Marketing research - Woolworths South Africa
The retailer that I have chosen to conduct my research on is Woolworths, which is an established chain of retail stores founded in South Africa. Whilst they operate predominantly in this country, they have a substantial number of franchises and business dealings overseas. Their vast product range includes but is not limited to variable groceries, clothing, homeware and financial services, all of which are superior in quality.
[Question 1 – The Existing Gaps Between The Producer and The Consumer]
Retailers can be considered as middlemen or go-betweens, whereby they acquire an array of consumer products from suppliers and then offer these to the public at a retail price (Cant & Van Heerden, 2010). It is not common practice for the consumer to go directly to production houses and make their purchases, as that would be rather inconvenient, time-constraining and perhaps even expensive when considering the distances and number of trips that need to be made. This gives rise to particular gaps between the consumer and the producer, namely: space, time, information, ownership and value, all of which can be closed by retailers (Cant & Van Heerden, 2010).
The space gap is the actual physical distance between the manufacturer and consumer (Cant & Van Heerden, 2010). One way in which Woolworths successfully bridges this gap is by means of store numbers and locations. Unlike most other retailers, who typically approach production houses, such as Nestle or Albany, to buy their products and re-sell them, Woolworths is a brand of producer in itself. If consumers seek out their goods and services then no middleman is required; the company caters for easy customer access. However, as a producer of goods (not a retailer), Woolworths transports their retail products from their production/distribution warehouses, via road (trucking), to bridge the existing geographical gap.
The second gap is the time gap. This comprises of seasonal and/or perishable goods which are not
[Question 1 – The Existing Gaps Between The Producer and The Consumer]
Retailers can be considered as middlemen or go-betweens, whereby they acquire an array of consumer products from suppliers and then offer these to the public at a retail price (Cant & Van Heerden, 2010). It is not common practice for the consumer to go directly to production houses and make their purchases, as that would be rather inconvenient, time-constraining and perhaps even expensive when considering the distances and number of trips that need to be made. This gives rise to particular gaps between the consumer and the producer, namely: space, time, information, ownership and value, all of which can be closed by retailers (Cant & Van Heerden, 2010).
The space gap is the actual physical distance between the manufacturer and consumer (Cant & Van Heerden, 2010). One way in which Woolworths successfully bridges this gap is by means of store numbers and locations. Unlike most other retailers, who typically approach production houses, such as Nestle or Albany, to buy their products and re-sell them, Woolworths is a brand of producer in itself. If consumers seek out their goods and services then no middleman is required; the company caters for easy customer access. However, as a producer of goods (not a retailer), Woolworths transports their retail products from their production/distribution warehouses, via road (trucking), to bridge the existing geographical gap.
The second gap is the time gap. This comprises of seasonal and/or perishable goods which are not
Bibliography: Cant, MC and van Heerden, CH. 2010. Marketing Management, A South African Perspective. Cape Town: Juta & Co. Ltd. Du Toit, GS, Erasmus, BJ and Strydom, JW