Private Label between Marks Spencer and Waitrose - Essay Example

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS UNIT Sustainability Strategy between Marks Spencer and Waitrose Introduction Over centuries, changes have been happening in different sector globally due to globalization. This has forced many businesses as the likes of WAITROSE and Marks & Spencer to change their strategy in conducting businesses amidst harsh competition present in the market. Good sustainable strategies ensure growth in leadership and skills which stirs growth in different business sectors. Marks & Spencer and Waitrose are examples of businesses which apply sustainable strategies to assist customers and the society get the best value for their money while conducting sustainable activities in the environment. Comparison of Sustainability Strategy between Marks Spencer and Waitrose Marks & Spencer and Waitrose are considered leading supermarkets in the United Kingdom. The two supermarkets are fighting to acquire consumers within the region by using different strategies. They are known for offering quality foods hence making them to different strategies in order to attract to consumers to purchase from their stores. Private Label between Marks Spencer and Waitrose Marks & Spencer breaks the mould of private label by offering high quality and beautifully presented products capable of attracting consumers with different needs and wants. The brand has positively worked in attracting consumers because many consumers purchasing at the different stores of the supermarket are loyal to the brand of the supermarket as they are assured of quality upon purchase. The supermarket has is working on the sustainability strategy of selling big brand names to help them in fighting against flagging food sales hence assuring their customers while maximizing their profits at the same time (OTTMAN, 2011: 179). Contrary, Waitrose uses the strategy by offering a great number of brands alongside its private labels to survive in the highly competitive market. An example of the brands offered in abundance by the supermarket includes spuds which are great for dauphinoise and love for life. The labels are known for quality and unique range which attracts customers from different corners of the region (BEVIR, 2012). Moreover, it is a known fact that most customers like variety while selecting their product and the supermarket acts as the best avenue for achieving this as it provides varieties which are difficult to find in other business dealing in the same line of product (SHUIBHNE & GORMLEY, 2012: 308). Celebrity Endorsement between Marks Spencer and Waitrose Waitrose supermarket also uses celebrity endorsement as a sustainability strategy to lure their customers and compete favorably in the highly competitive market. An example is that the supermarket has used such celebrity such as Delia Smith and Heston Blumenthal. This works towards attracting customers because many buyers always love to be associated by the products their celebrities use. An example is that when Heston visits a store, many of the funs will flock the store to purchase the products which the celebrity purchased while at the store thus relating it to the class. Contrary, Marks& Spencer also endows their store with celebrity such as Twiggy and Ryan Reynolds which differs from the celebrity used by the Waitrose, but serves the same purpose as of attracting customers to purchase products being sold in the supermarket. Moreover, the supermarket has also used such celebrity like Joanna Lumley to promote the sales of their products in the region with a strategy known as ‘shwopping initiative’. The initiative has been successful within the supermarket as it has been able to increase the low number of sales and improve on the complaints which were being experienced by the Supermarket. Customer Satisfaction between Marks Spencer and Waitrose Waitrose supermarket has also strived to satisfy their customers by providing them with a memorable shopping experience different from other supermarkets producing the same products. However, according latest surveys, customer satisfaction within Marks& Spencer has declined to sixty eight percent compared to that of Waitrose which is at eight five percent. This has revealed that despite the two supermarkets using customer satisfaction strategy, strategies used by Waitrose supermarket are effective compared to those strategies used by Marks &Spencer. Marks &Spencer has experienced low shopping rates from the customers as they concentrate in producing more framed bras and tasty meals than laying emphasis in making the shopping experience in their supermarket to be the best making customers to prefer Waitrose supermarket over it as they are satisfied with the experience they receive while there. Ethical Consideration between Marks Spencer and Waitrose Marks & Spencer and Waitrose supermarkets are both known for their sustainability strategy of promoting ethical considerations both internally and externally. The ethical considerations of Marks & Spencer are that it uses ethical consideration in all its major and minor activities to become the world’s largest retailer in the sector. This implies that their products, activities and role to all stake holders involved are conducted in an ethical and healthy manner free from any form of bias. Similarly, Waitrose applies ethical considerations to achieve their goals of searching for new opportunities and make contributions to the environment in which they trade by actively and ethically performing their role to the society and to the government. Strategy against Child Forced