UK Fashion Retail: Debenhams PLC Case Study on Innovation

This case study proposal examines the role of innovation in addressing intense competition within the UK's fashion retail industry, with a specific focus on Debenhams PLC. The introduction outlines the current boom in the retail sector, driven by changing customer preferences and the emergence of small businesses, leading to increased competition. The study's rational is to determine how innovation impacts competition and helps develop effective strategies for long-term sustainability. The research aims to identify the role of innovation, determine factors driving innovation, analyze its role in retail companies, identify competitive factors, and establish the relationship between innovation and competition. The literature review explores innovation's impact on business, particularly in the retail sector, including the influence of technological advancements and the challenges faced by companies like Debenhams. It also discusses internal and external factors affecting innovation, including Debenhams' strengths (brand image, customer base) and weaknesses (weak promotion, limited product range). The study considers external factors like Brexit and economic conditions. The study will use these insights to propose strategies to address the challenges and enhance Debenhams' competitive position in the market. The proposal includes a project plan, timescale, and anticipated problems, concluding with a list of references.

CASE STUDY PROPOSAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1......................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1
Overview of organisation............................................................................................................1
Rational of the study...................................................................................................................2
Aims and objectives....................................................................................................................2
Research questions......................................................................................................................2
Problem statement.......................................................................................................................2
SECTION 2......................................................................................................................................3
Relevant Literature......................................................................................................................3
SECTION 3......................................................................................................................................7
Research methodology ...............................................................................................................7
Data sources................................................................................................................................7
Proposed plan of analysis............................................................................................................7
Section 4...........................................................................................................................................9
Project plan and timescale...........................................................................................................9
Any foreseen problems.............................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

TITLE
Role of innovation to combat the state of intense competition in UK's fashion retail
industry - A case study on Debenhams PLC
SECTION 1
INTRODUCTION
Retail sector is at boom. It is expanding in different markets as needs of customers are
changing. Due to frequent change in tastes and preferences of people, retail companies are
producing variety of products. This has enabled small business to emerge in the market. They are
providing goods at cheap rate (Hancock and Algozzine, 2016). With this, they are able to attract
a large number of people. Also, it has led to increase in competition among market. Companies
are producing innovative products in order to retain customers. Basically, in fashion industry,
different trends are emerging. This has transformed the culture of society. This report will show
how Debenhams is facing several issues in retail sector in the UK. Also, it will show how
developing a research proposal will help company to overcome the issues by providing them
solutions. For the present report, organisation selected is Debenhams PLC. It belongs to retail
sector and operates in the UK.
Overview of organisation
Debenhams is a fashion retail company that usually operates in the UK. It is a public
limited company having stores in 178 locations. There are various products in which company is
engaged like clothing, furniture, household items, etc. (Jalle and Cazorla, 2014). Company was
formed by William Clark in 1778 in London as draper’s store. Later, it was collaborated with
William Debenham who became a partner. Organisation opened their largest store in September
2003 in the UK. Moreover, company purchased stock of principles in March 2009. The
enterprise owns many small retail businesses. Due to this, it has expanded in many sectors. It is
having almost 30000 employees working in it. It offers a wide range of brands to customers that
include ted baker, frost french, ben di lisi, etc. Company is having an online presence in around
60 countries. It serves almost 19 million customers in 2017. The mission of Debenhams is to
make shopping, confidence boosting, sociable and fun. Company’s unique selling price is around

200 years old. It offers both private and international brands. But in the recent era, its profit and
growth has also declined. This is due to new entrants and rise in competition in the retail sector.
Also, Debenhams has to compete with rivals like Tesco, Aldi, Marks and Spencer, etc.
Rational of the study
This study will show how innovation has lead to intense competition among various
retails companies in the market. Also, it will help in determining the different factors that has
lead to this situation. With this organisation can develop effective strategies that will help them
to sustain for long term in competitive market.
Aims and objectives
The aim is to identify the role of innovation to combat the state of intense competition in
retail sector. A case study on Debenhams, UK.
Objectives -
 To determine the factors that has lead to innovation in the market
 To analyse the role of innovation in retail companies
 To identify the factors for intense competition in retail sector.
 To establish relationship between innovation and competition
Research questions
 What are external and internal factors in retail sector?
 What is the role of technological innovation in retail companies?
 How innovation has lead to increase in competition among retail companies?
Problem statement
Due to intense competition in the retail market of UK, Debenhams is facing many issues
in innovating products and services. The competition is increased due to emerging of many new
business. This has restricted Debenhams to implement the innovation (González-García, Belo
and Arroja, 2015). Also, it is not able to make changes in products as many companies are
already providing those to people. In addition to this, company has made changes in the process

