Barker and Stonehouse: A Strategic Plan for Business Growth

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of growth planning for Barker and Stonehouse, a UK-based furniture manufacturing company. It explores the basis of competitive advantage, including innovation, marketing, USP, and cost leadership. The report assesses growth opportunities using the GE McKinsey Matrix and examines the Ansoff Growth Matrix, evaluating risks associated with market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification. It also discusses financial growth options and funding sources, such as business loans, personal savings, and angel investors, along with entrepreneurial strategies for securing funding. Furthermore, the report outlines exit and succession options available for the organization and provides a business plan with financial projections. This detailed analysis aims to provide a strategic roadmap for Barker and Stonehouse's sustainable growth and market leadership.

Planning for Growth

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
An explaining of the basis of competitive advantage for the business:.......................................3
Critically assessing of the opportunities available to the business:.............................................4
Applying the Ansoff Growth Matrix with assessment of the risk of each option-......................5
Options for financial growth and sources of funding:.................................................................7
Entrepreneurial strategies for securing the funding-....................................................................7
Exit and succession options available for the organisations-.......................................................8
Recommendation-........................................................................................................................9
Business Plan for Woodworks company-..................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Every business organization want continuous growth in the market, they desire to explore
different area and try to focus on expansion. Every firm plan for growth, they try to scan the
market and try to find the best opportunities which help them to explore new market. Planning
for growth is one of the most challenging part, firm need to focus on strategic planning in which
they need to cover every element and risk that are associated with the expansion process. Growth
is continuous process, firm can not settle at one particular method of growth, they need
modification according to the market demand. This report is based on Barker and Stonehouse,
this is one of the most stable furniture manufacturing company in the UK with the finest quality
of wood work, Barker and Stonehouse examine the market to identify the best opportunity for
business growth. This report will discuss key considerations SME's should consider when
evaluating. Later this report various methods through which organization access funding with
source of funding. Later this report discuss various exist strategies to leave the market. At last
this report will discuss business plan with financial projection.
MAIN BODY
An explaining of the basis of competitive advantage for the business:
Every business want competitive advantage in the market which allow them to boost their
sales, it is very clear that getting competitive advantage is one of the most challenging task. Firm
who work on innovation have greater chance to become competitive or market leader because
their projects depend on innovation criteria where risk is high but have higher chance of gaining
surplus profit. Barker and Stonehouse is one of those companies who focus on adding such
things which provide competitive advantage to them, these are:
Innovation: Innovation is one strongest and finest basis of competitive advantage where firm
need to focus on bringing innovation to product and service process, firm either have to bring
new product or have to bring modification in existing product, both way are valid to get
competitive advantage (Ávila, 2022). Barker and Stonehouse need to bring innovation or
innovative product to get competitive advantage in the market, they either have to bring
customizable furniture which can attract customer with innovative design, or they can improve
design of existing product to become stable in the market.

Marketing: Marketing is one of the most common but effective process to make a company
competitive in the market, here firm have to focus on strategic marketing allowing them to
manage competition. Based on right keywords, it is important for business to introduce attract
product with effective marketing strategies, if all element are aligned in effective manner then
marketing become effective (Prasetyo and Rahman, 2018). Barker and Stonehouse need to
consider marketing process to make their company competitive, they can include strategic
direction to marketing by focusing on technological advancement in the process. Marketing is
key element which become basis of competitive advantage, Barker and Stonehouse can depend
on this element to gain leadership in retail market.
USP: This is effective element in which firm need to keep their product and service unique, here
innovation is completely different term because innovation simply means bringing new concept
to business or product. However, setting or keeping product unique is completely different
element. Barker and Stonehouse need keep their product unique which means they can not adopt
simple design to attract customer, it is high recommended for the firm to focus on making those
products which are unique in terms of feature, material, design and price range. Barker and
Stonehouse need to set price of the product according to the uniqueness, here they need to bring
change to existing product to become competitive in highly competitive market.
Cost leadership: This is important element in which company get competitive advantage in the
market, cost leadership simply means firm need to reduce cost of the product to get competitive
advantage in the market. This is simple and most common process in which firm reduce cost,
Barker and Stonehouse need to reduce cost of their product to get competitive advantage, if they
reduce price of furniture then their brand image will be impacted.
Critically assessing of the opportunities available to the business:
Every business organization seeks growth in the market, here firm need to focus on
finding those opportunities which become beneficial to get continuous growth. It is very clear
that there are certain growth opportunities available with business which help them to become
stable in new market or in existing market. Barker and Stonehouse need to find the best
opportunities for growth which help them to become stable in the market and even get
competitive advantage, there are certain growth opportunities available with the business, these
are:
GE McKinsey Matrix:

