Thorntons Strategic Choices - Essay Example

?Running Head: Thornton’s Strategic Choices Thornton’s Strategic Choices [Institute’s Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 PART A - STRATEGIC POSITION OF THORNTONS 3 Introduction to the Organisation 3 Business Model and Operations 3 Industry Analysis of Thornton 6 Threat of Competitive Rivalry 6 Bargaining Power of Customers 7 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 7 Threat of Substitute Products 8 Threat of New Entrants 8 Summary of Five Competitive Forces 9 PART B - STRATEGIC OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THE COMPANY 10 Ansoff Matrix 10 Market Penetration 10 Market Development 11 Product Development 12 Diversification 13 PART C – EVALUATION OF STRATEGIC OPTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 15 Product Development 15 Suitability 15 Feasibility 16 Acceptability 16 Market Development 16 Suitability 17 Feasibility 17 Acceptability 17 Market Penetration 18 Suitability 18 Feasibility 19 Acceptability 19 Diversification 19 Suitability 19 Acceptability 19 Feasibility 20 Recommendations 20 References 21 PART A - STRATEGIC POSITION OF THORNTONS Introduction to the Organisation Joseph Thornton, a commercial traveler selling confectionary, tired of his excessive travelling, decided to settle down by opening a shop in UK in the year 1911. At that time, he might have not realized that the foundation of his shop was actually the foundation of an international business, which would continue to grow in the coming decades, and his products would reach many countries. His two sons, Norman and Stanley, joined their father and started conduct many of functions, such as manufacturing, packaging, retailing and others, in-house. During the 1920s, the shop started attracting customers from distant areas and the benefits of constant product innovation became apparent to Thorntons (Allen, 2010, p. 85). During the 1970s, the company slowly started expanding into the neighbouring countries of Europe and Australia. By the year 1972, the exports to these countries accounted more than 0.3 million pounds. Impressed with the gains made through exports, the company decided to enter into US market with the long-term expansion plan of setting up 100 stores in the next decade (Mullins and Walker, 2009, p. 390). Although, the company would have to later close down the purchased shops and abandon these plans because of failures in the US market. By the late 1980s, Thorntons had established itself as a strong brand name in UK with 170 company owned shops and 100 franchised outlets. Thornton had become an important brand name of chocolate at High Street. Thornton had now become a public company, with impressive share performance (Thornton and Bishton, 2009, p. 258). Business Model and Operations Thorntons only has a 1 percent market share of the confectionary market and claims to be having a 6 percent share of the confectionary gift market according to the statistics from the year 2009. Nevertheless, the company is the biggest manufacturer and retailer of specialist chocolates in the UK market. The company’s core product is boxed chocolates and it believes that its core competency lies in the manufacturing of these chocolates, with the help of quality ingredients and company owned recopies (Mullins and Walker, 2009, p. 390). The in house manufacturing method is largely labour intensive. The company relies on outside suppliers for packaging, basic liquid chocolate and solid chocolate bars (noncore business). In order to make up for sales during low seasons, the company would go on to sell ice creams and greeting cards as well but in selected outlets, mostly franchised. The company places special attention on the freshness of its product, in order to provide a unique customer experience (Thornton and Bishton, 2009, p. 258). As mentioned earlier, Thornton has been distributing its product to the customers in two different ways. First, the company owned stores, which were costly to acquire or obtain and to maintain in the long term as well. However, the company could ensure greater control over the business and in terms of interaction with the customers. Customers are offered options of personalized messages, gift wrapping and others in the company owned. Furthermore, the company could experiment with the design, layout and ambiance of the company owned shops to attract customers and give them a vibe of freshness and innovation. The other mode to sell the products is through franchising, where the overall cost of conducting the operations is extremely low, however, Thorntons also loses a significant degree of control over the operations. Furthermore, franchising also led to surprises for the company. In the year 1995, the company lost 15 franchised shops due to a takeover by Clinton Cards, a company that was not a competitor by any means (Goldman and Nieuwenhuizen, 2011, pp. 23-24). One of the biggest concerns of Thornton’s business model is the fact that the demand follows an extreme seasonal pattern where almost 35 percent of sales take place between the 7-week period before the Christmas and 15 percent of are around the time of Easter, Valentine’s day and mothering Sunday. In fact, the highest number of eggs is also sold around Easter, 20 million. In fact, it estimates indicate that during the last 72 hours before Christmas, the company earns more than 15 million pounds in revenue. Therefore, the