HC3031 Trimester 1: Analysis of Global Market Trends Case Studies

This case study analyzes global market trends through two case studies: Lululemon and Home Grocer. The Lululemon case examines the company's competitive advantage through niche marketing, focusing on stylish athletic wear, and its strategies for growth and overcoming challenges. It highlights the importance of a dedicated workforce and high-quality products. The Home Grocer case explores the adoption of online retailing models and mergers to gain a competitive edge in the grocery market. It discusses the challenges faced and the benefits of mergers, particularly the one with WebVan, in expanding market reach and improving financial strength. The analysis emphasizes the importance of competitive advantage, the impact of market trends, and strategic decisions in achieving business success.

Running head: GLOBAL MARKET TRENDS
GLOBAL MARKET TRENDS
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1GLOBAL MARKET TRENDS
Case study 1: Staff, Motley. 2019. "Comeback Stock Stories: The Fall And Rise Of Lululemon
-- The Motley Fool". The Motley Fool. https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/09/24/comeback-
stock-stories-the-fall-and-rise-of-lulule.aspx.
The term competitive advantage discusses about what makes a company better than
others in the eyes of the customers and also refers to those unique characteristics that
differentiates the company product from the competitors (Chiu & Yang, 2019). The marketing
strategy adopted by the company determines the superiority of the company over its competitors
such as the marketing strategy adopted by the company under the study is that of niche
marketing techniques. By adopting this technique the company aims at fulfilling the needs of the
designer clothes by the customers and the pricing strategy adopted by this institution is that of
high pricing because the customers of the niche market are concerned about the quality of the
product and not concerned about the prices (shop.lululemon., 2019). The company chosen for the
purpose of this study is Lululemon and the main objective of the paper is to discuss about the
marketing strategies adopted by the company, the competitive advantage of the company and
other techniques applied by the company that makes it superior to others.
The above article discusses about the lululemon’s rise after a major downfall. There was
a need for stylish clothes by people who did yoga and were engaged in other forms of activities
and after identifying the need for the same the owner decided to create designer clothes to meet
these needs. The company gains its competitive advantage through its marketing strategy of
niche marketing. Since its foundation, the company has been carrying out is activities through a
team of expert designers who worked with superior quality fabrics to meet the specific needs of
the customers. In niche marketing, the company gains a competitive advantage over other
competitors through its differentiated service or products (Gitonga, Kilika & Obere, 2016). The

2GLOBAL MARKET TRENDS
company under study gains a competitive advantage over its competitors through its specialized
services to its customers. The company meets the needs of its target market that is athletic people
and people who do yoga and have a need for stylish, good quality and well-designed fabrics and
therefore helps in meeting the needs of its target customers (Pantano, 2015). The company also
aims at gaining competitive advantage through opening their own stores instead of selling
through existing retailers. By doing so the company was aiming at staffing the stores with
people who were passionate about the work and by doing so the company has been able to best
quality products to customers. Therefore the company gains its competitive advantage through
its dedicated workforce. The company also gains competitive advantage by outsource the
activities of manufacturing to other producers who can produce the same at a cheap cost.
Therefore the company uses differentiation and reduced cost technique to sell its products and as
a result is able to earn higher profit margins.
Many authors believe that having a competitive advantage can become successful in the
short term period however it may not earn profits in the long term. In order to become profitable
a sustainable competitive advantage is needed in order to gain long term profits. However
companies first need to recognize their point of differentiation in order to gain their advantage
over their competitors. The article discusses about how the once most recognized designer
athletic clothes brand, started falling and the way it re-occupied its position in the market and in
front of the customers. The company is known for producing high quality designer clothes.
However, due to various reasons the company started producing yoga pants that were see
through and as a result the company had to remove the then CEO and it improved its quality
once again and reoccupied its market share and profitability. Therefore it can be understood from
the example that even after having a competitive advantage some companies can fail to become

