Exploring Opportunities for Expanding Primark's Business

The report discusses the Primark brand, a popular fashion retailer in Europe. It highlights the company's efforts to expand its business by using effective marketing strategies such as exhibitions and trade fairs. The report also emphasizes the importance of introducing new products to attract customers and increase sales. It concludes that the company is centralizing on Ireland and France, and can introduce itself at local fairs to reach a larger customer base.

SALES PLANNING
AND
OPERATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1- ESSAY.............................................................................................................................1
1.1 Importance of personnel selling.......................................................................................1
1.2 Decision making process in different situations...............................................................2
1.3 Role of sales team.............................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Covered in PPT.......................................................................................................................4
TASK 3- REPORT..........................................................................................................................4
3.1 Developing sales strategies to meet corporate objectives................................................4
3.2 Importance of recruitment and selection process.............................................................4
3.3 Role of motivation, remuneration and training................................................................5
3.4 Sales management controlling sales output......................................................................6
3.5 Use of database in sales management..............................................................................6
TASK 4- SALES PLAN..................................................................................................................7
4.1 Sales plan for new product...............................................................................................7
4.2 Opportunities for selling internationally..........................................................................7
4.3 Opportunities for using exhibitions or trade fairs.............................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Sales planning and operations are considered as an integrated business management
process where managers focuses on achieving all the desired objectives of the business
organization. Further, if the sales and operational plan enables effectively then it leads to a
successful supply chain management process (Sparks, 2001). By taking the above topic into
consideration, this present report has been prepared on Primark which is one of the famous retail
clothing store that provide clothes to the customers at a reasonable and affordable price. Further,
mentioned company has its own brand and offer value for money to their customers by sourcing
products efficiently and also make clothes with simple designs by using local fabrics and trims.
TASK 1- ESSAY
1.1 Importance of personnel selling
Personal selling means having an oral communication with the purchasers in order to
make sale of that product. This process also focuses on developing an effective relationship with
the potential buyers for making them permanent and loyal customers for the business venture. As
individuals in UK are aware that Primark is mostly recognized as a clothing retail organization
and now they are making their foot in sports line products. Mentioned company is focusing on
making sports t-shirts and shoes for all the genders and age groups.
Selling executive on the other hand contributing towards the efficiency and development
of the business organization. They gathered different types on information by communicating
directly to the individuals (Usui, 2011). This helps them in identifying customers’ needs and
wants. Further, by introducing the desired product in the market will satisfy the customer’s needs
and cited firm will also be able to increase their revenue and productivity.
For Primark, one of the key feature of marketing mix is promotion and these consist of
different elements which are explained below:
 Advertising
 Sales promotion
 Personal selling
 Direct marketing
 Public relationship
1

These five major elements can be considered as promotional mix or communication mix
for the business organization.
1.2 Decision making process in different situations
Buyer behaviour towards the product or service affects the organization profitability as
customers are having different perception regarding a particular product. Primark is setting their
benchmark in introducing sports t-shirts and shoes might face customers behaviour towards the
product (Guillén and et.al., 2006). Further, in order to reduce that, mentioned company have to
develop best of the products at an affordable price so that buyers needs and wants gets satisfied.
Furthermore, there exists different stages in the buyer’s decision making process and
these are stated down under:
 Need Recognition: Need recognition is the first and crucial step in buyer decision making
process. Under this, the recognition of need can be used in different forms i.e.
◦ Internal stimuli- Internal stimuli of individual him/her towards the product and it can
be anything as per the customer’s needs.
◦ External stimuli comes into play as it gives individuals an idea that from where they
will get the best of the products and services.
 Information Search: once the need is recognised, people generally seeks information
regarding possible solutions. An individual can obtain information from different types of
sources as these are:
◦ Personal sources
◦ Commercial sources
◦ Public sources Alternative Evaluation: Once information is collected by the individuals, they will go for
different alternatives and choose the best option which gives them maximum satisfaction.
Here, person focuses on getting value for the money which he/she is investing. Purchase Decision: In this step, buyer will choose brand which will be most appropriate
or suitable according to his desire (Ohai, 2008). Further, to have a purchase decision, it
will depend on the above three points which have discussed earlier.
 Post- purchase behaviour: This is the final step in the decision making process where
customers make an evaluation regarding the experience they had while choosing the
2

product. If they haven't got the maximum satisfaction then there is a possible chance that
they will switch to different brands when they will make a purchase next time around.
Moreover, sales people also create an impact on buyer behaviour as they have different
concepts and techniques to attract two different class of groups. This means that the sales people
of mentioned company have different tactics and ways to attract customers as well as business
class people (Randall, 2009). This is further known as selling product to B to B or B to C. B to B
is an effective measure to indulge a bulk sale as selling to other business requires more product
as compared to selling products individually to different customers. Moreover, mentioned entity
has different promotional measures along with discount for the different groups as this leads in
fostering the sale of the new product.
1.3 Role of sales team
Sales employee of the Primark is the base of the organization development as they focus
on achieving their individual as well as organizational goals and objectives. Further, they also
centralize on Primark mission and vision. Role of sales people has been discussed down under:
 Analyzing current market: Here, for the development of new product in UK market,
sales person of Primark have to gather specific information regarding the competitors,
current trends which exist in the market and also the actual needs of the individual.
 Sales forecasting: For structuring the market strategies, sales people have to forecast the
future sales along with the target that they have to reach within the specified time period.
 Choosing marketing strategies: In order to increase the turnover of the mentioned
products, sales people have to consult with the marketing team so that they can develop
effective strategies (Katz and Green, 2007).
 Budgeting: Budgets of sales are prepared by taking sales forecast into consideration.
List of sales team responsibilities
 Establishing personal Deliverable, improving targets and sales goals
 Senior staff member- Represents sales
 Cross-Functional Team – Prepares selling process models
 Manage resources and execute selling process
3

