UK Food Retail and Sustainability

This assignment requires an analysis of the UK food retail sector's sustainability practices. It examines environmental impacts, consumer preferences for sustainable products, and strategies employed by retailers to address these issues. The provided research papers delve into various aspects like eco-labeling, local sourcing, market consolidation, and price premiums for sustainable products. Students are expected to synthesize information from these sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of sustainability in the UK food retail landscape.

MARKET RETAILING

Executive Summary
This report is based on the strategies that are generally adopted by the companies in the UK,
to implement the plans and the strategies to increase the scores for the annual profits and the
increase in the market share of the UK. In this study, the detailed study has been made on the
Tesco and Waitrose and its mode of operations in the UK. Finally, the different types of
customer services and the detailed marketing mix of the companies have been discussed with
respect to the markets of the UK. The positions and the market analysis using the SWOT and
PESTLE analysis have been made in the early sections of the report. Finally, these are
concluded in the final section of the report.

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Evaluating the retail strategies on the competitive Environment...............................................4
PESTLE Analysis...................................................................................................................4
Porter’s Five Forces................................................................................................................6
SWOT Analysis......................................................................................................................7
Company’s weakness may turn into strengths.......................................................................8
Objectives...................................................................................................................................8
Tesco.......................................................................................................................................8
Waitrose..................................................................................................................................9
Positioning, Targeting and Image..............................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................12

Introduction
In the context of the modern world, the economy of the UK relies largely on the grocery and
the food market retail. £339 was the recorded value of the retail sales of the UK in 2015.
With more than about 2.8 million employed in the UK market retails, the food retail
continues to be an integral part of the markets of the UK. It has been seen that the 290315
retail outlets of the UK are the major source of the revenue of the country. It has been seen
that about 12% of the total market retails of the UK has been made through the online media.
Therefore, it has observed that the total online sales in the UK in terms of food and other
market retailing have continued to grow by about 10% annually (Goworek et al. 2012,
p.944). In this study, the food market retailing has been described, according to the two
companies including the Tesco Foods and Waitrose Foods.
In this report, the different aspects of the UK food market retailing have been discussed and
this includes the different analysis of the companies including the PESTLE analysis, SWOT,
Competition analysis and Porter's Five force analysis. These analyses detected the different
modes of operation of the companies, their directives, their threats and advantages in the
modern markets of the country.
Evaluating the retail strategies on the competitive Environment
In this context, different analysis have been made, the PESTLE analysis helps the company to
analyse the environmental factors that allow them to achieve them to have the competitive
edge over the other companies in the markets of the UK. The SWOT Analysis allows the
company to analyse their int3ernal strengths and weakness and their relevant opportunities.
Therefore, this may allow the company to implement their strengths and opportunities and at
the same time, provide a sharp edge to their weakness and transform their weaknesses into
strengths. The external environmental factors of the company are analysed by the Porter’s
forces and this allows the company to have the desired levels of advantage of business in a
particular market of the UK.
PESTLE Analysis
Political Currently, Tesco and Waitrose have its branches in the different parts of
the UK and a total of six other countries in the world. In this context, the
political structure of Tesco has been comprehensive, as the total
opportunities provided by the Tesco in the modern world, to the young
individuals of the UK are higher than the other companies in the UK. It
employs a variety of individuals including the students and the older
individuals. It has been directly influenced by the superior business

