Vision, Mission, Purpose, Values, and Marketing Objectives
Wesfarmers Ltd, an Australian firm, engages in various commercial ventures, including producing fertilizer, chemicals, and clothing, among other products. The company’s vision is to be honest and ethical in all interactions. Its mission is to “deliver satisfactory returns to shareholders through financial discipline and exceptional management of a diversified portfolio of businesses (Westfarmers, no date).
The corporation is committed to conducting business honestly and ethically. The organization encourages transparency and honesty in the sharing of ideas and comments. It motivates staff to develop novel approaches to providing value. The two key marketing objectives for the organization include developing a unique product design and investing in a solid marketing strategy to compete in the highly pressured market.
The Situational Analysis
Product/Service
Current Situation
Wesfarmers is a multifaceted company that offers a wide range of goods and services. The Limited Company produces, markets, and distributes fertilizers, chemicals, and industrial and medicinal gases, among other goods and services.
The business offers liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, and power.
Operates 93 hotels, 785 liquor outlets, and 741 supermarkets (Our data, no date).
Performance Assessment
As the fiscal year starts, it is essential to implement a consistent performance evaluation. Kmart, Bunnings, and Office Works all showed positive results. This is primarily due to increased internet sales during the previous six months.
Distribution
Current Situation
The segments of the firm are split into:
Building supplies, housing sector goods, home and garden improvement items, and servicing projects are all available at Bunnings.
The office section provides products for small and medium-sized businesses, education, and homewares.
WesCEF is a company that manufactures, sells, and distributes chemical substances for mining, horticulture, fertilization, and industrial use.
The business has collaborated with suppliers and logistics since the start of the fiscal year to assist supply chain operators.
90% of the suppliers are running and operating at full capacity (Our data, no date).
Performance Assessment
The company’s performance evaluation reveals that specific product categories have limited availability. Consequently, the business does not anticipate that supply chain issues will significantly affect the performance of the retail trade sector.
Promotion
Current Situation
The corporation has given much weight to its marketing plans and promotional techniques to meet its goals. Some tactics are Digital marketing, reward programs, and community influencers.
The company’s current priorities include creating a proposal specifically tailored for the Australian market, promoting the product’s brand to raise awareness, and offering club catch members free delivery.
Performance Assessment
Increased sales are seen in the fiscal year’s performance evaluation between November 2020 and May 2021 (Our data, no date).
Therefore, it is obvious that their marketing strategies are effective. Nonetheless, the business has developed other strategies to accelerate the pace of sales further.
Pricing
Current Situation
By charging more, the business promotes a positive brand and product perception in the target market.
Using geographical pricing, a corporation can expand into new market areas.
Performance Assessment
The company concentrates on a hybrid pricing approach to get its products’ highest possible production value and successfully implement chosen strategies.
A SWOT Analysis
Kmart is offered in a group of department stores for various retail products. The strengths of Wesfarmers include the necessity of community development activities to ensure many high-quality stores, employees, and a capable workforce. Wesfarmers’ weaknesses include very little geographic presence and the fact that any important decision is frequently scrutinized. Opportunities for Wesfarmers are represented by growth outside of Australia, good customer service experience, and customer and employee loyalty. Threats from Wesfarmers include severe market competition and the economic slump that most businesses currently experience.
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
The Threat of New Entrants
For the maintenance and repair segment, the threat of new entrants is low due to the high need to invest significant resources into innovative products. This is necessary because attracting customers to new products that have just entered the market can be complicated. Companies that cannot build economies of scale to lower fixed costs per unit are unlikely to enter the market, which makes the segment quite unappealing.
The Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Suppliers can dictate market proposition because the segment of maintenance and repair items requires unique materials.
The Bargaining Power of Buyers
The bargaining power of buyers is moderate because not many companies can provide the items in the maintenance and repair industry. This makes the market quite attractive because as soon as an organization creates attractive, unique, and high-quality product offerings, customers are likely to buy them.
The Threat of Substitutes
The threat of substitutes is low because the products are unique and developed due to the increased reliance on technologies. Rivalry among competitors in the maintenance and repair segment is high because companies offer similar items but may have different features and qualities.
