Creating a Competitive Strategy for a Discount Retailer (MKT 100) Essay

Creating a Competitive Strategy for a Discount Retailer (MKT 100) - Essay Example This has induced a lot of involvement and commitment from the managers of the stores. CanadaCo stores offer significantly higher level of customer service due to the reason mentioned above. The stores are cleaner, more attractive and better stocked. This has resulted in higher per store sales when compared to the competition and has lead to higher revenue and market share. Though CanadaCo has a wider variety of products, the product mix is similar to that of the competition. CanadaCo can expand the number of product categories and also include a number of varieties for each category. The SWOT analysis has given a clear picture of the current position of CanadaCo and also the potential challenges it has to face in the future due to the recent course of events. It is clear that UsCo is a big threat to CanadaCo as it has a larger infrastructure in terms of man power and number of stores. Moreover, the stores are centrally managed and hence, UsCo’s initial aim will be to gain a considerable market share in a short span by cutting down the profits. It is evident from UsCo’s approach in the United States, that it gives greater importance to market share. It has expanded rapidly by focussing on gaining consumer trust. UsCo also gives great importance to brand image and positioning, as the cheapest supplier of consumer goods. The pricing policy of UsCo has been set to meet the requirements of the target consumers. It is a well known fact that acquiring a new customer is about six times costlier than retaining an existing customer (Jobber, 2004). Hence CanadaCo can take initiatives to retain the existing customer base. This can be done by the introduction of Customer Loyalty schemes. As it is evident that UsCo will take initiatives in the future to expand its market share in Canada, CanadaCo should effectively counteract this by being the first mover in