conditions of the European Union laws and legislations. On the other
hand, these services are not provided by the Waitrose.
Economic The economic factors are directly related to the financial stability and the
prices of the products and services, which are imposed by Tesco and
Waitrose. It is observed that one of the important factors that concern the
UK is the unemployment and this has attributed to the lack of sales of the
particular products at the desired levels in the country. It may be
considered that the growing international business has a direct influence
on the Waitrose markets in the UK.
Socio-cultural The social and the cultural factors are important for Tesco and Waitrose to
have the increase in their market share of the UK food markets. It is seen
that the people in the UK, belong to a variety of castes, religions, cultures
and ethnicity. These diverse populations, the ageing and the young
population pose a number of value-added products and services to be made
available by the Tesco and Waitrose. The foods and the services by the
Tesco have been currently oriented towards the tastes and the attitudes of
the diverse population within the country. On account of the increased
health awareness by the individuals, the healthier food section and the
green packaging foods have become additional areas of retails and this has
consequently increased the amounts of profits for the Tesco in the UK.
Technological This macro-environmental factor is related to the increased growth in the
revenues for the Tesco and this has not been accounted for much in the
case of Waitrose. It has been seen that the increase in the technological
applications worldwide, poses additional advantages for the incorporation
of these technologies in the retail markets of the Tesco. This
implementation of the increased technologies allowed them to offer the
online marketing systems and the improved customer services, in the
recent years.
Legal The directives of the Food retailing Commission (FRC) adopted the
implementation of the codes of practice in the business environment that is
required to be adopted by the companies. Tesco has been able to
successfully implement these codes of practices and the legislations of the
government, the European Union and the FRC. Certain products are
viewed to have lower prices as offered by the Tesco and this has been

alternatively seen with the increase in the prices of the other products.
These have been simultaneously met by the Waitrose in the UK.
Environmental Due to the increase in the demand for the promotion of environmental
protection, the strategies and the plans for Tesco and Waitrose has been
made, according to the environmental protection laws and policies.
Therefore, the products of environmental friendly approach provided the
additional services and products for their market retails. On the other hand,
the protection of the environment initiative provided the platform for the
increase in the trust among the customers.
Table 1: PESTLE Analysis
(Source: Aguzzoni et al. 2016, p.183)
Porter’s Five Forces
Supplier Power
The supplier power for bargains is lower, as compared to the bargaining power of the
suppliers of the Waitrose in the UK. This increases the stability for the Tesco in the modern
markets of the UK
Buyer Power
The power of the buyers is more in the cases of both Tesco and Waitrose. These conditions
are similar in the cases of both the companies.
Competitive Rivalry
Tesco faces very minimum competitive rivalry by the other companies including ASDA and
the Sainsbury in the UK. On the other hand, the Waitrose are subjected to significant rivalries
with the other companies in the country.
Threat of Substitution
It has been seen that the Metro stores have been enormously rising in the streets of the UK in
the recent years and this has been one of the major threat of substitution for the Tesco as well
as Waitrose. In the context of the UK, it has been seen that the demand for the improved
services and concept foods have grown and had higher chances of substitution for the
Waitrose. On the other hand, the Tesco has adopted strategies to tackle this effect as newer
concept foods and other improved services are provided by the Tesco.
Threat of New Entrants
In this context and according to the modern perspectives of the UK, Waitrose has been
subjected to a huge amount of threat for the new entrants. It has been seen that the
supermarkets and the roadside one stop shopping stores have attracted a large number of

customers and the variety of products and services available at a single store, have reduced
the market shares for Waitrose. On the other hand, the Tesco have implemented systems and
strategies, to meet these situations in modern markets of the UK. Additional impacts have
further been evident on the butchers and the traditional ration shops.
SWOT Analysis
Tesco
Strengths Weaknesses
 Huge area coverage provides huge
market profits for the company.
 A large number of stores allows the
company to attract a huge number of
people to their stores regularly.
 Managing the efficient operations, on
account of its huge size of its UK
market is one of the weaknesses of
the company.
 Increasing the number of young
employees may provide an
opportunity to lower the quality of
services, offered by the Tesco.
Opportunities Threats
 On account of its size, the higher
market stability is obtained by the
company.
 As it is based on the middle-class
markets with additional discounts, it
provides a huge opportunity for
increasing the annual profits for the
company.
 Difficult to maintain the management
of the company employees.
 Difficult situations may be evident on
account of the political instability of
the company employees.
Table 2: SWOT Analysis of Tesco
As it has been observed that Tesco has the huge infrastructure and the increased number of
the employee strengths allow the company to maintain the efficiency of the plans and the
strategies that have been developed at the organisational levels. This huge financial stability
allows them to provide superior discounts to the people of the country. On the other hand, the
lacks of management of the employees are possible on account of the higher employee
strengths. This may account for the increased politics and union among the employees.
Waitrose
Strengths Weaknesses
 Efficient management of structures  Lower employment rates for the

