Corporate Level Strategies and Implementation of Coles

This report discusses the corporate level strategies and implementation of Coles, an Australian retail company. It covers their market penetration, expansion, and product expansion strategies, as well as their use of differentiation and cost leadership strategies. The report also provides recommendations for Coles to improve their technological advancements and expand their business across borders.

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Executive Summary
The following report has been prepared after identifying key components of strategic
management, strategic formulation as well as strategy implementation followed by Coles
company. After evaluating the ideas and practices followed by the company’s management,
this report will evaluate how these acts as conjointly in attaining organisational goals and
objectives. The significance of relationship between structure, processes, functions and
individuals will be recognised to find out how they are responsible for firm’s success or
failure. This report will conclude after recommending suitable alternative strategies to Coles
management that can ensure its success in upcoming years in more enhanced manner.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................1
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Corporate level strategies of Coles............................................................................................3
Strategy implementation............................................................................................................5
Recommendations......................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Since establishment in the year 1914, Coles has been able to place itself as one of the
pioneering companies in Australian retail market. The founder of Coles, George Coles have
made Coles supermarkets as a key influencer in retail industry while his son travelled other
countries like US to develop Coles business according to industrial practices followed over
there. In July 2007, Wesfarmers purchased Coles after demerging Myer from Coles business
in 2005. Today, the company continues its traditional supermarket business in food retailing
along with giving employment opportunity to more than 10,000 people. In Australia itself,
Coles has 140,000 retail stores contributing about 4.1% in GDP along with employing 10.7 of
total employment on Australia. In the year 2012, Coles was recorded to be in control of 31%
of market therefore, placing itself in second position after Woolworths (Coles, 2018).
Corporate level strategies of Coles
The corporate level strategies assist Coles businesses in becoming leader in Australian retail
industry. Value added service is been monitored and focussed by Wesfarmers portfolio
management while Wesfarmers further concentrates on diversifying the portfolio across
several other industries (Wesfarmers Limited, 2017). Their strategy focuses majorly on
strengthening existing sectors while identifying sustainable business operations and growth
opportunities. BCG framework can be used to analyse strategic position of businesses and in
case of Coles supermarkets, the company has got considerable market share. It can be said
that through strategic marketing and effective corporate level strategies implemented in its
business operations, Coles utilises more cash while receiving good amount of revenues.
Contemporary issues impacting retail supermarkets is deficiency in environment related

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projects that effects external environment of the companies. Coles also needs to take strategic
decisions for the same and thus it had implemented effective business models in its
management practice that manages waste reduction while following other necessary
standards of Australian retail industry (Keith, 2012).
The corporate-level strategies of Coles also involve integration of differentiation and
cost leadership strategies. Through brand image, the company differentiates and provides
superior value chain management to reduce cost of its products (Ritson, 2011). Cost
leadership strategies are used by the company to offer its customers value added products in
prices as low as possible. The minimisation of costs is achieved by the company through
economies of scale activities and advanced use of technology along with efficient supply
chain management. Differentiation strategies are used by Coles through brand image which
has been developed by the company over decades through offering customers with
satisfactory products. The integration of differentiation and cost leadership strategies makes
Coles supermarkets able to achieve targeted and broader market segment. The company try
and offers those products also that are different from their rivalry companies and that to in
lower prices (Advameg, Inc., 2018). This low-cost strategy ensures that Coles focus on
providing with those domestic products that demonstrate superior quality along with limited
selection in them. Even the product differentiation strategy of the company ensures its
customers in getting diversified products range in Cole’s supermarkets. All these integrated
strategies fits in internal as well as external environment of the company while ensuring that
Coles remains ahead of the game. The marketing strategies followed by Coles company are
as follows;
Market penetration strategy: This strategy is adopted by the company to grab broader market
share by expanding its businesses in existing marketplace. Coles try to capture larger markets
simply by reducing cost of products as compared to its competitors.