This can be defined as the portfolio which is used by the companies for analysing the strategic
units of businesses as well as the product lines. Basically, this is the strategic tool that facilitates
the systematic approach to the businesses for giving more priority to the investments in the
business units. This matrix uses wide variety of the variables for the two dimensions are such as-
Industry Attractiveness: This is the factor which states that it is very easy for the businesses as
by this the companies are able to earn the higher level of the profits for the industry. The must
ensure to consider the long term growth potential by using this dimension as well as the entry
and the exit barriers of the organisation (Birafane, Liu and Khalikov, 2020). This dimension will
enable the Barker and Stonehouse company to represent the potential profits of the industry as
well as the company will make the long term changes in the industry instead of the short term
changes.
Competitive Strength: The company must consider for evaluating the competition level in the
overall industry. There are various factors which will enable the businesses to evaluate as well as
interpret the competitive edge in the marketplace such as the brand awareness, profit margin of
the organisation, customer loyalty and many more. This dimension will help the Barker and
Stonehouse company to effectively evaluate the competition of the business among its
competitors as well as the ability of the business to stay ahead in the industry.
Partnership: This is most effective growth opportunity that allow firm to become stable, here
business organization need to perform partnership with other business firm performing same
manufacturing and same service unit, this method is common where firm try to reduce risk of
failing in the market. It is very clear that businesses who perform partnership enjoy certain
benefit and drawback as well (Gurcaylilar-Yenidogan and Aksoy, 2018). For example; if Barker
and Stonehouse is planning to partnership with different firm with same manufacturing unit and
products and even same scale unit, then Barker and Stonehouse need strategic planning, they can
share expertise and resource with each other, some company even share budget to achieve
common goal.
Applying the Ansoff Growth Matrix with assessment of the risk of each option-
The Ansoff Growth Matrix is the model which is also known as the Product or Market
Expansion Grid. This is the tool which is used by the companies for analysing and helps them in
planning effectively the strategies for the development of the business. This growth matrix helps
the marketers of the company to analyse as well as evaluate how the company can develop and

implement the growth strategies. This matrix has been divided into the four categories which
helps the company to analyse the risk related with each option available to the company.
Market Penetration: This is the strategy which is used by the organisation to mainly focus on
the accelerative the sales of the company using the existing products offering to the existing
market. The organization uses this with the main purpose of the exploding the market share as
thus enables the company to raise the sales of its products. This strategy can outcome to lowering
of the prices through the overall industry as the company tries to match the price level of other
company;s products and due to this, the price level constantly falls.
Product Development: This strategy, has the major focus on the launching of the new products
in the existing market. This strategy is used by the company as this come to extensive research
and development as well as the for the elaboration of the products which is offered by the
company (ISIBOR and GBANDI). The risk associated with this strategy is that it may result in
the unsuccessful of the new products in the market and also this costs very huge amount of the
investment of the company.
Market Development: This strategy provides the organization to effectively enter into the new
market with the existing products of the company. This strategy will be tested for successful for
the company if the Barker and Stonehouse company will use the new technology for
manufacturing good quality products for the customers. The approaches which can be used by
the company for market development are such as catering the different segments of the
customers, entering into the new domestic market when the company expands regionally as well
as entering into the foreign market when the company expands its businesses at the international
level (Spiller, 2022.).
Diversification: This strategy involves company which enters into the new markers by offering
the new products to the customers. This risk has the largest risk and this can be mitigated only y
using the related diversification. Risk associated with this diversification strategy it has the
higher risk of decision making as well as of the financial risk because the return may fall which
is to be given to the shareholders.
The Barker and Stonehouse company can use the diversification strategy as this will help
them in growing the business as well as this will help them in offering the new products to the
customers.

Options for financial growth and sources of funding:
Each and every business organisation requires the funds to grow the business and expand
their businesses across the different marketplace. The company raises the funds through the
different options which are available to them as well as the option which is suitable with the
company's strategy. When the company has the main focus on the growth process then they may
look for the funding options which will help them in providing the financial wealth as this will
help them in running the business activities for the growth of the company. The Barker and
Stonehouse company can raise the funds through the different options such as-
Business Loans: This source of funds is considered as one of the best source in which the
company has to approach to the bank as well as take the loans for the business which will allow
them to gain the long term financial funding (Jimon, Dumiter and Baltes, 2021). The Barker and
Stonehouse company can easily raise the funds through this source from the local banks under
some terms and conditions. There are various types of the loans which the company can acquire
by banks such as loan from friends and family and many more.
Personal Savings: The is the best way to fund the business by the owners. They can use there
personal savings and invest in the businesses as this will enable them to grow their businesses
without paying any kind of interest rates as well as these are not to be repaid. The Barker and
Stonehouse company using this source will help them in enjoying the huge profits (Ivanyuk,
2021).
Angel Investors: These are investors which are very wealthy in the terms of the finance and have
enough funds to invest in the company. These investors firstly examines the business plan and
then they invest in the businesses according to their choice and interest. If the Barker and
Stonehouse company wants to grow their businesses, the company can go for insisting the
investors to invest in their company.
Family and Friends: This is also another best source for the small scale businesses to raise the
funds as in this, the sole trader can approach the friends and family for gathering the funds. This
type of the funds is considered as the informal type of the funding as the sole trader does not
have to form any legal contract with the friends and family.
Entrepreneurial strategies for securing the funding-
Due to the Covid 19, the Barker and Stonehouse company has seen the large fall in the
profits of the company as this has reduced the performance level of the overall company. The

