Strategic planning (TESCO) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategic planning (TESCO) - Case Study Example The very core purpose of any business, besides sustenance and profitability, happens to create and keep adding value for the customers. A supermarket chain in particular needs to take into account the changing needs and requirements of the customers, depending upon the changing environment, food habits, time management, availability of alternates in the market, increasing awareness about environmentally friendly goods and services etc. This way they can earn the loyalty of the customer while successfully attracting more customers. Tesco's mission statement1 says, "Our core purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty." value creation for the customer proves to be a competitive weapon to retain the customer.Retail Business requires managing a broad range of retail skills in the areas of customer sales and service, promotion & advertising, store layout, visual merchandising, economics & accounting, marketing, buying from suppliers, inventory control, and huma n resource management. The mission and objective statement must encompass all such fields and activities. Tesco has a long term strategy for growth, based on four key parts:1.3 Principle activities and Products: Tesco, the super-market chain is in the business of retailing for nearly 90 years now. It is UK's largest retailer, having around 1800 stores in UK alone and more than 2300 stores worldwide, with group sales crossing m 37,070 worldwide at the end of financial year 2005. An international retailer of food, non-food and retailing services, Tesco currently operates in the China, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the UK. 1.4 Short History: It was in the year 1919 that Jack Cohen founded Tesco, when he began to sell surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. In those days his first day's profit was 1 and total sales of 4. The name comes from the initials of TE Stockwell, who was a partner in the firm of tea suppliers, and CO from Jack's surname. It was in year 1929 that Jack Cohen opened his first Tesco store in Burnt Oak, Edgware, North London. And the journey continues, there's no looking back since then. 1.5 Microenvironment factors: With an emphasis on Globalization and consumerism, role of retailer and supermarkets is continuously on the rise. World over such supermarkets are replacing the street corners shops as the supermarkets offer better quality, branded items and value for money. In fact supermarket chains like TESCO have now become a formidable brand in themselves. 1.6 Perceived competitive Advantage: From the strategic planning point of view, competitor analysis is very important for any company's long-term survival (Kotler, 1972). Tesco is securing itself a position in the top echelon of an elite group of international retail organizations on account of the number of superstores that it has worldwide and the range of products available. Mintzberg (1994) too, while talking about the changes that have taken place on the strategic planning front, emphasizes the importance of strategic planning. 1.7 Future Assumptions: David (1999) defined strategy as 'the match an organisation makes between its internal resources and skills and the opportunities and risks created by its external forces'. This assumption forms a crucial component while planning for future. For such planning, the TOWS (Threats-Opportunities-Weaknesses-Strengths) and SPACE (Strategic Position and Action Evaluation) Matrices prove to be very helpful tools.