Sports Direct: Retailing Industry Trends, SWOT Analysis & Strategies

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Sports Direct within the retailing industry, focusing on current and emerging trends such as e-commerce platforms, AI implementation, and ethical considerations. It includes a SWOT analysis highlighting the company's strengths like global presence and brand collaborations, as well as weaknesses such as minimizing profitability ratio and poor working conditions. The report concludes with recommendations for Sports Direct, emphasizing environmental concerns, strategic workplace changes, foreign direct investment, training programs, and adherence to authority and responsibility principles, all aimed at achieving sustainable development and maintaining a competitive edge in the marketplace. Desklib provides access to this and similar solved assignments for students.

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Table of Content
Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Current trends in retailing industry..............................................................................................3
Analysis of an organisation.........................................................................................................5
Recommendations........................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
Books and Journals......................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
This report is based on Sports Direct which is renowned company as it deals with several
branded products such as clothes, footwear and other accessories of brands such as Nike, Adidas
and many more (Bijmolt and Verhoef, 2017). The aim of respective firm is to maximise the
satisfaction of customers by emphasising more on quality specifications. This report is about
several current and emerging trends of retailing sector which is most importance in today’s era.
This report also covers the overall analysis of respective firm with the help of SWOT analysis.
At last, it provides several recommendations which provide various ways to gain competitive
advancement and could retain for longer time period.
Current trends in retailing industry
Changes are taken place at a fast pace so by looking this there is enormous modifications
in retailing sector in a modern era (Borusiak and Pierański, 2017). Due to this, customers are
becoming more concern towards their health and diet and make necessary changes which ensure
a greater success of a business. Their main motive is to influence the behaviour of customers and
boost the sales and profitability within a marketplace. There is changes to be taken place in
technology and innovations and emphasise on new merchandise development. The current trends
of retailing sector are as follows:
Focus more on research and development: The retailing company would conduct an
extensive research so as to identify the nature of competitors, taste and preferences of consumers
and determine the overall market scenario so that it could make changes in their merchandise and
would come up with advanced and new products which ensure maximum satisfaction.
More on e-commerce platforms: There is more shift in consumer behaviour as it
enhances a better shopping experience among their users. From last few years, there is more
focus on brick and click establishments which aids in boosting the sales (Ervural and et.al.,
2018). Use of social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and many more and other
respective websites would provide an availability of goods in their respective place which create
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a radical improvement in their overall working procedure. The manager would provide fast and
efficient delivery of goods which drive more success within the confines of retailing industry.
Implement of ethical considerations: Customer while acquiring goods or services would
consider several factors such as price, quality and so on (Grunert, 2017). Due to environmental
and social factors, this led to make changes in their shopping experience as retailers must have
good communication skills and must pay attention towards norms, ethics, beliefs which create an
appropriate matching behaviour of clients.
Centre oriented: Customers are regarded as centric oriented in an organisation as it aids
in measuring the growth and progress in a marketplace. The senior authority of concerned firm
emphasises on listening to their customers and provide them with necessary products in order to
gain maximum satisfaction. They make transformation in their existing merchandise by adding
new features and attributes and follow an emerging lifestyle pattern which meet the criteria and
expectations of buyers. The operation department would create new merchandise by keeping in
mind the requirements of customers.
Focus more on new channels of distribution: The advancement of technology has made
everything simpler as it is easy to expand the operations of a business at a global level. This
maximise the chances of success which provide an easy access to customers and accelerate the
sales and profit margins in case of retailing sector. The top management would create multiple
channels of distribution so that it could render an excellent facility and also the digital payment
which provide more safety and security would ease in transfer of money across the globe.
Use of Artificial intelligence: There is more use of artificial intelligence in a modern era
as it provides a great learning experience among retailers. The use of robots and other
sophisticated machines would create a better picture of retailing sector through advanced
inventions as it creates a memorable shopping experience and help in gaining competitive
advancement to the company. (Ibrahim and Wang, 2019). The respective firm is also
customizing their merchandise through embroideries and render a fast delivery of merchandise
among their clients. This enhance the greater sales and improves the overall performance of
business operation and also it generates a positive brand image in case of retailing industry.
These new and emerging trends of retailing industry would aid the firm to gain maximum
exposure in different parts of the country and also it follows latest trends by using sophisticated
technology and online distribution of channel which in turn boost the satisfaction of buyers.