3GLOBAL MARKET TRENDS
successful due to various operational issues. However, through its efforts the company regained
its position.
From the above discussion it can be concluded that Competitive advantage refers to that
point of differentiation that distinguishes the company from its competitors in the customer’s
eyes. The competitive advantage of the company chosen for the purpose of this study is to
deliver high quality goods by targeting and supplying the goods to the target market customers.
The company gains a competitive advantage through its niche marketing strategy and has been
doing the same since its foundation. However, the paper also discusses that having competitive
advantage alone is not sufficient for a company to become successful. The company under study
faced many issues related to the quality of goods due to which they had to lose their market share
however by improving their quality of products; the company improved its performance.
Case study 2: search.proquest.com (2019). Log In - Business Premium Collection - ProQuest.
[online] Search.proquest.com. Available at:
https://search.proquest.com/businesspremium/docview/445945747/95 [Accessed 18 Jun. 2019].
The online grocery retailing models can make use of the brick and mortar techniques of
retailing through supermarket or make use of internet for ordering online by making use of e-
commerce and the prices tend to be higher because of additional charges of internet handling.
Online grocery retailing model is quite common these days and in fact it provides competitive
advantage to the company by gaining greater shares through online sales. The company chosen
for the purpose of this study is the home Grocer which was started by Terry Drayton and Mike
McDonald in the year 1994 had adopted this model of retailing through online grocery in order
to gain a competitive advantage (www.myhomegrocers.com., 2019). The main aim of the study
is to show how adopting the online retail model can help in gaining a competitive advantage, the
problems that the company faced while trying to gain the competitive advantage and the article

4GLOBAL MARKET TRENDS
also discusses about the mergers decisions of the company. The paper discusses about how
mergers can help in improving the competitive position of the company by increasing its market
share, financial strength and various other activities.
The company home grocer was carrying out its operations offline however in order to
improve its competitive advantage the company decided to adopt the model of retailing grocery
online such that the company could expand its operations and start operating across the country.
Home grocers aim at revolutionizing the shopping habits of the people by integrating the internet
services and providing best quality goods through its trucks of tri-temperature. The company
provided wide range of goods and services to the customers. Through this model of online
retailing the company decided to expand its market share and gain a competitive advantage over
its competitors (Kumar & Pansari, 2016). However it had to face many problems related to
pressure from shareholders, fall in stock market, competition and many other problems while
carrying out its activities. However presently the company has identified another technique to
improve its competitive position, improve its economic operations and overcome various other
financial problems and others. The article discusses about the case study of how the decision of
the company to merge with WebVan helped the company to increase its market reach and
various other benefits. WebVan is engaged in meeting the customers’ requirements through
combining personalized services of courier with the internet retailing services. Both the
companies are leaders in online retailing and have capabilities of personalized deliveries. With
the help of the merger the resulting company is expected to reach more markets such as the
companies were earlier occupying nine metropolitan areas are now occupying more areas.
According to the terms of agreement the stockholders will get shares of 1.07605approx. This
merger will improve the shopping proposition for the customers and will provide a retailing of

5GLOBAL MARKET TRENDS
last mile as the merger is aimed at changing the traditional model of shopping options to the
internet marketplace and will also help in properly making use of the resources of both the
companies. The merger will help both the companies by reducing their needs for capital and
improving their financial strength and therefore help in bringing operational and marketing
efficiencies. It will help in improving the overall market share, help in meeting the needs if the
customers in a better way and will improve the distribution infrastructure. The resultant company
is expected to be the leader of the segment of online marketing. The people of the company will
also provide a competitive advantage by providing a customer centric approach and therefore the
resultant company can make use of the talented human resource, technology and others. Webvan
had a commitment to online retailing and with the help of the merger they are aiming at
providing last mile e-commerce. Strong customer relationship can be created with the help of the
same. The merger is aimed at providing competitive advantage by providing a good fit for
business.
From the above discussion it can be concluded that companies try to gain a competitive
advantage through various methods such as by adopting online models of retail grocery, mergers
and others. This is what happened in the case of Home Grocers, they had adopted the online
models of retailing and mergers in order to gain a competitive advantage. The company
improved its position in front of its customers by adopting these techniques and the company is
also aiming at gaining competitive advantage through merger with other retailing brands such
that the customers’ needs can be meet in a better way and the company can also gain a
competitive position.

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References
Chiu, C. N., & Yang, C. L. (2019). Competitive advantage and simultaneous mutual influences
between information technology adoption and service innovation: Moderating effects of
environmental factors. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 49, 192-205.
Gitonga, A. G., Kilika, J. M., & Obere, E. (2016). Generation Y Talent Management Strategy
and Competitive Advantage: Case of Commercial Banks in Kenya. Journal of Human
Resource Management, 4(2), 10-18.
Kumar, V., & Pansari, A. (2016). Competitive advantage through engagement. Journal of
Marketing Research, 53(4), 497-514.
Pantano, E. (Ed.). (2015). Successful technological integration for competitive advantage in
retail settings. IGI Global.
shop.lululemon. (2019). Retrieved from https://shop.lululemon.com/
www.myhomegrocers.com. (2019). Fruits & Vegetables | Order Fresh Fruits & Vegetables
Online | Myhomegrocers. Retrieved from https://www.myhomegrocers.com/en/fruits-
and-vegetables-c61.html