MIS712 E-Business Strategies: Improving Woolworths' Strategy

This report provides an analysis of the e-business strategies employed by Woolworths Limited, an Australian retail giant. It begins with an introduction to the company, highlighting its market position and recent financial challenges. The report then examines Woolworths' current strategies, focusing on its traditional "brick and motor" model, use of market analysis tools, and promotional activities. It also discusses the company's collaborations and strategies for cost leadership and product differentiation. Recognizing the shift in consumer behavior towards online shopping, the report recommends the adoption of an omni-channel business strategy, drawing parallels with the success of companies like Amazon. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for Woolworths to adapt to changing market dynamics to enhance its prospects. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wide range of study resources for students.

Running head: E-BUSINESS STRATEGIES
E-Business Strategies
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1E-BUSINESS STRATEGIES
Executive Summary
This report will discuss about the various strategies adopted by the diverse business
organizations of the present times with a view to not only out rival their business competitors
but also to enhance the amount of profit gained by them. The report will discuss this
particular concept with the help of the business house of “Woolworths Limited”. The report
will first give a brief introduction of the company. It will discuss about the current strategies
of the organization. Finally, the report will recommend some strategies which the
organization can utilize to further enhance its prospects.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Woolworths Limited..................................................................................................................4
Present strategies of “Woolworths Limited”..............................................................................5
Recommended strategies............................................................................................................7
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The “advent of globalization and the recent advances in the fields of technology as
well as innovations has drastically transformed the way the various business organization and
the companies transact their business in the present times” (Verhoef, Kannan and Inman
2015). Furthermore, the large number of business houses which emerge in the business world
on a regular basis has further enhanced the level of business competition faced by the various
existing business organizations of the present times (Verhoef, Kannan and Inman 2015).
Thus, the level of market competition faced by the various business houses has significantly
increased in the present times and the concerned business houses find it very hard to sustain
themselves within the framework of the contemporary business world (Melero, Sese and
Verhoef 2016). Therefore, the various business houses often resort to various kinds of
innovative as well as new strategies in order “not only to mitigate the high level of market
competition faced by them but also to bring about the overall growth and development of
their business organization” (Melero, Sese and Verhoef 2016). It is a reflection of this
particular fact that the various business houses of the preset times often are increasingly
taking the help of various kinds of e-commerce strategies in order to enhance the prospects of
their business organization (Melero, Sese and Verhoef 2016). In addition to these, it is
generally that the various business organizations of the present times also take the help of the
process of globalization to expand their business into the nations of the world with the view
to earn more profit. This report will discuss about the current market strategies of the
business “Woolworths Limited” and also the new strategies which they need to take the help
of in order to further boost their prospects.

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Woolworths Limited
Woolworths Limited founded by “Percy Christmas, Stanley Chatterton, Cecil Scott
Waine, George Creed and Ernest Williams” in 1924 is one of the most popular retail business
house of the nation of Australia (Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018). The business house under
discussion here is provides a wide range of services to the customers from the various parts of
the nation of Australia and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the business house
under discussion here is “is the second largest company in Australia by revenue, after Perth-
based retail-focused conglomerate Wesfarmers and the second largest in New Zealand”
(Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018). In addition to this, the business house under discussion
here is the 19th largest retail business house of the world in terms of the net revenue which the
business house generates on an annual basis (Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018). It is
significant to note that the business house under discussion here initially started as a single
grocery store however as the business of the organization grew it expanded in other areas as
well and currently provides a wide range of services to the people of the nation like books,
groceries, alcohol, furniture, electronics and others (Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018). The
net revenue generated by the business house under consideration here for 2016 was “A$59
billion” and the business house employs more than 202,000 from the different parts of the
nation (Forbes.com. 2018). Furthermore, the entire business activity of the organization is
centralized in the nations of Australia and New Zealand and the presence of the organization
in the other nations of the world is very limited. In the present times it is seen that the
business house under discussion is facing a bit of a crisis and the organization “announced a
loss of $1.235 billion for the 2016 financial year on 25 August 2016, the biggest in more than
20 years since it has been publicly listed on the ASX, mainly due to more than $2 billion in
write-downs of the failed Masters business and losses in the Big W business” (Forbes.com.
2018). Therefore, it would be apt to say that the business house under discussion here needs