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Market expansion strategy: This strategy helps Coles in expanding its business operations.
Here the company plays a safer game by introducing successful and existing products in new
marketplace i.e. Australian and other overseas markets.
Product expansion strategy: This strategy again allows Coles to offer new products, but to
existing markets only. As a part of expansion strategy, Coles offers new range of products in
similar markets so that any issue with new products do not affect its market penetration
process (Advameg, Inc., 2018).
Strategy implementation
The strategies implementation procedure followed by Coles is maintained through
performance measurement, effective leadership and enhanced implementation mechanisms.
All the members and employees are involved in strategy implementation process since Coles
is strategically driven firm. The management of the firm understands that people look after
their leaders who act as their mentors, enhance connotation to commands and establishes
procedures that brings value to the organisation. The transforming strategy process results
Coles achieving engagement of employees and personnel’s which are further engaged in
bringing those policies into action (Soderlund, 2004). This brings sense of ownership among
staff in the process of strategic implementation as resources for strategies are collected by
individuals present in every level and in various departments. This process enables
implementation of suitable strategies according to the need of present business environment
(Sandeep, 2012).
The strategies and plans made in corporate levels are further divided among different
departments which are managed by individuals ( Yi, Gu, & Wei, 2017). The communication

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and cascading of strategic effects are achieved through transforming plans into actions after
evaluating capacity if internal as well as external company resources. Similarly, performance
of individuals is manged effectively to ensure that implementation of strategies is done
according to plan and within mentioned time period (Keith, 2012). For the same, Coles
ensures that proper execution of strategies is followed in every departmental level so that
procedures facilitates strategic implementation according to desired outcomes. Coles adopts
technologies as well as innovations to foster implementation process so that all its process are
done according to contemporary business requirements. The implementation of technology
along with effective teams are tailored to ensure meeting with goal behind preparation of
strategic policies and procedures ( Kaifi & Noori , 2011). The process involved in strategic
implementation of Coles links its strategies with core business objectives that makes Coles
position itself over its competitors. Since the company follows a clear and concise manner of
strategic implementation, Coles has lead itself in sustainable position for present and future
environment in retail business.
Recommendations
The global environment and retail industry are experiencing sluggish growth due to recent
economic recessions in many developing nations like Europe. Even, retail industries can be
placed under vulnerable position due to everchanging demands of consumers as well as
increasing rivalries among competitors. Under such circumstances, Australian retail and
supermarket stores needs to implement technological advancement so that achieving strategic
goals becomes easier for them. By understanding technological revolutions, Coles can adopt
suitable technology in their organisational development that can even improve their customer
relationship management system (Nenycz-Thiel, 2011). It can be noted that Coles focusses

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more on internal developments within Australian business environment. Since the company
possess reputable brand image, Coles must focus making strategies that allows it spreading
business across borders like its rivalry companies Aldi and Woolworths (Dunford, Palmer, &
Benveniste, n.d.).
Conclusion
The report gave detailed information about current corporate level strategies as well as
strategies implemented by Coles that helps the company position itself uniquely above its
rival companies. The study made on strategies followed by Coles helped in gaining an insight
about how the retail industry requirements guides Coles while making strategic decisions.
The report also showed how internal and external factors influences organisational culture
and corporate level strategies in Coles to operate in present competitive business environment
along with considering future growth options. The report identified few loopholes in Coles
strategies for which a thought-out recommendation has been made that can aid the managers
while formulating future business strategies.

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References
Advameg, Inc. (2018). Coles Myer Ltd. - Company Profile, Information, Business
Description, History, Background Information on Coles Myer Ltd. Retrieved from
https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/9/Coles-Myer-Ltd.html
Coles. (2018). Coles: Our History. Retrieved from
https://www.coles.com.au/about-coles/centenary
Dunford, R., Palmer, I., & Benveniste, J. (n.d.). Strategy for Sucessful Entry into a
Concentrated and Highly Competetive Market. Retrieved from
https://www.anzam.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf-manager/2374_DUNFORD_RICHA
RD_BSP-01.PDF
Keith, S. (2012). Coles, Woolworths and the Locals. The Australasian-Pacific Journal of
Regional Food Studies, 47-81.
Kaifi , B. A., & Noori , S. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior: A Study on Managers,
Employees, and Teams. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 12(01), 88-97.
Nenycz-Thiel, M. (2011). Private labels in Australia: A case where retailer concentration
does not predicate private labels share. Brand Management, 18(08), 624-633.
Ritson, N. (2011). Strategic Management. Ventus Publishing.
Sandeep, K. (2012). Analysis of the grocery industry Coles Supermarkets. Retrieved from
http://www.academia.edu/4615254/Analysis_of_the_grocery_industry_Coles_Superm
arkets
Soderlund, J. (2004). Building theories of project management: past research, questions for
the future. International Journal of Project Management, 22, 183-191.

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Wesfarmers Limited. (2017). Wesfarmers 2017 Annual Report. Retrieved from
https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2017-
annual-report.pdf?sfvrsn=0
Yi, Y., Gu, M., & Wei, Z. (2017). Bottom-up learning, strategic flexibility and strategic
change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 30(02), 124-141.