Labor between Marks Spencer and Waitrose In addition, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose both have a sustainable brand of working together as a force to fight child forced labor. An example is that the two supermarkets have introduced websites to help in the fight against child forced labor (NIC SHUIBHNE GORMLEY & USHER, 2012; 308). A typical example of the website is the ‘Together stronger Website’ which works to promote the campaign against child labor by depicting life experiences who found themselves in a child labor situation. Both the two supermarkets show their support towards the course by offering different donations. This has greatly benefited the employees working in either of the supermarkets as they can also access and distinguish various forms of exploits and resources related to worker exploitation. Furthermore, in the course of the process, employees are also motivated leading to efficiency and productivity with the supermarkets. Conclusion In conclusion the sustainability strategies used by Marks & Spenser and Waitrose have ensured a strong corporate governance which has been keen on promoting sustainability, changed the flexibility of the supermarkets workplace practices and deliver sustainable products and services to the varying needs of customers. Waste Management between Marks & Spencer and Waitrose Introduction Waste management strategy should have a major emphasis to support all processes and services in away that is economically responsible and socially acceptable. This may involve the use of such strategies like renewal of already used products and conducting campaigns which are focused at raising awareness of the importance of adopting sustainable practices. Marks & Spenser and Waitrose supermarkets are examples of business which have adopted the strategy into their various business operations. Comparison between waste management strategy in Marks & Spencer and Waitrose Marks &Spencer and Waitrose supermarkets both apply policies in their operation. However, the policies used also differ between the two supermarkets as an example Marks &Spencer makes a charge of five percent while Waitrose charges ten percent for bags used by customers who come to shop at the respective supermarkets. Marks &Spencer has widely used the policy of reduce, reuse, recycle and recover as a method through which they can manage and minimize the different waste affecting them either directly or indirectly. The strategy has worked by removing waste materials through a design process they have put in place and also remove the waste products present in their supply chain. The reuse step has enabled the supermarket to make use of the present waste materials and avoid buying ones while the recycle step separates waste which is recyclable to other forms readily used as used raw materials. Lastly the recover step involves obtaining energy and other materials which are usable from the recycled waste materials (GREAT BRITAIN., 2010; 103). A Five Year Delivery Strategy A five year delivery strategy has also been unveiled by the supermarket to address the difficulties which the supermarket passes through in transferring their waste to the initially used landfill. Various applications like the BRE’s SMARTWaste data are being applied to help in the collection and processing of the raw materials. An example is that Marks &Spencer policies has encouraged the used of “shwopping initiative’ which greatly encourages the recycling of waste products to be used as raw materials in the production or manufacture of products used by the supermarket. The strategy has been beneficial to the supermarket because apart from conserving the environment, it has helped the company in increasing its profits as the company has been able to save on other expenses like purchasing raw materials which would have been purchased by the supermarket. The initiative strategy allows the supermarket to recycle old pieces of clothing when a customer makes a purchase from the supermarket or one of its stores. This has earned the supermarket a positive publicity because customers associated to it see it as away of conserving the environment by going green. Moreover, the campaign to integrate the strategy into use within the supermarket passed the image of a smart, lavish and achingly trendy business which takes the environment into consideration in all its activities. An example is that the supermarket covered London’s famous Brick Lane with clothing which is equal to the number of clothing individuals dispose into the environment. This was aimed at raising awareness on the general public and customers of the supermarket to what benefits the environment stands when it stops extracting raw materials and instead recycle the already used ones. Marks &Spencer has also launched a green campaign known as the ‘Plan A’ scheme which depicted their undisputed goals of making the environment green. Therefore customers attracted to purchase at the Marks &Spencer supermarkets are encouraged by the brand that promotes the sustainability through its innovative and initiative strategies. Policy Preventing Food from Being Disposed On the contrary, Waitrose has recently adopted a policy which prevents their foods from being disposed in the landfill. They are now using the waste products of their foods by recycling them through anaerobic digestion plants or through the in-vessel composting facilities for other use. This has made it possible for the company to join the green campaign as the organic waste from their different stores are channeled for use in other sections like in the making of fertilizers and producing