TASK 2
Covered in PPT
TASK 3- REPORT
3.1 Developing sales strategies to meet corporate objectives
In order to achieve the corporate objectives, cited firm have to develop effective sales
strategies so that company can achieve their desired mission and vision. Further, sales strategy is
majorly emphasized on different components and it includes market segmentation, targeting and
positioning of the product. Being a retail venture, cited firm generally focuses on the sales and
their sales persons are responsible for making effective sales.
Further, in order to attain the corporate objectives, standard targets have been set by the
venture for the both existing and newly launched products (Grimson and Pyke, 2007). Further,
sales manager also used to forecast the sales as it will help them to achieve the desired targets to
increase more of the revenue and profits for the firm.
3.2 Importance of recruitment and selection process
Recruitment can be defined as a process of attracting, selecting and appointing suitable
candidates for a vacant position in the organization. On the contrary side, selection is choosing
the best of the candidate who possess desired qualification and skills to perform a specific task in
most appropriate and suitable manner.
Furthermore, it is necessary for Primark to have a rigorous recruitment and selection
process so that the company can recruit most suitable candidate for a desired position in the
venture. In the current scenario, Primark is focusing on hiring new candidates to join the sales
team as it will increase more of the turnover and profits for the venture. Moreover, for starting a
recruitment process, Primark have to prepare two important statement namely job description
and specification which will evaluate what position is vacant and what skills and qualities are
required by the firm to achieve them.
Although, selection process also plays a crucial role where mentioned company have to
select most desirable candidate who possess all the desires skills (Ingram and et.al., 2012).
Selection process has been explained below which can be effectively followed by Primark:
 Invitation of application
 Screening of application
4

 Preliminary interview
 Written test
 Employment Interview
 Medical examination
 Appointment letter
3.3 Role of motivation, remuneration and training
Motivation can be defined as a process of stimulating people to accomplish the desired
goals in the business organization (Designs, 2012). Further, there exist different types of
motivational tools which enhance the employee's productivity and boost up their morale to work
with best of their efforts and capabilities. Different types of motivational tools which the HR of
Primark can implement are as follows: Team building- Working in a team will surely motivate employees as the task is
significantly shared by different team members. Further, there also exist a bond of
coordination and cooperation among the employees (Feng, D’Amours and Beauregard,
2010). Target setting- The target set for employees will generally motivate them as they have to
reach towards a specific target which are set by Sales manager for them. Financial incentives- Financial incentives acts as a morale booster as with efficient and
proper working lead to increase in pay scale for employees. Further, these incentives can
be financial or non- financial as well.
 Salary- With the achievement of target, leads to increase in net pay as well which
generally motivates employees to work with best of their efficiency and caliber. Increase
in pay will also lead to proper balance of their personal and professional life.
3.4 Sales management controlling sales output
Sales activities in the Primark is majorly conducted by the sales manager in order to
boost up the sales in the coming time period (Miao, Evans and Shaoming, 2007). Mentioned
company focuses on following points to control the sales output. They are: Setting target- Management of Primark have to set a desired and attainable target so that
goals and objectives of the business can be achieved. Further, the sales team includes
5

employees who generally know the need of the market and according to that they set
desired targets for employees. Forecasting and budgeting- Budgeting plays an important role for the finance department
as with use of it, inflow and outflow of cash is properly managed. Further, setting a target
for the future will make employees dedicated towards their work.
 Regulations of sales and outputs- This process generally helps in controlling the actual
output by making comparison with the desired results and outcomes so that some
necessary measures can be undertaken for controlling the sales output.
3.5 Use of database in sales management
Database is defined as a process of collecting information so that the information can be
easily accessed, managed as well as updated. This generally helps the management to make the
information secured relating to their employees as well to their loyal customer base. Database
also involves the security of information so that the confidentiality of their clients is maintained
(Irwin, Sutton and McCarthy, 2008). Further, it also helps in tracking the information regarding
the amount of unit sold in a particular quarter or month.
However, at times there exists some major issues relating to the database and cited firm
have to solve these issues in effective manner to protect and make the privacy of the firm
(Weinberg, 2012). These issues are:
 Default passwords
 SQL injection
 Immoderate user and group privileges
 Unnecessary DBMS characteristic enabled
 Broken configuration management
 Buffer overflows
TASK 4- SALES PLAN
4.1 Sales plan for new product
Primark have to develop an effective sales plan so that they can get maximum attraction
of their customers for their newly launched product. Further, as stated above, the company is
making its foot in developing sports products by introducing sports t-shirts and shoes (Kasper,
2005). Sales plan of the Primark has been discussed down under:
6

