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Porter's Five Forces Analysis: Force 1: The Degree of Rivalry

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Porters Five Forces Analysis

The Porters Five Forces model is a simple tool that supports strategic understanding where power lies in a business situation. It also helps to understand both the strength of a firms current competitive position, and the strength of a position a company is looking to move into. Despite the fact that the Five Force framework focuses on business concerns rather than public policy, it also emphasizes extended competition for value rather than just competition among existing rivals, and the simplicity of its application inspired numerous companies as well as business schools to adopt its use (Wheelmen and Hunger, 1998). The original competitive forces model, as proposed by Porter, identified five forces which would impact on an organizations behaviour in a competitive market. These include the following: The rivalry between existing sellers in the market. The power exerted by the customers in the market. The impact of the suppliers on the sellers. The potential threat of new sellers entering the market. The threat of substitute products becoming available in the market.

Understanding the nature of each of these forces gives organizations the necessary insights to enable them to formulate the appropriate strategies to be successful in their market (Thorsby, 1998).

Force 1: The Degree of Rivalry


The intensity of rivalry, which is the most obvious of the five forces in an industry, helps determine the extent to which the value created by an industry will be dissipated through head-to-head competition. The most valuable contribution of Porter's five forces framework in this issue may be its suggestion that rivalry, while important, is only one of several forces that determine industry attractiveness. This force is located at the centre of the diagram; Is most likely to be high in those industries where there is a threat of substitute ; and existing power of suppliers and buyers in the market.

Force 2: The Threat of Entry


Both potential and existing competitors influence average industry profitability. The threat of new entrants is usually based on the market entry barriers. They can take diverse forms and are used to prevent an influx of firms into an industry whenever profits, adjusted for the cost of capital, rise above zero. In contrast, entry barriers exist whenever it is difficult or not economically feasible for an outsider to replicate the incumbents position (Porter, 1980b; Sanderson, 1998) the most common forms of entry barriers, except intrinsic physical or legal obstacles, are as follows: Economies of scale: for example, benefits associated with bulk purchasing; Cost of entry: for example, investment into technology; Distribution channels: for example, ease of access for competitors; Cost advantages not related to the size of the company: for example, contacts and expertise; Government legislations: for example, introduction of new laws might weaken companys competitive position; Differentiation: for example, a certain brand that cannot be copied (The Champagne)

Force 3: The Threat of Substitutes


The threat that substitute products pose to an industry's profitability depends on the relative price-to-performance ratios of the different types of products or services to which customers can turn to satisfy the same basic need. The threat of substitution is also affected by switching costs that is, the costs in areas such as retraining, retooling and redesigning that are incurred when a customer switches to a different type of product or service. It also involves: Product-for-product substitution (email for mail, fax); is based on the substitution of need; Generic substitution (Video suppliers compete with travel companies); Substitution that relates to something that people can do without (cigarettes, alcohol).

Force 4: Buyer Power


Buyer power is one of the two horizontal forces that influence the appropriation of the value created by an industry (refer to the diagram). The most important determinants of buyer power are the size and the concentration of customers. Other factors are the extent to which the buyers are informed and the concentration or differentiation of the competitors. Kippenberger (1998) states that it is often useful to distinguish potential buyer power from the buyer's willingness or incentive to use that power, willingness that derives mainly from the risk of failure associated with a product's use. This force is relatively high where there a few, large players in the market, as it is the case with retailers an grocery stores; Present where there is a large number of undifferentiated, small suppliers, such as small farming businesses supplying large grocery companies; Low cost of switching between suppliers, such as from one fleet supplier of trucks to another.

Force 5: Supplier Power


Supplier power is a mirror image of the buyer power. As a result, the analysis of supplier power typically focuses first on the relative size and concentration of suppliers relative to industry participants and second on the degree of differentiation in the inputs supplied. The ability to charge customers different prices in line with differences in the value created for each of those buyers usually indicates that the market is characterized by high supplier power and at the same time by low buyer power (Porter, 1998). Bargaining power of suppliers exists in the following situations: Where the switching costs are high (switching from one Internet provider to another); High power of brands (McDonalds, British Airways, Tesco); Possibility of forward integration of suppliers (Brewers buying bars);

Fragmentation of customers (not in clusters) with a limited bargaining power (Gas/Petrol stations in remote places). The nature of competition in an industry is strongly affected by the suggested five forces. The stronger the power of buyers and suppliers, and the stronger the threats of entry and substitution, the more intense competition is likely to be within the industry. However, these five factors are not the only ones that determine how firms in an industry will compete the structure of the industry itself may play an important role. Indeed, the whole five-forces framework is based on an economic theory know as the StructureConduct-Performance (SCP) model.