energy. Moreover, the supermarket has also reduced the emission of green gasses which is an imminent source of threat to both vegetations and animals living in the region. Internal initiatives have also been introduced by the supermarket to help in reducing the amount of foods which are wasted in their supply channel for use in other purposes. Their aim of the policy currently used by the supermarket is to reduce the amount of food waste and their strategy put in placed works to reduce the process of food wasting itself. The supermarket has started a campaign which is aimed at encouraging customers in the waste recycle process. They have succeeded in this by identifying the materials which are used in for the purposes of their label. The information presented at the back of the packaging material has also been reviewed to provide more details on the use of the product in question to help the customers in the sorting process of the waste used. The initiative has been successful as customers are now able to know whether materials used in the packaging of their products are being recycled or not. Training of Staff Waitrose supermarket has also embarked in training their staff and raising awareness among them to make the waste recycling process productive. They have conducted campaigns to raise their staff on the importance of recycling and energy opportunities which is beneficial for use in personal homes. In addition, the supermarket has made it their role to support the environment by entering into a partnership with such organizations like the Environment agency which makes changes at the basis of lifestyle adopted by individuals to protect the environment. Conclusion In conclusion, waste management was an issue that affected both Waitrose and Marks &Spencer supermarkets. However, the different strategies adopted by the two supermarkets has been successful as they have enabled the two businesses achieve productivity while ensuring the integrity of the environment by eliminating pollution caused by presence of waste product in the environment. Sustainability Reporting Between Marks &Spencer and Waitrose Introduction Sustainability reporting can be described as an organizational report that presents the achievements of an organization in the sustainability sector. Its main purpose is to make people and process accept change towards sustainable processes in the environment. Marks & Spencer and Waitrose are examples of companies which have been successful in their sustainability reporting as they have the use of sustainability strategies in the operation of their businesses thus attracts more investors and customers by publishing sustainability reports. Sustainability Reporting Between Marks &Spencer and Waitrose In the contemporary society, individuals are keen not to spend more so as to allow them to purchase organic products which are in high demand because of the spiraling prices available in the market. Marks &Spencer and Waitrose have struggled to completely satisfy their customers’ needs by selling products which reflects their image. This has attracted many customers especially those who love the environment as they view that the supermarkets are there to satisfy their demand whilst also protecting or conserving the environment. The end result is that the two supermarkets have placed more emphasis in the manner in which their products or foods are being gathered, manufactured and wasted. Since various surveys shows that supermarkets plays a key role in the organic food sector, the company has taken this consideration and formulated various strategies to help them solve the issue of waste management and a typical decisions they have been able to obtain is recycle of organic food sector. The policies and strategies employed by the two supermarkets have been varied with the aim all targeted towards restoring the natural environment, tackle the issue of food waste and promote the green energy which is a new form energy that conserves the environment (Institute Of Marketing And Sales Management, & Institute Of Marketing., 1968: 138). Measures to Show Success in the Sector of Sustainability Various measures are there to attest the efforts made by Waitrose and Marks &Spencer on the sector of sustainability and they include the efficient use of energy for different purposes both inside and outside the manufacturing process. Waste management which has seen the two supermarkets like Waitrose to stops dumping their waste and recycle them instead. Conducting agriculture which does not negatively affects the environment and lastly performing the social and animal responsibilities in an aim to promote various positive practices and restore animal species which are facing extinctions. The two supermarkets are considered to environmental conservative as the practices are sustainable. An example is that Marks & Spencer has been successful in managing its carbon reductions targets by converting the waste products into energy thus saving water which would have been contaminated in the process of energy production. Climate Change Marks &Spencer and Waitrose have been committed in their goal of addressing climate change and reduction of carbon emitted fuels in the environment. They have earned several rewards and have been ranked as the highest performing supermarkets in the list of the best sustainable companies. An example is that Marks &Spence is largely known in the category of best performing sustainable companies because of its success in the strategy of waste management. In addition, polices like recycling, plastic bag policies, customer engagement and reduction of waste disposed