Mission:
The aim of Primark is to develop more of their brand image and create an effective
distribution channel to popularize the brand in countries like Ireland and France.
Objective:
The objective of the firm is to tap the market of Ireland and France in order to maximize
the sale of their newly launched product.
Strategies:
Mentioned company has to develop their sales and advertisement team to make attractive
advertisement for their new arrivals. Further, to tap the new market, cited firm have to make
different strategies (Grimson and Pyke, 2007).
Performance indicators
 Monitoring sales of the month
 Number of visits by customers to the retail store
4.2 Opportunities for selling internationally
Selling product internationally leads to increase in sales and revenue for the company.
Opportunities for Primark are stated down under. They are: Opportunities to enter new market: Some countries also offers and provide opportunities
to have free trade in order to enhance economy (Thomé and et.al., 2012). This
subsequently helps firm to increase their customer base and make reasonable profit. Attracting clients: This is the crucial step which Primark have to take as their main aim is
to attract customers towards the newly launched products. Attracting clients lead to
maximization of revenue.
 Growing market place: By tapping countries like Ireland and France, people of that
country will be able to improve their standard of living (Affonso, Marcotte and Grabot,
2008). This is because the cited firm will come with various features in the sports
products.
4.3 Opportunities for using exhibitions or trade fairs
For expanding the business, Primark can use effective methods like exhibitions and trade
fairs because by participating in it, they come in the eyes of customers (How To Market A New
Product. 2007). Further, London Trade Fair is a prime stage for fashion fabrics and also different
7

accessories. Many visitors reach to this place in order to see the new stuff available for them.
Further, these fairs have a motive that they sale best of the products at an affordable price.
Apart from this, as company is centralizing on Ireland and France, they can introduce
themselves in the fair of that country as well (Stevenson and Sum, 2009). Coming up with new
products will eventually attract the customers and if the merchandise satisfies the demand then
they will become loyal customers for the Primark.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it is clearly inferred that the Primark is a popular brand in Europe
and cited firm is coming with new apparels to attract large customer base. Further, this report
also visualize that the company is using different practices in order to increase sales and
productivity of the products.
8

REFERENCES
Journals and Books
Affonso, R., Marcotte, F. and Grabot, B., 2008. Sales and operations planning: the supply chain
pillar. Production Planning and Control. 19(2). pp.132-141.
Feng, Y., D’Amours, S. and Beauregard, R., 2010. Simulation and performance evaluation of
partially and fully integrated sales and operations planning. International Journal of
Production Research. 48(19). pp.5859-5883.
Grimson, J. A. and Pyke, D. F., 2007. Sales and operations planning: an exploratory study and
framework. The International Journal of Logistics Management. 18(3). pp. 322-346.
Guillén, G. and et.al., 2006. Simultaneous optimization of process operations and financial
decisions to enhance the integrated planning/scheduling of chemical supply chains.
Computers & chemical engineering. 30(3). pp.421-436.
Ingram, T. N. and et.al., 2012. Sales management: Analysis and decision making. ME Sharpe.
Irwin, L. R. Sutton, A. W. and McCarthy, M. L., 2008. Sport Promotion and Sales Management.
Human Kinetics.
Kasper, J., 2005. Creating the #1 Sales Force: What It Takes to Transform Your Sales Culture.
Kaplan Publishing.
Katz, J. A. and Green, R. P., 2007. Entrepreneurial small business (Vol. 200).
McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Miao, C. F., Evans, K. R. and Shaoming, Z., 2007. The role of salesperson motivation in sales
control systems—Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation revisited. Journal of Business
Research. 60(5). pp. 417-425.
Ohai, T., 2008. Sales Coaching. American Society for Training and Development.
Randall, C., 2009. Sales Analytics Guide: Sales Development and Category Management
Practices for Enhancing Business Performance. Xlibris Corporation.
Sparks, L., 2001. Cataloguing change: Argos catalogues in 1973 and 1998. International Journal
of Retail & Distribution Management. 29(10). pp.427 – 441.
Stevenson, W.J. and Sum, C.C., 2009. Operations management (Vol. 8). Boston, MA: McGraw-
Hill/Irwin.
Thomé and et.al., 2012. Sales and operations planning: A research synthesis. International
Journal of Production Economics, 138(1). pp. 1-13.
Usui, K., 2011. Precedents for the 4Ps idea in the USA: 1910s-1940s. European Business
Review. 23(2). pp.136 – 153.
9

Weinberg, M., 2012. New Sales: Simplified : the Essential Handbook for Prospecting and New
Business Development. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.
Online
Designs, F., 2012. Benefits of Advertising Right now. [Online]. Available through: <
http://foghorndesigns.com/10-benefits-of-advertising-right-now/>. [Accessed on 6th
February 2016].
How To Market A New Product. 2007. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/179084>. [Accessed on 6th February 2016].
10