Real estate, renting and business activities
- Estate agents are highly dependent upon the property market for their business. When property prices increase and interest rates remain low (so mortgages are cheaper) their business increases.
- Solicitors have changed in two main ways. Deregulation has meant that their charges for routine services such as house conveyancing have fallen. Competition has reduced charges for wills and probate and many solicitors offer free advice mornings for potential clients. Two areas where solicitors are benefiting from increased business are family law and litigation. The first is through the number of divorces in Britain and the second is because people are more likely to sue for damages in civil actions than in the past.
- The rental business as a whole is available. Business people will always rent cars as will holiday makers.
- So it is unlikely national providers such as Hertz and Avis will struggle for business. An interesting investigation will be into a local firm which probably also provides van hire. Some people still choose to rent their television sets, however most people prefer to buy them outright, especially as they can negotiate a discount for cash or arrange credit terms, which work out, cheaper than renting. Video film rentals are popular but are likely to have to change to meet the challenge of DVD.future generations may be able to ‘download’ videos by choice so the video shop may be a thing of the past in another 20 years.
- Accountants have gained customers since the Inland Revenue introduced self-assessment. Many sole traders and partners no longer wish to take the risk of completing self assessment forms and prefer to ask an accountant to do it for them. Conversely, the rules of auditing companies have changed so that they are less rigorous for small private companies.
Consultancy work is generally popular- tax consultants, management consultants, and computer consultants. Whenever there is constant, rapid change that affects business you will find that consultants are often used to advise how best to adjust to these.
Recruitment agencies and selection consultants depend on the job market. When unemployment is high they may struggle, when employment is good and people are looking to change jobs regularly they benefit from increased business. Don’t forget that recruitment agencies often specialise in temporary employment opportunities.
Security firms are becoming more and more popular. Certainly many retail organisations do. Security services are normally sub-contracted because this is more cost-effective than employing and managing specialised security staff.
Industrial cleaners are also sub-contracted. Your college probably buys in its cleaning services rather than employing cleaners. This has been a growth area for entrepreneurs in the past few years.
Secretarial services are generally less popular than they were several years ago. The use of computers and modern software packages means that many people can produce their own documents quickly and easily.
Public administration.
- All these activities are in the public sector. Also this relates to the agencies (i.e. the civil service) rather than to the practitioners. So your regional health care agencies and education offices are included in this heading but not doctors, dentists and schools.
- Many uniformed public sector organisations now employ civilian staff for administrative operations, e.g. the police.
Defence activities have been reduced in the UK and the defence budget has been cut drastically over the past 10 years.
Education.
- Further and higher education is funded differently from schools-and is very complex, as are the charges which education has faced over the last 10 yeas. Tempting though it may be to investigate your own school or college, if it is a large institution, you may find it difficult to focus on the precise type of information you need.
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Driving schools today are either run by small operators (often sole traders) or are franchised operations, such as BSM.
Private training providers operate in all areas of business, and offer various training programmes. Some are run in conjunction with colleges for young people on National Traineeships or Modern Apprenticeships. These combine work and training over a specified period.
Health and social work
- Hospitals exist in both the public and private sectors. Public ones are funded through the NHS, the private ones take patients who are prepared to pay for their treatment or who are covered by medical insurance. In this case the insurer pays the fees.
- Nursing homes and residential care is a growth area in Britain is increasing. Elderly people are funded by the state on a sliding scale if their savings and assets are below a certain figure. Above this figure they pay their own fees. Nursing and residential homes have to operate to standards set down by the government and controlled through the local social services offices. In some cases this has led to homes closing down because they cannot meet the requirements profitably.
- The number of dentists taking on NHS patients may find it unprofitable and will only treat private patients. Some operate group practices and some operate alone. Cosmetic dentistry is a growth area but mainly in city areas.
- Doctors may operate in health centres or in private practices. Some of these may be fund holding which means they control their own budgets. This system too is scheduled to change. More doctors now use computerised appointment systems, are keen on ‘customer service’ and employ preventative techniques, e.g. operating well woman clinics.
- Social workers are employed within the public service. They are assigned to geographical areas in towns and cities and each has a ‘case load’, which may include children, single parents, and elderly people. Specialists social workers are attached to hospitals.
- Some vets small animals (cats, dogs, etc) and others in farm animals. It depends on the areas they operate in. checking that animals are fit to travel and issuing them with the correct identification and certification is another source of income for vets. There are also ‘spin off’ products made by manufacturers from cat food to dog leads which vets sell for extra income.
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Motion picture and vedeo productions, hopefully, returning tin force to Britain. The British film industry has had some notable success over the past few five years, including four weddings and a funeral, transporting and Notting Hill. It has been lobbying the government and the Arts Council for additional funding.
- Radio and television activities. Besides the main producers, such as the BBC, there are small independent producers working in radio and television. Their success and popularity is increasing every year, as it is often cheaper for the BBC and ITV to buy programmes from them than to make their own.
Leisure organisations such as theme parks, sports arenas and fitness centres are becoming more and more popular. Theme parks however need to be continually investigating large sums of money to provide people with ‘new thrills’ each visit. Increased leisure time and a greater interest in personal fitness centre and sales of fitness equipment. In 1999 the fitness business was worth nearly £1 billion.
Theatres have always struggled to be profitable. Grants from the Arts Council have been reduced in recent years. Those catering for minority interests, such as ballet and opera, have found it more difficult than those catering for popular tastes.
Gambling and betting shops are closely regulated and no one under 18 is allowed to participate.
Most funeral directors were once run on a small scale by private owners, with the main exception of the Cooperative funeral service. There are now fewer firms which operate more cost effectively on a larger scale, over a wider area.
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The tertiary sector has grown because
- People’s incomes have risen by over 20%. What people have decided to do with their extra income is to buy things like holidays, insurance, and eating out (all of which are tertiary), rather than buy more food, clothes, etc which are primary and secondary).
- More of the secondary goods that we now buy, for example clothes and new cars are imported and sold by retailers. This decreases UK secondary industry at the same time as increasing UK tertiary industry.
- There are more and more tertiary products, such as adventure holidays, Internet shopping, golf courses, theme parks and mobile phone services.
- Workers need to update and change their work skills to keep pace with the new technology.
How these trends are affecting Peacocks and Topgirl hairdressers salon
Because of consumer demand affecting interest rates, both businesses will have a loss of customers. They will not have enough money to spend in the businesses.
Competition between the businesses may either make both businesses to collapse or to grow.
Peacocks introduced retailing over the Internet and so this helps the business to target customers who cannot come to the shops. Hence receiving more profits. But since top girl hairdressers is a small business and not offering retailing as its main activity, it looses money from this great opportunity of selling hair products from the Internet.