in landfill, have earned the supermarkets the top score for sustainable practices. Introduction of a Programme to Support Sustainability Marks & Spenser and Waitrose is also practicing a sustainable programe which allows them to distribute products or foods which are unsold to individuals who will apply them for other purposes like the production of energy through the process of digestion among others. However, in spite of the fact that two supermarkets are practicing sustainability in their operations, they still lag in the sector of bags. This is because the two have not been able to manage the use of plastic bags by the customers leading to marine pollution. Moreover, they have tried but have not been able to fully raise awareness among their customers as it took them a lot of time before providing clear information and labels for customer to follow (Ward & Phillips, 2008: 47). Using Bags for Sustainable Development However, Marks & Spencer used their bags for sustainable developments since they were first among the supermarkets in the United Kingdom to charge the plastic bags which they were offering. The proceeds obtained from the sale of these bags were used for the purpose of sponsoring various charitable events within the community. Contrary, Waitrose leads this path by practicing sustainable agriculture and sourcing which basically gives products and the environment more concentration and as result conserving them in the process. A good example is that it collaborates with various organizations like Woodland Trust in such ventures like tree planting which is critically important in the process of harmful gases from the environment. Moreover, the supermarket works with the farmers to ensure that their habitats of different animal and plant species are taken good care of. It has gone further to make this campaign to its investors, stakeholders and suppliers who have so far responded positively through such activities like addressing issues facing palm use and production in such continents as Asia and Africa. Comparison: Social Responsibility Lastly, Mark &Spencer and Waitrose also shows their social responsibility by practicing fair trade, encouraging healthy living and protecting their employees from various unforeseen risks. An example is that Waitrose supermarket considers her employees as business partners rather than employees making employees happy and productive in their service towards delivering quality in the field. In the sector of animal commitment, both Marks &Spenser and Waitrose have worked hard to perform their duties to animal welfare by campaigning for policies which will promote wildlife and put a ban on illegal activities like poaching experienced in the sector. An example is that both the supermarkets have championed for the course of responsible fishing so as to protect the species from falling into extinction (Fish, 2008: 175). Conclusion In conclusion, Sustainability reporting between Waitrose and Marks & Spencer has earned both the supermarkets good reputation making them achieve growth by earning their customers loyalty. Surveys have also revealed that employees of the two companies are satisfied as their expectations are met making them to improve on their efficiency thus an increase in the capital for the companies. Bibliography GREAT BRITAIN. (2010). Waste strategy for England 2007: third report of session 2009-10. Vol. II, Vol. II. London, Stationery Office. IGI GLOBAL, & INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION. (2014). Sustainable practices: concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications. http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve.aspx?doi=10.4018/978-1-4666-4852-4. 454 WARD, T. J., & PHILLIPS, B. F. (2008). Seafood ecolabelling principles and practice. Chichester, U.K., Wiley-Blackwell. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10301451. FISH, R. (2008). Sustainable farmland management transdisciplinary approaches. Wallingford, UK, CABI. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10269251. DRABBLE, M. (2013). The gates of ivory a novel. Boston [Massachusetts], Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. http://rbdigital.oneclickdigital.com. ROYAL SOCIETY (GREAT BRITAIN), & BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. (1986). Science and public affairs. London, Royal Society. BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF NATURE CONSERVATIONISTS. (1900). ECOS. Chichester, Packard Pub. COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN FOOD TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION, & AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. (1988). Food Australia: official journal of CAFTA and AIFST. North Sydney, Australia, Council of Australian Food Technology Associations. INSTITUTE OF MARKETING AND SALES MANAGEMENT, & INSTITUTE OF MARKETING. (1968). Marketing. London, Haymarket Press. NIC SHUIBHNE, N., GORMLEY, L. W., & USHER, J. A. (2012). From single market to economic union: essays in memory of John A. Usher. Oxford, U.K., Oxford University Press SHUIBHNE, N. N., & GORMLEY, L. W. (2012). From Single Market to Economic Union Essays in Memory of John A. Usher. Oxford, OUP Oxford. http://www.msvu.ca:2048/login?url=http://www.msvu.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx ?p=1036303. BEVIR, M. (2012). Governance: a very short introduction. Oxford, Oxford University Press. OTTMAN, J. A. (2011). The new rules of green marketing strategies, tools, and inspiration for sustainable branding. Sheffield [England], Greenleaf Pub. http://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=41250. Read More