TESCO & WAITROSE

Comparative Study of Tesco & Waitrose of the Retail Sector in the Christmas Period

Table of Content

Introduction1

Background4

Tesco4

Waitrose5

Human Resource Planning and Recruitment at Tesco6

Recruitment at Tesco8

Selection at Tesco9

Human Resource Planning and Recruitment at Waitrose10

Recruitment at Waitrose10

Selection at Waitrose12

Evaluation & Observation12

Sector & Project Human Resource Management14

Recommendations14

References16

Appendix18

Comparative Study of Tesco & Waitrose of the Retail Sector in the Christmas Period

Introduction

In the manufacturers' distributions channels, there was a time when retailers were considered as downstream resellers of products. They were conceptualized as a nonentity, having the only ability to serve as intermediaries for facilitation of flow of goods and services among suppliers and consumers (Hristov & Reynolds, 2007, pp.9). This point is convincing, according to the perception in the dominant nineteenth century, when manufacturing industry played a major part in the economic growth (Hristov & Reynolds, 2007, pp.9).

A dramatic change occurred in the year 2006, when general retailing became the UK's 8th biggest contributor to value added. In the retail sector, Tesco is renowned for being the leading UK private employer that had 240,000 employees and was listed in the 12th major individual contributor to value added (Hristov & Reynolds, 2007, pp.9).

Economic, socio cultural, evolving technology and factors occurring due to the varying levels of competitive market and innovation are the key forces that have revolutionized the retailing sector (Hristov & Reynolds, 2007, pp.11).

The retail sector has a vital part in the economy of UK. According to a study, it contributes 16% of GDP and is worth GBP 150 billion. Further, the people employed in this sector are around 3 million or 1 in 9 of the workforce that includes above 300,000 retail premises (Burt et.al, 2010, pp. 6).

Figure 1: Sales of Leading Retailers (Burt et.al, 2010, pp. 7)

In the recession period, Waitrose and Tesco, the high end retailers adopted certain strategies to retain their customers and compete in the market. Waitrose launched Essentials retailer brand and Tesco brought in a variety of discounted brands for survival (Burt et.al, 2010, pp. 20).

The division of market share among the retailers that include Waitrose, Tesco, Marks and Spencer PLC, Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, Somerfield PLC, The Big Food Group PLC, Safeway PLC, ASDA Group Ltd and J Sainsbury PLC, in the year 2001 is shown below:

Figure 2: UK supermarkets by market share by value (%), 2001 (andidas.com, 2003, pp. 4)

Today, according to a study, brands that opt to communicate creatively and engage their consumers with themselves are able to create positive word of mouth online (prmoment.com, 2012, p.n.d).

Later the market of retail sector changed, due to the communication of brands with consumers. According to a research, the supermarkets step into the battle ground, especially in the Christmas period to win over customers (prmoment.com, 2012, p.n.d). This strategy, however, gives online channels a new topic to talk about. A war of price among them is announced that gives rise to news and comments all over the online channels (prmoment.com, 2012, p.n.d).

Apart from the fact that Tesco has the largest market share, as compared ...