Evaluating Decision to Change Business Model: Debenhams UK Retail

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the decision to change the business model in the UK retail sector, focusing on Debenhams as a case study. It explores the various business models used within the UK retail industry, the reasons behind Debenhams' decision to change its business model, and the potential benefits of such changes. The research utilizes a quantitative approach, employing questionnaires to gather data systematically. The report delves into the importance of business models for organizational success, highlighting their role in creating and delivering value to customers. It also examines the competitive landscape and the necessity for companies like Debenhams to adapt their strategies to remain competitive and profitable. Furthermore, the report discusses the key components of a strong business model, including identifying target audiences, establishing business processes, and developing strong value propositions. The research aims to provide valuable insights for businesses, students, and researchers interested in understanding the dynamics of business model innovation in the retail sector.

Research proposal
(To evaluate the decision to change
business model in the UK retail sector)
1

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
Overview of the topic..................................................................................................................4
Background of the chosen organisation.......................................................................................4
Relevance of the Proposed Research to Business Research........................................................4
Place the proposed study in context.............................................................................................4
Justification of the chosen topic..................................................................................................5
Value of this research..................................................................................................................5
Research aim and objective.........................................................................................................5
Research question........................................................................................................................6
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................7
What is the business model used within the UK retail industry?................................................7
What are the decision to change business model in the Debenhams?.........................................9
What are the benefits of changing business model for the Debenhams?..................................10
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..................................................................................................12
Research design.........................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15
2

ABSTRACT
The main purpose to conduct the existing investigation is to gain detailed understanding on
the decision to change business model in the retail sector. In this research quantitative data is
being collected with the help of Questionnaire so that mass data can be gather in systematic
manner.
3

INTRODUCTION
Overview of the topic
Business model refers to a plan which company make to earn profit. This model is used by
an organisation to create and deliver values to economic, social and culture. It is one of the
business strategy which is adopted by the companies so that they can change their business
operation. The company make plan in order to earn money by selling product to the customer in
market (Davies and Doherty, 2019). There is various type of business model some of them are
Subscription model, bundling model, product to service model, leasing model, crowdsourcing
model and many more. These model are necessary to be understand by the retailer in order to
decide price as well as advertise their good in the market.
Background of the chosen organisation
For conducting this research, the chosen company is Debenhams. It is a British
departmental store which was founded in the year in 1778 by William Debenhams. It’s
headquarter is in Oxford street, London. Debenhams Chain operates in United Kingdom,
Denmark and Ireland. The department store deal in fashion and beauty product. There are
various goods which is sold by Debenhams. It includes variety of product such as clothes, shoes,
toys, accessories and many more which can be purchases by middle to high class people. The
company is now being purchased by Boohoo after the company announced it is getting
liquidated (Cao, Navare and Jin, 2018).
Relevance of the Proposed Research to Business Research
The present proposed study is quite relevant for the organisation research because this
investigation will cover the business model which is used by the company to earn profit. It is that
business strategy which is very important for the organisation to make higher profit (Kim and
Chun, 2018). Thus, the present research is vital for the business and help them to make plan
which assist them to improve and change the current model and adopt new in order to improve
their financial performance and to advertise their product to the target market.
Place the proposed study in context
The research has proposed a study on the decision to change business model in the retail
sector to earn profit. In this research, investigator carried out a detailed information about the
business model and why it is important for the organisation. Business model is adopted by the
4

organisation to create and deliver value to the customer in terms of goods and service they sale.
It has also proposed in this study that business model assist the companies to make plan which
help them to earn revenue (Hacklin, Björkdahl and Wallin, 2018). In simple term it aims in using
the best business model for their business to earn higher profit as compared to the competitor. It
also facilitates in improving the business operation by making a better plan which is suitable for
the organisation.
Justification of the chosen topic
The main purpose to select the current topic is to gain deeper knowledge about the
business model and why the company decide to change their business model. In this research
different types of business model will be learned which helps in making plan which assist the
organisation to improve their business operation. With this investigation dual objective will also
be attained by the researcher which are personal and professional objective. In percept to
personal objective, I will get to know about various methods used by investigator to gather and
analyse data. this research will also increase various skill in me which are communication, data
analytical and many more (Secinaro and et. al, 2020). On the other hand, with respect to
professional objective, I will be gaining knowledge about various business model used in
businesses.
Value of this research
The current research holds a great value as by this in depth knowledge about the business
model. This research is valuable for researcher, student, companies. In terms of organisation, this
investigation will tell the important of making decision about business model which will help
them to earn profit. In respect to the researcher, this research is valuable as it covers all he aspect
related to business model which will be used by them to gain fundamental knowledge and also
use this to develop their own investigation (Verhoef and Bijmolt, 2019). In last student will use
this research to get deeper academic knowledge about the business model and types of business
model.
Research aim and objective
Research Aim
To evaluate the decision to change business model in the retail sector: A study on
Debenhams
5

