London Selfridges (Essay Sample)

London Selfridges Name Institutional Affiliation Introduction London Selfridges is a high-end chain of department stores that is based in the United Kingdom where it occupies most of the western part of Oxford Street. The company’s history can be traced back to 1908 where it was founded by Harry Selfridge Gordon. It is currently operated by Selfridges Retail Limited and its flagship shop that is based in London is one of the largest shops in the United Kingdom. Other Selfridges are located around the country in major cities such as Manchester and Birmingham (Selfridges, 2016). London Selfridges has six floors which give shoppers a shopping space of approximately 10 acres, 11 eateries, 2 exhibition halls among other countless services. It the type of shop that high-end fashion is sold. From hi-fi to wardrobe coordination, London Selfridges provides shoppers with everything they will ever need. The shop has luxury floor where high-end jewellery and watches are sold. Moreover, London Selfridges hosts the world’s largest denim department where jeans of all types are sold. Timeline Analysis London Selfridges has grown tremendously since it was founded to one of the largest department stores in the World. Recent developments have seen London Selfridges expand their accessories department which took an estimated cost of £300m (Mair, 2014). This cost represents the highest-ever investment that has been done by a department store on a single project. The expansion saw the handbag department double in size which meant an increase of goods for sale hence an increase in profit. Another development has been the addition of a skate bowl in the store (Huck, 2018). The idea came to fruition because of the entanglement that skating share with the world of fashion. Skateboarding has made brands realize the high amount of wealth in creativity and talent there is in the sport and how certain aspects appeal to the fashion industry. Therefore, such an investment in will allow London Selfridges to continue thriving. Market Segmentation London Selfridges focuses on providing high-end goods and services to their existing and potential customers. The department store aimed to meet the needs of a specific customer or consumer base instead of serving the broad world of fashion (Juhana, 2016). From the general high-end goods and services, London Selfridges has split various categories of fashion wear in its vast space in the building of 6 floors. Various fashion wears can be found around the department store to cater for the buyers’ needs. This makes shopping at the department store easy for customers which boosts the sales for shops in the store. Porter’s Five Force Analysis This is a powerful tool that is used by businesses to understand their competitive environment and identify their strategy’s potential profits. Understanding the forces of the business environment that affect profitability will allow proper adjustments to be made in strategy. The forces that shape London Selfridges’ competitive environment include: Competitive Rivalry. London Selfridges, like most successful businesses, has competitors. Its major arch rivals include Aliders, Bentails and Harrods (Computer Weekly, 2016). Selfridges offers a range of services that are almost similar to its competitors. The main difference between Selfridges and its competitors is that they have focused more on entertainment. The department store has 15 bars, restaurants and cafes which differs from the services its competitors offer. Supplier Power. London Selfridges is one of the biggest department stores in the world and is located in a posh prime location which attracts consumers because of its wide range of products and services. Changes in supplier behaviors are adapted to with ease because they represent a brand of names that are recognized not only in the UK but the whole of Europe. Buyer Power. The power of buyers on London Selfridges is minimal simply because of its location, customer loyalty of the store and its reputation. Its large size of approximately 540,000 sq. feet makes it appealing to sellers because of the large stock capabilities that will allow a variety of products to be sold. This makes it hard for the consumers to dictate terms. Threat of New Entry. Selfridges’ chances of being affected by new department stores is low because of its well established reputation that is highly respected. A new store would have to use great...