Below I have shown a table of how much profit Tesco has made over the last few years. The figures shown below are for both stores in the United Kingdom and also externally outside the United Kingdom. The table shows the turnover for that year, the profit before and after tax and also how much is earned on each share in percentage.
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Tesco can follow the lead of other supermarkets and charge for carrier bags. This could also raise prestige and in the recent times of recession it could promote Tesco’s name as caring for the environment. For Tesco to make more profit they can also create more loyalty schemes such as the Tesco card which rewards customers when they use the Tesco stores; the card builds up points for the customers whenever they use the store and when they have got enough points they can get a discount on their shopping or rewards such as money off vouchers for hotels and various other items. Tesco should also increase profit through bigger advertising campaigns such as airing more advertisements on more television channels, they could also put more advertisements of their special offers on billboards close to busy areas such as on main roads and near city centres.
Another way Tesco could create more profit is to reduce total costs. The way they could this is by negotiating with suppliers to cut down on prices. This would mean that they could either be making more profit on each item they sell or they could reduce the price of the items so more customers come to shop at Tesco meaning they would have more market share. When businesses buy in bulk from suppliers then they can get a cheaper price as the suppliers are actually getting more business. If the suppliers do not discount the price or negotiation do not come to a successful conclusion then Tesco can look around for new suppliers who could deliver the goods at a better price.
Tesco should employ temporary staff at busier times of the year meaning that they would not have to pay them overtime as they would have to pay to full time staff. At peak times of the year Tesco need more staff as there are lots more customers to deal with then normal. Tesco needs to make sure that all customers are fully satisfied. If customers are not satisfied then they will return and will turn to other supermarkets. The customers will also tell their friends and family to visit another supermarket if they are not happy because they would not want them to have the same experience as them.
In many Tesco stores there are now alternative energy stores e.g. wind turbines and solar panels. These alternative energy sources are contributing to the companies profit as they are not spending as much money on electricity. The alternative energy sources could also contribute to Tesco’s reputation and prestige.
Growth
Growth is when a business grows in size, this could mean that it has a bigger market share, gets more employees or just grows it amount of profit. Businesses and organisations many want to grow because it could mean greater profit for them to grow because it would mean greater profit for them as they would have a bigger market share. Relating to market share the firm may want to be the market leader again meaning more profit. When a company is larger it is easier for them to survive when business is slow and they are not getting much custom. This is because they have larger amounts of stock and their reputation and size helps them borrow money more easily then smaller companies.
Businesses can grow through many methods; I will now start to outline these methods. Firstly businesses can grow by opening new places of business to meet consumer demand. In terms of Tesco they can open more stores in new places, this can also relate to diversification as Tesco have opened many stores in different countries outside the United Kingdom. When businesses open more stores they firstly research the consumer demand for a supermarket in that area as it is a really big risk otherwise.
Tesco was originally specialising in only food and surplus items but has now many types of products they sell in many types of stores. Tesco has diversified its shop format so they can be successful in business e.g. they don’t have supermarkets the original type of store in town centres as firstly, it would be very expensive to buy or rent the space to make the store and secondly there would be no space for a car park. Also, it would be very hard for the store to products delivered as Lorries wouldn’t have enough space to maneuver and if would cause havoc in the town centre if they did manage to get to the store. Lastly, people don’t go to the town centre to buy groceries or do their weekly shop. People got to the town centre if they work there or buy household and electrical items so it would be pointless for them to waste space and money on building a massive superstore when they can build a much smaller one and just put essential items such as newspapers, snacks, a small range of food and drink; toiletries and cigarettes etc.
Tesco has grown immensely since it first opened in 1919. From a market stall owned by Jack Cohen it has diversified into one of the world’s biggest supermarket chains and has been the only supermarket chain in the top 5 supermarket chains that has changed and has moved up the ladder in size of market share and profitability terms. For Tesco to gain more market share they would have had to complete the following objectives: they have diversified into new product ranges, different types of stores, new markets (internationally), different types of business. By Tesco doing the above things they have now moved up and gained market share. I now explain the objectives I have outlined above.
Diversifying their product range – would mean that their business would appeal to more people such as Tesco’s Finest range appeals to the customers who are on a higher wage then others whereas Tesco’s Value range appeals more to consumers who are on a tighter budget and have to look more carefully as to what they buy.