company has been facing problems in terms of maintaining acceptable standard of efficiency. Temporary or part time workers have to be hired to meet the high demand during some seasons, whose productivity is extremely low thus adding to the overall costs of the business. This also puts much strain in the manufacturing facilities of the company, the function that is conducted in-house and is less open to automation (Onkvisit and Shaw, 2008, p. 63). John Thornton, the son of Norman Thornton, joined the company in the year 1966 and reached the rank of Chief Executive and Chairman in the year 1987. However, in the year 1995, Roger Paffard became the first CEO of the Thorntons who was not from the Thornton family while John Thornton retained his position as the Chairman. Roger initiated a number of changes in the company, which included in the closure of many shops and the opening of many others, which were believed to be in better or prime locations. The product line was expanded and rather than focusing too much on the manufacturing activities, the retailing of the product was placed at the heart of the business (Goldman and Nieuwenhuizen, 2011, pp. 23-24). After years of slow and lagging profitability, pressures increased on the management of the company by 2003, especially on John Thorntons and the family ownership of the company, who controlled almost 29 percent of the stake in the company at that time. Finally, in the fall of year 2004, John Thorntons retired from the company and from his position of the Executive Chairman thus putting an end to 90-year long family management era in the history of Thorntons (Lancaster and Massingham, 2010, pp. 76-77). Industry Analysis of Thornton According to Porter Five Forces Model, the competitive forces faced by any business within an industry stem from five sources, which are of competitors, suppliers, customers, new entrants and substitute products. Threat of Competitive Rivalry There are various factors, which are increasing the threat of competitive rivalry within the industry. First, in the boxed chocolate market of UK, the four leading competitors, Nestle Rowntree, Kraft, Cadbury and Masterfoods accounted for more than 75 percent of the sale still the year 2007. The industry is dominated a few players, which are more or less the same in size. However, there are dozens of other small players in the market, which have achieved regional of local dominance. Second, the industry is quickly moving towards maturity of saturation. The market is no longer growing thus inducing the existing players in the market to fight for the remaining share of pie (Onkvisit and Shaw, 2008, p. 63). Third, as mentioned earlier, the demand pattern is seasonal which means that in order to attract customers during a particular time of the years, all competitors would engage in aggressive techniques to make the most of that time. Fourth, the switching costs for the customers are low, which means that if the customers perceive that they are getting a better deal from any other source, they would quickly change their suppliers thus increasing the incentive for competitors to use aggressive tactics. Fifth, the exit barriers in the industry can also be termed as high enough to induce firms to continue fighting it out rather than leaving the industry. Nevertheless, the fact that there are strong brand identities in the market and the recent merger of Cadbury and Kraft has contributed towards a slight decrease in the overall rivalry in the market, which remains at a very high level. Bargaining Power of Customers The bargaining power of customers, which has been at a moderately low level, is now quickly reaching at a moderately high level. Thorntons has been successful in decreasing the bargaining power of their customers by creating a differentiated brand identity. By maintaining the freshness of the product unique store environment and handmade touch in chocolates, the company was able to create cult following for its products (Lynch, 2009, p. 59). Furthermore, the fact is that the buyers in the industry are scattered which mean they cannot exercise great control. Furthermore, they do not pose any significant threat to integrate backwards as well. However, the fact that they can delay the purchase of the product and can easily switch to other competitors does give a boost to their bargaining power (Hitt, et al., 2010, pp. 102-104). However, in the recent past, their bargaining power has further increased, mostly notably due to the recent economic meltdown, which forced almost all the customers to reconsider the spending and purchases. Many customers started delaying the purchases of products in an attempt to cut down on their expenditures. Quite understandably, boxed chocolates were amongst the expenditures, which were cut down by the customers (Lynch, 2009, p. 59). Bargaining Power of Suppliers Making a comment regarding the bargaining power of suppliers is the most troublesome primarily because the suppliers of the company are diverse. Employees, suppliers of liquid chocolate, suppliers of solid chocolate, bars, suppliers of new stores, suppliers of packaging, suppliers of ice creams, greeting cards and others (Thomas, 2011, pp. 198-199). Each group of suppliers has a different level of bargaining power, which then goes on to translate into the total bargaining power that the company faces from its suppliers. Employees and suppliers of