish online presence during 1994. Three years after, Tesco has started an online shopping which it named Tesco Direct (Tesco Plc 2007). Since then, Tesco has started offering grocery and food items in its virtual store, Tesco.com. On August 2006, the company announced the offering of non-food items in its online store under the name Tesco Direct. This marketing strategy has proved to be very efficient and profitable for the retailing giant. During the fiscal year 2006, the company announced a total annual turnover of 33.974 billion and reported a pre-tax profit of 1.962 billion. Out of this, 1.2 billion is shared by Tesco.com in terms of total revenue and 83 million in terms of profit. Even though the share of Tesco.com is meagre compared to total turnover and profit generated by Tesco Plc, its growth has been remarkable. The fiscal year 2006 reports online sales double-digit growth of 29.2% while profits soar by 49.5% (Tesco Plc Annual Report 2006). Compared to its rivals in the UK retail industry, Tesco.com captures a higher market share at 65%. Walmart-owned Asda chain lags behind with 16% while Sainsbury corners 14% (Best 2006). Its success has also been documented as it has been named the only retailer which has been able to make online shopping profitable (Walker 2006). On Crossroads: Evaluating Local and Global Opportunities The recent trends and developments in the global market stress the huge emerging opportunities in online retailing. In the UK alone, there has been a sharp rise in the number of people who are "cash rich but time poor" which triggers the higher demand for online shopping (Muncaster 2006). According to the National Statistics Office, the online market is still in the growth stage as only about 20% of adults in UK source food products from the internet (Best 2006). This improvement heats up competition in the local market as industry players battles for market share by launching aggressive strategies and enhancing the overall customer shopping experience. As a global player, Tesco Plc also eyes geographical expansion of its online shopping service by the identification of the profitable markets. In the global economy, it should be noted that internet usage has skyrocketed by 208.7% during the interval of 2000 to 2007 (Internet Usage Statistics 20007). Growth has been very significant in the highly developing Asian and Latin American countries including China, India, and Brazil. It is expected that the wide acceptance and popularity of the internet technologies in this country together with the sharp increase in disposable incomes in these regions will attract global retailers. Faced with these opportunities and challenges in the local and global market, Tesco Plc chooses the strategic direction

The Hotel Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Hotel Business - Assignment Example As the discussion stresses the hotel business is one of the booming industries today. The advent of globalization has both necessitated and attracted people to travel far geographic regions either for business, studies or leisure purposes. The demand for hotels have drastically increase with this change in lifestyle. The hotel industry has then been a very profitable venture for most businessmen. Travel catalyzes the hotel industry. And since technology has increased the possibility and ease of transportation, we predict that the hotel industry will also continue to boom. From the report it is clear that agreeing on contracts and signing becomes very fragile especially if it involves a great deal of resource and puts the integrity of the business at risk. Contract agreement can be a very sensitive issue whether it be on employment, on business links and even in some financial decisions such as investing and borrowing. People who have experience on contract agreements have something to share on how to make the process of agreeing easy and comfortable. For the hotel industry, the practical guide is the same as with the other industries. During telephone conversations and at meetings take notes of the points covered and at the end read them back to the other person to ensure there is a mutual understanding of what has been agreed† and â€Å"confirm those points in a letter as soon as possible† while also maintaining copies of all communications.... On the other hand, if both parties do not agree on non-negotiable aspects such as price, then the owner must not pursue with the deal. Preparation is also very important. This is the stage where the hotel owner can study previous contracts on similar arrangements so that adapting there will be a foundation for familiarity. This is also the stage where the owner can write down the most important points that you need on agree on (Nicholas Sharp). As to the records, Sharp and Etches give two practicals: "During telephone conversations and at meetings take notes of the points covered and at the end read them back to the other person to ensure there is a mutual understanding of what has been agreed" and "confirm those points in a letter as soon as possible" while also maintaining copies of all communications (Nicholas Sharp). When the contract is with a supplier, several things must be done before inking the contract. It would be very helpful to shop for different quotes before narrowing down your choice to a particular supplier. The contract should contain the relevant information such as "how and when payment should be made" (National Consumer Agency). During the negotiation, it is highly advised to never agree to something whether verbally or in writing when you still have some points to raise and agree on. A very straight action of saying "no" to a proposal that contains some things that you do not agree on is also a must. "Tactically, it is often better for you to prepare and send the other party the contract you want, rather than wait to get the other party's version. If you have to react to another version this