and the units.
 The superior quality of services and
products are offered by the Waitrose,
which meets the standards of the
people of the UK.
young individuals of the country.
 It faces a huge burden that has been
associated with the social media of
the country.
Opportunities Threats
 It may have an increased loyalty to
the customers as the services are
offered to the queen and the prince of
the royal; society of the country.
 The direct initiative of the owner and
the higher authorities provides
superior and enthusiastic working
conditions for then lower employees
in the company.
 Threats of the local supermarkets and
the mini stores, including the Costa
Coffee.
 It failed to comply and agree with the
policies of the “Free Coffee” in the
UK, in the modern context of the
country.
Table 3: SWOT analysis of Waitrose
The major strengths include the fulfilment of the superior quality of products of the people of
the area. On account of the services that are offered to the queen of England and the general
people of the country, the reputation and the desired strategies are implemented that are
directed towards the strengths of the company (Oglethorpe and Heron, 2013, p.1365).
However on account of the lack of desired the supermarkets and outlets in the area, the
company faces the problems of reaching their appropriate service to the people of the
country.
Company’s weakness may turn into strengths
It is essential for the companies to analyse their individual weaknesses. These weaknesses
may be produced as a result of the continuous and thorough evaluation and the analysis of the
companies, in terms of their products and services. The analysts are generally hired by the
different companies in order to have their individual analysis and compared them, with that
of the other companies. It is seen that the study of the weaknesses of the companies, allow
them to analyse their weaknesses accordingly. Additional strategies and plans are made to
implement the procedures of turning their weaknesses into strengths. In the context of the
UK, it has been noted that in the recent past, the market sales in terms of the quality of the
services of the Tesco had decreased considerably and this accounted for the lower market

prices and shares (Wood and McCarthy, 2014, p.142). However, careful evaluation of the
situation, Tesco introduced the active investment programme into its business and soon
reached the desired heights that it used to hold previously. These indicate that the efficient
strategies and analysis of the weakness are required to be made, in order to turn the strengths
into weakness for a company.
Objectives
Tesco
The major aim of the Tesco is to make their products and services to be made available to the
people of the UK as well, as that of the other countries of the world. It aspires to increase
their non-food division to reach the heights of the food division. Currently, it is second
largest grocery retail of the world and the largest supermarket retail in the UK (Chakraborty
et al. 2014, p.24). Other major customer-oriented objectives are to meet the acute demands of
the customers and allow the customers to avail their products and services at the competitive
prices and superior qualities.
Waitrose
One of the major objectives of the Waitrose is to increase the margin of their sales by
increasing their number of stores in the UK. It has been seen that the Waitrose aims at
increasing their stores in the UK markets and projects that these stores are of attractive
architecture, which may lead to the increased bases of the customers (Jones et al. 2013, p.28).
Waitrose further aims at increasing the levels of promotion, without the lowering of prices,
which are the opposite of the plans and strategies of the other companies of the close
competitive markets.
Positioning, Targeting and Image
Tesco
In the context of Tesco, it has been seen that the services and the products of the company are
not widely accepted by the people of the country. This has been sourced to the differences in
the cultures of the different people of the country. Therefore, the needs of the different
cultured people of the country are different (Dicks et al. 2013, p.1112). Therefore, the
company has adopted the segmentation strategy to implement their market retail plans,
according to the needs and the demands of the general people.
Range of Merchandise
Food retail, fashion, banks, gardens and resorts.
Location

