The Task is to Provide BRISCoe GROUp Market Analysis (Coursework Sample)

Briscoe Group Market Analysis
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Briscoe Group Analysis
1.0 Introduction
The retail industry plays a very crucial role in the modern world because the existence of a well structured retail industry is a must for the people to fulfill their luxuries and necessities. As such, the retail industry has seen many players join the sector. The existence of a high number of players in the sector has resulted in intense competition and a chaotic market. As a result, customer experience is the main concern for the organization success. Thus, firms are forced to be more innovative in their operations and in adopting their strategies. Therefore, understand how strategic insights can assist an organization to gain a market advantage in the new markets is an interesting aspect (Teo & Wong, 2008).
This report will analyze Briscoe Group current market strategy, the extent of its market leadership, market offerings, competitors, industry, macro environment, changes in the marketplace, implications of the market changes and provide strategy recommendations.
2.0 Company Introduction
Briscoe Group is one of the largest public owned retail chains in New Zealand. Apart from being one of the largest retailers, Briscoe Group is also one of the oldest retailers in the world. Briscoe Group was founded in the year 1781, and it’s headquartered at Dunedin, New Zealand. The company operates under the Living and Giving, Rebel Sports and Briscoes Homeware brand names. In the year 2015, the company had over 48 Homeware stores, 32 Rebel Sports stores and had acquired 9 Living and Giving Stores.
3.0 Briscoe Group Marketing strategy
The fundamental goal of the marketing strategy is to increase organization sales as well as helping it obtain a competitive advantage in the market (Cravens & Piercy, 2006). Cravens and Piercy (2006) argues that a marketing strategy includes both the short term and long term marketing goals. Therefore, an evaluation of the company primary strategic situation, formulation, evaluation, and selection of market-oriented strategies that contribute to its marketing objectives is crucial. An appropriate marketing strategy should take into account the environmental forces affecting business. As such, it is important for a company to conduct an internal and external environment analysis before adopting a precise marketing strategy. There are several marketing strategies that a business can choose to embrace to drive its marketing goals and objectives. Some of those strategies include diversity marketing, word of mouth, undercover marketing, relationship marketing and internet marketing among others. It is important to appreciate that adopting a mix of marketing strategies could be better than just using one strategy. Therefore, choosing the right marketing strategies is crucial to enhancing company competitiveness in the market.
Over the years, Briscoe Group has experienced tremendous growth despite the high number of competitors and the current economic meltdown. Briscoe Group success is mainly associated with its marketing strategy and strong leadership. Briscoe Group does not rely on a single marketing strategy but rather depends on different marketing strategies targeting distinct market segments. The current marketing strategies used by Briscoe Group include;
3.1 Online marketing
According to Kiang and Shang (2011), there are many potential buyers using apps, search engines, social media and websites to decide on the best services and products to consume. As such, an organization needs to provide the best customer experience and have a strong online presence to help the potential customers choose its brand. To tap into the many potential customers using online platforms, Briscoe Group has adopted an online marketing strategies such as conversion optimization, search engine optimization, and social media marketing.
3.2 Public relation marketing
Public relation marketing should be an integral part of any business. The objective of public relation marketing is to market the company products while creating a strong brand (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). Briscoe Group relies on its strong public relations to create a strong brand as well as to increase its sales volume. As such, the Public relations marketing strategy has played a significant role in creating Briscoe Group powerful brand.
3.4 Transactional marketing
Transactional marketing is a strategy that concentrates on increasing the sales volume and maximizing efficiency rather than concentrating on developing a relationship with the consumers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). To ensure the success of transactional marketing strategy, Briscoe Group offers a wide range of products at a fair price. Additionally, Briscoe Group uses transactional marketing strategies such as offering discounts, using coupons and sales events to encourage consumers to buy and to drive sales increase.
4.0 Extent of Briscoe Group Market leadership
A market leader is an organization that occupies the largest market share in the market segment. The measure of an organization market leadership depends on the market share it controls and holds (Terrill & Middlebrooks, 2014). Briscoe Group operates under different brands which control different segments. However, in all its operation segments, Briscoe Group is the market leader. As such, both Rebel sports and Briscoes are market leaders in their respective market segments. Therefore, Briscoe Group controls a significantly huge market share in the New Zealand retail industry.
Additionally, Briscoe Group determined approach to constantly improve the way it conducts its business has cemented its position as a market leader.
5.0 Briscoe Group Market offerings
Market offering refers to the products and services offered by an organization to satisfy the needs of the target market (Terrill & Middlebrooks, 2014). Briscoe Group products range are classified into two categories; Rebel Sports and Briscoe Homeware.
5.1 Rebel Sports
Under this category, Briscoe Group offers a wide range of sports gear. The products selection available under this category includes water and swimming sports, foot ware, clothing, camping and fishing, exercise and fitness as well as games and accessories. Rebel Sports is associated with brands like Nike, ADIDAS, Speedo, Casio, and Prince among others.
5.2 Briscoe Homeware
Briscoe homeware brand offers a wide selection in different categories like outdoor living, electrical, Kitchen, furniture, storage, bags, luggage, dining, entertainment, decorating and accessories. Briscoe home ware is associated with brands like Breville, Brabantia, Kenwood, Playboy, Galaxy, Cloud 9 and Goldiar among others.
6.0 Buyer characteristics
According to Horton (2014), buyer characteristics refer to the factors influencing consumer behavior. As such, buyer characteristics determine buyer is thinking. The buyer characteristics are influenced by psychological, personal, social and cultural factors. Therefore, buyer characteristics in Briscoe Group market segment are; social class, economic situation, lifestyle, personality, family, culture, age and beliefs, and attitudes.
7.0 Competitor analysis
Competitor analysis involves an evaluation of organization competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. A competitor analysis is crucial in identifying the threats and opportunities of an organization within its market segment. Additionally, a competition analysis enables an organization to understand the level of competition in the market (Bergen & Peteraf, 2012). The retail industry in which Briscoe Group operates is characterized by a high number of players thus the level of competition is high. As such, Briscoe Group faces intense competition from both small retailers and large retailers. Briscoe Group key competitors include Canterbury, Cavalier Corporation, Fisher & Paykel, and Macpac Outdoors. Therefore, Briscoe Group faces strong competition in its segment market.
8.0 Industry analysis
Industry analysis is used to understand the position of a firm with respect to other firms producing or offering similar goods and services. Industry analysis is critical in strategic planning as it enables organizations to identify the opportunities available and the threats it faces when allocating its resources (Oster, 2009). According to Porter (2007), the industry analysis can be performed through assessing the impacts of Porter’s Five Forces and then determine the industry success factors and attractiveness.
Ease of entry- entering the retail industry does not require huge investments which make it quite easy for new firms to enter the industry. Additionally, there are no entry barriers which could create challenges for the new entrants. As such, the competition level is quite high because of the high number of competitors which is constantly on the rise.
The power of suppliers- the retail industry has many suppliers, and therefore, the suppliers’ power is low. Usually, the suppliers’ power is high if the industry relies on a small number of suppliers. Additionally, due to the high number of suppliers, the switching cost is low. Therefore, in the retail sector, the suppliers’ power is low, and suppliers have little influence over the retailers.
The power of buyers- the majority of the customers who account for a large portion of the retailers market are multiple customers. The customers bargaining power is high when single customers account for a large share of the sales and when there lots of substitutes available for the products. As such, the bargaining power of buyers in the retail industry is moderate.
Availability of substitutes- the retail industry is characterized by many players and therefore, there are many substitutes. The existence of many substitutes red...