Problems to Overcome to Become Competitive - Assignment Example

Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Executive summary This paper focuses on the issues and concerns found in the research done to establish the company position with regard to its competitors. Competitor retail companies like Angus and Roberson, Borders and Dymocks were studied and compared to Metrobooks Company. Their prices and stocking were analyzed at depth. Initial analysis showed that Metrobooks Company had more stockings at any given time compared to the three online retailers. As you go along, you will find a discussion based on the pricing and stocking strategies of all the companies. A recommendation part that contains some of the issues that should be addressed by the company in order to compete effectively is also given. The major issue considered here is that transformation of the company’s operations to online marketing. Contents Contents 1 Introduction 2 Discussion 3 Selection of books 3 Web search 4 Dymocks 4 Borders 5 Angus & Robertson 5 Stocking and pricing strategies 6 Recommendations 6 Conclusion 7 Work cited 8 Introduction Metrobooks is constantly facing competition from its competitors in the book retailer ship field. In the past Metrobooks was a major market dominant due to its effective means of selling and marketing that were employed then. The strategies employed and still in use has seen been put into question by the management due to the ever increasing competition from other retailers. There has been a feel that, technological change and advancement in commerce activities have largely contributed to the decline in the market share (Varley 38). It is due to this reason that the management commissioned a research to be done based on the Metrobooks market status compared to the competitor’s status Since Metrobooks have not employed online market and business strategies in its operations, it was felt that the web presences and online availability of the major competitors have contributed to this largely. Therefore, an investigation was done to ascertain the same. This report demonstrates what was found in the research that was carried out. Discussions based on pricing policies and stocking of books in Metrobooks Company as well as those of the major competitors have been discussed. The aim is to understand what really is happening in the market orientation with regard to book sales. The question that needs to be answered is whether the presence of web application in the sale of books offers a better advantage as compared to the absence of the same. Pricing policies and customer satisfaction is also a factor that is discussed at length in the report. In the report, three retailers that use a web presence business transaction in the sale of books have been identified and compared to Metrobooks which have no web presence. Discussion Selection of books In the process of research, it was paramount that a number of books be selected for easy analysis. Too many books could have caused analysis overhead which could mean inaccurate or inefficient information gathering. Therefore, five books were selected for use in the study. The selection criterion was based on the stock quantity of a particular book. Any book that had a stock quantity of more than sixty books was eligible for selection. However, due to the large number of the qualifying candidates, those with the highest stock quantity were ultimately considered. The reason for choosing this group is to try to understand why such high stock exists. What are the contributing factors to such a high number? Many questions needed to be answered, which include the possibility of high prices charged for the books or the overstocking of books which are not in high demand. Another consideration that was important consideration in the selection was the subject area of the different books in candidature. Books were selected ranging from fantasy, mysteries, history and travel and adventure and gardening. The books that were ultimately selected for use in the study are: i. Kite runner by Khaled Hosseini ii. The historian by Elizabeth Kostova iii. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon iv. Polar Shift (NUMA Files (Hardcover) by Clive Cussler v. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Kidd Web search For the purposes of this study, it was necessary to use Australian book retail companies. The management felt the need to use this as a first gauge to where, Metrobooks stands in the local market before later proceeding to the global market. In order to identify these websites, Google search engine was used. A list was found and finally the retailers were chosen from those displayed. The three retailers that were chosen are Dymocks, Borders and Angus & Robertson. These websites provided a good platform since they are well established as well as offering easy access to information with regard to the available stock and pricing. Some websites, though good for book retail, did not give all the information that was required. The three were therefore settled upon after critical consideration. Dymocks This is a retailer website based in Australia though its market share is all over the world. This is enabled by the online availability hence anyone in any part of the world whether Africa or US can access their services. The official company site is at web address is http://www.dymocks.com.au/ . The company sells different kinds of literature materials. They sell e-books which are in digital form or otherwise, hard cover books, children books as well as audio literature. One is able to place an order at any time on the website. Once payment is made, a four-day waiting period is awaited as the book is shipped to the destination address. Dymocks offers different types of materials allowing the customer to have access to a wide range of it at its convenience. Its ability to list top rated books is a key marketing strategy that was identified as a major boost to the business (Dymocks.com). Borders Just like Dymocks, Border also has a web presence business transaction when it comes to sale of books. Borders is available at web address http://www.borders.com/online/store/Home . It offers a variety of books which are cheaply delivered to one’s doorstep. The site also provides a facility for advertisement of books hence increasing its marketing. The site offers the cheapest books with prices as low as $3. As incentives to customers, some e-materials like books and journals are also offered free of charge by the company. Getting the same is possible by just clicking the download button. Delivery of books is done free of charge by this company. Shipping costs included in the pricing, hence once an item is bought by a customer, no other charges will be preferred on them (Borders). Angus & Robertson Angus and Robertson can be reached by web address http://www.angusrobertson.com.au/ . Just like the others, Angus and Robertson is an Australian-based online retailer. The company offers free shipping for any book bought online. The price tag on the product includes the shipping charges hence no other charges will be deemed needed before a product bought is shipped. Through the website, the company is able to offer discounts of the selected books of choice. Customers are made aware of the discounted products via an advert on the website. The list of the most read and review books is also provided on the website, hence before making any purchase, customers are able to make well-informed choices concerning the same (Angus &Robertson) Stocking and pricing strategies Metrobooks prices are highly placed as compared to most online companies pricing. Out of the three companies, Metrobooks was found to charge the highest amount of money for an individual book. Dymocks however had extra charges of an average of AUD 6.5 due to the posting charges by the Australian corporation. Dymocks charges shipping charges based on location of delivery of the product (Dymocks). This made their prices a bit higher than those of Metrobooks. However, had this not been the case, Metrobooks could be the most expensive retailer of books. Angus &Robertson was found to offer the cheapest prices of all the retailers selected. Out of the five books analyzed, four of the cheapest prices were found at Angus and Robertson. The framework that has been employed at Angus and Robertson is to offer cheaper prices but ensure recurrence in customers. Once a customer is satisfied with a service, there is a likelihood of coming back again or buy more books than the planned. It was realized that books which had cheaper price tags were few in stock. According to the analysis done, this was attributed to the high demand by customers due to its affordability. Those books with high price tags were found to be many in stocks. This was interpreted to mean low demand due to the inability by many clients to afford it. Metrobooks stocks almost same number of units in all types of books. However, the sale is not the same as evidenced by the remaining stock. Expensive books are found to be many in stock as compared to cheaper books. This strategy is not good and should be reviewed for good business realization. Recommendations In order to effectively compete with the market peers like the Angus and Robertson, which are threatening to dominate the market, there is need for change in the approach to operations at Metrobooks. First is the need to have a web presence system that allows for selling of products online. Having such systems allows easy access to books by customers wherever they are at whatever times (Varley 129). Searching of available books in the books shop would be made easier if a search system like that is implemented by the other retailers is implemented. With regard to stocking of books, proper analysis should be done in order to ascertain the buying trends of books. Expensive books should be stocked in few quantities as it has been established that the rate of sale is low as compared to cheap priced books (Bob, and Susan 146) Conclusion E-commerce is proving to be the best business platform for global trading. Effective business potential build up can be achieved by transforming the available business to achieve a wider perspective through online availability. Metrobooks has to go this way if peer-to-peer competition is to achieve in the market. Otherwise, the company is facing a serious lag in general. Work cited Angus and Robertson. 19th July 2011, < http://www.angusrobertson.com.au/> Bob, Negen, and Susan, Negen. Marketing your retail store in the internet age.New York.NY:John Wiley and Sons, 2006. Print. Borders. 19TH JULY 2011. Dymocks.com. 19th July 2011. Varley, Rosemary. Retail product management: buying and merchandising. New York.NY: Routledge, 2006. Print. Read More