Research Objectives
 To identify the business model used within the UK retail industry
 To determine the decision to change business model in the Debenhams
 To evaluate the benefits of changing business model for the Debenhams
Research question
 What is the business model used within the UK retail industry?
 What are the decision to change business model in the Debenhams?
 What are the benefits of changing business model for the Debenhams?
6

LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature review is a document which provides detailed information of specific topic in
effective and efficient manner.
What is the business model used within the UK retail industry?
As per the viewpoint of Davis-Sramek and et. al., (2020), UK retail industry plays an
important role in improving the economy of country and also it offers livelihood to over millions
of people. The UK retail industry generally follows direct to consumer approach which is also
known as B2C. For example, Debenhams follows direct business model where they can interact
with customers directly and sell their products. The brand also has its online presence which
helps in attracting more and more people towards the company. UK retail industry also follows
canvas business model in which they determine all the key strategic factors. Through using this
model, company provides an overview of its working, revenue streams, customers and many
more. The few elements of strong business model are identifying specific audience, establishing
business process, recording key business resources, developing strong value proposition,
determining key business partners, creating demand generation strategy and focusing on
innovation. The main purpose of business model is to provide detailed information of the target
market, need of market and role played by products and services in order to meet those goals.
Key Partners
 Government
 Stakeholders
 Strategic
partnership
with
Competitors
 Suppliers
Key Activities
 Choosing
platforms
on social
media
sites
 Inventory
and
warehouse
manageme
nt
 Online
Value
Propositions
 Minimum
cost
platform
 Improving
customer
experience
 Well
trained
team
Customer
Relationship
 Discount
 Website
 Self
service
Customer
Segments
 Employer
s
 Customers
7

marketing
 Customer
service
 Risk
bearing
Key Resources
 Sales
agents
 Employee
 Partnershi
p
 Products
Channels
 Social
media
 Mobile
based
platform
 Offline
advertisin
g
Cost Structure
 Fixed (Salaries and Utilities)
 Variables (Database
maintenance and software)
Revenue Streams
 Selling of goods
 Renting and leasing
Key partners- Key partners includes the members who are directly or indirectly involve in
the business activities of retail industry. They generally help in improving the business
performance and growth. The key partners of UK retail industry are government, suppliers,
customers, employees, strategic partnership with competitors and stakeholders. These are the key
people who contribute their best efforts in making retail business successful and also improve the
profitability of company.
Key activities- Key activities include the task which is performed by an organistaion for
succeeding and operating business activities. The key activities in retail industry are choosing
right social media platforms, inventory and warehouse management, online marketing, customer
8

service and risk bearing (Muley, 2022). These are the activities which are conducted by UK
retail industry in order to improve the performance and productivity of business.
Value prepositions- The value proposition generally includes the value through which
company can satisfy the needs of customers. The value proposition of UK retail industry is
minimum cost platform, improving customer service and well trained employees.
Customer Relationship- It is important for UK retail industry to maintain strong customer
relationship. The categories of customer’s relationship include website, discount and self service.
Customer Segments- It is necessary to understand the target customers, UK retail industry
generally targets customers of different age, different occupation and different gender.
Key resources- In order to run business effectively, the resources required are physical,
intellectual, financial and human. Through these resources, UK retail industry can attract
customers.
Channels- Channels is a process of defining the way through which UK retail industry can
sell their products. The channels which are used by UK retail industry are agents, social media,
offline advertising and mobile based platform.
Cost Structure- The cost structure of UK retail industry includes salaries, utilities, database
maintenance and software.
Revenue Streams- The revenue stream for UK retail industry is sell of products, customer
satisfaction and renting and leasing.
What are the decision to change business model in the Debenhams?
As per the opinion of Wang and Xu (2021), companies generally make decision to change
their business model when they are not able to attract customers and face difficulty in sustaining
in market for long run. The model changes due to new competitive threats, new opportunities,
higher profitability, unsatisfied customers and many other reasons. Thus, these are the few
reasons due to which Debenhams can make their decision to change the business model. The
brand has also announces to redesign their business model and focus on attracting their
customers by fulfilling their needs and expectations. They are focusing on offline as well as
online marketing in order to attract maximum number of consumers towards the brand. In their
new business model, they are focusing more on good stores in strong locations, leading market
position in key product categories and growing international business. Therefore, the reason
behind changing the business model is to create strong customers and become one of the leading
9

