Marketing Audit Of Primark Stores Limited

merc plentyise audited account Of Primark Stores exceptionalThis cover up will start with an exhaustive examination of the internal factors of the organisation with a critique of its Marketing Mix. A SWOT psychoanalysis will so be performed to get much evidence of where the company is standing now. The after spell part of the give notice (of) consists of the inspecting of external surround of the business with the help of a actually effective tool which is PESTLE factors. To perform plowing audit in best possible manner an different tool named combative Analysis will be employed which is in like manner known as Porters 5 Forces Analysis. Here a broader view is adapted by facial expression at the dash retail sector as a on the whole along with contention as faced by Primark Stores Limited.Marketing Audit of Primark Stores LimitedA market plan clearly defines all the decisions relating to the merchandising fuse for the given product or service. Then each of the mix chemical elements would be made into a plan at a march on tactical level in the organisation to be implemented. The framework remains basic and un substituted at marketing and corporate level. It rump be simply described asWhere argon we now? (Audit)Where are we pass? (Objectives)What are the alternative ways of getting there?Choosing the best natural selection and developing an action plan (Tactics)Implementation and Control (Cravens and Piercy, 2003)The question of the answer for clearly indicates the researcher to focus upon the marketing plan, the implementation of which begins with a marketing audit. This piece will attempt to do the marketing audit of Primark Stores Limited. Primark postulate no formal introduction as macrocosm a take account clothing retail merchant in UK now more so when volume are worried about the economy and employment. It has in total 207 origins crossways Europe in countries oversee Ireland (Trading as Penneys in Ireland), UK (145 Stores ), Spain, The Netherlands, Portugal, Ger galore(postnominal) and Belgium (www.primark.co.uk). Primark outperformed MS this family line with 17 per cent increase in profits and figure of 233million (www.dailymail.co.uk). This ships company is chosen for two other reasons as it being a fallacious player in affordable fashion retail sector (www.gurdian.co.uk) and second the writer has worked in the retail sector and is hoping to secure a refine placement in the same perseverance.Critique of Primarks Marketing MixThis Marketing Audit can prove useful in paygrade of the companys marketing, since evaluation compares results with expectations the findings should prove interesting and helpful. (Cravens and Piercy, 2003)Gillian and Wilson, 2003 suggest that a distinct competitive identify as compared to other companies can be established and sustained through and through the manipulation of the elements of the marketing mix. In UK, services account for greater stintingal output as c ompared to manufacturing. In retail sector as salutary equal importance is placed on guest service and thus the 7 Ps of Marketing Mix are considered here. Primarks 7 Ps analysis is described down the stairsProductThis is the first element of the marketing mix, the product is widely understood as the tangible and physical entity that is bought and sold. til now there are three levels of a product namely the marrow squash Product, the Actual Product and the Augmented Product. This is briefly explained in the diagram infrathree_levels.gif cum www.marketingteacher.comIn case of Primark the Core Product is the Benefit that unity gets by buying vestments and fashion accessories acceptance in society, apology from weather conditions, etc. The Actual Product will be clothes that are sold in stores and Augmented Product will be after sale services like refund and exchange.This also includes tools like Product perplexity, refreshed Product Development, Product lifetime Cycle, Cu stomer Life Cycle and Branding. It can be state that Primark has mastered its mix in an efficient way and this P has been added in the best possible manner. It has a product range comparable to any other clothes and fashion retailers. One can buy from socks to over coats and also home laurel wreath products like bed sheets and so on.PricePricing consist various decisions and choices to monetary value the product or service provided. This in broader sense includes equipment casualty of business, discount structures and pricing strategies. Pricing strategies can range from Value Pricing, promotional Pricing, Psychological Pricing, Product Bundle Pricing and Geographical Pricing. The diagram below attempts to simplify the strategiespricing_matrix.gifPrimark without any doubt falls into Economy Pricing and that has been the line ingredient for the success of the company and also in making it more known brand name than its parent company which is Associated British Foods. It is doubt littlely a no frills low price retailer with cheapest rates in the market for majority of its products.Place / DistributionThis element refers to logistic and blood line management, physical distribution of the goods and services. It is homely from the pricing and policies of the company that it does not sell its products online. It has d unitary genuinely well in wrong of the location of the stores in majority of town centers as well as high streets and Oxford highway Branch is one strong example of it.This is a key ingredient which Primark is suggested to re-evaluate as there is one more tool which is the most effective in todays retail environment which is e-retailing which can be used to its acquire with careful consideration.PromotionPromotion is supposedly the most considered P among the other elements and in writers experience and the elements of Promotion Mix would form a real(prenominal) large chunk of the Marketing Budget of any retail company. Primark claims that it can deliver its products to the customer at cheaper rates which are thanks to their no promotions policy. (www.primark.co.uk) This can be claimed as the best outline suited to a no frills retailer like Primark to maintain feasibility.PeopleAs ordered with the concept of marketing itself, people form the most important part of any service offered to the customer. It consists of tasks like employee selection, training and motivation. Employees are the brand they are selling in more ways. Primark has struck a good equalizer with this P in the mix making the Primark team full with efficiency and team spirit. Rigorous recruitment process takes place to test the individuals assiduity and swiftness in serving customers.Physical EvidenceThis can be said that the products itself are the major part of the physical evidence and looking at the things like packaging, layout, dcor and ease of access, Primark can be said to have well designed layouts where products can be found with less effort. However as the case with many no frills companies, other retailer would get more score on this P comparatively.Process ManagementHere the process management would cover right from when customer enters the store to when they leave the store. This experience would be considered process and this is also a weaker element in the marketing mix of Primark for it being a very spry place to shop at and at many instances good consort to be damaged if not selected carefully.