Analysis of the marketing channels of a brand of department store

Order Description
Global advertising agency M&C Saatchi has described Australian department stores as ‘ripe for disruption’ (Canning 2016). According to Australian media and marketing website Mumbrella, M&C Saatchi’s head of retail told the Australian Institute of Marketing CX Marketing Summit that the retail sector most ready to be disrupted by new thinking was Australia’s department stores, headed by the likes of Myer and David Jones. He said Australia lagged behind Britain and the States in creating retail experiences in stores that engaged consumers in a way that was happening overseas.

This assessment tasks requires you to engage in an extensive and relevant strategic analysis of a brand of department store in Australia. In business report format, your analysis should draw upon the unit learning materials, readings and academic articles to help you formulate recommendations that would be useful for a new entrant to the retail industry. The conclusion to your report will comprise advice/recommendations for a (fictitious) new entrant into this retail industry, which is clearly based on the your analysis and findings.

Assessment details

Choose one (1) Australian department store from the list below.
•Kmart
•Target
•Big W
•Myer
•David Jones

In your report, analyse the marketing channels of one of the above brand of Department Store and address the following (use the dot points to structure your report):
•the main broad categories of products sold by the selected organisation
•an analysis of the major participants in the marketing channels of the selected organisation outlining the intermediaries from suppliers to end users
•the impact of the economic, competitive, sociocultural, technological and legal environments that channel managers of the selected organisation need to consider
•critical analysis of the main strengths and weaknesses of the channel strategy and design of the selected brand of Department Store.

The conclusion will consist of advice/recommendations for a (fictitious) new entrant into this retail industry, which is clearly based on the above analysis and findings.

Your report should therefore adhere to this structure:
1.Introduction: briefly introduce the reader to the purpose of this report.
2.Background: brief description of the selected organisation and its main broad categories of products. Also the major participants in its marketing channels.
3.The external environment impacting the channels of the selected organisation.
4.The strengths and weaknesses (SWOT) of the channels of the organisation.
5.Discussion of what your findings mean for the industry and a potential new entrant and Recommendations as to how best to enter.
6.Conclusion: a summary of key findings and points.
As a Swinburne Online student, you can access a number of databases and publications via the Swinburne University library which may assist you to complete this assessment. Here are a couple of suggestions to get you started:
•Industry and market analysis
•Marketing

You will also find details about this industry from the following IBIS Report: G4260 (Department Stores in Australia: Market Research Report).

The analysis should demonstrate a consistent and appropriate style of presentation and use Harvard referencing throughout.

For help with referencing, refer to the Swinburne Harvard complete guide from the Swinburne University library.