Diversifying shop format – this is when Tesco have differentiated the format of certain stores to make them more successful in certain places. E.g. in Town centres there are Tesco Metro stores as they cater best for the market as people in town only go to shop for a few groceries that they didn’t manage to get from their weekly shop. Another different type of Tesco store is a Tesco Extra store. This type of store is mainly situated out-of-town as these stores are very large stores that stock all of Tesco’s products. They contain products from all Tesco stores and sometimes stock extra products such as furniture and outdoor products.
Diversifying into new markets (internationally) – Tesco has diversified into many international markets around the world. Tesco has gone into markets in Europe with France, Hungary and the Czech Republic and also in Asia and America. The stores in Asia are in Japan, China, Malaysia and Thailand. Tesco has a chain of nearly 100 stores in the United States of America called ‘Fresh & Easy.’ The United Kingdom is still the base and where the Tesco’s headquarters are. The UK is also still the base for major operations and is also still the area which creates the most income and it also has the most stores. Outside the United Kingdom, Thailand has the most stores with 532 stores but South Korea generates the most revenue with only a 142 stores. I have shown that Tesco is as much of a success internationally as it is the United Kingdom. This shows that Tesco has grown successfully over the years and has firmly secured its place in the world market. Tesco are consistently opening more and more stores and continuing to grow.
Tesco should invest in more businesses and opportunities to maximise their profitability. Tesco should in the future and have already invested in some business opportunities such as creating their own financial services. Tesco created their own financial services with help from Royal Bank of Scotland as they had a share of the profits but Tesco have now bought out Royal Bank of Scotland’s shares and now fully own their own bank. With Tesco owning their own bank they can generate a lot more profit then with just a supermarket chain, this is because everyone will want to invest their money in banks and reliable businesses. When investing in banks you know that you will get your money back and with certain accounts you can even get interest. Tesco can even diversify their product range meaning more accounts for more customers.
Prestige and reputation is very important for firms as this is one of the major factors which separate Tesco from its competitors. Tesco has a very good reputation and smaller firms would not be able to cope with Tesco’s reputation as they are well known all over the world. Having a good reputation means that Tesco have an edge on their competitors as customers would want to get the best products. Tesco have grown their reputation and made their company a household name all over the world by providing great customer service and also great quality products to their customers Tesco have grown their prestigious name since 1919 when Jack Cohen opened his stall selling leftovers and unneeded items. Growing a name for your company takes many, many years and also depends on the size of the company. Bigger companies tend to start off small and then as they start to build their reputation they expand and they continue to build on their reputation.
Tesco have a very good reputation, this is proven by their sales figures and their very large market share. Their market share is the biggest of the big four supermarkets in United Kingdom and are 4th in the world behind only Carrefour, Home Depot and the largest supermarket chain in the world Wal-mart. Tesco could not compete with the might of Wal-mart in the United States so they opened a different range of stores in America which are called ‘Fresh & Easy.’ These store specialise in mostly fresh produce and each store stocks different products that are relative to which state or city they are located in. this builds Tesco’s prestigious name because they are thinking about the customer more then the other supermarkets making them very unique in this category. Caring about the customer is the most important part of building a reputation as if you don’t care about the consumer then you are not giving them a reason to come and shop with you.
I will now outline the aims and objectives for Chester Zoo. I will be explaining the four main aims which are survival, profit, growth and prestige.
I will now explain what survival means in the terms of Chester Zoo. Chester zoo have had to complete many objectives to survive e.g. bring in new animals regularly, complete conservation projects and provide a high level of welfare for their inhabitants. The zoo also has to provide proper training and teach new skills to their employees so they know how to treat the customers properly and cater for their needs. The zoo plans all their operations before they actually commence so this helps them to complete their work quickly and efficiently. As they know what exactly they are going to do Chester zoo can complete their tasks to a very high standard ensuring that the animals are safe and comfortable and also the customers are well looked after on their visit to the zoo.
Another objective that Chester Zoo need to continually improve is their customer service skills and need to find new ways that they can improve on their performance. Providing great customer service is vital to Chester Zoo’s survival as they need customers to revisit and for existing customers to recommend the zoo to other people so they visit the zoo as well. The only way the zoo can do this is if they provide the customers with excellent customer service, this would then make the customers want to come back because they had a really good experience at the zoo. There is data that suggests that when people have a good experience they tell 3 people and when they have a bad experience they tell 17 people. This data suggests that customer service is a priority when it comes to improving the zoo and bringing in more customers, customer service is very important to the zoo in their aim for survival.
