Business Management and Strategic Management Report: Industry Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of business management and strategic management, focusing on a specific company's history, industry context, and performance. It begins with a historical overview, tracing the company's evolution and key milestones. The report then delves into an analysis of the industry, examining market conditions, growth factors, and the company's position relative to competitors. A SWOT analysis is conducted to identify the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report highlights successful initiatives and business operations, while also addressing the difficulties faced by the company. Finally, it offers recommendations for improving the company's performance, such as integrating online and offline activities, improving merchandising, segmenting fashion by age and style, and adding unique products. The report concludes with a list of references to support the analysis.

Running head: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Business management and strategic management
Name of the student
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Table of Contents
History of the Company...................................................................................................................3
Analysis of the Industry...................................................................................................................4
Performance in comparison to other competitors.........................................................................4
SWOT Analysis of the Company......................................................................................................5
Successful initiatives and successful business operations of the company....................................6
Difficulties faced by the Company...................................................................................................6
Ways to Improve the Performance of the Company......................................................................6
References.......................................................................................................................................8

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History of the Company
The company was established by a Welsh businessman named David Jones. In
consultation with another businessman named Charles Appleton, in London who established
Appleton stores. David Jones moved to Melbourne and opened the first store in Sydney in
partnership with Appleton in the year 1835. The name of the store was Appleton and Jones.
However, after the end of the partnership in 1838, the stores were removed to George Street.
However, though the new store survived the depression of the 1840’s, the business totally
declined in the late 1850’s (davidjones.com, 2019). After David Jones retired from all the
services there was a sharp decline of the company. However, after the death of the founder, his
son Edward Lloyd Jones led the Company and after him Edward Lloyd Jones aged 15 years took
the responsibility of the organization and journeyed to England to join the England office. After
his return to his native country he took over the reins of the company after his father’s death.
The first task he did was to convert the company into a public limited and then opened
different stores under the careful guidance of Charles Lloyd Jones (davidjones.com, 2019).
The time between 1940’s to the 1980’s the company experienced a sharp growth and
expanded its reach across Australia. The company established different kinds of stores across
Australia and slowly started expanding overseas. Its US venture however failed to produce
results as the company failed to deliver the results in the country (davidjones.com, 2019).
However, the US venture of the organization which was undertaken by Adelaide Steamship
Company acquired a substantial interest in the company in the year 1980. In the next few years,
a complex business structure was followed in between the two companies which saw each of

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them taking control of over half of their shares. Presently the company has been taken over by
Woolworths of South Africa.
Analysis of the Industry
The consumer goods retailing subdivisions has been struggling with a tough retail
conditions for the last few years. The retail industry in Australia continues to maintain its
momentum, driven by economic and social developments. Key factors in the growth of retail
industry are robust economic growth, rising population and rising purchasing power. Retail
industry in the Australia region will expand at a CAGR of 2% over 2013-18. Growth of Retail
industry in Australia in Asia Pacific is second lowest.
Australia is a very flexible market. Sudden rise and sudden downfall in Retail sector is
common in Australia. The Overall size of Australia retail market is $122 USD in 2013. During
past year’s low interest rates have given a relief to retail sectors (Doz, 2017). Due to low
interest rates, purchasing power of customers was increased and thus the retail industry which
was decreasing has suddenly started growing.
Performance in comparison to other competitors
David Jones has grown itself as a commendable organization in Australia. It has been
able to tackle fresh challenges from the departmental stores like that of Myer, Kmart and JB Hi-
Fi especially in the fashion business. Apart from this the company has also been able to make
the most from its food halls which have been an instant hit with the customers. Following the

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launch of its Bondi Junction, the management of David Jones plans to open stand-alone stores
in both Sydney and Melbourne to broaden its reach beyond its flagship department stores.
SWOT Analysis of the Company
STRENGTHS OPPORTUNITIES Strong Domestic presence in
Australian market
 Variety of products
 200 stores in Europe
 New business opportunities
 Leverage on Brand Name
WEAKNESSES THREATS Low Brand Quality
 Limited global presence
 Limited Brand Loyalty
 Presence of other high end stores
both domestically and
Internationally
1. Strengths- The main strength of the company lies in its strong domestic as well as
presence in the European markets. Its presence in France is one of the greatest
strengths as it is the epitome of European fashion. Offering a large number of products
to the customers is also one of the main advantages of the business.
2. Weaknesses- The presence of a large number of products has led the organization to
compromise on the quality of the products and the limited global presence of the
organization is a major weakness of the brand.
3. Opportunities- There are lots of opportunities for the management of the business to
increase revenue for the organization. The organization can enter into new businesses
like pharmaceuticals. The leverage on brand name is also one of the major opportunities
for the business to spread its global wings.

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4. Threats- The absence of brand quality and the presence of stores like Woolworths and
Coles are a serious threat to the growth of the industry.
Successful initiatives and successful business operations of the company
The branding of David Jones a black and white hounds tooth pattern is one of the most
recognized and identified corporate identities of Australia. The presence of the company across
different brands and the large scale offerings of the organization has helped it to become one of
the best Australian retail brand (davidjones.com, 2019). David Jones has for some decades used
popular models and celebrities for advertising its brands and has been successful in doing so.
The food hall experiment of the company has also been successful and they are viewed as one
of the most key part of the David Jones brand that emphasizes luxury, quality as well as style.
Five different stores of the same kind have been opened till date. The expansion of the
company in Europe and New Zealand are cited as the most successful ventures of the
organization.
Difficulties faced by the Company
There are different kinds of difficulties that are recently being faced by the organization.
First and foremost, the company has been trying to innovate and implement new strategic
initiatives. Recently the owner of David Jones announced that they were looking into writing
down the value of the company they bought for $2 billion in 2014. The departmental stores
have also shown a fall in the sales since 2009.

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Ways to Improve the Performance of the Company
Some of the best ways to improve the performance of the business are as follows;
a. Integrating Online and Offline Activities- Almost all of the customers of David Jones
own a Smartphone. Therefore the management of the company must introduce new
applications for these customers to buy products easily by ordering online.
b. Improvement of the Merchandising- The improvement of merchandising activities, like
change in marketing and promotional activities can help to improve the merchandising
of the brand.
c. Segment fashion by age and style- David Jones arranges its stores by gender, brand and
price (lower floors generally mean cheaper). This is a symptom of the concession model,
or stores-within-stores. It is no longer enough to offer goods all in one place because the
internet does this very well online and Westfield does it even better in the real world.
d. Add more unique products- The addition of more and more unique and different
products is the key to the success of the organization.

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References
David Jones. (2019). David Jones Online | Shop Fashion, Beauty, Home & More. [online]
Available at: https://www.davidjones.com/ [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].
Doz, Y. L. (2017). Strategic management in multinational companies. In International
Business (pp. 229-248). Routledge.
Ethiraj, S. K., Gambardella, A., & Helfat, C. E. (2016). Replication in strategic
management. Strategic Management Journal, 37(11), 2191-2192.
Hill, T. (2017). Manufacturing strategy: the strategic management of the manufacturing
function. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Peng, M. W. (2017). Cultures, institutions, and strategic choices: Toward an institutional
perspective on business strategy. The Blackwell handbook of cross cultural management‐ , 52-
66.
Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D., Hoffman, A. N., & Bamford, C. E. (2017). Strategic management
and business policy. pearson.