Analysis of the UK Food Sector - Essay Example

This article is relevant as it paints a picture of what is driving consumer attitudes in the midst of ongoing economic slowdowns that impact discretionary income levels in the household. Baker, R. (2009) Brand sector report: love in a cold climate, In-Store London. January, 29. This article focuses on the supply chain and economics of the UK food sector, with a highlight associated with growth in frozen food products and marketing activities with major supermarkets regarding how best to capitalise on changing consumer trends and behaviours.

This article supports research on the food sector as it discusses value-consciousness and changes to how consumers prepare meals (i.e. reducing eating-out habits) that is steering significant growth in frozen food sales for in-home family dinners. The article describes how marketers in the food sector are using promotional activity to further drive sales in this product line, thus it has significant strengths in understanding the competitive behaviours of major food retailers. Smith, H. (2006) Store characteristics in retail oligopoly, The Rand Journal of Economics 37(2), 418.

This article describes the market structure of the UK food sector, operating in an oligopoly in which there are few larger competitors and significant competitive similarities related to price and promotion. It describes the results of a study conducted with a sample of 114,058 households in Southwest England to determine the methodology of weekly grocery shopping with varying demographics. The results indicated that most consumers, 80 percent, conduct what is referred to as primary shopping in which a one-stop expenditure occurs to procure the entire week’s grocery needs.

This article supports research into the driving factors of UK food retailing competitiveness related to buyer behaviour and how supermarkets utilise promotion to gain consumer attention in this one-stop buying philosophy. Pollitt, D. (2010) Hothouse training grows store managers for Sainsbury’s: supermarket chain develops internal talent, Human Resource Management International Digest 18(5), 5-7. This substantive research journal article indicates that in order to successfully compete in this market structure, major food retailers are undertaking a new focus on internal human capital development as a means to gain competitive advantage.

Sainsbury’s has developed what is referred to as the Hothouse Programme that offers significant recruitment savings from the HR perspective, thus giving them more capital availability for other important competitive actions. This article is a strength in supporting the UK food sector in relation to how businesses consider human capital development to be a contemporary methodology in order to provide differentiated services and gain market share against major retailers. May, Y., Ding, J. & Hong, W. (2010) Delivering customer value based on service process: the example of Tesco.

com, International Business Research 3(2), 131-135. This resource describes the results of many different quantitative studies associated with Tesco and its brand/market reputation. It provides meaningful insights into what is driving Tesco’