GLOBAL STRATEGY

The Co-operative Food Global Strategy

Table of Contents

.

Introduction3

History of the organization and critical incidents3

Henry Mintzberg4

Strategic Decision6

Industry Analysis: Pestle Framework6

Industry Analysis: Porter's Five Forces9

Competitive Strategies of Co-operative Food10

Mission11

Vision & Strategy12

Challenges and Tactics for Achieving the Strategy and Vision13

Branding and Reputation13

IT Integration14

Managing the Suppliers14

Promotional Tools15

Environmental Responsibility16

Economic Responsibility16

Regeneration16

Competitor Analysis17

Conclusion18

Recommendation19

The Co-operative Food Global Strategy

Introduction

One of the significant lines of businesses of the Co-operative Group is the Co-operative Food. It has more than 120,000 employees working for them, with retail outlets reaching almost 5,000. Furthermore, the Co-operative Group is one of the leading food retailers and currently ranks at number 5 in the United Kingdom. In addition to the Group's accomplishments, its pharmacy chain is the third most successful in the United Kingdom. When it comes to funeral services, the Co-operative Group ranks at number 1 in the country. There are a number of other services, which the Group offers, such as providing a huge range of holidays on the high street. The Co-operative Group has been successful in maintaining strong positions in the market, especially in the banking and insurance sector. There are a number of principles and fundamentals which the Co-operative Group follows in running its businesses, and using profits. One of the primary principles is that consumers run the co-operative to provide benefit to its approximately 6 million members. In other words, these consumers or members of the Group can participate in the decision-making process, and come forward to develop their agenda of social campaigns. As a result, these initiatives made the Co-operative Group as a pioneer in areas such as Fair trade and fighting climate change (Carter 2011).

History of the organization and critical incidents

Recently, the Co-operative Group spent approximately £ 2 billion for the acquisition of Somerfield. This was a significant challenge for the Group as Somerfield was one of the significant supermarket competitors of the Co-operative Group. According to the Chief Executive of the Group, Peter Marks, it was a successful acquisition for the Group because it pushed the Group “from the second division back into the Premiership.” In addition, the acquisition of the Somerfield supermarket helped the group to gain additional market share in the UK supermarket sector from nearly 5 percent to 8 percent. Furthermore, it also boosted the portfolio of the Group's stores to approximately 3,000. There is no doubt on the thoughts of the CEO on the successful acquisition of the Somerfield store. However, there are a number of challenges, which come along with such acquisitions and strategies.

These strategies of expansion and acquisition require significant transformations of the business, and incorporate difficulties in the form of integrating a number of business processes between the two companies. The United Kingdom witnessed a number of acquisitions in the past few years, within the retail supermarket sector. However, not all acquisition goes well or according to the plan. In the case of the Co-operative Group, there is no doubt that the Group planned the expansion program extremely well. On the other hand, the integration of Somerfield also worked ...