University of Northampton: Aldi Marketing Audit Report (MKT3017)

This report presents a comprehensive marketing audit of Aldi, a German supermarket chain, focusing on its operations within the UK market. It begins with an executive summary outlining the importance of marketing principles and the need for a thorough market audit to inform business decisions. The introduction defines marketing and the role of a marketing audit, emphasizing its systematic approach to analyzing the current business environment. The report then delves into macro and micro analyses. The macro analysis includes a PEST analysis, examining political, economic, social, and technological factors impacting Aldi's performance in the UK. The micro analysis assesses Aldi's internal strengths and weaknesses, such as its affordable prices and strong distribution, alongside employee satisfaction and ethical practices. A competitive analysis is also undertaken, comparing Aldi to Tesco and IKEA using a strategic group analysis. Finally, a SWOT analysis summarizes Aldi's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, providing a strategic planning tool for effective situational analysis. The report aims to provide recommendations for Aldi's management team to improve its market strategies.

Principles of
Marketing
Management

Executive summary
It is a report where principles of marketing are included in an effective manner. Various topics
are going to be discussed in this report so that effective marketing audit can be done by the
management team of Aldi before establishing a business function at the market place. Auditof
the whole market is going to be conducted so that effective recommendations will be suggested
to the management team of the company. One of the biggest advantage of conducting market
audit is that they will be able to identify the current market situation while establishing business
entity at the market place of UK. For this, managers needs to perform PEST analysis along with
SWOT so that they can enhance their performance and profitability and maintain their
sustainability at the marketplace. Both micro and macro analysis are going to be discussed in
detail so that possible decisions can be make by the management team of chosen company. In
this report a differentiation table is developed in which three organization are considered as the
base company which includes ALDI, TESCO and IKEA(Hut. and Speh,., 2003).
Introduction of Marketing and market audit
Marketing isdefine as one of the most essential as well as crucial process for an organization.
Itisconsidered as a procedure which develop, deliver, communicate and exchange different offers
and information with their customer. Therefore, it is very important tomanage all the functions

which is related with marketing process. It is define as a science and art which creates value
among customers by satisfying their requirements and demands. Marketing Audit is generally
conducted by third party not by the business organization itself(Sargeant, 1999). It is
comprehensive, interpretation, systematic analysis of the current business marketing
environment, sothat they can recommend effective strategies and policies according to the
market situation. In the present report, Aldi, ischosen as the base company which is a German
supermarket chain.Theyentered in the marketplace of UK in theyear 1990 and now theyoperates
500 stores across the world.In this report various sections are going to be discussed in detail
which includes macro along with micro analysis. This as a result assist in identifying the current
market situation as well as internal condition of the company. Apart from this, SWOT analysis is
defined in an effective manner so that internal strength and weakness will be identified within
given time period.
Macro analysis
It has been analyzed that external environmentcommonly includes two factors macro and
micro environment. In contextof macro environment, analysis is based on wide basis in which
the business operates their functions. Therefore, external environment directly affects the overall
success of business in both positive and negative manner. In reference to Aldi, management team
of the company conduct PEST analysis so that they will be able to examine the current market
situation and develop strategies according to the changing environment. All the elements of
PEST are going to be discussed as follows:-
Political factor:It is the factor which includes all the political elements which directly affects
the performance of business organization at the competitive marketplace. In the present context
of Aldi, it has been analyzed that thereare large number of conflicts, issues and problems related
to political instability. All these factors might affect the overall sustainability of the company at
competitive market as each and every country have their own political policies. Therefore, it is
essential for the management team to identify current political situation of the country before
doing business expansion(Dyson, 2004).
Economic factor:Apart from political factor, it is the element which includes each and every
factor related to economy of the country. It is very essential for a business entity to contribute

