Analyzing Marketing Strategies: Woolworths and Coles Supermarkets

This report analyzes the marketing strategies of Woolworths and Coles supermarkets, focusing on their competitive advantages and market positioning. The introduction highlights the crucial role of marketing in differentiating businesses and attracting customers. The report examines Woolworths' customer-centric strategies, including lower pricing, innovative approaches, and focus on fresh food, and Coles' emphasis on cost-saving products and supply chain management. Evidence of marketing success is presented, including market share data and competitive advantages. The report then applies Porter's Five Forces to analyze the industry structure and the competitive dynamics between the two supermarkets. It concludes that Woolworths' marketing strategies, particularly its supply chain management and brand image, have contributed to its market share. The report uses academic literature and provides references to support its arguments. The analysis covers various aspects, including pricing, supply chain management, brand image, promotional activities, and customer loyalty programs, to provide a comprehensive overview of the marketing strategies employed by these two major supermarket chains in Australia.

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ASSIGNMENT 1

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Analyses of the marketing strategies and marketing processes of real organizations and their
effectiveness....................................................................................................................................3
Woolworths Supermarket............................................................................................................3
Coles Supermarket.......................................................................................................................3
Marketing success evidence........................................................................................................4
Analyses and explanation............................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Marketing plays a very crucial role in any business and played a very important role in
attracting and keeping their customer attached with their organizations. By using marketing, it
has been provided a very easy way for any organization to differentiate themselves from their
competitors by providing focus on their strength so that they would be able to provide better
services and value to its customers. During competition, marketing would be helpful in providing
positive difference towards an organization from the other organizations through the perspective
of the consumers. This report would be helpful in understanding the aspects of the positive
outcomes, in providing evaluation of the current environment, in developing clear objectives of
the marketing, and creation of the high quality products for the profits in an organization
(Schulman, 2016).
In the discussion, enlighten below analyses of the marketing approaches and marketing
processes of actual organizations and their effectiveness would be described.

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Analyses of the marketing approaches and marketing processes of actual organizations and their
effectiveness
Woolworths Supermarket
Woolworths works with the Australian growers and farmers so that they would be able to
provide best products to their customers. They focus on the planned marketing process steps
named as mission, analysis of the situation, marketing planning, marketing mix, implementation,
and control for the success in their marketing. During their strategies, they work on their
weakness and strength. They have been start keeping their customers in the front of everything
they do. These strategies have been lead towards the lower pricing, more compelling offers, and
greater innovative approaches. They have been started focusing on providing better convenience,
superior freshness and innovative approaches. The food strategies of the Woolworths have been
started focusing on the principles named offer, growth, and efficiency. They have been started
providing improvement in their basic offers so that customers would get attracted towards
Woolworths firstly. They have been started innovating so that they would be capable to meet
most of the needs of the customers. For this their target supermarket would high society people,
peoples with high disposable income and the peoples whose spending would be wisely (Pulker,
Trapp, Foulkes-Taylor Scott & Pollard, 2018).
Coles Supermarket
Coles Supermarket Australian Pty Limited is an Australian supermarket that provides
products of needs to their customers according to their requirements. They focus on the strategic
marketing process steps to provide profits in their organization and for providing enhanced

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products to their customers as per their requirements. For this, they have been provided slogan as
per their strategies named as “save every day”, sub slogan named “Down-Down, Prices are
down. By these slogans, they have been provided information about their quality products as per
their targeted customers’ requirements. They have been provided high-quality products at lower
prices. They have been provided improvement in their supply chain management so that they
would be able to provide more quality products at the fewer prices. They have been maintained
good relationships with their customers and provided timely training to their employees for
providing better services (Pulker et al., 2018).
Marketing success evidence
Competitive advantages are the strategies and strengths of a company in order to
successful in market ahead of their competitor. It is hard to maintain competitive advantage and
to measure competitive advantage. In this ever-changing business environment, it is difficult for
a company to survive. In order to survive, the company must follow or develop advantage such
that it is costly to imitate, rare, non-transferable and no substitutable (Pulker et al., 2018).
In order to maintain competitive advantage the Woolworths developed many strategies
that lead to 40% market share to Woolworths and 30% to Coles. In further expanding their
market, share both the companies undergone through a radical change in their modal of business
(Laduque, 2015). The changing strategy of Woolworths involved new pricing, rebalancing
capital structure, developing new products, better ranging and improve loyalty system. The
foremost advantage for the company is its lean retail-operating model (Dwivedi, Merrilees,
Miller & Herington, 2012). All that things make the Woolworths a leading company in the
supermarket chain and differentiate it from Coles. Woolworths operated in 2500 stores across the
New Zealand in Australia that indicates the company’s strong intangible and tangible resources.