The location of the different stores and the supermarkets of Tesco have been situated at
almost every place of the country, in the roadside, near the petrol pumps, near the markets
and in the airports. This establishes the dominance of the company in the markets of the UK.
It has accounted for the highest marketing retail company in the UK in the recent years.
Pricing
The pricing of products for the Tesco is made according to the seasons and the customer
demands. Moreover, additional discounts are provided in certain products, based on the
demands and the availability of the product in the markets of the UK (Bath et al. 2014,
p.453). The pricing is generally achieved after then careful evaluation of the demography and
the annual economic stability assessment of the general people of the locality.
Store Design
The store designs are not an integral factor for Tesco. Tesco basically focusses on the quality
of the products and the services that are offered. At the same time, it prefers its lower pricing
strategy to be a factor that is associated with the stability of the business. However, it has
been noted that the Tesco implements varied models of architecture in their respective
supermarkets in the UK and around the world.
Customer Service
The customer service is an integral part of the business operations of the companies including
the Tesco. It has been observed that the improved customer services provide the way for the
improved and increased levels of customer retention and relationship. Therefore, it has been
seen that the customer services for the increase in the market share of the UK have been
mitigated by the establishment of the efficient customer service relationship department in the
company (Asche et al. 2013, p.13).
Atmospherics
The atmospherics play a dominant role in the status of the business that is performed by the
different countries. In the context of the Tesco, it has been seen that the variety of cultures
and the different aspirations provided the essence and the atmospherics for the development
of the diversity of the products and the services that are offered by the Tesco, over the years
in the UK.
Waitrose
Waitrose operates nearly 350 branches in the UK and currently, accounts to the sixth largest
grocery in the context of the UK in the recent years. It has been observed that the company
had the direct relationship with the queen of the country and it provided her with the regular

supply of superior wine and therefore, the availability of superior wine is one of the key
features of the company.
Range of Merchandise
It offers food, wines, fashion apparels.
Location
Waitrose currently accounts to about 350 stores in the UK. Further, the Little Waitrose stores
are also dominant in 30 different spots. It has been observed that the stores of the Waitrose
have been located on the basis of the density of the population and not on the demands of the
population.
Pricing
A strict pricing system is employed by the Waitrose. The major strategy behind the success of
the Waitrose is that they focus on the increase in the advertisements and at the same time,
keeping the values of the products and services constant (Sogn-Grundvåg et al. 2013, p.12).
They believe that the better advertisements hold the key for the people to betray their brand
loyalty and join new brands. Therefore, in many cases, it has been evident that the other
companies with the additional discounts attract more people as compared to the customer
attraction and retention in the Waitrose.
Store Design
Waitrose employs a blend of technology and artistry to implement their designs in the stores
and the mini stores of the UK. It has been established that the superior designs and the
concepts of architecture of the stores attract a large number of customers in the UK.
Customer Service
The increase in the levels of customer services is preferred by the Waitrose, similar to that of
the Tesco. It induces the companies to have the superior services and products offered to the
general people of the country.
Atmospherics
In the context, of the Waitrose, it has been seen that the atmospherics and competitive
rivalries have been a collaboratively a dominant force, that resulted in the development of the
business of the particular organisation in the UK. The major difference is that the Waitrose is
a completely employee-owned retail market company in the UK (Leong, 2013, p.186).
Recommendations for Tesco
In this context, the recommendations include the development of the strategies for
understanding the demography of the area and the analysis of the tastes of the people.

Another important area of consideration for the Tesco is the development of the training
programmes for the employees to recruit them in the company.
Recommendations for Waitrose
It may be important for the Waitrose to have the specific development of the employment for
the youth of the locality. It may allow them to have the greater scopes of innovations and the
employment opportunities for the younger people of the country. Another strategy may be
applied by the company, and this may be achieved by the development of the active discounts
on the products that may be widely accepted by the people.
Conclusion
Finally, from the above studies, it may be concluded that the market retailing involves a
strategic development of a number of plans including the modes of operation and the
financial accommodations. It is established that the overall base of the success and the profits
of the companies in the food retail markets of the UK are prone to huge rates of competition
ion the recent years. It is established that the future scopes of the development of companies
including Tesco and Waitrose are dependent on the different modes of analysis including the
PESTLE, SWOT, Porter's Five Forces and a number of internal administrative analysis. A
number of other plans including the selection of the appropriate area, people, and the cost of
the services or the products are important for the companies top to have an improvement of
the overall process of their individual’s market retailing in the modern context of the country.

References
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