My business opening 24 hours a day and 7 days a weak is a good effect on them because they receive more customers most especially the full time workers. Its also helps the customers to have enough time to do their shopping.
Peacocks has steadily expanded and employing more staff. The opening of large shopping centres has affected the business by setting up in the shopping centre hence advertising its self.
Both business offer part time and flexible work to its staff hence reducing the boredom and giving them time to do their other activities. This results to the staff providing good customer service and other people wanting to work for the business.
The new technologies have reduced the need to produce, record and store information on written letters and documents. In Peacocks information can now be held on computer reducing the need for storage space and paper use. Both Peacocks and Topgirl hairdressers can now respond to customer enquiries and orders much quicker. They can communicate with their suppliers quickly. As a result, customers and suppliers now expect speedy responses.
Because McDonalds employs a good number of young people, this affects Topgirl hairdressers in a way that they will be receiving a good number of customers since young people always want to look good and keep on changing hair styles almost every two weeks.
More people own a home computer and are signing up to Internet services. This has affected Peacocks in a way that people will get a chance to surf the company’s web site and know more about it and what it offers. This may attract more customers to visit the stores. But I don’t expect them to receive as many customers as they would have received if they had online shopping.
Security firms becoming more popular in the UK is good because it reduces losses in the retail outlets. Peacocks employs one security staff to watch out for the thieves.
The main activities of Peacocks
Peacocks is a value for money retailer of clothing, footwear and homeware. They aim to provide their customers with a product offer and a shopping environment fully comparable with main stream multiple retailers while matching or beating discount retailers on price.
The key to their success has been and continues to be:
The strength of Peacocks’ brands, which are urban spirit, e-vie, street gear. Their brands are increasing more and more in sales and they are the ones, which promote sales revenue.
Peacocks’ outstanding products, which are of good value to the customers hence promoting sales.
Peacocks is a large store, which is designed to hold a variety of goods offered and enough space for customers to look around. The items are displayed in the order of style, type, age and colour.
Peacocks staff are well trained and motivated hence making a big contribution to promoting sales. When employing staff, Peacocks employs first at a temporary basis, then after three to four months, they will then judge weather the employee is suitable to remain on the job permanently or not.
Peacocks’ mission is to become the most successful value for money clothing retailer in the country, offering great customer service in a friendly, family environment.
The Peacocks group stated that they will continue to pursue a strategy of rapid organic expansion, delivering solid growth by increasing the value and appeal of their products.
They offer a wide range of products in order to attract customers and make sure they continuously come back to the store. It is a multiple retailer, which operates a wide range of stores, on a nationwide basis. Each store is identical so customers know what to expect. It is easily recognisable because it has the same image. Selling prices are competitive because bulk purchases mean cheaper prices. Because the store operates on a large scale, national advertising is possible. Peacocks is found in town centres and in out of town locations. All stores sell the same products but smaller stores may not sell some of the items Peacocks Company should offer for sale. All Peacocks stores in the UK look the same. The colour, the design, the products offered for sale, and the layout of the store.
Peacocks competes with Woolworth in prices. The store offers products on cheaper prices to attract customers from Woolworth to its self.
How the business provides the service
They also have tills where each of the customers approach to pay for the item he/she has selected. There is always a member of staff ready to serve the customer on each till. Each store has about 2 to 3 tills. This is to reduce the number of waiting customers.
So many customers are interested in their products and these contribute to the day to day running of the business. Without customers Peacocks would not be carrying out the retailing activity.
They also need money to carry out the activity in order to pay for the expenses and be able to give customers change when need and pay the employees. They get the money from different sources for example from shareholders, and customers.
Advertising and promoting their products to get more market
Because Peacocks operates on a large scale, they advertise on the Internet. Their website is . They also have in store radio advert, which interrupts the radio entertainment to advertise and promote their products.
An after sales service
If a consumer is not satisfied with his/her purchase or have changed his mind, they ask them to simply return it to them, in its original condition with their receipt within 28 days for a full refund or exchange. If the consumer does not have his or her receipt, they will be happy to exchange his purchase with a Peacocks credit voucher to the value of the current selling price. This does not affect the consumer’s statutory rights
They provide customers with Application forms, which are available from the local stores. All the customer needs to do is simply complete the application form, return it to Style Financial Services as detailed in the application form and they could soon be using their Peacocks membership card in any of Peacocks’ stores.
Listening and responding to customer needs and their complaints.
Customer service staff will handle any complaints received over the telephone or in writing, Peacocks has an official complaints procedure, which all staff follow. This enables senior staff to check that all complaints are dealt with promptly and that no serious issues are left unresolved.
In Peacocks, recording customer complaints and implementing changes to ensure that the customer is not dissatisfied for the same reason again are ways to monitor customer satisfaction. Customers are provided with a system where they feel comfortable about recording a complaint. Only by doing so can Peacocks ensures that they are fully meeting the needs of all their customers.
When Peacocks is dealing with customer complaints, they normally take the customer’s details. This normally helps them to be able to contact the customer when necessary and to know who they are dealing with.
A home delivery service
Peacocks offers a wide range of services related to transportation and delivery of goods the customers have bought. This includes:
- An optional delivery service, which is free or low cost, is to wide geographical area, operates at times which suits the customer not Peacocks.
- A postal service for ordered goods, which are not immediately available.
- Delivery staff who are friendly and courteous and handle the goods carefully.
Methods of payment
They accept cash, cheques and all major credit cards. They also accept a wide range of gift vouchers and also have their very own Peacocks Card that consumers can use in any of their stores. Consumers can apply for the Peacocks card by getting the application forms, which are available from their local stores. All they need to do is simply complete the application form, return it to Style Financial Services as detailed in the application form and they could soon be using their Peacocks card in any one of Peacocks’ stores.
Peacocks stores have maintained their focus on the dinstictive culture and values outlined in their mission statement. Training and development are key to the delivery of outstanding customer service, it gave them great pleasure to achieve recognition of their long standing commitment through award of “investor in people” accreditation. Their continuing expansion creates opportunities for both employment and advancement.
They successfully defended their overall market position through their strategic pricing initiatives on selected key value lines, and made good progress in women’s wear in particular. Their performance in this category benefited from the success launch in April of the e-vie range of more stylish clothing, positioned at slightly higher price points than their standard range yet still offering outstanding value for money. This was complemented in October by the launch of the urban spirit range of men’s wear, which was well received by their customers.
Buying in bulk and selling in smaller quantities
Peacocks does this by stocking a supply of different goods, which they buy in bulk at a discount from their suppliers and sell in smaller quantities to consumers.