their share of earnings in order to enhance their economy in an effective manner. Ithas been
analyzed that after Brexit, pricewithin UK increases and pound has dropped which as a result
positively work for Aldi. Apart from this, company creates ample number of job opportunities to
the individuals living within the country. This as a result, enhance the living standards of
people(Kotler. and Levy, 1969).
Social factor:In case of social factor, it has been analyzed that there are various elements
which is related to the whole society. Society plays very important role in the growth and success
of an organization as people are the one who buy their goods and services for their livelihood. In
the present context of Aldi, they pay high wages to their employees which leads to increase in
their living standard. With the help of enough amount of money, individuals will be able to buy
high quality food. People living within UK have a habit of eating healthy food where Aldi
produce such
Technological factor:Last element of PEST analysis includes technological factor in which
all the components related to techniques or tools are going to be included. In the present context
of Aldi, management team of the company need to examine all thecurrent technologies so that
they can adopt the best one in order to produce high quality products and services. But on the
other hand , alteration of technologies might get risky as well as complex as it includes huge
amount of funds of the organization.
As per the above mentioned PEST analysis, it has been concluded that it is very necessary
for an organization to examine current external situation so that they can develop effective
strategies in order to achieve their targets and objectives. Therefore it is important for every
organization to conduct a PEST analysis before expanding their business functions at
international marketplace(Hill and Westbrook, 1997).
Micro analysis
Micro analysis is conducted by an organization in order to know their internal strength as
well as opportunities so that they will be able to develop effective plans and strategies. It is very
important for the managers to create positive impact of the company at marketplace and for this
they need to modify their strategies on a regular basis. Strength and weakness are going to be
discussed as follows:
Strength: Major strength of the company is that they provide high quality products and services
to their customers in very affordable price which create positive impact of the company at

marketplace. Along with this, they provide high discount and offers to their customers which
helps them to retain their potential candidates for a long period of time. In addition to this,
management team of the company prepare their financial planning in very effective manner.
There strength is that they provide different range of products to their customers which creates
positive impact of the company at marketplace.
Weakness: On the other hand, weakness of the company is that their employees are less satisfied
as they need to work more and get less salary which affects the overall reputation of the
organization. Along with this, it will create dissatisfaction among the staff members which
affects the efficiency of employees. It has also been analyzed that management team of the
company highly indulge in various unethical practice suchas price discrimination aswell as treat
their suppliers badly which reduce their overall margins(Peng and Nunes, 2007)
With the help of examining internal analysis, organization will be able to modify their
strategies and policies according to their current situations. Along with this, managers need to
enhancetheir strength and reduce their weakness so that they can increase their brand image at
the competitive marketplace.
Competitive analysis
In this context, it has been identified that managers need toexamine the current competition
available at the marketplace for the organization so that they can perform their business functions
in more effective manner(Gupta,, 2013). For this strategic group analysis is going to be discussed
in detail which assist in modifying their business plans according to the market
situation. Strategic group is defineas a concept whichis used by management team of companies
in order to group different companies withinsame industry or with similar strategies. Strategy is
consideredas a direction or scope of acompany with the help of which they will be able to
attaintheir organizational goals and objectives within limited time period and in effective
manner.Strategic Group Analysis majorly used in order to examinebusinessentity who have same
kind of strategic characteristics, adopt similar policieson a continuous basis.There is a
competitive analysis of three organization which are going to be discussed in an effective
manner. For this, TESCO, ALDI as well as IKEA is chosen as the company for examining their
different elements.