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS: PORTER'S FIVE FORCE MODEL ON TESCO


Tesco is one of the largest food retailers in the world, operating around 2,318 stores and employing over 326,000 people. It provides online services through its subsidiary, Tesco.com. The UK is the company's largest market, where it operates under four banners of Extra, Superstore, Metro and Express. The company sells almost 40,000 food products, including clothing and other non-food lines. The company's own-label products (50 percent of sales) are at three levels, value, normal and finest. As well as convenience produce, many stores have gas stations, becoming one of Britain's largest independent petrol retailers. Other retailing services offered include Tesco Personal Finance

Threat of New Entrants

The UK grocery market is primary dominated by few competitors, including four major brands of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Safeway that possess a market share of 70% and small chains of Somerfield, Waitrose and Bud gens with a further 10%. Over the last 30 years, according to Ritz (2005), the grocery market has been transformed into the supermarket-dominated business. Majority of large chains have built their power due to operating efficiency, one-stop shopping and major marketing-mix expenditure. This powerful force had a great impact on the small traditional shops, such as butchers, bakers and etc. Hence, nowadays it possesses a strong barrier for new companies who desire to enter the grocery market. For instance, it becomes rather difficult for new entrants to raise sufficient capital because of large fixed costs and highly developed supply chains. This is also evident in huge investments done by large chains, such as Tesco, in advanced technology for checkouts and stock control systems that impact new entrants and the existing ones. Other barriers include economies of scale and differentiation (in the provision of products or services with a higher perceived value than the competition) achieved by Tesco and Asda seen in their aggressive operational tactics in product development, promotional activity and better distribution.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers


This force represents the power of suppliers that can be influenced by major grocery chains and that fear of losing their business to the large supermarkets. Therefore, this consolidates further leading positions of stores like Tesco and Asda in negotiating better promotional prices from suppliers that small individual chains are unable to match Ritz (2005). In return, UK based suppliers are also threatened by the growing ability of large retailers to source their products from abroad at cheaper deals. The relationship with sellers can have similar effects in constraining the strategic freedom of the company and in influencing its margins. The forces of competitive rivalry have reduced the profit margins for supermarket chains and suppliers.

Bargaining Power of Customers

Porter theorized that the more products that become standardized or undifferentiated, the lower the switching cost, and hence, more power is yielded to buyers Porter M. (1980). Tesco's famous loyalty card - Club card remains the most successful customer retention strategy that significantly increases the profitability of Tesco's business. In meeting customer needs, customizing service ensure low prices, better choices, constant flow of in-store promotions enables brands like Tesco to control and retain their customer base. In recent years a crucial change in food retailing has occurred due to a large demand of consumers doing the majority of their shopping in supermarkets that shows a greater need for supermarkets to sell non-food items. It has also provided supermarkets with a new strategic expansion into new markets of banking, pharmacies, etc. Consumers also have become more aware of the issues surrounding fairer trade and the influence of western consumers on the expectations and aspirations of Third World producers. Ecologically benign and ethically sound production of consumer produce such as tea, coffee and cocoa is viable, and such products are now widely available at the majority of large chains.

Threat of Substitutes
General substitution is able to reduce demand for a particular product, as there is a threat of consumers switching to the alternatives Porter M. (1980). In the grocery industry this can be seen in the form of product-for-product or the substitute of need and is further weakened by new trends, such as the way small chains of convenience stores are emerging in the industry. In this case Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's are trying to acquire existing small-scale operations and opening Metro and Express stores in local towns and city centres Ritz (2005).

Bargaining Power of Competitors


The grocery environment has seen a very significant growth in the size and market dominance of the larger players, with greater store size, increased retailer concentration, and the utilisation of a range of formats, which are now prominent characteristics of the sector. The purchasing power of the food-retailing industry is concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of retail buyers. Operating in a mature, flat market where growth is difficult (a driver of the diversification into non-food areas), and consumers are increasingly demanding and sophisticated, large chains as Tesco are accruing large amounts of consumer information that can be used to communicate with the consumer Ritz (2005). This highly competitive market has fostered an accelerated level of development, resulting in a situation in which UK grocery retailers have had to be innovative to maintain and build market share. Such innovation can be seen in the development of a range of trading formats, in response to changes in consumer behaviour. The dominant market leaders have responded by refocusing on price and value, whilst reinforcing the added value elements of their service.