5E-BUSINESS STRATEGIES
to develop certain effective as well as innovative strategies in order to mitigate the business
crisis which it is facing at the current moment. The figure highlights some of the financial
facts about the business house-
Figure 1: “Financial Statistics of Woolworths Limited”
Source: “Factset, Bloomberg, S&P Cap IQ; Forbes”
Present strategies of “Woolworths Limited”
The business house “Woolworths Limited” belongs to the genre of business
organizations which still follows the framework of the “brick and motor” model
(Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018). Thus, it is seen that this particular business house still
takes the help of various kinds of traditional business strategies as well as frameworks for the
process of their business (Campbell and Reyes-Picknell 2015). Therefore, it is seen that the
business organization under consideration still takes the help of various kinds of market
analysis tools as well as situational analysis tools for the analysis of the macro as well as the
micro environment in which the business house is operational (Campbell and Reyes-Picknell
2015). Furthermore, it is also seen that the business house under consideration here takes the
help of various kinds of “surveys as well as questionnaires in a bid to find out the needs and
the requirements of the customers in the most effective manner” (Campbell and Reyes-

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Picknell 2015). Therefore, it is seen that the business house under consideration here designs
as well as procures the products which it delivers to the customers taking into consideration
the results derived from these surveys as well as questionnaires.
One of the most important methods used by the business house under discussion is the
method of regular sales as well as discounted offers which the business house provides to the
customers from the different parts of the nations of Australia as well as New Zealand with the
objective to enhance the profit margin earned by them (Chan, He and Wang 2012). It is
significant to note that this particular method is used by the business house under discussion
here to out rival their competitors operational in the same field of business and in the opinion
of many scholars this particular strategy has contributed in a significant manner towards the
success which the business house has been able to attain in the recent times (Chan, He and
Wang 2012). Therefore, following this particular pattern all the 750 stores related to the
business house under discussion here provide regular discounted offers and sales to the
customers (Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018).
The wide range of products as well as services which the business house under
discussion here offers to the customers is another factor which has contributed in a significant
manner towards the success attained by the business house in the recent times (Cummins,
Peltier and Dixon 2016). As already mentioned the business house under discussion here
started as a single grocery store (Cummins, Peltier and Dixon 2016). However, in the present
times the business house under discussion here provides a wide range of products to the
customers like grocery items, petrol, hotel services, electronics, liquor and others (Cummins,
Peltier and Dixon 2016). As a matter of fact the business house under discussion here is the
“Woolworths Group is the largest takeaway liquor retailer in Australia and the largest hotel
and gaming poker machine operator in Australia” (Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018). It is
significant to note here that the business house “Woolworths Limited” has undergone various

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collaborations with the companies which are the leaders in those sectors like “the Countdown
brand in New Zealand, liquor retailing as BWS and Dan Murphy's in Australia, hotels and
pubs under the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH Group) umbrella, and
discount department stores under the Big W name in Australia” (Woolworthsgroup.com.au.
2018). As per the opinion of many scholars these collaborations have significantly enhanced
the prospects of the business house under discussion here (De Carvalho and Campomar
2014). Therefore, it can be said that the business house under discussion here is the one stop
gateway to all the popular brands as well as services in the nations of Australia and New
Zealand (De Carvalho and Campomar 2014). In addition to these, the business house under
discussion here also takes the help of the strategies of cost leadership as well as product
differentiation in order to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors operational
within the same field of business (De Carvalho and Campomar 2014).
The “brick and motor” model of business followed by the business house under
discussion here has suffered a setback in the recent times and therefore the business house is
trying the take the help of the online media for the purpose of the business within the nations
of Australia as well as New Zealand (Cummins, Peltier and Dixon 2016). Taking the help of
this particular method the business house under discussion is using various platforms of
electronic media (Cummins, Peltier and Dixon 2016). The various platforms of electronic
media are being used by the business house under discussion here not only for the purpose of
promotional purposes but also to provide better quality services to the customers (Cummins,
Peltier and Dixon 2016).
Recommended strategies
The various market researches conducted in the recent times suggest that the buying
patterns of the customers have changed in a significant manner in the present times and it is a