but not benefited to a great extent. This is the reason; sales and profits of Debenhams are
decreasing. Also, their growth is affected to different markets. This problem has been raised
because Debenhams is not able to analyse the internal and external factors. This is leading to the
issues related to innovation.
The conceptual framework behind this can be explained as below:
Theme 1: Impact of innovation this will lead to change in internal and external factors. These
factors include strengths and weaknesses of Debenhams
Theme 2: Impact on external factors- It is essential to evaluate this as it can help in providing
solutions to issues.
SECTION 2
Relevant Literature
Innovation has transformed the way of doing business. It has provided a platform for
business to grow and develop in different markets. This is the reason many new businesses have
emerged. The major impact of innovation is on retail sector. It has allowed company to develop
products and services to satisfy the needs of people (Munoz, Nembhard and Camargo, 2018).
Also, there has been a high change in tastes and preferences. It has allowed retail companies to
offer a variety of products to them. According to Frollini and Preziosi, 2017 in the recent era,
there is very stiff competition in retail market. This is restricting many companies to implement
innovation in their operations. Due to this, they are not able to compete in the market. Also,
technological advancement has affected operations to a great extent. Apart from this, it has
offered a variety of products to customers. It has also made it easy for people in doing shopping.
They are now able to shop anywhere, anytime. Moreover, their problems are solved in quick and
real time. Similarly, Debenhams is facing the issues related to innovation. They are not able to
expand their operations. It has resulted in decline in the sales and profits.
Impact of innovation
Innovating process and methods helps in enhancing the business growth. It provides
different methods that can be applied in operations. With this, products can be developed
according to the customer needs. According to Pace and Zavattini, 2016, it is necessary that

proper resources must be there so that innovation can be done. This will help in developing the
strategies effectively on how to innovation will be implemented in step by step manner. It is said
by de Freitas, Marques and Sousa, 2018 that in retail sector, innovation has led to rise in
competition. Basically, there are five innovations that have been done in the retail sector. These
are artificial intelligence, augmented reality, etc. It has provided a new way of doing business
which has transformed the retail sector.
As elucidated by Esbrí, Cacovean and Higueras, 2018, there has been both positive and
negative impacts of innovation. Some organisations have been benefited while others are not
able to implement in properly. So, large organisations are dominating the retail market. It has
forced small ones to develop effective strategies so that it can compete with them. The main
reason company is facing is shortage of funds and ineffective strategies. In the opinion of Frollini
and Preziosi, 2017, companies have implemented innovation without evaluating micro and
macro factors. It has created possibilities to enter in market where competition is low. The main
issue regarding innovation is advancement in technology. It has forced business to cope up with
it so that products can be developed. As elucidated by Femmer and Moser, 2016, there are many
factors that have to be measured in order to solve issues that are being faced by Debenhams.
Internal and external factors
As elucidated by Hancock and Algozzine, 2016, before innovating process or methods, it
is important that company analyses its internal and external factors. It is because; it can result in
the rise in issues. Also, in this, competitors are determined so that similar products will not be
produced. It is said by Pace and Zavattini, 2016 many companies are facing issues due to rise in
competition. This is because; large organisations already have innovated their systems. It is
giving tough competition to others. These organisations are not allowing small companies to
innovate the products. According to Jalle and Cazorla, 2014, micro factors are restricting the
growth of retail companies. It consists of strengths and weaknesses that have to be determined.
Strengths will help in finding in which area company is performing well. Weakness states the
areas in which improvements are required.
Strengths and weakness of Debenhams