Stocking a supply of goods
They put out the products on the shop floor in different sections after they have been delivered to store. Each section has different styles and sizes of items. If the customer cannot find his/her required choice of colour or size in a particular product in his/her local store, they can ask one of Peacocks’ colleagues in the store and they will do their very best to obtain it for the customer. Peacocks’ head offices automatically receive details of stock going out of the store, which they deliver every Fridays. The stock details are received through the EPOS, which the members of staff use to scan the product before they sell it to the customer. The EPOS is connected to the head office. EPOS is Electronic Point Of Sale.
Ensuring that their products are of good information
They employ enough employees to serve the customers on the tills and also give them information about the goods they sell. They ensure that their products are of good quality and price competitive and are also safe for the customers to buy. Peacocks makes sure that they do not break the law of The Trade descriptions Act 1968 which makes it illegal for businesses to give misleading descriptions of their products.
Business operation
The business operates nationally because it is a public limited company. It is a bug business so it has enough money to locate so many branches in different areas.
Trends that apply to retailing
The growth in consumer spending has led to an expansion in retailing. “In 1988 UK consumers spent £300 billion on goods and services and just over 3 million people were employed in retail trades. Ten years later, total consumer spending had risen to £540 billion and the number employed in retailing was over 4 million”. There have been many changes within the retailing industry and the way people shop over the last few years. Now people shop mostly on weekends since they are too busy during the weekdays.
In most retail stores, products have been of a high demand during the weekends. So if there are only a few of the products in the morning, by evening they would be finished.
Retailing has become dominated by large multiple retail organizations, such as tesco, B&Q and Boots. “In 1997, 92% of total retail spending by UK consumers was in only 20% of the organizations”. Many small independent shops have been unable to compete on prices and products range and have gone out of business. Others have joined together to form small voluntary chain groups such as spar, londis and Happy shoppers, so that the shop owners can benefit from bulk buying discounts from wholesalers produce their own label brands for sale.
There is increasing competition on prices and product ranges between large retailers e.g. Tesco, carrys, etc as they try to attract shoppers away from each other. Prices wars have broken out among many large supermarket groups e.g. Tesco. They have also offered bonus schemes to customers who remain loyal, such as cheap flights and bigger flight discounts, and made many improvements to customer services, such as free buses for elderly and home deliveries and disabled car parking. Peacocks offers good value for money and goods service in order not to lose customers. It risks loosing its customers if it fails to provide a good service.
Because an increasing number of people no longer work the land to provide their own supply of food, there has been an increase in the demand for food from workers employed in factories. Despite the falling number of farm workers, new farming technology and cheap food imports from overseas ensured that an ever-increasing supply of food could be provided for the growing number of manufacturing workers in towns and cities.
The value of goods services from the primary sector has grown over time, but has fallen as a proportion of the total value of output from all industries in the UK. This is because the output of secondary and tertiary industries has increased faster than output from primary industries. “In 1971 primary sector output accounted for just 4% of the value total UK output. This share had fallen slightly by 1999”.
In competitive markets consumers will buy goods they consider to be good value. If a foreign product is a much better value than British one, it is likely to have higher sales. This makes the trend expand.
Shopping via the Internet is increasing hence giving a chance to busy or disabled customers to buy products. It also gives a chance to the companies to advertise and promote their products.
There has been a growth in the number of convenience stores especially on petrol and rail way stations. These shops capture people who use the train or motorists who want to buy anything.
Late night and Sunday shopping have been introduced. This has benefited the consumers in a way that they are given flexibility when to shop. And the shops that offer the times receive more profits. Peacocks offers Sunday shopping to its customers.
Many large retailers now sell many different goods and services. For example Tesco is a food supermarket chain but now it has large superstores that also offer computers, clothes, hi-fi and audio equipment, petrol, nooks and CDs and videos, and even banking and insurance services.
Supermarkets and other retail chains are selling more and more of their own label products. They say that own label products are often cheaper than manufacturer’s brands. For example Peacocks sells its urban spirit, e-vie, street gear, etc. which they export from Malaysia because they are cheaper. Nike, boss, or rebook would never be found in Peacocks because it is expensive.
LOCATION
There are many reasons why Peacocks group chose their locations. All of these depend on the size of the business. In peacocks the shareholders hold a meeting and decided which area to locate a branch because the business is a national business, and Peckham is a popular area full of different customers from different part of the world that is why it was chosen to be one of the areas to locate Peacocks. Locating a business in the right place is very important because it helps the business to run smoothly and competitively. All businesses choose a location for a certain reason.
Since Peacocks is a large business and its head office is located Cardiff. It has so many branches in different areas and they are trying to get profits in every area of Britain. They receive so many profits in setting up shops in so many areas in other areas, which do not have the shops. They mostly locate the businesses in shopping centres if the areas if the areas have them and this is because more customers come to shop in shopping centres because they have car parks, there are many shops around them so customers are more likely to shop from there.
Location is important to Peacocks because the shops have to be near customers who have to go in and buy their products, if they are located far from the shop, and then they will not gain profits.
Some of Peacocks’ locations are:
- Near neighbourhood offices
These reasons have not yet changed because this is the way that they get profits and the company wants to get more profits by constructing shops in so many different locations of the UK and to let people know about them and what they offer for sale.
Some of the reasons for Peacocks’ location are more significant now because of the population which is increasing almost everyday so employees or skilled labour is easier to get which is why the recruitment department is very strict on good retail experience.
This is also because there are many different businesses being set up which increases competition in the UK.
For the past five years, location has been the same this is because every business want to locate in a place where they think their business will operate effectively and effectively. This is why all businesses have constantly concentrated on locating where facilities such as bus, trains, customers, employees and neighbourhood offices are available.
Peacocks is located near a number of shops some of which also deal in cloth retailing. So there is a lot of competition. So business environment is more significant now because new businesses are opening up every now and then and they will be in the near future.
Local Community are people living in the area which are more significant to Peacocks now because without their approval, the business would not run.
Employment Trends occur if unemployment is high in the area, Peacocks would not have enough profits because people would not have enough money to shop. so that is why the factor is more significant now than before.
Consumer Buying Habits are also significant now because if Peacocks does not get enough customers, it means that it is not meant to be located in that area. The company locates its stores in areas where people need good quality clothing. It does not locate because of employment situations.
For some businesses only a few factors will be important. Other businesses like Peacocks may need to consider and balance a complex mixture of location factors. One important factor they considered was the infrastructure of business site:
- The business needs very good transport systems for the site the most common are (road, rail, river, canal, ports)
- The business needs good communication systems, telephone systems, fax e-mail.