Wesfarmers’ Marketing Setback and Strategic Shift
Wesfarmers’ marketing results from 2016 demonstrate the failure of a marketing effort to bring Australian maintenance and repair products to the UK market through its objective of creating unique products and developing a marketing strategy (Our data, no date). Wesfarmers is compelled to stop operating for two years due to the failure to meet its objectives.
The business informed Bunnings of its plan to make up for its losses. Then, Bunnings became Wesfarmers’ largest boss. The company started rebranding Target stores to Kmart in 2020 (Our data, no date). Kmart had 313 locations, while Target had 145 locations by 2021. Big Bazaar, Cenco-sud, Suria KLCC, and Kroger are Wesfarmers’ primary rivals (Our data, no date). Wesfarmers can improve three crucial areas: operating sustainability, entrepreneurial spirit, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Marketing Opportunities
Market Penetration
Market penetration entails boosting sales of current items in an existing market. This idea can help Wesfarmers lower prices and attract more customers. This aligns with the organizational goal to attract customers and enhance the competition’s capabilities. In terms of its impact on customers, they will gain significant benefits because they see that the organization provides valuable offerings.
The customer base is expected to expand due to customer-company relationships where both parties show loyalty. Costs are likely to increase because of the need to continuously invest in marketing efforts, as existing products can become uninteresting after some time. The strategy is risky, even though there is always an opportunity to reconsider the existing marketing strategies and make affordable products more attractive.
Product Development
Product development entails a business creating a new product that caters to the market that already exists. As a result, it is possible to meet the organizational goal of Wesfarmers by joining other businesses in strategic alliances to obtain access to their distribution networks. For customers, the strategy is beneficial because they can find new products that can bring them additional value compared to purchasing existing items. Industry rivals will find it challenging to compete with organizations that invest in new product development in the same market.
As a result, it is possible to strengthen the customer base because the customers are attracted to brands that can offer an abundant selection of items in the same category, which creates reputational benefits for the company. Manufacturing expenses will increase due to the need to invest in R&D and introduce new production steps. Investing in new product development is risky when there are existing products in a market.
Market Expansion
Market expansion is introducing an already-existing product into new geographic areas. By expanding into other markets like the UK, Wesfarmers may meet the objective of capturing a new customer audience. The strategy is beneficial for the customers because they can get familiar with a new brand and a new range of products, while rivals will have to compete with the new brand with new offerings.
The organization can benefit reputationally because it becomes a new item of interest in a different country. The customer base will expand as new product ranges and brand names spike attraction in a new geographical area. The costs of expanding to a new area will be high; moreover, the risks of competing with existing brands in the UK market may hinder long-term success. Nevertheless, the expansion opportunities are vast – if the company succeeds in the UK, it may consider opening its stores in European locations.
Diversification
Diversification is a strategy of introducing a new product into a new market. Since the market and its goods may be unfamiliar to the organization, this is frequently a dangerous tactic. Wesfarmers can diversify in similar and unrelated ways to create a new range of products from which customers can choose, bringing them additional value they could not previously access. The company may benefit from R&D efforts and marketing a new product, which can help win over the customer base with a new product and in a new market.
The company will have to emphasize the benefits of what it offers. The costs for market research, R&D efforts, and advertisement will be high because the company is unknown in the segment and will have to capture the audience’s attention. There is a risk of being pressured by existing rivals who already have their shares in the market. With proper product development and marketing, the company can capture a new market segment and develop its operations in that area.
The Best Strategy for Market Growth
Expanding into international markets is Wesfarmers’ best plan. By entering overseas markets, the firm may access a varied customer base to buy the wide range of goods the Limited Company produces. Key performance indicators are the percentage of signatories equipped with on-site recycling solutions for old packaging and the reduced amount of packaging waste in the environment. Resource identification and prioritizing may be accomplished by reviewing the crucial resources available to the business. They consist of personnel, tangible assets, technological advancements, and particular facilities.
The two potential risks of expanding to an international market include increased capital requirements and thinning out its resources and expertise. To address the issue of increased capital requirements, the company must plan to have enough capital to sustain operating losses. Managing contingencies is possible by moving from the risk with the highest priority threats to the risk with the lowest priority. As the organization experiences day-to-day changes, one must maintain each plan current. Policies and procedures must include competing interests, respect, human rights inclusion, consumer law compliance, safety, privacy, secrecy, and maintaining records.
Reference List
Our data (no date) Web.
Westfarmers. (no date) The Wesfarmers way. Web.