current situation of the business has recovered and the company is trying to grow its businesses
as this can be only done when the company has enough source of funds with themselves. The
entrepreneurial strategies will enable the companies to survive in the current situation of the
marketplace. There are various entrepreneurial strategies which when adopted by the Barker and
Stonehouse company to adopt are such as-
Business Expansion: This is the most effective strategy which will enable the company to think
innovatively and expand the business through this. The entrepreneur using this strategy will help
them in increasing the stores in the nearby towns or locality. This is the best opportunity for the
company as this will provide the positive image towards the investors and they will invest in the
company (Jalalabadi and et.al., 2018).
Participation in the networking events: The events which happens at online when participated
by the company helps them in increasing their reach of the company among the customers. This
will enable the company to boosts the brand visibility which will help them in attracting the new
customers and grow the businesses.
Researching the market: When the company's marketers will research the market effectively
will help them in evaluating the competition in the business as well as this will help them in
formulating the policies for the organisation.
The Barker and Stonehouse company using the above strategies will help them in effectively
survive in the highly competitive market. It is very important for the company to use the
effective strategies as this will help them in working the business smoothly.
Exit and succession options available for the organisations-
In the present era, there is very high chances for the organisations for the failure and this
is the main cause due to which the owners exit the business from the market. The business exit
strategy is the plan outlines the situation for which the transition will be taken place. There are
various options available for the Woodworks company to get exit from the market such as-
Merger and acquisition: This is the process which involves purchasing of the small company by
the much larger company or merging it together. When the company is sold to the competitor,
this enables the company to negotiate the higher price as compared to when it is sold to the third
party. The main purpose of acquiring the company is to attain the competitive edge against its
competitors (Bertschi-Michel, Sieger and Kammerlander, 2021). This is considered as the most

strong exit strategy for the small companies but this process is also very time consuming as well
as costly process.
Initial Public Offering: This exit option involves fetching the business to the public for selling
all the stocks to the stockholder of the company. This option is very challenging as there is very
high regulatory cost. The company which wants to earn the large or substantial profits can use
this exit strategy. This enables the company to sell the business at very higher value as during the
specific time period, the company can sell off its profits which ranges from 3-24 months (Lemley
and McCreary, 2021).
Liquidation: This is the exit option which involves liquidating the assets of the company. This
option is considered as the one of the most best option for the exit of the business as this enables
the company to reduce the loss which occurs o the continuous basis. This means that the
company has to sell the asset and the holdings to the new owner for recovering the their losses at
the end of the business (Brill, 2018). The Barker and Stonehouse company using this option has
many benefits as this allows the organisation to avoid the losses of the company as using this, the
company can reduce the cost and end the business in the positive way. The drawback associated
is the legal obligation which can be seen when the owner liquidates the business.
The Barker and Stonehouse company can use the liquidation method or option as this will
help them in avoiding the losses as well as the enables them to earn the potential profits of the
company by liquidating the assets at the end of the business.
Recommendation-
Well Organised: The Barker and Stonehouse company must ensure that the resources of the
company are well organised as this will help them in implementing the effective strategies. The
company which is well organised ultimately earn the higher level of the profits as the human
resources also works effectively.
More Budget: When the company will enough budget, this will help them in smooth working of
the business activities as well as this will help the company to increase the sales and revenue of
the company (Dhaliwal and et.al., 2018). The Barker and Stonehouse company when having the
enough budget will help them in growing the business in the better way as all the activities which
requires the budget will be conducted.