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Introduction to Sports Direct
Sports Direct is a popular company which is headquartered in United Kingdom.
This company is founded by Mike Ashley in year 1982 which deal with sports accessories for
men, women as well as kids (Li and et.al., 2016). It provides excellent quality of merchandise of
brands such as adidas, Nike and many more.
Method of Inquiry based research
This method involves an experimental research which emphasise on identifying the root
cause of problem and determine observation accuracy of results in a predetermined manner. This
consider a problem-based approach which provide positive consequences. The manager of Sports
Direct would conduct an analysis and justify the given explanation and consider the feedback of
customers which provide suggestions and also, they promote new and innovative ideas. They
collect the data from other sources and tries to gather more and more information so that it could
analyse a better predictions on the basis of details gathered.
Analysis of an organisation
Sports Direct is one of the giant retailing shops of sports which has an approximately
18,000 employees working in it and it has occupied several subsidiaries such as Everlast, Eastern
Mountain, Jack Wills and a lot more. It has built the trust of customers by ensuring quality
specifications by providing different class of items. The SWOT analysis of Sports Direct is
presented as follows:
Pros
 Strong global presence: The respective firm is operating in 20 countries as it has around
757 stores at a global level. Also, it has proper diversification of portfolio which deal
with different portfolio of sports,festyle and fashions so it provides multiple options
available to customers to choose from.
 Increase in acquisitions: Sports Direct has made several acquisitions such as Carlton,
Cruise, Mildert, Hot Tuna and so on which improve the overall market share in retailing
industry.
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 Collaborated with popular brands: The concerned firm has tied up with strong brands
such as Reebok, Nike which is most popular strength as it proves to be more beneficial
for firm.
 Use of online platform: Sports Direct make proper use of technology and make use of
online platforms so as to create a strong marketing campaign as it increases the sales and
maximise the profit margin within the confines of retailing industry (O’Mahony and
Lobo, 2017).
 Expansion: The respective firm emphasise on expanding its operations in different parts
of countries such as Asia, Europe and UK by opening several stores in centre heart of city
as it accelerates greater sales in a marketplace.
 Efficient and talented workforce: The concerned firm has attractive and talented
workforce which provide a vast opportunity to Sports Direct to boost the productivity.
They are specialised trained which aids in meeting targets within limited time period and
provide new and innovative ideas which facilitate a firm to make an excellent decision.
 Provide assurance of quality: Sports Direct provide excellent varieties of its product and
also there is reduction in trade barriers which minimise the overall cost of imports and
thus gain giant access of clients within a marketplace.
Cons
 Minimise profitability ratio: Sports Direct always emphasise on selling goods or services
at a very less price which decreases the overall profitability of company in case of
retailing sector.
 Poor working conditions: The respective firm has not provided ambience atmosphere
and lack of skilled worker would hamper the growth of a firm. This create dissatisfaction
level of employees which in turn would affect the overall operations of a company.
 Decrease in current ratio: The current ratio of respective firm is very low due to the
reason that it has not that much ability to meet with its financial obligations which create
the problems of liquidity in a near future.
 Threat of new entrants: This would create difficulty for Sports Direct as new firm would
come up with more advanced ideas and enjoy greater economy of scales and thus affect
the positioning of respective firm in a marketplace.
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 Emerging competitors: There are large number of players of Sports Direct which create
the situation of price wars and thus affect the profitability of the company.
 Impact of Corona virus: The pandemic is deepened and widespread which affect the
profitability of the company as their operations and workings has been stopped due to
lockdowns.
 Brexit: The vote for Brexit has create an unimaginable chaos which create negative
consequences and affect the overall performance of Sports Direct (Pantano, Priporas, and
Stylos, 2018).
Recommendations
It has been best analysed the arrival of globalisation would create a multiple opportunity
for a company like Sports Direct which facilitate free movements of goods or services,
technology across the boundaries of countries. Globalisation promote the use of sophisticated
technology which aids in conducting fast operations of a business which ensure greater
transparency and accountability of a firm (Wang and Li, 2016). The senior authority of Sports
Direct would focus on environmental concern as it adopts the use of reduce, reuse and recycle
which help in gaining sustainable development in a long run. In addition to this, the firm could
take several measures so as to provide protections towards environmental aspects by avoiding
the use of plastic bags and reducing carbon footprints which help in gaining positive reputation
at a global level.
