Bowman’s Strategy Clock In Relation To Tesco PLC

Business Strategy

Bowman’s Strategy Clock is an evaluative model that explores and investigates the competitive capability of a company in relation to the conditions exposed by the company’s competitors. The strategy is categorized as a marketing strategy that enhances the marketability of a company among its competitors. Bowman’s strategy clock explores the internal factors of an organization using its four quadrants of price and added value (Rodrigo, 2012). Each of the four quadrants within Bowman’s Strategy Clock carries two important strategies that boost a company’s competitive advantage over other companies. For instance, Bowman’s Strategy Clock has facilitated Tesco PLC to outdo its competitors in the market (Barnes, 2011). Tesco PLC has won a large share of both food and non-food products market through the strategic policies developed by this Strategy Clock measure. Therefore, Bowman’s Strategy Clock is important towards ensuring that Tesco PLC is a stable company that thrives in the market.

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Overview of Tesco PLC

Tesco PLC is an international England-based general retailer. The company operates as a grocery whereby it is one of the largest retail businesses in the world. The company makes a large volume of profits and revenues due to its diversified retail merchandise operation. The company’s headquarters are situated in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England with stores in twelve countries in Europe and Asia. In the UK, the company has a market share of 28.4 percent thus its dominance in the UK’s retail market (Tesco, 2007). The company was founded back in 1919 by Jack Cohen. It has grown under the leadership of Jack Cohen who established a leadership policy that has enabled the company thrive even after his death. The company is listed on London Stock Exchange which is a major advantage to the company as it has gained a market capitalization of approximately eighteen billion. The company is the twenty-eighth companies to attain a market capitalization of such a high value. This depicts the growth and diversification of the company in the global retail market. Therefore, Tesco PLC is a large retail company that has established its market in the UK and across the global market.

Bowman’s Overview In Tesco PLC

Tesco PLC has been renowned as the largest supermarket in the UK since 1995. The growth of the company has been linked to its successive strategies that enable it to diversify its retail operation in the country and over the world. Assessment of the company’s success using Bowman’s Strategy Clock helps in analyzing the strategies that the company has based its operation in (Knigozal.com, 2015). In addition, Bowman’s Strategy Clock helps in evaluating the company’s measures that lead to a high number of customers that the company offers its products to. Therefore, Bowman’s Strategy Clock offers a practical platform for the analysis of Tesco PLC success strategies.

Bowman’s Strategy Clock assists in analyzing Tesco PLC competitive position in the market compared to its competitors. The analysis involves application of the eight different strategies offered by Bowman’s Strategy Clock (Hobson, 2015). The strategies to analyze the performance of Tesco PLC are evaluated by varying the levels of price and commodity value within the company. This helps in an integrative analysis of the company whereby all the company’s market domains are assessed and evaluated. The eight strategies are commonly referred to as strategy positions that the company may stand within. The strategies include low price, low value, hybrid and differentiation among others.

Low Price and Low Value

This strategy is not common among companies. This is because most companies do not compete under low value and prices. This strategy position is granted to upcoming industries. In Tesco PLC, the low price and low value is a partial strategy. This is because the company only applies low price of products but upholds the value of its commodities (Brannen, Moore and Mughan, 2013). The company’s commodities’ prices are lowered to ensure that the company is competitive among its competitors. The low price of products in Tesco PLC means that the company’s products have a low margin. The low margins offer high volume of returns to the company. This shows that the company’s strategies are focused on the interest of its customers. In return, the company attracts more customers to purchase its products. This is a strategy that has also been applied by Tesco PLC competitors (Woods, 2007). However, Tesco PLC was among the first companies who applied the strategies thus they won the customers shopping preferences and tastes long before their competitors. This explains why the company has a high competitive advantage over its competitors. Therefore, Tesco PLC ensures that it maximizes its marketability by minimizing the prices of their commodities.

Hybrid Position of Tesco PLC

Hybrid is a position in the Bowman’s Strategy Clock that ensures that the company performs its activities in a moderate operation strategy. Despite Tesco PLC’s low price strategy, the company can harmonize its costs using reinvestment efforts. The company utilizes its returns by reinvesting in the retail market. The company has extended its business operations from food merchandise to nonfood products merchandise. This has ensured that the company has diversified its operation basis whereby it has attained a high market share from the diversification of its operations (Anyesha, Hassan and Aboki, 2014). The company also has made significant efforts to maintain the cycle of reinvestment whereby it has expanded its operations in other countries. This has helped in expansion of the company’s market. In return, the reinvestment strategy by Tesco PLC has enhanced the company’s marketability. The company’s products and regional diversification has increased the company’s sales volume thus creating another basis for reinvestment. This hybrid nature of Tesco PLC, therefore, has contributed to its diversification of the company’s marketability thus an improvement in the company’s competitive advantage.