8E-BUSINESS STRATEGIES
reflection of this particular fact that most of the customers in the present times like to take the
help of online services rather than taking the help of the services provided by the business
houses which takes the help of the “brick and the motor” model for the conduct of their
business (Melero, Sese and Verhoef 2016). In other words, the various customers of the
present times like to take the help of the products as well as services provided by the business
houses which take the help of the strategies of e-commerce or “omni-channel business
strategy” (Melero, Sese and Verhoef 2016).
“Omni-Channel business strategy” can be defined as an “approach to sales and
marketing that provides customers with a fully-integrated shopping experience by uniting
user experiences from brick-and-mortar to mobile-browsing and everything in between” (De
Carvalho and Campomar 2014). As a matter of fact this particular strategy is being adopted in
the present times by the various business houses in “order to the changing needs as well as
the requirements of the customers in the most effective manner” (De Carvalho and
Campomar 2014). A pertinent example of a business house which has gained a considerable
amount of success in the recent times taking the help of this particular strategy is the
company “Amazon Inc.” (De Carvalho and Campomar 2014). It is significant to note that the
entire business activities of the business house Amazon is based on the e-commerce system
and the business house does not provides “brick and motor” facilities to the customers (Chan,
He and Wang 2012). However, the recent success attained by this particular company
confirms that the customers in the present times are much appreciating the online services in
comparison to the traditional services provided by the other business organizations (Chan, He
and Wang 2012). Therefore, the business house “Woolworths Limited” can also try to follow
this particular business strategy followed by the business house under discussion here.
The business house “Woolworths Limited” in order to overcome the business crisis
which it is facing at the current moment can take the help of the “Omni-Channel business

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strategy” (Beck and Rygl 2015). It is significant to note that taking the help of this particular
strategy the business house under consideration here will not only be able to reach out to a
larger number of customers from the different parts of the nations of Australia and New
Zealand but also be able to provide better services to the customers (Beck and Rygl 2015).
Furthermore, the considerable success attained by the business house Amazon clearly
indicates that this particular strategy if effectively applied is sure to lead to the success of the
concerned business house (Beck and Rygl 2015). The business house under discussion here
has been utilizing the concept of discounted sales as well as offers to the customers since its
initiation to out rival its business competitors (Beck and Rygl 2015). Therefore, the business
house can use the same concept over the online media as well. In addition to business house
under discussion here can also take the help of the various other important features of the e-
commerce business methods like “home delivery system, cash on delivery system, return as
well as refund policy” and others (Beck and Rygl 2015). According to many people the lives
of the various individuals have become much more hectic as well as busy and this is
generally considered to be one of the key reasons why the services provided by the various e-
commerce business organizations have been much appreciated by the customers (Lazaris and
Vrechopoulos 2014). Thus, the business house under discussion here can take the help of this
particular trend to further enhance the prospects of their business.
Expansion into the other nations of the world is another strategy which the business
house under discussion here can take the help of in order to further its prospects in the
business world (Cummins, Peltier and Dixon 2016). It is significant to note that the major
operations of the business house under discussion here are centralized in the nations of
Australia and New Zealand (Cummins, Peltier and Dixon 2016). Therefore, the business
house under discussion here can take the help of this particular concept to not only reach out
to a larger number of customers but also to enhance the amount of profit gained by them

10E-BUSINESS STRATEGIES
(Cummins, Peltier and Dixon 2016). In the contemporary business world it is seen that the
process of globalization has become the norm of the business world and most of the major
business houses of the world are taking the help of this particular to “bring about the overall
growth as well as the development of their business organizations” (Cummins, Peltier and
Dixon 2016).
Conclusion
The changing nature of the business world has made it imperative for the various
business houses to take the help of various kinds of innovative as well as effective strategies
in order to outrival their business competitors operational in the same field of business.
Therefore, it is seen that the traditional tools of market as well as situational analysis are no
longer effective in the contemporary business world. Thus, the various business houses take
the help of various kinds of new as well as innovative strategies like “omni-channel business
strategy” not only to provide better quality services to the customers but also to reach out to a
larger number of customers. Furthermore, the changing “needs as well as the requirements of
the customers in the present times” has also made it imperative for the business organizations
to take the help of this particular method. The process of expansion into the other nations of
the world is another method which is being increasingly used by the various business houses
to enhance their prospects. Moreover, the use of online medium for purpose of promotion is
another feature which the business houses can take the help of in order to improve their
prospects.

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