MARKETING ANALYSIS

Marketing Analysis

Executive Summary

This paper provides an in depth analysis of Debenhams' market analysis and financial standing. The paper is a detailed marketing report presenting comparison of 6 organizations of the selected industry.The prime reason of this paper is to identify and analyze the marketing standings of six organizations including John Lewis, Marks and Spencers, House of Fraser, BHS and Harrods with that of Debenhams.It presents a comprehensive insight into the Debenhams' PESTLE analysis as well as provides a thorough comparison of Debenhams' market position in comparison to various of the competitors.

Marketing Analysis

Debenhams

Debenhams is a department store chain in the United Kingdom. Co. is engaged in the sale of fashion clothing and accessories, cosmetics and products for use in the home. Co. trades from department stores and small store formats in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark, on the internet and has international franchise stores. Co.'s product categories include womens wear, menswear, childrens wear, home and health and beauty, accessories and lingerie. As of Aug 28 2010, Co. had 167 stores including 13 Desire by Debenhams stores, across the United Kingdom and Ireland. In addition, Co. had 60 international franchise stores in 23 countries.

Industry Comparison

According to the market share graph of the UK departmental stores, we can see that Marks & Spencer enjoys the largest market share having. John Lewis stands second in the lane. Debenhams control the market at the third position, House of Fraser controls the total market at the fourth position followed by BHS in fifth and Harrods at the 6th position.

Debenhams' market share is around 16% as compared to Marks and Spencer which is the market leader with over 35%. Debenhams market share has been constant, which indicates resilience and strength within the highly competitive industry (Dekker, 2003, Pp. 25). Debenhams consistency of market share over the past 5 years indicates that they are unique in trading which makes them outstanding from competition. The company knows their market needs and their target segment and therefore they focus on improving customer loyalty that keeps the consistency within the market (Mclaney and Atrill, 2002, Pp. 79). John Lewis and Marks and Spencer seem to be the biggest threat in terms of competition. Both companies holding collectively over 57% of the market share.

Financial performance

Debenhams turnover has been steady whilst its competitors experienced a constant growth in sales. However Debenhams' steadiness in sales suggests strength in meeting the customer requirements consistently (Guilding, 2000, Pp. 72). This made them resilient in the recent recession of 2008-2010. The turnover of John Lewis and Marks and Spencer is much greater than Debenhams'. This suggests that they are much stronger within the industry and therefore they may be a threat to Debenhams. However, BHS and Harrods are way below in the run and are generating not even half of the revenue in comparison with Debenhams. This means the only focus Debenhams has to keep is on John Lewis and Marks and Spencer.

 

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Debenhams

£1,707,700

£1,774,400

£1,839,200

£1,915,600

£2,119,900

Marks & Spencers

£7,797,700

£8,588,100

£9,022,000

£9,062,100

£9,536,600

John Lewis

£5,149,300

£6,376,200

£6,052,200

£6,267,200

£6,734,600

House of Fraser

£640,100

£663,200

£596,000

£587,200

£581,400

BHS

£605,500

£624,600

£635,800

£652,000

£638,500

Harrods

£568,500

£579,800

£575,600

£569,700

£538,100

External Factors Analysis

The environmental ...