Marketing Strategies of Woolworths and Coles Group

Running head: MARKETING
MARKETING
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MARKETING
Introduction
Marketing can be described as a thinking in the business domain whereby the customer
needs and their satisfaction acts as a primary concern. The concept of marketing is very different
from that of the selling because in selling the concept lies on exchanging the products of the
company with the customers in return for the cash, however this is not the case in marketing
whereby the main focus is to discover, arouse, create and satisfy the needs of the consumers
(Armstrong et al. 2015). Selling is primarily profit oriented whereas Marketing is customer
oriented. Marketing involves selection and the development of a product or a service,
determination of the price, development of the promotional strategy and the selection of
distribution channel.
The given essay is based on the marketing aspect of two organization. The organizations
which have been chosen for the given assessment are Woolworths and Coles group. These
supermarkets are situated in Australia and tend to form a large share of the grocery and
supermarket industry in the country. The marketing practices and competitive edge of each
company shall be discussed with evidence.
About the company: Coles Group
The Coles Group of companies is an Australian company which has various retail chains
under its brand name. The organization is the second largest retailer after the Woolworths
Limited and was under the Wesfarmers group of companies earlier, but now it plans to function
independently (Coles.com.au. 2018). The primary motive of the company is to provide the
different people of Australia with a unique shopping experience which they can trust and this
shall help it in delivery of services, quality and values. The marketing process of the organization

2MARKETING
is fairly simple in nature and tends to function on a six point plan which helps the company to
achieve their strategic objectives.
In order to satisfy the different needs of the customers, the company offers a large variety
of products which comprise of skin care, vegetables, whole meals, baby care and other premium
brand products from various parts of the globe (De Mooij 2013). The stores have matched up to
the food requirements of the Australian culture. The company provides competitive pricing poly
and uses various promotional strategies like reducing queue time for customers, providing
flexibility, collaborating with Second Bite program and others.
The primary competitive gain from this process is the flourishment of diversity, building
up of the brand image and increased revenue for the organization.
About the company: Woolworths
The Woolworths Supermarkets primarily known as the Woolies is an Australian
supermarket and grocery store chain which is owned by the organization Woolworths
supermarkets Limited, the organization was found in 1924 and along with the Coles group, the
company forms a duopoly in the Australian market. The supermarket chain sells a wide variety
of goods and services to the customers and has more than 1100 stores across Australia. The
marketing process of the organization is quite organized in nature and uses various channels for
marketing. Woolworths specially concentrates on the digital marketing platform with various
online channels for reference (Woolworths.com.au. 2018). The company sells a wide variety of
products like baby care, furniture, food items, home utilities, skincare’s and related goods at
competitive prices. The pricing strategy as followed by the organization is the cost leadership
strategy. Moreover, in order to promote the goods of the organization by following a