As said by González-García, Belo and Arroja, 2015 Debenhams is facing issues as they
are not having enough resources to capitalise the innovation. Also, they are not able to
understand and analyse internal factors that are affecting them. These factors are restricting their
growth. It has also affected them in a negative way. The strengths and weaknesses of Debenhams
are analysed as below:-
Company is having a strong brand image and market share in the UK. It is also having a
strong customer base. Besides this, company has expanded operations in various countries like
Ireland, Scotland, etc. It is having around 140 stores in 40 countries. Along with this, Debenhams
has acquired many new and small companies. With this, it is providing excellent services to
people. It also provides a variety of products that includes furniture, accessories, clothing, etc.
Moreover, 30000 employees are working in it. So, overall it is having a strong position in the
UK.
According to Munoz, Nembhard and Camargo, 2018 major weakness of Debenhams is
that besides having a large number of retail stores, it is not able to capture enough market share.
This is because of the weak promotion and advertising. Furthermore, Debenhams does not
provide all types of retail products to consumers. So, this is the major disadvantage for company.
Also, the global presence of Debenhams is weak and so, it is not a well-known brand. These
weaknesses are affecting company’s growth. This is also leading to the issues related to
innovation that Debenhams is facing.
In the opinion of Pace and Zavattini, 2016 innovation leads to growth and expansion of
business. It allows business to operate in different markets. Also, it enhances efficiency and
performance. In the same way, Debenhams can innovate their products. They can expand in
different markets. For this, they can target Asian and other European countries. Alongside this,
Debenhams can merge with franchise that will help in expanding globally. This will help
company to solve the issue.
Moreover, according to de Freitas, Marques and Sousa, 2018, company can also face
some threats in the future. Already company is facing stiff competition in UK. Innovation can
lead to increase the prices of goods. Also, it can allow customers to switch from one brand to

another. There might be more capital required. This will decrease the dividend of shareholders.
Besides this, implementation of innovation may get failed due to poor strategies.
Impact on external factors
It is said by Esbrí, Cacovean and Higueras, 2018 that apart from internal factors, external
factors also play a vital role in innovation. A change in them can also lead to rise in the issues.
So, organisation must analyse the macro factors so that issues can be effectually solved.
According to Frollini and Preziosi, 2017, the major political impact in Debenhams is facing is a
high downfall in sales due to Brexit. So, companies are developing effective strategies to attract
people and retain them. This has led to intense competition in the retail sector. Also, it has in the
view of Femmer and Moser, 2016 another factor might be change in economic condition. Due to
Brexit, UK’s GDP has declined. Due to this, Debenhams is facing the issues. It has affected their
efficiency as well as reduced profits. The positive impact is that UK has allowed companies to
operate in country. This has resulted in competition in the retail sector.
Furthermore, advancement in technology is allowing large companies to innovate the
process and methods. They are using technology to expand operations in different markets. But
in Debenhams, they might do not have enough resources to redesign the procedures. Also,
management might think that innovation will reduce the employee’s performance. So, they do
not want to implement it. Furthermore, website developed by them is not providing sufficient
information about products to the customers. It is elucidated by Hancock and Algozzine, 2016
that due to lack of advanced system and software, Debenhams is facing the issues. The systems
and software are outdated that are not allowing proper implementation of innovation. Due to this,
it has affected the productivity of Debenhams. They are not able to compete with others. Also,
technology has developed the mobile applications. This has led to rise in the competition in retail
sector.
As per Jalle and Cazorla, 2014 other factor in this is environment. UK government has
imposed several rules and regulations to protect the environment. So, every company is
contributing on this. They are engaged in creating awareness among people. For this, many
programs and seminars are organised. Legal factors can also affect the implementation of
technology. This is because; change in laws and regulations will force company to modify their

policies. This will create issues in the business operations. Employees and management will not
be able to execute the plans and strategies. Due to this, many companies face issue in this.
According to González-García, Belo and Arroja, 2015 there is a negative impact of efficiency of
organisation. This makes them ineffective to compete with rivals.
SECTION 3
Research methodology
Research philosophy:- For this present research mathematical philosophy is used. It will help in
determining the factors that has lead to innovation in retail sector.
Research approach: The researcher will use inductive research approach in order to conduct
research.
Research design- This is a crucial element in research. Fore present research, exploratory
research design will be used. It will help in exploring the role of innovation with competition in
retail sector.
Research method- Basically, there are two research methods that are used. They are qualitative
and quantitative. The present research will be conducted by using qualitative method.
Sample size- in this researcher select the sample size from population on which the research will
be conducted. The sample size in present research will be 20 managers of Debenhams.
Reliability- for present research, the researcher will use effective and reliable tools and
equipments to analyse and evaluate data.
Validity- In context to present study, the data will be evaluated accurately by using tools.
Ethical issues - The research must be conducted by following some rules and regulations so that
it does not affect the results. For research ethical issues is very essential. By following some
rules and regulations it ensures that research is conducted in ethical manner.
Limitation – There are several issues that can affect research results. These are as follows :-
 Implementing data collection method- the researcher might get confuse while selecting
the data collection method. It will affect the research results.