- Production is important to a business so Peacocks needs to know whether there are ancillary firms in the area to help deal with waste disposal, repair machinery and to transport the finished good.
Factors affecting the location of a business
Out of town developments may have purpose built premises, parking spaces, other shops nearby etc. that is why most Peacocks branches are located in shopping centres. If not, near shopping centres.
Nearness to market/suppliers
The market is made up of customers of a particular product or service. It will almost always be crucial factor in deciding location shops need to locate near their customers and large shopping centres locate near to major centres locate near major centres of population. However, the desire of Peacocks to locate close to the largest centres of population and the most prosperous part of the UK encourages a drift to the southeast. Because Peacocks chose this part of the UK for its location, it is a much larger market of Europe.
Transport links and communications-road, rail, airport etc
Transport, in particular road transport, is another major influence on Peacocks. Access to the motorway network is often a prime consideration. Because Peacocks transports large amounts of products to different stores, they need to locate near their suppliers and in places with wider roads.
Supply of skilled and experienced labour
Increasingly, a key factor for Peacocks is the availability of a supply of labour that is skilful and experienced. It is important for Peacocks to know that it will be able to employ workers who are capable and competent.
Safety or waste disposal
These are special considerations for Peacocks. The company makes sure that the place in consideration for location has safety waste disposal for example Large chemical plants and nuclear power stations locate away from towns and cities so that, if there is an accident, fewer people will be affected.
Local labour supply
Peacocks needs to be able to employ staff. So it makes sense to locate in an area where people live. The factors that influence a particular location are often local skills and the cost of labour. The size and skill of the local labour force are also important when Peacocks makes a location decision. There has to be enough labour, but it also has to possess the correct skills.
Local skills
The many people who live around London have the skills needed for retailing because there are so many retail outlets in London. So most people earn money by using their skills in retailing. That is why Peacocks chooses its location in London areas. And most young people nowdays are looking for retailing jobs. So retailing is popular.
Government support
Since 1930, successive government have used regional policy to encourage firms to locate in areas of high unemployment. Grants, loans and other incentives have been offered to encourage the movement of Peacocks.
The cost of premises
The forces of demand and supply determine the cost of premises. The greater the demand for premises and the fewer there are available the higher the cost. Premises on major town centre shopping routes are always more expensive than on secondary side streets simply because most shoppers stay on the high street.
The map of Peacocks’ location
Peacocks is located in Peckham Rye lane next to rye lane market where Top Girl hairdressers salon is located.
Stakeholders who are directly affected by the activities of Peacocks
Stakeholders
These are individuals or groups of people who have an interest in what the Peacocks does and either are affected by what Peacocks does or affect Peacocks by what they do.
Shareholders
These are individuals or organisations to whom the businesses belong. These are most likely to be affected by the level of profits that the Peacocks makes, but they will also be affected by how much the business is worth. They contribute to the survival of Peacocks.
Employees
An employee is any individual who has a contract of employment to work for Peacocks. Employees are key stakeholders in Peacocks. They depend for their livelihoods on the incomes they earn from work and also upon the prospects available to them for career progression. Peacocks is among the majority of successful firms because it recognises the importance of its staff, and it spends a great deal of time and effort in training and developing its workforce and improving its working conditions so that its employees are happy and motivated at work.
Customers
This is any individual or organisation that receives the products of Peacocks.
Suppliers
This is the business that provides Peacocks with the goods or services that it needs for its production. They might run out of goods and if they do, the business may lose sales.
If Peacocks goes bust, the suppliers lose customers.
Providers of finance
These are individuals or organisations that provide Peacocks with money which it can use to help it produce or invest.
The competitors
This is any business that is trying to sell products to the same customers as Peacocks. An example is Primark, and Bonmache’. Peacocks does everything to make sure that it attracts customers to its self. Such activities are reducing prices, offering high discounts and providing the best quality items. They also compete on offering a different type of product. When attempting to compete Peacocks ask themselves what their competitors are offering the customers.
The government
As a stakeholder, the government is any part of the state owned administration, which controls and regulates Peacocks. It also affects Peacocks by providing incentives for it to set up in certain areas. And demanding taxes from Peacocks.
The local community
The community is the society, and the people, where the business is located and carries out its production.
Trade associations
This trade to make sure that the employees are paid a salary.
How much power of influence each stakeholder has Peacocks over
Customers
Consumers create demand for the products offered by Peacocks. The wants of the consumers dictate to Peacocks what to produce and at what price.
Peacocks understands its customers’ needs, which is important. Customers dictate the pattern of Peacocks’ activities, as Peacocks will only offer goods, which customers will buy.
Customers are not members of Peacocks, but they are virtual to their survival. Customers buy the goods that Peacocks offers. Spending by customers generates income for Peacocks. Customers may be individuals but could also be other businesses. E.g. sole traders may buy items from Peacocks and sell them at cheaper prices in the market.
Demand
This is the amount of a product consumers are willing to purchase at any given price. Demand is concerned with what consumers are actually able to buy, rather than what they would like to buy.
Customers have different relationships with Peacocks
Peacocks needs to communicate with consumers to find out what they want. Market research helps Peacocks to collect information about its potential customers.
As well as collecting information from customers, Peacocks also passes on information about the nature of products, the price charged, how products work and where they might be bought. Advertising is often used to do this.
Contact between Peacocks and customers take place when goods are bought. This can vary, when goods are not available at the time the customer wants them. The employees will then take done the customer’s details and contact him or her when the goods arrive. The goods are ordered for the customer from another branch of the company.
Consumers are more aware of the products that are available in Peacocks stores. The prices, channels of complaint and product performance. Consumers have more income than ever before, and much greater expectations of products. Peacocks takes these expectations into account when designing, and marketing products.
Peacocks operates in a world consumers have increasing rights and protection. Because of increasing consumer expectations and awareness, improved consumer rights and fiercer competition in Peacocks, the vast majority of companies work hard at promoting good consumer relations. Peacocks accepts returned goods and reimburse customers without too much investigation.
Increase in demand
This is when a very large number of customers come to visit the store and buy large numbers of items each day. Raising demand can benefit Peacocks.
Decrease demand
This can result in falling sales, profits and possibly enclosure of the business.
Changes in demand
Money
It is reasonable to assume that the higher the incomes of consumers, the more they will be able to buy. When income in the UK as a whole increases, the demand for products in Peacocks will increase. The rise in income is unlikely to be same for everyone. Some consumers will have larger increase in income and others find that Peacocks’ products will only increase if the income of its customers buying its products increases.
Tastes
Some products are subject to changes in tastes and fashion. It is more usual for Peacocks to stop offering products which have gone out of fashion altogether.