Differentiation Position of Tesco PLC

Differentiation is another business strategy position illustrated by Bowman’s Strategy Clock. Differentiation is the act of practicing business activities in a different way from the competitors. Differentiation helps in assessing the uniqueness of Tesco PLC business activities as a strategy to improve the company’s marketability level (Typepad.com, 2015). The main unique point in Tesco PLC’s business activities is the company’s operation techniques. The company has established its operation method that involves operating on different retail platforms. Tesco PLC operates on nine unique retail platforms; Tesco Express, Tesco Metro, Tesco Superstores, Tesco Extra, Internet Retailing, Petrol station, one stop, Telecoms and Telecom Club card (Barnes, 2011). These retailing platforms are independent of one another whereby the performance of one does not affect the performance of the other.  This helps in diversifying the company’s operations thus improving the company’s marketability level. In addition, the uniqueness developed in the operation basis of the company boosts the company’s competitive advantage over its competitors.

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The company also conducts specialization of products and services. The company has categorized its retail business into different retail platforms to enhance specialization. This is a unique characteristic of the company that has granted it a large market share. Specialization within the company was initiated back in 2013 when the company initiated the idea of restructuring its business structure. The company sold most of its unnecessary business outlets such as the Fresh & Easy Stores in the US (Chang, Chen and Wu, 2012). Specialization of business operations has helped Tesco PLC to grow at a high rate due to concentrated efforts that have been placed on the specialized business sectors. The specialization strategy has, therefore, led to the flourishing of the company hence improved competitive advantage over Tesco’s competitors.

Tesco PLC also has a unique corporate strategy. The company prioritizes its business operations whereby it develops its activities without basing reference to any of its competitors. This corporate strategy helps in appreciation of innovation and invention in the company thus a greater advantage of the company over its competitors (Cates, 2012). For instance, the company’s corporate strategy has enabled it to integrate the use of technological approaches of selling its commodities. The company is, therefore, able to appeal a large segment of the market. In return, customers have preferred shopping in Tesco PLC due to the efficiency of customer service. Therefore, Tesco PLC’s corporate strategy has enhanced the company’s marketability level thus an improvement in the company’s sales.

Differentiation in Tesco PLC has been a great strategy. The company has used the strategy as its strength because the strategy has enabled the company to outdo its competitors in the retail market. The company has attracted customers using the differentiation strategy using its low commodity prices. The company has also differentiated its operation through offering subsidiary services. The company offers technological support and bank services to top up to the retail merchandise it operates on (Mindtools.com, 2015). Tesco Tech Support was initiated in 2008 whereby it offers various support services, especially on electrical products. In addition, the company offers extended warranties, electrical returns and finance support on electrical products as an extensive technological support. The banking system offered by Tesco PLC provides opportunities for growth outside the company’s retailing sector. This attracts more customers hence improving the company’s marketability. Focused differentiation in Tesco PLC assists the company to maintain a good customer loyal relationship hence boosting the company’s stability to survive in the high competitive market. Therefore, differentiation has been a sound business strategy under Bowman’s Strategy Clock that has helped Tesco PLC to be outstanding in the global retail merchandise sector.

Outcomes of Bowman’s Clock in Tesco PLC

Bowman’s Strategy Clock in Tesco PLC has revealed several business outcomes that the company’s strategy portrays. The main outcome is derived from the company’s operation premises. Tesco PLC has been illustrated by the Bowman’s Strategy Clock as a business that focuses on being a successful international retailer (Anyesha, Hassan and Aboki, 2014). The company’s strategies on hybrid position of the company support this target whereby the company has been diversifying its business operations in countries across Europe and Asia. Currently, Tesco PLC has established shopping outlets in twelve countries and it aims at using the same diversification strategy to establish more outlets across the globe. For instance, Tesco PLC is developing shopping outlets in China, South America especially in Brazil and India. Therefore, the company’s corporate and diversification strategies are crucial elements of assisting the company to explore the international market.

Bowman’s Strategy Clock has also illustrated that the company’s main focus is to offer customers the best service ever. The company strategies of lowering commodities’ prices and expanding its business premises illustrate the company’s willingness to improve the customers’ standard of living (Marketingteacher.com, 2015). In addition, the company’s appreciation of technology has helped in improvement of shopping services whereby customers enjoy the efficiency of shopping in the company’s shopping outlets. The company’s strategy has also shown a concentrative interest in earning customer loyalty (Buchananharvey.com, 2015). This is evident from the company’s strategy of developing customer’s loyalty cards commonly known as Club Cards. The company has offered the cards to over ten million customers thus earning the company an improvement of weekly eighty two percent sales. The company has also earned customers’ loyalty through creating the internet retailing sectors. The company’s online transaction has earned a large sales volume for the company with a revenue improvement of two billion pounds each year. Therefore, the company’s customer prioritization strategies have led to the company’s growth in terms of revenue and profit earned.

Bowman’s Strategy Clock has also shown that Tesco PLC the company is concerned with developing retail service. The company has diversified its service and goods delivery services whereby it has opened up telecommunication, finance and technological support services (O’Regan and Ghobadian, 2010). This efforts, brought about by the company’s diversification strategy, has led to the growth of the overall retail sector. Therefore, the Bowman’s Strategy Clock has enabled Tesco PLC to expand its retail business ventures.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, Tesco PLC is a company that has developed sound strategies responsible for the company’s growth. The Bowman’s Strategy Clock analyzes the company’s success as a result of the strategies. Market diversification, customer loyalty and technology appreciation are strategies that other companies should appreciate and implement for their success in the retail merchandise. Therefore, Bowman’s Strategy Clock analysis of Tesco PLC helps in showing the success enjoyed by the company as a result of its sound and stable business strategies. 

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