Seeking angel investors: This is the best way to source the funding for the company as this will
help them in borrowing the money from the investors to invest in their company and this will
enable them to grow their business.
Business Plan for Woodworks company-
Executive Summary:
The business plan will outline the overall business of the Woodworks company which is
engaged in making the furnitures from wood. This plan will cover the SWOT analysis of the
company, marketing mix, financial planning of business, STP analysis and the conclusion.
Introduction of products and services:
The products and the services which will be offered by the Woodworks company are
such as the chairs, tables, dining tables, beds, sofas as well as the cupboards. The services which
will be offered by the Woodworks company will be of delivering the products which are
purchased by the customers at their home, providing them the customer service facility and
welcoming and greetings at the entrance of the stores (Paletta, 2019).
Objectives:
The objectives of the Woodworks company are as follows-
 Providing the best quality wooden furniture to its customers.
 Providing the one roof solutions which involves supplying of the different types of the
products as per the needs and wants of customers. Meeting the expectations of customers for increasing the sales of the company.
Pestle Analysis:
Political Factors
The political decisions and the
policies are the most affecting
factors on the businesses. The
Woodworks is the small scale
company so it will be largely
affected by these factors.
Economic Factors
The GDP, per capita income as
well as the inflation of the
country has the large impacts
on the operations of the
businesses. The Woodworks
will be affected by such factors
in UK.
Technological Factors
The technology is getting
advance at very high pace so it
is very challenging for the
Woodworks company to adapt
these as it is very small scale
company.

Social Factors
The social and cultural factors
have very large impact on the
business operations. It is very
necessary for the Woodworks
company as well to take care
of the culture of the country.
Legal Factors
These are the factors such as
laws, norms as well as the
regulations which has very
high impact on the working of
the business. As the
Woodworks company also
have to follow all the laws
related to the businesses in
UK.
Environmental Factors
The awareness of the change
in the climate has much
increased among the people.
This became the huge
responsibilities on the
Woodworks company to offer
the products and services
which does not harm the
planet.
SWOT analysis:
Strengths
 Excellent handicrafts skills as well as
variety of handicrafts material is use for
better decoration of products.
 Good market research
Weaknesses
 Less resources available within the
business.
 High labour cost
Opportunities
 The consumers trends are nowadays
shifting towards the good quality
furniture.
 Providing wide variety of products to
customers.
Threats
 High level of competition from the
leading furniture companies.
 Large number of the entrants
Marketing Mix:

The Woodworks using this will help them in effectively reaching to the customers. The
marketing mix can be defined as the combination of the factors which are in control of the
company for influencing the customers to purchase their products. The marketing mix for the
Woodworks company is as follows-
Product: The products which is been offered by the Woodworks company is of wide variety
which means that the customers will choose among the various products. The company is
providing the various products for choosing which the customers can purchase.
Price: The price is the most important aspect which is to be considered while launching of new
business. The prices of the products of Woodworks company is affordable which will attract the
large pool of customers (aniewski, Szopiński and Awruk, 2018).
Place: The location of the Woodworks company is very glance location which will attract the
large number of the customers. The place is where the product will be available to the customers
for buying so they can purchase it from the stores.
Promotion: The promotion techniques will help the Woodworks company to make its products
reach to the customers. This can be done through advertising on the social media platform as the
consumers are spending there most of the time on the social media.
STP Analysis:
This analysis involves the segmentation, targeting as well as the positioning which
enables the company to position its products and the services for targeting the particular group
among the large population of the customers more effectively.
Segmentation: The market segmentation can be defined as the process which involves division
of the market into the different groups which is based on the needs, characteristics as well as the
behaviour of the customers. The segmentation for the Woodworks company is the Behavioural
segmentation that is for the people are frequently changing their homes from one place to
another as they buys the furnitures more (Wennberg, 2021).
Targeting: This is the step which involves making the products and services on the basis of the
particular segment or the group of the customers. But in the case of the furniture business, all the
group of the customers are targeted because this is the need of all the people. Companies uses
this to know more about the consumers as well as creates the advertisements for the specific
groups.

Positioning: The term Positioning can be defined as the where the product and the services in
the market as compared to the products of its competitors as well as in the mind of the
customers. The company having the good positioning helps them in making the product unique
as well as makes its customers believe that the products they are using is very different from
other company's products. The Woodworks company making the positive image in the minds of
the customers will help them in staying ahead in the highly competition market as well as enable
them to achieve the objectives of the overall organisation (Yang, Yu and Liu, 2018).
The Woodworks company's business plan is much comprehensive as well as will be able to
achieve the leading position in the future as this company is providing wide variety of the
products.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that it is very important for the businesses to
grow. IT is very necessary for the company to analyse the competition in the market and
according to which the company may plan the growth. This report has discussed the basis of
competition as well as opportunities available to company. Further, this report has covered the
Ansoff's growth matrix and sources of funding and later on the outlined the overall business plan
of company.

REFERENCES
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