Basis ALDI TESCO IKEA
Founded in It is an organization
founded in the year
1946 by Karl and
TheoAlbrecht.
Tesco was founded in
1919 by Jack Cohen.
It is founded in
1943by a 17 year old
Ingvar Kamprad.
Number of
employees
According to a source
current number of
employees are around
25000 individuals.
It has been analyzed
that there are
approximately
4,50,000 number of
employees.
In IKEA number of
employees are
2,08,000.
Sources of funds In order to perform
their business
functions in an
effective manner
organizations need
funds. For this Aldi
uses bank financing
method as they
consider it one of the
most secure and safe
type of funding
source.
In context of TESCO,
major source of funds
are retained earning.
With the help of this
they collect enough
amount of money so
that they can produce
high quality products
and services.
At last in case of
IKEA, their sources
of finance includes
financing method
with the help of
which they can attain
their goals and
objectives.
Range of products ALDI provide
different range of
products which
includes groceries,
house hold essentials
TESCO provide
range of products
which includes 1900
products across the
In case of IKEA,
management team of
the company provides
almost 9500 products
to their customers in

and many more. whole wide world. the whole world.
Strength It is identified that
distribution channel
of ALDI is very
strong which is
considered as there
biggest strength of the
company. This assist
them in order to
maintain their
sustainability at the
marketplace(Sargeant,
1999)
In context of TESCO,
one of the strength of
this organization is
that they use effective
technology which aid
them in order to
produce high quality
goods and services.
One of the major
strength of the
company is that they
use innovative
techniques in order to
produce their goods
and services which
enhance their brand
image & reputation of
the company at the
marketplace.
Weakness In case of weakness
of ALDI, there is one
of the major
drawback is that
managers do not
prepare effective
financial planning
which affects their
strategies in a
negative manner.
On the other hand,
weakness of the
company is that there
ishigh level of
competition available
at the marketplace
which affects their
strategies and
policies. Managers
need to modify their
strategies on a regular
basis so that they can
reduce such
situations.
Weakness of the
company is that there
is high level of
negative publicity
about the company
which reduce their
loyal customers.

SWOT
It is identified that SWOT analysis is defineas a strategic planning tool usedby management
team of ALDI in orderto do effective situational analysis of a company. It is very essential
technique so that managers will understand the current Strengths (S), Weakness (W),
Opportunities (O) aswell as Threats (T) of company which is faced by them at the marketplace.
With the help of this, managers will be able to know their internal strength and weakness along
with the opportunities and threats available at the marketplace. All these elements are discussed
as follows:
Strength Weakness
 One of the biggest strength of the
company is it’s Brand image and
reputation at the marketplace(Kotler,
Gregor. and Rodgers, 1977).
 Along with this, Aldi is having strong
distribution channel at the market
which becomes strength of the
company and increase their
profitability .
 It has also been identified that Aldi is
relatively successful in order to
execute new projects and generate
good return within limited time frame.
 It is determined by the management
team that financial planning of the
company is not effective and
appropriate which becomes one of the
major weakness for Aldi.
 Apart from this, Aldi needs to modify
their current technologies in order to
beat the competition level available at
the marketplace.
 Also company provide very limited
range of products to their customers,
which give chances to another
organizations to make their reputation
at market area.
Opportunities Threats
 Opening up of new market because of
government agreement creates ample
number of opportunities for Aldi.
 New policies created by government
might cause threat for themanagement
team of Aldi as they need to modify

 Using new and latest technology
might create various opportunities for
the company as they can retain their
customers for a longer period of time
by providing them high quality
products.
their current strategies.
 Due to intense level of competition
available at the marketplace, it
becomes one of the main threat for
Aldi.
 Rise in raw material cost might reduce
the overall profitability of the
company at market place.
Conclusion
With the assistance of above mentioned report, it has been concluded that marketing
plays very essential role in order to maintain stability at the market place. It is also required
to promote goods and services of an organization in an effective manner with the help of
attractive marketing strategies. In addition to this, management team of Aldi conduct a Pest
analysis with the help of which they will be able to understand the current market situation.
Therefore, they will develop strategies and policies according to the changing situations of
market. Apart from this, internal analysis or SWOT analysis help in identifying their internal
strength and weakness as well as external opportunities and threats. This will create healthy
and strong business entity who will grab ample number of opportunities at the competitive
marketplace.Along with this, managers need to modify their current strategies and policies
according to the changing environment so that they will be able to beat the competition level
available at the marketplace.

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