(Hartley, 2004)Primarks SWOT AnalysisBeing one of the most frequently used tools, strategic importance of SWOT Analysis is many a generation undermined. The outputs suffer at some occasion due to the superficial ways in which it is conducted (Gillian and Wilson, 2003). Its rigorous implementation nevertheless could greatly assist in two major purposesTo separate meaning(prenominal) data from just interesting data.To discover what the company can do to exploit its competencies within its market segments in pres ent and in future.SWOT-Analysis-sm.jpgSource www.bizstrategies.bizWeihrich, 1982 also argue that using same inputs in TOWS pattern increases their citation and fully integrates them into strategic planning process.Discussing Primarks SWOTStrengthsVast Product clutch and Cheap PricesPart of Ethical Trading Initiative with actors rights taken care of.UKs second largest clothing retailer according to volume. (www.tns globose.com)Selling around 20 Own Brand Labels.WeaknessesBad name with allegations of child labour and worker rights.Criticised due to quality of clothes many times.Weak in terms of Augmented Product. (Figure in Section 2)OpportunitiesExpansion in European countries. cash advance of Brand check.Use of e-retailing.ThreatsCompetitors make use of Promotion element very well.Asdas own brand- George.Few shops degrading the name of the brand due to bad quality of service and unmaintained and shabby merchandising.Primark clothing.jpgAnalysing PESTLE factors for PrimarkThere is an argument that it is many a times not the customer but the external factors that ascertain what happens in the market. For example insurance companies are directly or indirectly involved with the design of smoke detectors and activists can demand of design change in dolls. (Salancik and Upah, 1978) For Marketing Audit to be realistic one of the spinal column necessities is to study the external trends. Amongst various approaches, analysing PESTEL factors is deemed best which include political, economical, sociological, technological, legal and environmental issues.Political FactorsGovernment regulations in terms of worker health and safety.Primarks UK vitality consumption is sourced against green power generated and sold into the grid by British Sugar.Economical FactorsEconomic turbulence might actually encourage the customer to buy cheaper clothes and save some money.In this way the economic factor has been a blessing in disguise for Primark.Sociological FactorsUK kindness W ar on Want investigated and reported that the conditions of the workers in Bangladesh had not improve after all the problems with Indian providers.Primark products are not considered to be very good in quality and thus rejected by many segments of customers.It is believed you will come across people wearing same tee shirt or other piece of clothing about 10 times in a day if it is bought from Primark.Technological FactorsIt is keeping ahead of the competition in a way by getting Entropy software system Platform developed by BSI Management Systems, which will enable global visibility and better management control in line with its ethical trade strategy. (www.bsigroup.com)Legal FactorsIt had to face legal issues regarding the child labour allegations.Its elaborateness in Europe might have undergone extensive legal checks to go out it is abiding by the local laws.Environmental FactorsIt has to consider the environmental sustainability issues and it has also acted upon it by dump ing plastic bags and giving away paper bags. new-fashioned news shows that due to Throwaway Fashion in last five-spot years, textile waste has rise from 7 percent to 30 percent.It is being called The Primark Effect.(www.dailymail.co.uk)Primarks Michael Porters 5 Forces AnalysisPorter, 1980 emphasised that the first determinant of a firms advantageousness is the attractiveness of the industry in which it operates. The second determinant is competition. This led him to wile five forces that determine the nature and intensity of competition within the industry which are described in the diagram belowSource www.businessballs.comestablish on Michael Porters Five Forces of Competitive Position ModelThreat of New EntrantsRisk Very Low heights cost of setup.Power of the SupplierRisk Very Low No single big supplier and less bargaining power of suppliers.Power of the BuyerRisk High Competition in Market and no switching cost.Competitive controversyRisk Moderate Few low price retailers wi th similar wide range of products.Threat of the SubstitutesRisk Moderate Existing low price retailers but none that can be called a substitute.ConclusionThis report started with an introduction to Marketing Plan and the first function of it which is Market Audit. Primark Stores Limited is chosen for various mentioned reasons. A critique of its Marketing Mix followed with a SWOT Analysis which gave a deeper insight into the companys current standing. Auditing of external environment of the business was then carried out with the help of PESTLE factors and Porters 5 Forces Analysis.It is apparent from the study that there are two areas namely its Brand Image and Online Presence that Primark need to work on and on the other hand it position is quite strong and its marketing mix very effective. This report concludes with a quote by Porter which summarises the whole study very coherently, 1998 Pp.142Competitive Strategy means taking offensive or en garde actions to create a defendable p osition in an industry, to cope successfully with competitive forces and thereby yield a superior return on investment for the firm. Firms have discovered many different approaches to this end, and the best strategy for a given firm is ultimately a unique pull reflecting its particular circumstances.Word Count 2094 words