They also provide income to Peacocks
- Number of customers and how much they spend
Peacocks needs the repeat business of customers, which results to regular income coming into the business, happy and loyal customers. It also results to recommendations of customers to their friends and family about Peacocks.
Customers contribute to profit
- Willing to pay for the items they want
- The more customers Peacocks gets the more profits received
Customers provide a source of market research and. they also ensure the servival of the Peacocks.
- By providing income and profit.
They stimulate the supply of goods and services.
Shareholders
They get a dividend each year and the higher Peacocks does, the higher return shareholders get. They provide the business with share value
Employees
They contribute to maximising of profits and they also provide their labour and skills to produce the service consumers want and therefore help Peacocks to achieve its main aims but mostly, they are likely to want more from Peacocks.
The role of employees in Peacocks is to follow the instructions of the employers. Employees are hired by Peacocks to help in its activities. Peacocks needs people with a range of skills and knowledge. The company provides a training scheme for new employees and familiarise them with the policies and working practices. Employees are more productive if they are taught good working practices from the time they start a new job in a new company. Managers of Peacocks are also employees.
Employees sign contracts of employment agreeing to follow all reasonable instructions related to their jobs. In return for their time and effort to their payment, i.e. a wage or salary. The amount Peacocks pays workers depends on a wide range of factors such as age, experience, qualifications, and the nature of the job (full time or part time). And level of skill required.
The following are the roles of employees in Peacocks
- To follow the health and safety rules.
- To cope with the introduction of new technology
- To participate more in problem solving and decision-making, perhaps in teams.
- To become more flexible and have adapted to the introduction of new working practices.
- Increased emphasis has been placed on training and learning new skills. E.g. departmental managers have been encouraged to develop personnel skills.
Managers: These deal in the following.
These deal in organising and making decisions
Peacocks is divided into departments. The owner appoints one manager to control each department. The manager will have responsibility for all activities and employees in the department. E.g. he may have helped to recruit employees, must make decisions about how the department should be run and ensure that department objectives are met. Employees in the department look to the manager for leadership, to solve problems, to communicate information to them, settle disputes, motivate them and represent the department at meetings.
Planning and control
Managers are also likely to contribute to the overall planning of company activities along with the owner and other mangers. They also have controlling role in Peacocks. This involves control of finance, equipment, time and people.
Accountability
Managers are accountable to the production department does not achieve a satisfactory level of output; the manager may have to ‘shoulder the blame’. This means a loss of a bonus payment.
Entrepreneurial role
Although managers do not risk their own money, they might risk their job. A manager might make a decision to install sound alarm at the door to prevent thieves from steeling from the shop. This could be successful and the manager may be promoted. However the alarm may be unsuccessful, the manager may be sucked. In carrying out this task the manager is innovating and risk taking.
Suppliers: They deal in.
Suppliers are businesses that provide resources, which allow Peacocks to produce goods. Resources include raw materials. Peacocks has a good relationship with its suppliers, which is important because they rely heavily on each other.
Generally, Peacocks requires suppliers to provide good quality resources at reasonable prices. They also need suppliers who are liable and flexible. In return, suppliers want Peacocks to provide a constant flow of profitable orders and pay on time.
It was said that the relationship between suppliers and producers has become more important in recent years (business studies second edition). The main reason for this is because modern production techniques often require Peacocks to cooperate
Suppliers want Peacocks to continue demanding them for products. They don’t want to only demand them once and stop. They also want to get their payments on time and without any fuss.
Suppliers contribute to the sole success of Peacocks because without them, Peacocks would not have anything to sale. And if the supply of goods delays, the sales go down. So Peacocks depends on its suppliers to survive.
The local community
The local community members are concerned with the business because they are employed by them or depend on them for employment and incomes. They are also concerned about the impact Peacocks has on the environment.
The activities of Peacocks are of interest not just to local communities but also to national and international communities.
Government
The government relies on the activities of Peacocks to create jobs, incomes and economic prosperity for the country. The government sets up health and safety regulations to protect employees in Peacocks. Environmental legislation aims to protect the community from Peacocks’ activities.
The government also affects Peacocks through its economic policies. For example an increase in interest rates which raises the cost of borrowing for Peacocks. In addition, some government activities help Peacocks. E.g. the private finance initiative encourages Peacocks to help the charity. More direct help may come from the European Union funds to set up in a particular area.
If Peacocks is successful, the government will also benefit. Tax revenues will rise, providing the government with extra funds.
Identification of which aspect of Peacocks affects each stakeholder group
Employees
Because Peacocks offers value for money to its customers and is responsible to customer complaints so it is pleasant for employees to work for it. Their main areas are;
- The way staff are treated.
- Whether the business is secure or likely to close down any day. They want their employers to treat them fairly.
- To allow them time off for emergencies, when these occur.
- To pay them sick pay when they are ill and holiday pay when they take a holiday.
- To comply with the law in health and safety employment protection.
- To employ managers who treat their staff with respect and courtesy.
- To give them interesting work to do which matches the job description.
- To support them if they want to improve themselves and study for more qualifications.
They want to be paid a fair rate of pay in relation to their people in the same type of job. They do not expect a company to pay more to a new member of staff doing the same type if work but who is younger has less experience and fewer qualifications. They expect their pay to be reviewed at regular intervals.
They want some job security even if they don’t want to stay there forever. They don’t want to work for a company with a ‘hire and fire’ philosophy or a company in danger of closing down because business is so poor. They hope that the business is flourishing so that there is promotion prospects if they work hard.
They are also likely to be more affected by more or less work changes in their rates of pay and the workload.
Because Peacocks group is successful, employees have more secure jobs unlike Top Girl Hairdressers Salon. They are also affected by holidays, which have to be taken. This affects Peacocks in a way that instead of consumers buying its products, they will spend the money on holidays.
Improving quality affects the employees in a way that they have a better product to sell and may need to be trained in new skills and it might negatively affect them in a way that the unskilled ones may be replaced and the workload may increase.
As the profits of Peacocks are now partly shared with the employees, the employees are directly affected if the company makes less profit so they tend to ensure the profits do not fall.
There are now many schemes, encouraged by the government, to get Peacocks to give their employees shares, or allow them to buy shares in the company.
Employees have their jobs because they need them to produce the good they will sell. If Peacocks does badly the employees may lose their jobs or, at least, receive lower pay. If it does well they may earn more income, gain promotion and receive shares.
In the UK there are 6,600 businesses that have more than 250 employees. When these businesses make decisions about rates of pay, working conditions or new products that may not to be a success, a very large number of employee stakeholders are affected.
