Competitive Analysis of Coles in the Australian Market

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MKT600 Marketing
Assessment 1: Situation Analysis
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Table of Contents
Background................................................................................................................................3
Micro-environment....................................................................................................................4
Summary of competitors............................................................................................................5
Macro-environment (PESTLE Analysis)..................................................................................6
SWOT analysis...........................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8
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Background
Australia is a country with new, developing ideas and techniques. These ideas and techniques
are developed so that the citizens of the country can live a better life. Coles is a well-
renowned supermarket in Australia where new products are made for the better health of the
citizens of the country. Australia is a food lover country, and it produces some of the best
foods in the world. The respective organization believes that the best food should be
produced and it should also have a healthy impact on the citizens. The organization’s main
aim is to reduce the wastage of food (Kumar, 2016). The Coles produces the delicious and
fresh flavours of the fruits and vegetables regardless of shape and size. The organization
produces the food with the fewer prices keeping in the mind the economic conditions and the
food can be purchased by all the sections of the society. The organization provides the perfect
range of food with the different pieces of fruits and vegetables that they have never met
(Coles, 2019). The company is currently launching its new food range in the market known
as I’m Perfect range, the respective range will help in providing quality food to the
customers by guaranteeing a minimum amount of wastage. With the help of this range, the
organization will be able to satisfy its customers and will also be able to embark its success in
the market. With the help of this range, the organization will be able to reduce wastage of
resources that will help in ensuring profitability to the organization in the market (Dal
Bianco, Amini & Signorelli, 2016).
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Micro-environment
Microenvironment plays a crucial role in deciding the marketing strategies of the
organization. With the help of this factor, the organization will be able to frame its decisions
easily and effectively. There are a variety of micro-environment factors that plays a crucial
role in deciding the marketing policies of Coles; some of them are mentioned underneath:
 Customers
The respective organization is consumer oriented. According to the needs of the
customers, the taste of the customers also varies. Coles deals with the preferences of
the consumers and then produces the product. The Coles usually conduct the primary
and secondary investigation about the taste and preferences and then produces the
product. These researches help the respective organization to know about the
customers need. The respective organization also deals with the government about the
policies, rules and regulations and procedures so that the work is under the law of the
country (Kumar, 2016).
 Competitors
Competitors are the organizations which deploy similar strategies and the policies of
our organization. The competitors also try to attract the customers by their product.
The respective organization should set the strategies keeping in mind the strategies of
the competitors. The respective organization should investigate about the policies,
rules and strategies and everything about the competitive organization. The Coles
usually deals with these things by making a marketing plan. This plan should include
the marketing variables, their strengths and weakness, market share and other relevant
information.
 Suppliers
Suppliers act as an intermediate between the respective organization and the
customers. It helps the organization to reach the customers. Suppliers play an
important key role between the customers and the organization for this the
organization has to work closely with the suppliers so that they can assure the quality
they produce is reached to the customers.
 Marketing intermediaries
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Marketing intermediaries are the persons who help the organization to promote and
sell their products and services. These intermediaries are the wholesalers and retailers
which work very close to the suppliers. They buy the product from suppliers and sell
them to the customers. They also help to promote the different organization and also
help the organization to reach to the customers.
 Public
It is essential for the company to understand the perspectives of all the parties that
affect the marketing choices in a direct and indirect manner. It can include the
stakeholders as well as the employees of the organization. The managers of Coles try
to understand the desires of all the stakeholders effectively. They try to understand the
perspectives of the teammates and likewise try to entertain their concerns while
framing the policies of the organization (Ibrahim & Harrison, 2019).
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Summary of competitors
Competitors are the organizations that duplicate the product of the well-known organization
by making some updates in the schemes, policies and price of the product. Tesco is a
renowned competitor of the Coles. TESCO is a supermarket which deals with the all type of
daily needs of the customer and provides a good quality of products whereas Coles is a food-
producing organization which deals with providing the best quality of food to the citizens of
the country. Tesco is a supermarket which deals with the promotion of the organization and
to earn more and more profit. This organization also has some charitable trust with which
they share the profits of the respective organization. The company believes in providing
quality services to its customers in minimum prices (Ibrahim & Harrison, 2019). The
products offered by TESCO are, and the respective firm always tries to minimize its carbon
footprints from the society. In this manner, TESCO can attract the concerns of its customers
in the most easy and effective manner. With the help of these services, the managers of the
respective organization are able to extend the boundaries of business in the international
market. The company is not only satisfying its potential customers but is also entertaining the
policies of the society in quite a satisfactory manner. The organization tries to make use of
the paper bags instead of utilising the plastic one for the welfare of society. The company
also make sure to follow the norms of CSR in order to satisfy all the parties associated with
its business. TESCO tries to conduct its functioning in full ethical and legal manner, which
help the firm in embarking its success in the market. The target market of the firm lies in the
age group of 19-50, as the individuals of all age group visit supermarkets for their daily
needs. With the effect of these effective policies, the company is able to satisfy its target
market and is likewise able to enhance its sales in a significant manner (Ibrahim & Harrison,
2019).
