Analyzing the Strategic Management of Woolworths Group

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Strategic Management
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Executive Summary
The report has thrown light on analyzing the internal and external environmental analysis of
Woolworths Group which is situated in Australia. Strategic Management is defined as one of the
essential parts of the business which will be beneficial in succeeding in the business
environment. Through PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces Model along with Value Chain Analysis,
the different threats along with opportunities have been identified which plays a significant role
in successfully improving the various business operations. With the help of the competitor
analysis, it can be identified that Coles and Costco are the two main competitors which affect the
growth of Woolworths.

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Table of Contents
Strategic Management.....................................................................................................................0
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. Evaluating the Environment of Woolworths...............................................................................3
a. External Analysis.....................................................................................................................3
b. Internal Analysis......................................................................................................................5
3. Analysis of competitive advantage..............................................................................................6
a. Discuss competitive rivalry......................................................................................................6
4. Strategy formulation and choice..................................................................................................7
a. Vision.......................................................................................................................................7
b. Goals........................................................................................................................................7
c. Initiatives – cost leadership versus differentiation...................................................................8
5. Recommendations and conclusions.............................................................................................9
a. With the rationale for support of strategy................................................................................9
b. With the rationale for the critique of strategy........................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12

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1. Introduction
Woolworths Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain which is owned by
Woolworths Limited. The company was founded in the year 1924, and it is headquartered at
New South Wales, Australia (Woolworthsgroup.com.au, 2019). The number of employees
working at Woolworths includes 115000 until the year 2017, and there has been an enormous
increase of A$56.726 billion in the revenue units until the year 2018. The mission of the
company is to satisfy the different partners along with the customers with unique shopping
experience by providing quality as well as the price which is based on attainment along with the
commitment of employees. The vision is to become an innovative and independent cooperative
suitable for meeting different needs of customers (Woolworthsgroup.com.au, 2019).
2. Evaluating the Environment of Woolworths
a. External Analysis
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
The threat of Substitutes- It is high as Woolworth’s faces indirect competition from the
convenience stores and specialist grocery stores. The different evidence suggests that indirect
competitors are substitutes and pose a huge threat to Woolworths. Moreover, the convenience
stores have experienced huge expansion in offerings of products, and they are introducing
healthy alternatives that affect the growth of Woolworths (West, Ford & Ibrahim, 2015).
Rivalry among Existing Competitors- There is a high degree of rivalry from existing
competitors as there are different small players present in the market. There is no differentiation