liquid chocolate exert the most bargaining power because of their crucial and indispensable role in the operations. However, recently, due to the recession, the labour market is suffering from low demand of labour thus decreasing their bargaining power to command their terms due to limited job opportunities. Nevertheless, the supplier power of other groups remains there because they even threaten to integrate forward in the industry as well (Allen, 2010, p. 85). Threat of Substitute Products The threat of substitute products in the boxed chocolate industry is considerable high. Countlines, moulded bars, toffees, sweets, cake, ice cream and many other confectionary products have the power of eat away the possible sales of boxed chocolates. Most people purchase chocolate not because they want chocolate but because they want a sweet and delicious taste in their mouth or they want to celebrate something or present chocolates as gifts. Quite understandably, many of the above-mentioned items can serve the same functions thus increasing the threat of substitute products as well (Haberberg and Rieple, 2008, p. 438). Threat of New Entrants Despite the fact that there are no legal or technological barriers that prevent new comers from entering into the industry, the threat of new entrants still remains moderately low. The prime reason behind the same is that the boxed chocolates industry is already occupied with established brand identities, which have strong presence. These companies have occupied the important supply and distribution channels as well as have shops and presence on strategic and important locations (Hitt, et al., 2010, pp. 102-104). Furthermore, the capital requirements for entering the industry are also significant enough to keep away the smaller investors and entrepreneurs. The element of economies of scale is also present there and all the established players in the industry are benefiting from economies of scale, something that would put the new comer to a disadvantage. The switching cost faced by customers is low but then again, the marketing and promotion efforts conducted by companies had provided them with a loyal base of customers (Pickton and Masterson, 2010, pp. 35-37). Summary of Five Competitive Forces With high competitive rivalry, bargaining power of customers, threat of substitutes and bargaining power of suppliers, the overall boxed chocolate industry of UK is extremely competitive. All these above mentioned forces are trying to eat away the profitability of the industry players and the only approach to ensure higher profit margins would be undertake a well thought strategic position within the industry that would allow Thorntons to minimize the competitive pressures and maximize the returns of their shareholders (Crossan, et al., 2011, p. 324). PART B - STRATEGIC OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THE COMPANY As mentioned earlier, it is crucial for the survival of the company that it ensures taking a strategic position within the industry that could allow Thorntons to mitigate the competitive pressures on its profitability. This section of the paper would attempt to explore some of the strategic options that are available to the company. Ansoff Matrix The Ansoff matrix is a widely used tool by business to decide on their product and market growth strategy based their decision to enter new markets or remain in the existing markets and introduce new products or continue with the existing products. Market Penetration Market penetration as the figure suggests is the name for that growth strategy where the focus remains on selling existing products to the existing markets. The main idea of market penetration is to increase the market share from either converting the non-users of the products into active users or stealing the market share from the competitors. Another possible approach used by companies is to increase the usage of product by customers. The same is done through competitive pricing, promotion, advertising, sales promotion and others (Pickton and Masterson, 2010, pp. 35-37). Unlike other strategies, this growth strategy does not require much investment in market research and other areas since the company is already established in the market and has the insights about the consumer behaviour and industry patterns. In this case, it appears that Thorntons has significant potential in terms of penetrating the market. This is true because the market share of Thorntons is almost 8 percent, which means that if it decides to focus on taking the market share from other competitors, it can have significant potential for growth. Furthermore, Thorntons can also engage in the process of increasing the consumption of products by the current active users who view chocolate as a confectionary whose consumption should be dictated by special needs or rare impulse. This would dictate that Thorntons would engage in the process of changing the consumer perceptions of boxed chocolates from a product for special occasions to a confectionary item whose consumption should be independent on any occasion. Heavy advertising and promotion could allow the customers to place boxed chocolates on the list of the products for daily or weekly consumption. More importantly, this approach would solve one of the biggest issues faced by Thornton, that being of seasonal demand. With more customers engaging in the process of continuous purchase of boxed