CONCLUSION
Branding and Reputation
There are companies that have always understood that they were selling brands before the product. Tesco is a brand and also serves as the core strategic advantage. The company was spreading like wildfire transforming the generic into the brandspecific, largely through carefully branded packaging and the promotion of an every penny counts environment. The company has a strong brand image, and is associated with good quality, trustworthy goods that represent excellent value. The product and service development processes of the company have been substantially re-engineered, to facilitate better management of product lifecycles and more efficient delivery of wide ranges of products to customers. Product activity has focused on enhancing core ranges and introducing quality products. Tesco's innovative ways of improving the customer shopping experience, as well as its efforts to branch out into finance and insurance have also capitalized on strong brand reputation. The company is also very successful in terms of customer loyalty due to its loyalty cards system and its general approach to customizing services to the needs of every customer. This is truly evident in terms of tremendous growth of on-line sales where the company has a strong platform to further develop this revenue stream. After considering the fact the nowadays majority of people have less time for shopping, Tesco employed this on-line systems and now became the biggest online supermarket.

IT Integration
Today companies act in an increasingly dynamic and complex environment, giving more difficulties making forecasts and adapting themselves to the continuous changes. In order to be able to compete in this kind of world, it is necessary to innovate at an extraordinary speed, continuously improving the products, services and processes. For Tesco operations have become necessities rather than luxuries. Systems that control stock, keep all the stock and deliveries records and analyse business transactions are the lifelines of the company. It can also be said that IT has risen beyond its traditional support role and taken up a central role in business strategy formulation. Extranet system employed by the company, enables Tesco to use the Internet to create proprietary and customised information flows between the company and its business partners. The system connects business partners online behind virtual firewalls, bringing more flexibility, scalability, extensibility and integration across the distribution channels. Extranet also helps to extend the key information on business partners throughout the supply chain and facilitate collaborative relationships with partners. Market exchanges hold the promise of extending Tesco's reach, delivering buyers to their virtual doorstep from around the world. Other examples of the most efficient technological advances that support daily business operations of Tesco are wireless devices, intelligent scale, and electronic shelf

labelling, self check-out machine and radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. This technology is an effort to maintain Tesco's ability to handle an increase in product/service volume while controlling costs; it also enables to be innovative and market oriented.

Supplier Management
Tesco, like many other grocery chains companies, sources its goods from overseas manufacturers who are more competitive on price and volumes. For many years Tesco has been supporting British jobs and expertise by encouraging large branded suppliers to develop exclusive production facilities. But in recent years the company has realised the need to look abroad for products no longer available in UK, bud tried to do it through long-established UK partners. The foods continued to be heavily UK-based due to the very successful range of prepared foods. As a major retailer selling diverse product range, they work with many different suppliers around the world, with employees from many different cultures and ethnic groups. Therefore, it is the company policy and company's main approach to have unique relationships with suppliers. Applying advanced technology in its communications and cooperation with the suppliers, the company aims to control the work of its suppliers and heavily relies on their efficiency. The direct suppliers use a number of sub-contracted suppliers, selected to be best in class in their country. Tesco has established close relationships with the contractors believing that regular and long term orders promote the investment necessary to improve conditions in the supply chain. Being an international company, Tesco develops various supplier management programmes to survey key suppliers and franchisee satisfaction. The company also takes part in the Ethnical Trading Initiative.

CONCLUSION
The success of the Tesco shows how far the branding and effective service delivery can come in moving beyond splashing one's logo on a billboard. It had fostered powerful identities by making their retailing concept into a virus and spending it out into the culture via a variety of channels: cultural sponsorship, political controversy, and consumer experience and brand extensions. In a rapidly changing business environment with a high competitors' pressure Tesco have to adopt new expansion strategies or diversified the existing in order to sustain its leading market position in an already established retailing market. The company must constantly adapt to the fast changing circumstances. Strategy formulation should therefore be regarded as a process of continuous learning, which includes learning about the goals, the effect of possible actions towards these goals and how to implement and execute these actions. The quality of a formulated strategy and the speed of its implementation will therefore directly depend on the quality of Tesco's cognitive and behavioural learning processes. In large organizations as Tesco strategy should be analysed and implemented at various levels within the hierarchy. These different levels of strategy should be related and mutually supporting. Tesco's strategy at a corporate level defines the businesses in which Tesco will compete, in a way that focuses resources to convert distinctive competence into competitive advantage

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