Business Trends, Analysis, and Recommendations for Mothercare Company

This project provides an in-depth analysis of Mothercare, a British retail company specializing in products for expectant mothers and children up to eight years old. It explores current business trends, including online and offline retailing, and the use of social media platforms and discount offers. The study utilizes the VRIO and SWOT frameworks to assess Mothercare's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, providing a comprehensive understanding of its market position and competitive advantages. Recommendations are made for the company to capitalize on its strengths and address its weaknesses. The project emphasizes the importance of adapting to evolving market trends, technological advancements, and changing consumer behavior to maintain a competitive edge and ensure long-term success. The project concludes with a call to action for Mothercare to embrace these strategies for future growth and sustainability.

Inquiry Based Project

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Trends in Mothercare...................................................................................................................3
Analysis of Mothercare................................................................................................................4
Recommendations........................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
As a skill, business trend awareness refers to one's capacity to be aware of how businesses
are evolving throughout time. For example, the importance of going digital for having a
successful business stems from a simple online activity trend. As a result, it is currently thought
that small firms with websites expand 40 percent quicker than those without (Chew, Haw and
Subramaniam, 2020). Awareness of all these trends, as well as a comprehension of how they
might affect one's business operations, is what leads to success for both the individual and indeed
the firm for which he works.
Mothercare is the organization chosen to complete this report. Mothercare plc. is a British
shop that specializes in supplies for expecting moms as well as general commerce for children
aged two to eight. With the use of business models like VRIO and SWOT, the goal of this study
is to analyse the current trends of the chosen firm and also query more about operations of the
firm's activities. It also seeks to determine what that organization must do in order to maintain its
success, or, conversely, what they must do in order to survive.
MAIN BODY
Trends in Mothercare
A convergence of market dynamics has produced an exceptionally complicated atmosphere
throughout the international retail sector in the business environment. Because of a constricted
operating environment, market age and penetration, sluggish growing population, and
increasingly demanding consumers, as well as extremely erratic customer behaviour, the retail
industry in developed markets is challenging to expand and maintain profit margin. The retail
industry is undergoing a technological transformation (Lončar, 2017). Be it reinventing physical
stores, adapting to new customer needs, redesigning marketing strategy, or improving back-of-
store efficiency, the possibilities are endless.
Mothercare is a genuinely worldwide firm that provides items for parents, new born, and
kids up until the age of eight in a variety of countries and cultures. There are various trends that
are adopted by the company in order to keep up with the competition and sustain the market
pressure. They are:
 Online and offline retailing: In this the retailers are selling their products both online
and offline. The products are being sold offline via stores and outlets whereas, the online

products are sold with the help of the company’s website or application. Almost all the
companies that are selling their products online, have their own company’s website with
the help of which they are selling products. Mothercare too have such website where they
showcase all the products to be sold for the moms to be, new born, kids till the age of 8
years and for the new moms. This has proved to be very beneficial for the company
especially in the times of global pandemic.
 Social Platform: There are various other social media platforms where the retail
companies have started to sell their products and services so as to attract more and more
customers to the company (Overdiek, 2018). Wide range of products are sow cased upon
various platform online by the Mothercare apart from their official website with which
they have tie up with. This enables the company to target more customers and reach out
to them easily.
 Discount coupons and offers: many of the retail company’s in same line of production as
Mothercare are offering great deals and discount on the product. To cope up with the said
competition, the company Mothercare is too offering various range of discounts and
vouchers so that they can sustain the competition in the market and survive the
competition in the market along with providing best quality products.
There are many more trends which are going globally in retail sector with which it is
important for Mothercare to cope up with so that they can get competitive advantage to that of
other its competitors in the market.
Analysis of Mothercare
Analysis of the company Mothercare can be done with the help of business models. There
are various business models which can be applied by the company to analyse it. Few of the
models with respect to the company Mothercare are discussed below.
VRIO analysis
The VRIO framework is a technique that can assist you in identifying the aspects of your
organization that provide you with a long-term competitive edge (Adyana and Hanani, 2020).
Whatever gives or will provide company an edge may be framed inside the VRIO framework,
whether it's resources, capabilities, relationships, or goods. The acronym VRIO stands for
Valuable, Rarity, Imitability, and Organized.