chocolates, not only the demand would increase but it would also create a more predictable pattern of demand. Another approach in this regard could be to target the customers that target other type of confectionary and convince them to give more preference to boxed chocolates (Hill and Jones, 2011, p. 96). Market Development When firms are trying to sell their existing products to the new markets, the strategy is called market development. Market development can take many different forms, which include searching for new geographical markets, converting non-buyers into buyers, creating or searching for new market segments and others (Lancaster and Massingham, 2010, pp. 76-77). Important here to note is that when market penetration seeks to increase the usage of existing customers, market development makes an attempt to convince, non buyers to become buyers. Most strategists prefer this type of strategy primarily because this reduces competition within the industry. Quite understandably, when firms are fighting for the same piece of pie, it is highly unlikely for one of them to declare a win for a longer period. Furthermore, when firms believe that the only way of growth is to steal it from the competitors, they tend to use aggressive and adverse strategies, engage in price, wars, aggressive promotion and others (Kipley and Lewis, 2011, p. 529). However, towards the end of the day, it is the customers, which emerges as the winner since with product decreases, service quality and product innovation, the value provided to the customer increases. The rivals keep on setting new benchmarks for service quality and customer satisfaction and with each benchmark, the cost for the industry increases and profitability shrinks. The point is that when firms decide to fight it, they end up making the industry environment worse for all industry players (Crossan, et al., 2011, p. 324). Market development, instead of fighting for the existing share of pie, preaches that the best way to increase the market share is to look for new horizons, dimensions, customers and segments. Firms that engage in continuous market development are able to post the most sustainable growth rates primarily because as soon as their industry or product matures, they look for newer segments or markets and restart their journey from square one. Although, Thorntons has already undertaken market developed strategies by entering into the neighbouring markets of Europe, Australia and United States, there are still much potential and unexplored territories waiting for new chocolate sellers (Pearce and Robinson, 2003, p. 370). Product Development When the firm is focusing on the existing markets and trying to serve their needs with new products and services, the strategy is named as product development. Marketers that pursue product development believe that continuous change in products and services allows firms to develop a competitive advantage over its competitors. Customers have become more sophisticated and considering the number of options, which are available to them, they are ready to reward the players in the market who are willing to innovate and provide them with new products after regular intervals (Pearce and Robinson, 2003, p. 370). Cell phone, computers, automobiles, electronics and other industries, largely, follow product development strategies. Unlike, market development and market penetration, this strategy may not require a great deal of advertising and promotional expenditures but the firms have to invest significantly into research and development, the returns from much remain inconsistent and unpredictable (Kipley and Lewis, 2011, p. 529). It appears that currently, Thorntons is following a product development strategy. In fact, it has remained at the heart of company’s operations since its very inception. For example, during 1952, the two sons of Joseph Thorntons, Norman and Stanley, travelled all the way to Switzerland so that they could ways, techniques and tips for creating the most innovative and delicious chocolates in the world (Thorntons Plc, 2012b). They joined a training school for the same purpose from where they went on to recruit Walter Wilen, also known as the inventor of a variety of chocolates that are sold even to this date at Thorntons. Furthermore, even during the recent years, the CEO of the company has ensured that dozens of new flavours enter into the market. In fact, this number is so high that almost 10-15 flavours have to discontinued every year due to low sales, a manifestation of the extent to which Thorntons is engaging in product development (Thompson and Marin, 2009, p. 167). Diversification Diversification, a risky strategy, takes place when companies enter not only into new markets but also with new products. According to the literature, diversification can be of two most important types. These are concentric and conglomerate. Concentric diversification refers to the process when the company diversifies into selling products that share some degree of technological or process similarity with that of the existing products. For example, if Dell diversifies into cell phone market then it could be labelled as concentric diversification. This approach entails comparatively less risk because it is highly likely that the company would have some degree of technical expertise in the manufacturing process. In this case, if Thorntons decides to sell ice cream, sweets, toffees