 Determining aims and objectives- In this researcher has formulated aims and
objectives that are very broad, so they are made short by compressing it.
Data sources
The data sources that will be used in this research are qualitative and quantitative.
Generally, these methods are used when research is done on specific topic.
Qualitative- It refers to the primary research conducted that gives an insight to problems and
providing solutions for same (Esbrí, Cacovean and Higueras, 2018). It gives answer of why
problem was occurred. It defines relationship between occurrence of event and researcher. In this
case study, problem is identified and solution is provided on how issues related to innovation can
be resolved.
Quantitative- In this, data is collected in a systematic manner with the help of various
techniques. This helps in investigating the research topic in a proper and effective way. The data
collected is measured is statistical, numerical and mathematical tools. For present case strategy,
data is collected and measured to find the solution of issues.
Proposed plan of analysis
Debenhams requires a strong and effective plan in order to solve the issue. It will help in
implementing innovation in the process so that products and services can be developed. As
elucidated by Munoz, Nembhard and Camargo, 2018, Debenhams can follow various marketing
strategies or models. This will help them to develop an effective plan. For this, they can follow
Ansoff matrix that is described as below:
Market penetration – By following this, Debenhams can focus on current market and existing
products. They can implement innovation to develop products by identifying the needs of people.
It will help in attracting more people and retaining them. Also, they can redesign their process
that will help in reducing the cost of goods. With this, profit margin will increase. Also, customer
satisfaction will be enhanced.
Market development- In this, ABC can expand their operations in the new market. It will
enable them to implement innovation and attract people (Pace and Zavattini, 2016). With this,

they will be able to create a large customer base. Also, firm can apply innovation in new market.
With this, they can provide products to people to satisfy their needs. Moreover, it will be easy for
Debenhams to gain competitive advantage in that market.
Diversification – By applying this, Debenhams can enter in new market with their new products.
This will help in generating more sales and profits. It will help Debenhams to sustain for long
term in the market. Also, they will be able to develop strategies for implementing innovation in
new market. As per the view of De Freitas, Marques and Sousa, 2018 company will be able to
attract a large number of people.
Product development- This is the most common method that is used by many companies to
grow. Similarly, Debenhams can use innovation in process to develop products and services.
With the same, they can offer a large variety of products to people. It will attract them. Besides
this, alternative strategies can be developed to solve the issues related to innovation. It will help
in developing a system through which data and information can be collected.
Thus, Debenhams can use Ansoff matrix to resolve the issue of innovation. Firm will be
able to grow and implement innovation in proper way. Moreover, with this, they be able to
compete in the market (De Freitas, Marques and Sousa, 2018). However, it will be easy for them
to analyse market competition before innovating methods by this they will find out the root cause
of issue that is occurring. Also, can develop alternative strategies to solve issues. It will make it
easy to implement anything new. Company can develop products and services according to
customer needs. This will enable them to increase customer satisfaction and retain them.
Furthermore, with this, they can gain more competitive advantage in the market. In this way
Debenhams will be survive for long term. They can also expand operations in different countries.
They can increase their global presence in the retail sector.
Section 4
Project plan and timescale
In order to conduct the research, it is important that research activities are developed.
Also, timescale must be set so that research can be conducted in a proper manner. It helps in
allocating the time to each activity. The timescale of project is as follows:

Week
1 3
Septe
mber
2018
10
Sep
17
Sep
28
Sep
10
Octo
ber
18
Oct
29
Oct
12
Nov
20
Nov
28
Nov
3 Dec 12
10
Dec
emb
er
2018
Form
ative
(prop
osal)
Intro
ducti
on
Lit,
revie
w
Meth
odol
ogy
Cons
idera

tions
Sub
missi
on
(Soft
)
Feed
back
2)
sum
mati
ve
Intro
ducti
on
Lit.
revie
w
Disc
ussio
n of
meth
olog
y
Revi
ew of
result

s
Actio
n
plan
Reco
mme
ndati
ons
Sub
missi
on
Any foreseen problems
It is expected that there are many problems or issues that can be faced by Debenhams.
Implementing innovation in process may make it complex. This will reduce the efficiency of
Debenhams they will not be retain their customers. Besides this, a lot of capital is required to
implement the innovation (Frollini and Preziosi, 2017). So, this may decrease the market share of
Debenhams. Moreover, there is always a risk if having a negative impact of innovation on
business. Company does not have proper and effective strategies to reduce the impact. Therefore,
it will restrict their growth and development.
CONCLUSION
This report concludes that due to intense competition in retail market of UK, small
companies are not able to survive for long time. They have to develop different strategies and
need to implement them. Also, it is necessary that macro and micro factors are analysed so that
innovation can be applied. This will help in identifying the current position of company. Besides
this, it will determine the weak areas so that they can be improved. For this, proper plans and
strategies are developed and solutions are found on how issues will be solved.