On the other hand, the actions of the employees also have a great effect on Peacocks. Employees carry out the production in Peacocks and the standard of their work will determine how successful Peacocks is. The way that employees approach their work will have a major impact on all the selling factors.
Peacocks and its employers are clearly very closely related and influence each other greatly.
Creating a monopoly
This makes the jobs of existing employees more secure and it may also make some employees have no alternative firms to move to if they are unhappy where they are.
Creditors and suppliers
These will include suppliers who have sold raw materials to the business but also financial institutions that have lent money and the tax authorities who are waiting for VAT payments, etc. when firms become very big and powerful they may be the only firm that suppliers sell to. When this happens the firms have become monopolistic. This means a single buyer in a market.
Suppliers provide Peacocks with all the goods that they need in order to produce. Suppliers will include producers of what Peacocks offers for sale.
A supplier may also lose out simply because Peacocks as a customer decides to buy its products elsewhere.
Peacocks’ suppliers allow them to buy products on credit. When this happens, the supplier is owed money and may not receive it if the customers go bankrupt before they have paid.
So suppliers are affected to great extent by their customers. The reverse is also true. Suppliers often affect their customers. Examples would include:
- The quality of the product that the suppliers produce. This will affect Peacocks and their ability to sell their products to the customers.
- The cost of the product that the suppliers produce. This will affect how much profit Peacocks can make when it sells its products to the consumers.
How promptly products are delivered. If there is any delay in the delivery from the supplier, and the consumers cannot get what they want, they will go elsewhere.
Penetration pricing
This allows another business into the market and should increase orders to suppliers. The negative effect is that this makes take custom away from another business and reduce demand to their supplier.
Providers of finance
Providers of finance are specialist types of suppliers because they give Peacocks the money they need to start their business and to keep them running. More importantly, however, they expect Peacocks to act in certain ways. There are many possible providers of finance and they often expect different things from the businesses.
Banks
These lend money to Peacocks and expect the money to be returned and interest to be paid.
Shareholders
They provide finance by buying new shares and they expect to benefit by sharing in the profits. They want to make sure that Peacocks managers are making profits so that they will earn a return on the money they have invested in their shares. They will often vote on who they want to manage Peacocks and how it should be managed. The top management has to make a business plan about what they want to achieve. So many employees have shares. A share scheme is always put up.
Governments
They provide grants to Peacocks because it is set up in areas of high unemployment and they expect Peacocks to employ local people and reduce unemployment.
Suppliers
They provide finance by giving Peacocks credit and they expect that this will encourage Peacocks to continue to use them as suppliers.
Providers of finance will benefit if Peacocks does well but will suffer, and probably lose money, if Peacocks do badly.
Creating a monopoly
Should provide more funds to pay creditors and negatively Peacocks can become monopolists and they can dedicate terms to suppliers.
Competitors
If Peacocks is a monopoly it may have no competitors, but there are very few real monopolies around. Practically every business in the UK has a competitor, and in many industries competition is very fierce. They are interested in competitive prices, promotions, and vouchers.
There are many well-known examples of stores that are in close competition with Peacocks and these include;
- Bonmarche, littlewoods, Marks and Spencer, Primark, and Woolworth.
The competitors of Peacocks will be affected by what it does because its actions affect their customers. If Peacocks lowers its prices and the customers of Bonemarche or littlewoods may decide to buy in Peacocks instead.
Increased levels of competition
It may increase total sales and this will provide more money to pay creditors and it will negatively affect them in a way that prices will be lowered and may reduce profits and cash flow so creditors are paid later.
The government
The government’s interest in Peacocks is very wide. Peacocks provides the government with most of the taxes that it needs to pay for health, education, etc. Peacocks provides taxes directly because they pay VAT, but they also provide taxes because they pay incomes and their employees have to pay income tax. When Peacocks sells fewer goods, as in a recession, the government receives less tax revenue.
The government is also interested in how Peacocks is doing because it wants to have full employment and raise the standard of living of people in the UK. The main objective of government should be to make the life of the people in the country better. This should happen if people have jobs and money to spend and there are more products to spend the money on.
The government has a very positive interest in Peacocks otherwise it would hardly be trying to encourage them with initiatives such as regional aid. Peacocks create employment opportunities. They pay tax. People who are employed pay tax and don’t claim benefits, which means the government gains revenue. People who are more likely to save for their retirement so are less of a burden when they are older. They spend money, which helps the economy. They are generally happier and healthier people. If the economy is doing well and individuals feel prosperous, they are less likely to vote for a different political party at the next general election. These are all reasons why the government takes an active interest in Peacocks.
However, the government is aware that without any regulation some undesirable Peacock’s activities may take place. Smaller businesses would be at mercy of more powerful enterprises. Consumer rights may be ignored. Dangerous products may be offered
The community
The community will be affected by the levels of employment and the knock on effects of employees spending their incomes in the community. It will also be affected by efforts to make products more environmentally friendly, etc.
They are interested in what kind of business they want around them and vice versa. Sometimes it depends on type of people who live around the area.
Increased environmental quality of the products
Less pollution in the community, fewer accidents, etc. negatively, higher costs for products and this may mean less income for spending in the community.
Destroyer pricing
This may benefit the community if the destroyer firm is located there. Negatively, the community will lose income and have more unemployed people to pay for if the destroyed firm is located there.
Advertising
This may increase sales and employment in the area and provide more incomes to spend. Negatively, the advertisements may be large hoardings or big displays that destroy the atmosphere of the area.
Peacocks is a large business located in different communities and the different branches therefore affect that community. At the same time, the community is usually able to affect the business. The community will be affected by Peacocks because:
- Peacocks provides members of the community with jobs.
- Peacocks pays wages and salaries that will be spent in the community. When these are spent they will become someone else’s income and the whole community will benefit.
- If Peacocks closes down they may leave the community with fewer jobs, lower income.
- Peacocks may bring in employees from outside the area and affect the social make up of the community.
Peacocks supports community activities through sponsorship of local organisations.
Shareholders
Many of Peacocks’ shareholders have only a few shares and, therefore, no power to affect Peacocks. When Peacocks does well, or badly, however, a great many more people in the UK are now affected. The shareholders want more revenue and increased share price. However, the employees have a similar interest in common which is that they want more wages if Peacocks is doing well because they are the ones who contribute to the Peacocks’s well being. The shareholders also want expansion.
Shareholders have limited liability. As a result more people are prepared to risk their money in Peacocks.
The shareholders’ wishes are made known in the shareholders’ meetings of Peacocks. One great interest they have is their share of profits. Their dividend.
