Analysis of Global Business and Strategy: A Case Study of Sainsbury plc

Global Business and
Strategy

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Brief background to the chosen organization..............................................................................3
Internal and external analysis......................................................................................................3
Porter’s five force model to understand market forces and to gain competitive advantage.......6
Recommendation.........................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
With the increase in globalization, global business practices have become a common
phenomena which help the companies to expand their business internationally. This helps them
in accessing many benefits like increase in market share, creating a strong brand image,
attracting a large number of customers towards their services or products, building their
significance in global market etc. The companies need to formulate their strategies in such a way
which helps them to expand efficiently in the international markets so that a competitive
advantage can be gained (Anwar, 2019). In this report Sainsbury plc is taken which is the third
largest supermarket chain in UK with its headquarters in London. In this report the internal and
external analysis of the company will be done along with identification of company's sustainable
competitive advantage in the market. Further recommendations are given so that the company
can formulate such strategies which will help it in dealing in the international market.
Brief background to the chosen organization
Sainsbury plc is a UK based supermarket chain which was established by John James
Sainsbury in 1869 in London. The company is the third largest supermarket chain in UK which
provides its customers with consumer goods like groceries, food etc. which are of highest
quality. The company offers its products at low prices through its more than 1400 stores in UK
which helps it in gaining a competitive edge in the market. The company is facing high
competition in the market due to presence of discount grocers like Aldi and Lidl who offer their
products to customers at cheaper rates. For saving the costs Sainsbury is trying to cut jobs so that
the operations can be streamlined and costs of about £500 million can be saved.
Internal and external analysis
A company needs to analyze the internal and external environmental factors which affect
the operations of the business and also affects its competitiveness in the market. Internal analysis
helps the company in determining the internal factors that can be controlled and changed by the
management (Bos, Pendleton and Toms, 2013). These factors help the company in analyzing its
strengths and weaknesses along with potential opportunities and threats in the market. SWOT
analysis of Sainsbury is given as follows :