The top management could facilitate proper changes in their workplace by hiring
potential candidates and implementation of recruitment and selection procedure which help in
filling the suitable vacant position and boost the sales. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) provide
an opportunity to Sports Direct to generate multiple streams of revenue and help in
diversification and modernisation of retailing company. Furthermore, the manager of respective
firm would emphasise on rendering a proper training and development programmes and would
conduct workshop and seminars so as to improve the overall skills of subordinates and to make
them capable of handling challenging positions which ensure a greater degree of success. They
also monitor and control the overall activities through Enterprise Resource Planning which aids
in taking best decisions and provide a positive atmosphere that light the deviations of a company
by establishing proper standards with greater accuracy.
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The senior authority of Sports Direct would make an appropriate planning by deciding an
appropriate course of action among several alternatives which help in accomplishment of goal
within short span of time. The manager could follow emerging trends of retailing industry which
help in shaping a better future by improving the overall operations of the company. In addition to
this, they could motivate and encourage their staff with financial and non-financial incentives
such as sense of appreciation, bonus, compensation benefits and many more which develop a
greater chance of success and make them feel satisfied and employee retention for a longer
period of time. UK has great political stability and advanced infrastructural facilities which assist
the firm to maintain constant policies and procedures due to its constant ruling parties since a
long time.
Another effective solution is that they could follow the principle of authority and
responsibility by assigning the work among the staff in such a manner that matches their talent
and skills which aids in gaining a strong rivalry edge over a marketplace. This facilitate proper
coordination and maintain strong team spirit which maximise the overall performance and ensure
a greater growth in future. Plus, proper organising of work in a workplace help in avoiding
overlapping of activities and thus facilitate smooth flow of activities which create a harmonious
atmosphere. The top management of Sports Direct would also ensure that it could prepare unique
strategy and planning and would focus more on quality which aids in gaining rivalry edge and
thus achieve sustainability.
CONCLUSION
From the above information, it can be concluded that the business environment in which
company carry out its operations is regarded as dynamic so the top management should adopt
changes very quickly so that as to become a prominent leader in a marketplace. Also, the firm
could emphasise on making advance planning and has to render proper guidance among their
staff so as to achieve maximum level of output. Various trends of retailing sector such as
advancement of technology, extensive research and making proper use of channel of distribution
which help in gaining a significant position.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bijmolt, T.H. and Verhoef, P.C., 2017. Loyalty programs: Current insights, research challenges,
and emerging trends. In Handbook of marketing decision models (pp. 143-165). Springer,
Cham.
Borusiak, B. and Pierański, B., 2017. 10. Forms of food distribution and trends in food
retailing. Consumer trends and new product opportunities in the food sector, p.151.
Ervural, B.C., and et.al., 2018. An ANP and fuzzy TOPSIS-based SWOT analysis for Turkey’s
energy planning. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 82. pp.1538-1550.
Finnegan, C., Runyan, R.C., Gonzalez‐Padron, T. and Hyun, J., 2016. Diversity and rigor trends
in retailing research: assessment and guidelines. International Journal of Management
Reviews. 18(1). pp.51-68.
Grunert, K.G. ed., 2017. Consumer trends and new product opportunities in the food sector.
Wageningen Academic Publishers.
Ibrahim, N.F. and Wang, X., 2019. Decoding the sentiment dynamics of online retailing
customers: Time series analysis of social media. Computers in Human Behavior. 96.
pp.32-45.
Li, C.Z., Hong, and et.al., 2016. SWOT analysis and Internet of Things-enabled platform for
prefabrication housing production in Hong Kong. Habitat International. 57. pp.74-87.
O’Mahony, B. and Lobo, A., 2017. The organic industry in Australia: Current and future
trends. Land Use Policy. 66. pp.331-339.
Pantano, E., Priporas, C.V. and Stylos, N., 2018. Knowledge Push Curve (KPC) in retailing:
Evidence from patented innovations analysis affecting retailers' competitiveness. Journal
of Retailing and Consumer Services. 44. pp.150-160.
Wang, Q. and Li, R., 2016. Impact of cheaper oil on economic system and climate change: A
SWOT analysis. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 54. pp.925-931.
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Appendix:
Questionnaire
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