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Woolworth’s Strategy and Its Implementation

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MGMT19128 Assessment 2 – Essay - Woolworth’s Strategy and its Implementation

Lecturer – Jessica Kennedy

Due Date – 11:00pm Thursday 26th April 2012

Word Count – 2669

In order to analyse Woolworths’ strategy and its implementation, consideration will be given to the competitive environment that exists between Woolworths and Wesfarmers (Coles), the notion of competing duopolies and the role that management plays in the process. The purpose of this essay is to discuss competing duopolies and how they impact on the development of an organisation’s strategy and implementation. In a duopoly two firms compete for market share, so strategic thinking by management plays an important part in strategy development and the creation of a competitive advantage. Strategic thinking allows management ‘to more fully capture and analyse the relevant forces creating new market opportunities and business strategy requirements’ (Cravens, Piercy & Baldauf 2009, p.32). Woolworths has for many years been the dominant player in the Food and Staples Retailing Industry but since Wesfarmers’ takeover of Coles, Woolworths has had to be more on the defensive matching Coles in its low-cost pricing strategy on many product items (Sell on News 2011). Whilst Coles is trying to regain market share within its supermarket division, Woolworths is endeavouring to develop operational scope in the area of hardware, where Coles has held a monopoly situation (Sell on News 2011). In competing duopolies, the quality of the management team and their ability to provide future guidance to the organisation becomes the critical component that differentiates each firm’s performance (Sell on News 2011). Woolworths employs a cost leadership strategy within its supermarket division, it sells standardised products (but with a competitive level of differentiation) to allow them to target a broad customer

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