and other confectionary items that could be regarded as concentric diversification (Gamble and Thompson, 2008, p. 89). Conglomerate diversification, on the other hand, refers to process where firms decide to diversify into selling and manufacturing products, which are completely different from each other in terms of technology and manufacturing processes. Most experts believe that it is an extreme level decision only taken when companies are uncertain about their future in their current market segments or in other case, when the companies have too much cash in hand available to spend (Haberberg and Rieple, 2008, p. 438). PART C – EVALUATION OF STRATEGIC OPTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This section of the paper would make a brief attempt at evaluating different strategic options in order to make recommendations for the future strategic direction of Thorntons. In order to conduct this evaluation, the SAFe criteria of Suitability, Acceptability and Feasibility would be used. Product Development Suitability Suitability refers to the degree to which certain strategies is in line with the mission and vision of the organisations, its core competencies, available resources, organisational culture, structure and external environment. When it comes to product development, the strategy is very much suitable for the organisations both in terms of internal and external environment. It is suitable for the internal environment primarily because product innovation, as mentioned earlier, as well, has remained the focus of Thorntons for long. Even during its early days, the business was able to develop and quickly grow primarily because of the fact that it was able to appeal to the changing tastes and customer preferences (Thompson and Marin, 2009, p. 167). Even today, a significant amount of resources are spent to ensure that every year, new tastes and flavours are introduced to keep the customers guessing about “whats next”. In fact, an important aspect in the recruitment of store employees and managers is to remain responsive to the needs, suggestions and requests of the company. A considerable degree of weightage is assigned to how the employees are passing on the information from the customers to the information (Thomas, 2011, pp. 198-199). This is also one of the reasons why despite the high costs, the company prefers operating more company owned stores since the same allows them to stay in touch with the customers (Gamble and Thompson, 2008, p. 89). As mentioned earlier that the external environment is highly competitive, which means that a specific product flavour or type is highly likely to travel through all of its stages of lifecycle. Customers have significant bargaining power to command their desires and since rivals also face substantial competitive threats from other players in the world that in an attempt to please the customers, they are willing to go out of the way to ensure customer satisfaction. Therefore, product development allows Thorntons to differentiate itself with other competitors, which not only decrease the rivalry but also the bargaining power of customers since Thorntons is able to provide them what is not widely available in the market (Mullins, 2005, pp. 43-44). Feasibility Feasibility, as the name suggests, is concerned with the practical applicability of the strategy and evaluating that whether the organisation has the resources available to implement that strategy. This strategy is very much feasible because the company is currently implementing the same where 13 percent of its total sales are driven by new products (Thorntons Plc, 2012a). Acceptability Acceptability refers to whether the outcomes of that strategy are acceptable to the stakeholders of the company. The fact that product development is a strategy, which has been followed for many years, is the manifestation that it has been acceptable to the customers. Market Development Important here to note is that market development is more concerned with geographical expansion that also in the South Asian markets. Suitability It was mentioned earlier that Thorntons had expanded into the markets of Europe, Australia and United States, which indicates that the company has enough experience of international operations. Even today, it exports to different countries and maintains its presence in different countries as well. However, the current vision of the company does not include expansion into other geographical markets since it states that “To Be Britain’s Best Loved Chocolate Brand, Making Every Customer Smile”. Therefore, any international expansion plan could go against the company’s vision (Thorntons Plc, 2012a). Feasibility Whether Thorntons can finance an international expansion, would depend upon the scale of expansion that Thornton would want in the South Asian countries. Important here to note is that even if the company does not have the cash available currently, it can always look for debt and equity sources of financing. Thorntons is an established name in the market with presence of over 10 decades (Pearce and Robinson, 2003, p. 370). It recent financial performance would ensure that it would get credit from the market easily. More importantly, in order to spur investment, the interest rates are currently very low and Thorntons can make use of this opportunity of low cost of borrowing. The other approach would be to look for equity financing by either