Peacocks bears in mind the political views of their shareholders. Other shareholders who are keen to protect the environment will want to know that Peacocks has a sound environmental policy.
Price wars
Increased profits for the owners of the businesses that win and survive.
Advertising
Shareholders’ profits increase if the advertisement is successful and if it is unsuccessful, or if it is just used because competitors are advertising, they will get lower profits.
Customers know what products are on sale. Negatively, prices may rise to cover the cost of advertising.
Customers
Customers will usually be affected by changes in the price of products, the range that is on offer or the quality.
Product differentiation
A wider choice of products. Negatively, prices may be put up simply because of minor differences.
Destroyer pricing
Customers benefit from lower prices while the destruction is taking place. Negatively, in the long run prices rise and there is less choice for the customer.
Customers may be positively and negatively affected by the way Peacocks operates.
Customers are the lifeblood of Peacocks the customers provide Peacocks with sales and hence with profits. Peacocks therefore listen very carefully to what their customers want and try to provide this, as long as they feel that this will also help them to achieve their business objectives.
Changes to their interests or expectations
Employees
Peacocks still see their employees as simply units of labour and just another cost that should be kept as low as possible so that they can make more profits.
There are now many more part time workers. This helps Peacocks because there is always someone there to work. It may also help the employees as it can fit in with running a home, looking after children and when they are not at school, and providing students with employment opportunities out of school hours.
There are now many more people who work from home, connected by the telephone, modem and computer. These ‘teleworkers’ do not need to be in an office and this saves the business money.
There are more people who have short-term contracts, because this allows Peacocks to get rid of these people easily when they do not want them. This affects the employee in a way that he may lose his job hence becoming jobless.
Giving employees shares and letting them share in the profits with profit related bonuses. This encourages employees to work harder because the more profits Peacocks makes the more they benefit personally.
Employees are now often a part of the decision making process, though quality circles, taking on management roles, etc. this motivates employees because they feel more involved. They will be more devoted to the company and work at their best to make sure that it is doing well.
There is now more flexible working through job rotation, job sharing, multi-skilling. All of these can help to reduce boredom, meet individuals’ job requirements and make employees feel valuable of the team of Peacocks.
Suppliers
The way in which products are supplied to customers has changed a great deal over the last 20 or 30 years in many cases producers have merged or been taken over and the suppliers have become very powerful. This power allows them to dictate to Peacocks because they want their products to fix prices, insist on payments with little credit and, in some cases, decide who they are going to sell to.
At the same time there are some sectors of industry, especially in services, where many new firms are competing and this helps to keep prices down and allows Peacocks to choose which supplier is best for them.
The other main change has been the growth of the power of Peacocks over their suppliers. Here Peacocks can decide who they will buy goods from and the suppliers are forced to accept the prices that their customers dictate.
Providers of finance
Many providers of finance, such as banks, will lend money to Peacocks when they set up. When Peacocks is successful and have paid back their loans, the banks will no longer be stakeholders, although Peacocks may borrow again to finance the purchase of new capital goods or if they are planning to expand.
As Peacocks grows they will buy more products and will expect more credit from their suppliers.
The competitors
Competition has always existed in business. The only thing that changes over time is how much competition there is.
The government
Each year more regulations and laws are introduced by the government and by the European Union. Peacocks has to take these laws on board and change the way they are operating. If they do not they may be fined, sued, or even forced to stop producing.
In some sectors of industry the government has less influence and control than before. The stockholding of the state has changed from being the owner, to being the tax collector and to being the guardian of the customer and the community.
The community
Communities have always taken an interest in what Peacocks in their area do. When Peacocks change what they are doing, or new businesses come into the area, the interest of the community may change. In the last 20 years or so there have been two main changes to communities that have tended to cancel each other out.
People tend to move their jobs and homes much more frequently now. When they do this they move away from the community of which they are not immediately a part. These of community and how it works together is therefore weekend.
The general public is now much more aware of issues like pollution or animal welfare, and people are often more willing to get involved in trying to stop businesses causing external costs and in making them improve their production. So that is why Peacocks make sure that they do not make any pollution.
Why the influences of stakeholders on Peacocks is different from the influence on Top Girl Hairdressers Salon
The influence on Peacocks is different from Top Girl hairdressers because Peacocks is a larger business than Top Girl hairdressers.
In Peacocks, finding and recruiting staff can be expensive because they need more staff than Top Girl hairdressers and they have to train the staff in so many activities which are carried out through the job.
Employees may have the same influence on Top Girl Hairdressers as Peacocks because they are both businesses, which employed them and will have to pay them reasonable wages. Although sometimes in a salon employees feel bored when they are out of customers while in Peacocks although there is no customer in the store, the members of staff have to keep busy by tiding up the shop floor which is large. So I think that employees in Peacocks get to do more work than employees in Top Girl hairdressers. Peacocks’ employees are more influential than Top Girl’s employees because Peacocks is a large business, which offers a wide range of goods for sale and receives so many customers than Top Girl hairdressers’ salon.
Customers have a different influence on Top Girl hairdressers and Peacocks in a way that in Top Girl hairdressers they may bargain over the amount to pay for the hairstyle a lower amount may be charged because the person is a regular customer.
Top Girl hairdressers’ suppliers are the high street shops so they don’t have to worry about getting paid on time because they buy the products like the community does then sell them to their customers on higher prices. On the other hand Peacocks suppliers have to provide them with discounts because they are repeat customers and buy in large quantities.
The providers of finance have a very big difference on the influences of the two businesses. This is because the smaller business which is Top Girl hairdressers is a sole trader and they are known to have bad payment terms with the financial providers while Peacocks is a large company which is know to have good financial terms with the financial providers.
The government may charge Top Girl hairdressers because it is a sole trader business. Any time they may be taken to court for not paying the rent.
People in the local community may not be very happy with the hair salon setting up in the area because it will not provide as much jobs as Peacocks. And since Peacocks sell cloths of different sizes and fashions, they may use it more than the hair salon.
The two companies’ stockholder’s power, influence and expectations may differ because Peacocks is a large business which involves a lot of people while Top Girl hairdressers salon is a small business which only involves Nadia (the owner), and her two assistants plus their customers.
Conflict of interest
Managers vs. employees
Request for pay rise and was denied
Not paying the employees for their overtime
Less output
Poor communication
Poor relationship
Managers taking more days off than employees
Managers taking longer lunch hours than other members of staff. The managers had to take a 2 to 3 lunch hour while the other staff had to take a 1-hour lunch break.
Some managers had to loose their jobs when the directors found out about the employees’ exploitation and some of them had to be transferred.
Customers wanted low prices for Peacocks’ products and this reduced shareholders’ profits.