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The company has wide range of products, strong corporate image, good logistic management,
efficient human resource and partnership with various business leaders in the market.
Woolworth’s competitive advantage is developed because of its supply chain. The main purpose
or objective of the company is to cut the unnecessary expenses and ensuring qualitative products
to the customers. Woolworths positioned itself in the market as the fresh food people company
that indicates quality and healthy range of the products at affordable prices (Pulker et al., 2018).
In comparison to Woolworths, Coles is the second largest player in the supermarket chain
in Australia. Both the companies are excelling in their areas. Coles has following competitive
advantages: cost saving products, effective e corporate social responsibility strategies,
indigenous consumable products, environmental friendly strategies and cost saving model. By
using competitive pricing strategies, lowering of prices has provided lower price competition and
increments in their sales with the help of providing price benefits to the customers. Coles
Company also uses non-pricing ways named as differentiated consumer service to grab the
attention of their consumers. The improvement in online retailing strategy has provided cost
advantage in comparison of their major competitors. Due to changes in the demands of their
customers, by using product and service improvement strategy Coles Company has improved
collaboration with their suppliers for providing better product distribution for providing effective
strategy (Pulker et al., 2018).
Analyses and explanation
Success of these organizations is measure through marketing concepts and modals. The
Porter’s five forces analyses help in to know the success factors of Woolworths and Coles.
According to Porter, responsiveness of these forces helps in to understand the structure of
industry in which these organizations are operating. From the five force analyses, Woolworths

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and Coles can take its position in the industry using its competitive advantages. The porter five
forces are bargaining power of purchasers, bargaining power of dealers, industry alternates,
threat of New Entrants and rivalry among opponents (Shaw & Shaw, 2019).
Bargaining powers of buyers: In this industry the bargaining of buyers are extremely high
because supermarket offer homogenous products to its customers at low pricing that give power
to customers to switch over different products at the same time.
Bargaining power of suppliers: In the supermarket industry, the negotiating power of dealers be
contingent on the name and size of the brand image of the company. In the market of Australia,
suppliers enjoy strong power in the supermarket. Woolworths and Coles suppliers have moderate
power to control the supply chain. Effective supply chain management of Woolworths is their
competitive advantages that lead to low power to suppliers.
Industry substitutes: There are number of substitutes available in the supermarket industry such
as online stores, fresh food markets and grocery stores. Consumers are prepared to pay higher
charges for the products that satisfy their needs. The availability of substitutes in the industry is
considered as high.
Threat of New Entrants: The supermarket stores in Australia are operated on the strategy of
providing high quality products at lower price that makes the market unattractive with a less
margin of profits to the new entrants. The scare resources, high market prices, heavy capital
requirement, and strict government rules and regulations are treating as the barriers of the entry
in this industry. Already existing big players that are Woolworths and Coles in the supermarket
industry in the Australia makes it difficult for new entrants to survive in the market.

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Rivalry among competitors: Rivalry amongst competitors in this industry is intense and
competition in the market is relatively high. Woolworths and Coles compete with each other in
order to succeed in the market and to acquire larger share in Australia. The tough competition
between companies leads to degrees in profit potential of the industry (Shaw & Shaw, 2019).
On the basis of above analyses it can be concluded that Woolworths gained more market
share due to its competitive advantages that were low price, effective supply chain, strong brand
image and variety of products. Both the companies try to win the battle for customers by
improving their promotional activities, product range and loyalty programs. Marketing strategies
of Woolworths are more attractive in order to attract the customers and to acquire the market
share. Product price place and promotion techniques of both the companies are quite good but
Woolworths offer more products at reasonable price and as per the demand of the customers.
Woolworth’s stores are exists in Australia more than Cole’s stores. Promotional techniques of
Woolworths are effective because of higher reach of customers through social media platform.
Woolworths generated double the reach on social media as compare to Coles (Jie &
Gengatharen, 2019).

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Conclusion
From the above discussion, I have concluded that marketing strategies of the Woolworths
and Coles supermarket were different. Both of the supermarket companies have their own
marketing strategies. Woolworths works with strategies by keeping their customers as first
priority and provide quality product with new pricing and by providing innovative approaches.
While the Cole Supermarket Company works on the low pricing and their supply chain
management. To maintain the competitive advantages Woolworths and Coles advanced their
strategies, which has lead their marketing share until the 40% and 30% respectively.
To analyze the success of these companies Porters five forces analyses were used and
analyzed that Woolworths marketing strategies were enhanced their marketing share values and
placed them first in the supermarket. In comparison of the Woolworths, marketing share values
of Coles Supermarket Company were weak and placed them second in the supermarket.

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REFERENCES
Dwivedi, A., Merrilees, B., Miller, D., & Herington, C. (2012). Brand, value and relationship
equities and loyalty-intentions in the Australian supermarket industry. Journal of
Retailing and Consumer Services, 19(5), 526–536.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2012.06.009
Jie, F., & Gengatharen, D. (2019). Australian food retail supply chain analysis. Business Process
Management Journal, 25(2), 271–287. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-03-2017-0065
Laduque, J. (2015). Four Digital Marketing Tactics That Attract and Retain
Customers. Franchising World, 47(2), 76,78. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1675195848/4
Pulker, C., Trapp, G., Foulkes-Taylor, F., Scott, J., & Pollard, C. (2018). The extent and nature
of supermarket own brand foods in Australia: study protocol for describing the
contribution of selected products to the healthfulness of food environments. Nutrition
Journal, 17(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-018-0404-4
Shaw, H. J., & Shaw, J. J. (2019). Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Justice and the Global
Food Supply Chain: Towards an Ethical Food Policy for Sustainable Supermarkets (1st
ed.). New York: Routledge.
Schulman, J. (2016). Measure and Manage Your Digital Marketing Strategies. Image
Source, 18(2), 36, 38. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1816874311/

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