With the assistance of above information, it can be commented that it is essential for the
Coles to understand the schemes, policies and the strategies of the Tesco and to implement
better innovative ideas in its own company. The Coles should investigate and research about
the factors that could affect the customers more than the competitors. The organization
should also rectify their mistakes and implement better options which could help in the
upliftment of the organization and make the organization different from other organizations
(e Swaan Arons, Van den Driest & Weed, 2014).
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Macro-environment (PEST Analysis)
Macro-environment likewise plays a crucial role in the process of marketing. With the help of
this process, the managers of the organization are able to scrutinize the external factors that
can hinder their marketing practices. PEST Analysis is the most significant tool that can be
used by the mangers of Coles for evaluating their external environment (12manage, 2018).
The pest analysis of respective firm is as follows:
Political Economic Social Technological
 The changing
taxation policies
of the
government
impact the new
food range of
concerned
organization
 Along with with
this, the trade
regulation
policies in the
international
market impacts
the export and
import of the
concerned
organization.
 Apart from this,
there is a number
of laws and
regulation that
can impact the
 The economic
growth of
Australia is
helping in
enhancing the
profit reserves of
the organization,
as the purchasing
power of the
customers is
increasing
 The change in
exchange rates
can have an
impact on the
planning process
of the respective
firm
 It is very
important for the
company to
function as per
the changing
trend and fashion
in the market. In
the market of
Australia,
innovation takes
place on a
frequent basis. It
is essential for
the company to
analyse these
trends and
function
accordingly
(12manage,
2018)
 The company
likewise initiate
action for the
 It is essential for
the company to
advance its
technology along
with the up
gradation in the
market. A set
back in this can
impact the
growth of the
organization.
 It is important for
the firm to reduce
its cost of
operations in
order to enhance
its area of the
market. This can
also help in
attracting new
customers
 By expanding its
trade to online
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decision making
policies of the
firm, such as
Employment
laws and Safety
regulations etc.
safety of the
consumers and
the environment.
This helps the
firm in attracting
the concerns of
potential
consumers.
market, the
company will be
able to enhance
its sales. The
company must
likewise
implement a new
mobile
application for
this purpose.
 The issues related
to cyber
misconduct are
increasing, and it
is essential for
the company to
make use of the
security and
management
related software’s
(12manage,
2018).
It is very hard for the managers of Coles to manage or to handle the External forces. For the
respective purpose, the managers of the firm can make use of the below stated approaches:
 Reactive approach:
As per this approach, the managers can monitor the PEST analysis of the firm and can
implement their policies in the according to manner. With the assistance of the
respective approach, the managers will be able to submerge the impact of the external
environment and will be able to expand their production in the market
 Proactive approach:
As per this approach, it is believed that there are numerous factors of the external
environment that cannot be controlled by the human forces. Thus in the presence of
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this approach, the firm try to adopt the change and try to mould the management
activities as per the impact of these changes. The changes are adopted in this type of
approach.
The managers of Coles try to implement Proactive approach in their organization, which
helps them in facilitating the changes and making innovations in the organization (Ibrahim &
Harrison, 2019).
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SWOT analysis
Along with external factors, it is likewise essential for the managers to scrutinize the internal
practices of the organization. With the help of this evaluation, the managers of Coles will be
able to scrutinize the activities that hold value for their organization. With the help of this
analysis, the managers of the organization will be able to move on the line of success
effectively (Ibrahim & Harrison, 2019). The internal affecting factors can be evaluated with
the help of SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis of Coles is provided below:
Strength
 Brand equity
 Diversification
 Effective human resources
 Adequate financial resources
 Stronghold over the market
 Quality products
 Motives to serve the environment and
society
Weaknesses
 High prices of the products
 Increasing competition
 Decreasing creative skills among the
workforce
 Dissatisfaction among the consumers
Opportunities
 The extent of business to international
boundaries
 Increasing productivity of the firm
 Increasing market segment
 Development of new product range
for the safety of consumers and the
environment
Threats
 Advanced policies of competitors
 Impact of inflation on the policies of
the organization
 Barriers of import and exports
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References
 12manage. (2018). PEST. Retrieved on 20 April 2018
https://www.12manage.com/methods_PEST_analysis.html
 Coles. (2019). Coles Flawed-But-Adored Produce Saves Money And Reduces Waste.
Retrieved on 20 April 2018
https://www.coles.com.au/about-coles/news/2019/05/21/coles-flawed-but-adored-
produce-saves-money-and-reduces-waste
 Dal Bianco, S., Amini, C., & Signorelli, M. (2016). The impact of the global financial
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 E Swaan Arons, M., Van den Driest, F., & Weed, K. (2014). The ultimate marketing
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strategies, structures, and capabilities should organizations adopt? Harvard Business
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 Ibrahim, E., & Harrison, T. (2019). The impact of internal, external, and competitor
factors on marketing strategy performance. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1-20, 1-
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 Kumar, P. (2016). State of green marketing research over 25 years (1990-
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2015-0061
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