departmental stores in UK market. By using new business model company focuses on selling
their products directly to its final customers. This model helps in increasing the profitability and
growth of business. But it also includes higher cost and distribution risk due to which industry
may also faces various issues. If Debenhams avail new revenue opportunities they can change
their business model as by modifying and expanding new target market. The new revenue
opportunities also help in improving the business performance and growth. Company also design
business model in order to gain competitive advantage. It becomes difficult for organisation to
survive in competitive environment with old business model. So, it is necessary for company to
change their business model in order to gain competitive edge.
What are the benefits of changing business model for the Debenhams?
As per the viewpoint of Balaji and et. al., (2018), there are various benefits which can be
availed by organisation through changing business model such as it helps in increasing the
profitability, improves reputation, encourage investors, attract customers, fulfils expectation of
consumers, encourage innovation and also boost the morale of employees. By changing the
business model, Debenhams can increase their profitability as they can offer wide range of
services and products to its customers which help in making them feel satisfied. If the customers
are satisfied with the products and services, the profitability of company increases. The changing
business model can also helps in improving the reputation of brand as it encourages the investors
to invest in the departmental stores. Through changing business model, company can also gain
competitive advantage in market by offering the products and services according to the need and
expectation of customers. The new business model is designed in such a way that attracts
customers and satisfies their needs and requirements in order to make them loyal towards the
brand. Debenhams also encourages innovation while changing the business model. When
innovation is encouraged it helps in bringing new ideas and creativity within workplace due to
which company can gain success in market and also improve their profitability. The innovation
also helps in increasing competitiveness as company offers high quality of goods and services to
its customers. Thus, innovation helps in discovering new opportunities and also fosters
competitive advantage. The changing business model for Debenhams also helps in boosting the
morale of employees. New business model helps in encouraging staff due to which they
contribute their best efforts in accomplishing the goals and objective of business. Therefore, it is
10

important to encourage the employees in order to improve the customer experience and improve
the growth of business.
11

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is one of the vital section in the whole research. Attating goal and
objective in reliable manner depends upon the types of data gathered and analyse by using
various research methodology. This part also helps the investigator to gain answer for their two
vital question which is how data will be gathered and how it will be analysed (Bairagi and
Munot, 2019). Research methodology can be defined as systematic process to identify, analyse
and interpret data in valid manner. This section is further divided into two parts which is
discussed below:
Research design
Research philosophy: It is the first layer of research methodology which is used to
provide certain principle and belief which is used to gather and analyse data. They are classified
into two parts which are positivism and interpretivism. As per the current study positivism
philosophy will be chosen by the researcher. The main benefit of this is it will help in evaluating
objective data in more generalised way. Positivism philosophy will also be helps in gathering the
general trend and pattern of the study.
Research approach: It is the second layer of the research which focuses on testing the
theories and hypothesis. There are two types of research approach which are deductive and
inductive. In present research, investigator will be selecting deductive approach (Ledford and
Gast, 2018). The benefit to use this is it will test existing theory rather than develop new
hypothesis. Also theories are tested with the help of Quantitative information.
Research strategy: It is that layer which focuses on gathering data about the topic. There
are serval kinds of research strategy some of them are action research, case study, systematic
literature review, experimental, survey and many more. As per the current research topic, survey
strategy will be used by the investigator. The reason is it will identify and collect numerical data
by mass population at single time. Using this strategy also require low cost and time. Survey will
also help in gathering primary data directly from the respondent.
Research choice: This is the fourth layer of the research onion framework which assist in
determine the types of data ned to be collected and analysed. It is divided into two parts which
are qualitative and quantitative research choice (Säfsten and Gustavsson, 2020). In existing
investigation, researcher will be choosing quantitative research. The major advantage to this is
12