MBA600 Capstone: Woolworths Competitive Advantage Analysis Report

This report provides a strategic analysis of Woolworths, an Australian supermarket chain, examining its competitive advantages. It begins with a brief overview of Woolworths, followed by an analysis of its external environment using a PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors). The internal environment is assessed using a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). The report identifies Woolworths' competitive advantages, including its strong brand value, skilled workforce, and market presence. It further diagnoses the strengths, weaknesses, sources, and future sustainability of these competitive advantages. The analysis concludes that Woolworths is well-positioned in the Australian market, with opportunities for growth in emerging economies, but also faces risks from technological changes and competition. The report references several academic sources to support its findings and provides a comprehensive overview of Woolworths' strategic position and potential for future growth and sustainability.

M A N A G E M E N T

INTRODUCTION
In the recent time, retailing industries is growing at the faster
phase.
It has also adopted the several strategies in order to achieve the
higher level of growth.
It has also adopted the ways to satisfy its customers across the
globe where it operates.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF WOOLWORTHS
It is an Australian leading supermarket.
It includes wide variety of products in its supermarket chain.
Woolworths has wide number of stores under its name.
It has large number of people who are working under it.

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS: PESTLE ANALYSIS
The first factor that is included in the
pestle analysis is the political factor.
The changing policies of the
government seriously affects the
retail industry.
Economic factor is the second factor
that includes the decline or
fluctuation in the currency rate.
In the social factor, it includes the
customers preference.
Technological factor is the next factor
included in the pestle analysis.

The next factor in the pestle analysis is the environmental
factor that includes the sustainability efforts made by the
company.
Legal factor includes the law made by the company for retail
industry.

MICRO ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: SWOT ANALYSIS
Strength:
1. Strong brand value.
2. Highly skilled workforce.
Weaknesses:
3. Limited global presence.
4. the growing market leader in online market.

Opportunities
1. Opening of new stores.
2. Seeking the growth with the help of franchise model
specially in the merging economies.
Threats
3. Rising cost of raw material can prove to be the threat for
Woolworths.
4. Competition is also one such factor. .

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF WOOLWORTHS
Market and branding
World class supply chain
Integration
Innovation
Growing presence in the
online market segment.

STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, SOURCES AND
FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OUTLINED.
Strengths
Help in gaining more market share.
Weakness
It is still required to bring several innovative changes due to
the changing demand of customers.

Opportunities
It can enter into wider market due to its wider reach across
several countries.
due to its wider supply chain, it can expand its wings in more
countries.
Threat
Due to the changing technology, it can affect its growth.
Competition is also one major threat.

CONCLUSION
It is concluded that Woolworths is growing well in
Australian market as well as other countries.
Due to its strong brand image, it has several
opportunities to grow in the emerging economies.
Woolworths also has several risks attached in the
future.

REFERENCES
Methner, N., Hamann, R. and Nilsson, W., 2015. The evolution of a sustainability leader: The development of
strategic and boundary spanning organizational innovation capabilities in Woolworths. In The Business of
Social and Environmental Innovation (pp. 87-104). Springer, Cham.
Arup, C., Beaton-Wells, C. and Paul-Taylor, J., 2017. Regulating supermarkets: The competition for
space. UNSWLJ, 40, p.1035.
Knox, M., 2015. Supermarket monsters: The price of Coles and Woolworths' dominance (Vol. 6). Black Inc..
Sutton-Brady, C., Kamvounias, P. and Taylor, T., 2015. A model of supplier–retailer power asymmetry in the
Australian retail industry. Industrial marketing management, 51, pp.122-130.
Dixon, J., Hattersley, L. and Isaacs, B., 2016. Transgressing retail: supermarkets, liminoid power and the
metabolic rift. In Food Transgressions (pp. 131-154). Routledge.
Jie, F. and Gengatharen, D., 2019. Australian food retail supply chain analysis. Business Process Management
Journal, 25(2), pp.271-287.
Pulker, C.E., Trapp, G.S., Scott, J.A. and Pollard, C.M., 2019. The Nature and Quality of Australian
Supermarkets’ Policies That Can Impact Public Health Nutrition, and Evidence of Their Practical
Application: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients, 11(4), p.853.