 Valuable: A resource is considered significant if it delivers benefit to the organization by
enabling it to achieve success or minimize dangers. Mothercare Plc. provides a variety of
great and rewarding items that other competitors may not always provide. Mothercare
Plc. also includes information and highly effective ingredients for its goods to appeal to a
wide range of customers.
 Rarity: The rarity of a resource is assessed, which is frequently the effective and least
judgmental aspect of VRIO (NUGROHO, 2018). It all boils down to whether or not this
resource can be readily obtained by rivals, by the firm, or if it can be fully replaced.
Mothercare Plc. is a modern brand name with a premium feel that is posh, sophisticated,
and vibrant. Most other firms and rival brands lack the quality and design necessary to
get customers to interact in the manner Mothercare Plc. does.
 Imitability: The ease with which an organization may substitute or replicate a resource
determines whether it can be mimicked (Sugiarto and Suhaimi, 2020). For example, it
might be possible to duplicate a product feature or a promotional strategies, but copying a
brand or a historical database of consumer tendencies would be challenging. It would be
quite straightforward for other firms to update their packaging and follow Mothercare
Plc.'s strategy. The premium and comfy promise of Mothercare Plc.'s product may be
reproduced in this way.
 Organized: This component is about arranging the firm to get the most out of the
resource - is it doing everything it could for the firm? Mothercare Plc. takes use of this
resource by providing a variety of options and constantly altering the range via active use
of innovation and technology in production and marketing. With so many options, the
great majority of people will find things they enjoy, and those who want to try innovative
goods / processes every so often will have no trouble doing so with Mothercare Plc.
SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique that Mothercare Plc management
may use to conduct a situational study of the company (Williams, 2018). It's a key strategy for
analyzing Mothercare Plc's existing Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O), and
Threats (T) in its business environment. SWOT Analysis is a tried-and-true management
paradigm that allows a company like Mothercare to evaluate its business and performance to

those of rivals and the industry. Mothercare is a well-known brand in the lifestyle and retail
industries.
Strength
 Mothercare Plc. has developed a
reputation for successfully entering new
markets. The growth has allowed the
company to diversify its income
streams and reduce economic cycle risk
in the areas it serves.
 Mothercare Plc. has worked hard to
establish a solid brand portfolio over
the years. If the company wishes to
branch out into other product
categories, this brand portfolio might
be highly valuable.
Weaknesses
 More money should be put into
innovative technology. Mothercare Plc.
has to invest more in technology to
unify operations across the board, given
the magnitude of its expansion and the
many locations it plans to enter.
Currently, technology investment is not
keeping pace with the company's
objectives.
 The manufacturer's promotion leaves a
room for improvement. Even if the
brand is a sales success, its positioning
and compelling selling proposition are
not well established, which might lead
to rival attacks in this area.
Opportunities
 Mothercare Plc. can use the new
technologies to implement a
differentiated pricing strategy in the
new market. It will allow the company
to keep its existing consumers by
providing excellent service while also
attracting new consumers through
additional value-oriented offers.
 The ability to invest in neighbouring
product sectors is made possible by
stable free cash flow. With greater cash
on hand, the corporation will be able to
Threats
 In the medium to long term, new
technologies produced by a rival or
market disruptor might pose a severe
danger to the sector.
 The present physical infrastructure-
driven supply chain paradigm may be
threatened by changing customer
buying behaviour through internet
channels.

adopt new technologies and product
sectors. This should provide
Mothercare Plc. with new opportunities
in other product areas.
Recommendations
The business models discussed above relates to the operations and business strategies used
by the Mothercare Company in order to carry out the business operations. There are lots of
trends that have emerged due to the increase in the technological advancement and changing
behaviour of the consumers. Trends that are currently ongoing in the business environment must
be adopted by the company so that they get the competitive advantage to that of the other
competitors of them in the market (Rojas, 2018). The few of the recommendations are stated
below which the company Mothercare are might introduce in their business and its operations so
that they gain long term profits and success in future. They are as follows:
 The company must work upon its weaknesses discussed in the SWOT model. The
company is recommended to invest more of its capital in research and development. The
company must invest in new and latest technologies so that they are always ahead of its
competitors in every manner.
 The company Mothercare must start with the range of products that is different from the
line in which they currently are. The new launch of product under the same brand will
help the product gain more popularity in very less time. Being a popular brand name,
Mothercare if launch any new product in the market will gain more success.
 The company already have good quality product and therefore, they must enter the online
social market and sell their product through various different channels other than their
official website or web page. This will help company to reach out more consumers. The
consumers will also get chance to compare the products of Mothercare with that of local
brands. This will further help consumers to compare between the products and choose
quality over just pricing.
 The Mothercare Company must also introduce their products with vario0us deals and
offer so that more customers are attracted as now a days, consumers prefer best quality

product at cheap rates. This will help company to gain more popularity by decreasing
price and offering discounts.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above report that, the companies to sustain competition in the
market and maintain its position in the market must be operating and carrying out its business
operations with the current trends in the business environment. The trends in the business
environment mainly changes with the advancement in the technology, introduction of new and
innovative product in the market and the change in the consumer demand or behaviour. All of
these factors change the trends in the current business environment. When the company cope
with all such trends it may get advantage over to that of its competitors and survive in the
market. If the trends are not followed then the company may even lose its business and suffer
loss. Therefore it is important that business studies their current trend in the environment and
accordingly carry out business so as to gain more success and growth in the business.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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International Conference on Computer Modeling and Simulation (pp. 9-13).
Lončar, M., 2017. The impact of strategic management and strategic thinking approaches on
business performance of companies operating in the retail industry. European Project
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Research, 7(2), pp.147-167.
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expansion of Masalalu café based on business coaching method. In Contemporary
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