issuing right shares or increase the number shares. Nevertheless, that would take an extensive process of convincing the shareholders about the merits of this international expansion (Thorntons Plc, 2012b; Thorntons Plc, 2012a). Acceptability The acceptability from the side of the most important stakeholders, which are the shareholders, of the company would depend primarily upon the risk and return estimates. The fact is that Britain is still yet to emerge from the recession; Recessionary pressures are prevalent in the market because there are fears of a double dip recession, due to which the consumer confidence is still very low. The European Debt Crisis has poured too much uncertainty about the economic future of Europe and the rest of the world. If the EU, ECB, IMF, WB and other European countries fail to prevent Greece from falling then there are chances that the dominos would not stop falling and Europe would enter in to a much deeper recession. Furthermore, the boxed chocolate industry within the UK, as mentioned earlier, is quickly saturating with prospects for growth are limited, until and unless, the company wants to engage in extensive rivalry with the bigger players in the market. In the midst of this recessionary environment, South Asian economies, especially China and India, have performed extremely well. They did not only absorb the shocks of the recession but they were also able to return to the growth pattern very quickly. China and India, both are expected to become economic superpowers in the coming decades. Their immense populations, in billions, means that business, which enter into these economies, can appeal to a large base of customers. More importantly, these countries have one of the most cheapest labours in the world and considering the fact that Thorntons has a labour intensive process, it would be able to reduce the cost of operations. Therefore, entering into the South Asian countries would be an important investment that the company would make which could continue to generate significant returns in the coming decades (Thomas, 2011, pp. 198-199). Market Penetration Suitability Thorntons want to become a household brand and bring smiles on the faces of as many people possible in UK by selling its boxed chocolates. Therefore, no other strategy is more consistent with the company’s vision and mission than market penetration strategy. Feasibility In order to employ a market penetration strategy, Thorntons would have to use its existing marketing, advertising, promotion and distribution channels to engage in a huge campaign for revamping the brand and perceptions of the customers. Since it has established channels for the same and enough funds, it should be feasible. Acceptability Considering the prospects of increased sales, it is highly likely that the shareholders and other stakeholders of the company would accept the implementation of the strategy. The returns, compared to other investment projects, would be generated sooner thus allowing company to maximize the wealth of its shareholders. Diversification Suitability The mission and vision of the company clearly state that the company want to remain a chocolate brand, nothing more and nothing less. Furthermore, it would be rather absurd if a boxed chocolate company, which has spent over 10 decades in order to establish a name for itself in the chocolate industry, would want to diversify into some other industry. It would send the message of weakness and inefficiency from the side of the company to its new customers (Pearce and Robinson, 2003, p. 370). Acceptability As mentioned earlier that diversification is an extremely risky process, one that would take time in generating returns. It would be virtually impossible to convince the shareholders to invest in projects that have no significant similarity to the core business of Thorntons. Feasibility Considering the recessionary and uncertain economic environment of UK, it is safer to hold back any investments and wait for the right time or more specifically, for an economic boom. Recommendations It appears that Thornton could and should use a mix of Market Penetration and Market Development. It could engage in the process of changing the customer perceptions about chocolates to “deseasonalize” the demand and take away the share from the giant players in the industry by focusing on its strengths. On the other hand, the company can also explore options of entering into new markets, specifically South Asian markets since it appears to be an investment, which would continue to generate increasing returns for many years considering the vast target market, population growth, untapped opportunities, lower operating costs, increasingly business friendly environment and economic growth in that region. References Allen, Lawrence L. 2010. Chocolate fortunes: the battle for the hearts, minds, and wallets of China's consumers. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Crossan, Mary M., et.al. 2011. Strategic Management: A Casebook. Prentice Hall. Gamble, J. E., and Thompson, A. A. 2008. Essentials of strategic management: the quest for competitive advantage. McGraw-Hill Irwin. Goldman, G., and Nieuwenhuizen, C. 2011. Strategy: Sustaining Competitive Advantage in a Globalised Context. Juta and Company Ltd. Haberberg, A., and Rieple, A. 2008. Strategic Management: Theory and Application. 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