Customers wanted Sunday opening hours, which run into trouble with the government’s Sunday trading laws.
Peacocks decided to give donations to charitable causes in the local community, which reduced profit to shareholders.
Shareholders and managers
In Peacocks the management team became powerful and influential. When this happened, they pursued their own interests rather than those of the shareholders. This involved paying themselves high salaries or organising their time to suit their own needs, whilst achieving satisfactory levels of profit rather than high levels of profit. This went against the interests of the shareholders who benefited more from higher profits.
Peacocks’ Managers wished to hold more cash, they wished to lower the firm's risk and subsequently increase job security, they also did want to work hard, they wanted to pay employees more than what they deserve, they wanted fancy offices.
Customers and Peacocks Company
The prices of the goods were at high prices and the customers could not afford them anymore.
Consumers were dissatisfied with the quality of products they bought.
Consumers were upset by poor after sales service.
How Peacocks reacted
All these affected the Peacocks Company in a way that the annual income decreased hence employees giving up their jobs.
The management were less focused and less informed about the company. It caused bad reputation for Peacocks as a well running company.
The employees refused to work extra days and overtime which led to decline in productivity and profits since the people who contributed to the profit increase were not happy.
Some shareholders had to sell their shares. This is often referred to as a divorce of ownership and control.
The employees lost respect and trust for their managers and low moral hence making the employees not working their best
Peacocks gave dissatisfied customers exchange or money back on the products that were returned.
Peacocks introduced after sale service procedures of giving money back or exchanging for anything in the store.
Peacocks reacted to this by constantly watching over managers and if the effort was not what shareholders expected they either moved or sucked managers. This can be classified as the managerial labour market, which can act as a constraint on management forcing them to act in shareholders' best interests. However, this constant shareholder monitoring is expensive and only partially successful (often the managers have better information and are more knowledgeable).
The Board of Directors (BOD) is the group that is designated to look out for shareholders' interests and monitor management. Peacocks’ shareholders elected the board with the fiduciary obligation to look out for the best interests of shareholders. For many reasons, this is only partially successful.
It is often easier for Peacocks to align incentives with a compensation contract that makes the manager better off if the shareholders are "happy" than to constantly monitor management. Peacocks does this indirectly with giving raises to managers who make shareholders "happy", or by giving bonuses if certain measures (usually accounting-based) are met.
What actually happened
What actually happened is that the members of staff requested for a pay rise of 10%. Unfortunately, they did not get it. They are very angry with that and they agreed to refuse to work when the managers call them in for overtime.
The management are unpopular with the employees because they feel that they are being exploited. For example, the managers take longer lunch breaks than the employees. They also take more days off than them.
The shareholders wished to maximise their profits, which involved charging the highest possible price. However, consumers wanted to buy goods as cheaply as possible.
Consumers were dissatisfied with the quality of products they bought which resulted to returning them to the shop hence Peacocks loosing income.
The disagreements arose due to the fact that managers are people and will act in what they believe to be their own best interests. The fact that Peacocks’ managers and shareholders have differing incentives is well established. Thus to lower agency costs these incentives must somehow aligned.
How Peacocks is following the trends
This business follows the trends mentioned in the tertiary sector because their main activity is retailing. They accept credit cards for the customers who have no money but as long as their credit is clear. So this gives a chance to customers who do not have any money at the particular time they go is the store to shop.
These are some of the credits cards accepted in Peacocks.
Peacocks staff now have flexible hours. By this they create time for their families and friends. It also reduces boredom to the work they do. The company also employs students to work part time while going to college.
Peacocks mostly employs women. I think this is because most percentage of what they offer for sale are women’s wear. That is how it follows the trends in the retail sector.
Peacocks open on weekends, which contributes to maximising profits. Customers who work full time also get a chance to do shopping.
How the trends of growth or decline of tertiary sector is affecting Peacocks
The disposable income of consumers affects Peacocks in a way that their goods will be bought according to how much the consumers will earn. If their consumers do not receive pay rise, then the business will receive less profits. It has also affected the business in a way that during summer or Christmas season some consumers spend their money in buying holidays instead of buying cloths. Sot his also reduces profits.
The expansion of many business and opening up of larger shopping centres has affected Peacocks in a way that some of the stores have managed to locate in the shopping centres hence receiving more customers while and some have managed to expand in many other areas.
Due to the expansion of Peacocks stores, a number of retail jobs have been created and people have been employed on part time, and flexible hours. And the stores now open on weekends.
Because fewer people do their shopping locally, Peacocks introduced mail order shopping over the Internet. The company introduced its website which is which the customers can visit and find out all the products available for sale and the prices, which they can put in the shopping basket and then buy with either credit card or debit cards. That is after they have registered.
Peacocks is governed by licensing laws. The company is affected by extended licensing hours, which affects their operation.
The number of restaurants, which has increased in Britain, affects Peacocks in A way that people will spend their money in going out to eat rather than visiting the Peacocks store to buy the products. This will result in Peacocks’ sales going down.
The fast foods, which continue to be popular, also stop or prevent customers from buying products because they spend the money on food. They may not spend all of it on food but if they were going out to buy more items from Peacocks, they would buy less after eating because some of the money would be spent on food from McDonalds, KFC, and Burger king.
Deregulation which has increased competition on bus services has affected Peacocks in a way that bus fares are raising and so people will not be able to afford Peacocks’ products.
How the Peacocks is responding
Peacocks responds to the disposable income by providing discounts to students, the members of staff and offering some products half price. This attracts many consumers to buy the products knowing that they will either receive discounts or the products are for half price. But not all the products are reduced the half price products are reduced because of the number of days the spend on the shop floor. If the item is new, then the price will stay the same.
Peacocks is responding to the expansion of many businesses by setting up new stores in other areas. Recently, a new Peacocks store was set up in Forest gate. I think it was due to a few clothing retail outlets in the area.
Peacocks has responded to this by employing Students who also have got a chance of earning some money while going to college, which reduces boredom for all Peacocks’ staff and profits have been maximised.
Peacocks responds to bus fare competition by lowering their prices on the products they offer. To make it easier for the customers to afford them.
The business is now offering half price products and also offering some items on sale in order to attract more customers to spend their money in the store rather than on holidays.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following are all the sources I have used to complete this project.
- GNVQ intermediate in Business Studies. It’s a book authored by Carol Carysforth, and Mike Neild.
- Foundation/Intermediate GNVQ Business. It’s a book authored by R G Bywaters, JE Evans-Pritchard, A J Glasser, and E Z Mayer.
- My lecturer whose name is Ms. Andrea.Young
- The company’s website which is www. Peacocks.co.uk