Chester zoo could also work to improve on the range of the animals they have and also the number of each animal they have. Chester Zoo would continue to get more customers and therefore survive and complete their first aim. The zoo has to get more animals in on a regular basis as if they don’t customers who have already visited the zoo won’t want to visit again as they would just get bored of the same animals. If Chester zoo continue to get new animals in on a regular basis then this would contribute to their conservation work and would also make them unique and would make the zoo a more attractive offer then the zoo’s rivals.
Chester Zoo could be closed down permanently if they don’t have enough money to pay all the staff wages and more importantly look after and care for the animals. If a case of Foot and Mouth disease hit the zoo then the zoo would have to close it premises and would not be able to open up for business as they would be in fear of the disease spreading. In 2001 a severe case of Foot and Mouth disease hit the United Kingdom and caused the zoo to close down for six weeks. In this time Chester Zoo nearly ran out of money and could not afford to pay their employees if the zoo was closed for any longer but fortunately the Foot and Mouth disease was over and the zoo re-opened for business.
Chester Zoo need to price their admission prices carefully so they are competitive and gives the customer good value for money, this is decisive in the zoo surviving because if the zoo doesn’t get any customers because of the admission price, they will have to close down. The zoo also has to make sure Chester Zoo is safe and sound and sound, all the animals are in good health and the zoo is in a good, clean state. When the zoo consistently meets these objectives they can then compete with their rivals and hopefully survive.
I will now outline what profit means in the terms of Chester zoo. Every business’s main aim is to make profit so you would think that this would be the same case for Chester Zoo as well but Chester zoo does not class its income as profit as it a charity. Charities do not make any profit they just plough all profit back into the business on conservation projects, welfare of the animals and wages of the employees. So Chester Zoo does not actually make a profit and they follow the practice of other charities and plough the profit made back into the charity helping their cause. Chester Zoo plough all the profit they make back into the charity for work on conservation projects, providing good welfare for the animals and also providing safe and secure surroundings for the animals and also visiting customers.
Chester Zoo needs to continue to make profit and find new sources of income such as secondary spending which is spending after the primary spending meaning the entrance fee. Secondary spending can be made in the cafés, on the ice rink and on the monorail. When Chester zoo bring in a lot of money through secondary spending they are adding to their conservation projects and ultimately saving more animals.
Chester Zoo are constantly evaluating to try and get more profit meaning they are helping more and more animals keeping them out of danger and helping them survive. Chester Zoo should introduce new initiatives and special offers to help deliver more profit. The initiatives that could be introduced could be something like: Tuesday treat £10 to spend in our café’s and restaurants when you have two full paying adults.
Another way they could get bigger revenue is through loyalty rewards and special offers to valued customers. These offers could be sent through the mail or if they want to reduce costs to maximise potential profit they can send the letters by email. This would also make their firm greener and more environmentally friendly. Giving the zoo a better reputation will also add to their revenue because when they have a more prestigious name then more people would want to go somewhere where they have heard good reviews about from family and friends.
Profit is not the biggest concern for the zoo as Chester zoo do not actually make any profit. This is because they regard profit as money given to charity so they plough all money raised back into the business. The zoo’s main concern is the conservation of animals and plants and to help them survive in the wild. The zoo also brings animals and plants back to the zoo where they are at danger of extinction in the wild. Chester Zoo should work with their competitors instead of competing against them, this way both parties are happy and are making enough profit to keep their operations up and running.
The next aim that I should explore is growth but this is not really relevant to the zoo at the moment. The zoo could on its premises build a theme park but this could not be anywhere close to the animals itself as it would be a discomfort to animals because of the noise from the zoo and also the very tall structures in a theme park may frighten some of the animals. If Chester Zoo does build a theme park on their land it would add to their profitability and would generate more money to complete operations but the theme park would also alter their main aim which is to protect as many animals and wildlife as possible. As the zoo doesn’t make profit and this is not their aim then I shall advise against the zoo against making a theme park. The zoo should instead invest money in building another zoo in another part of the country. This other zoo could have the same attractions as Chester zoo so people who live too far to visit Chester zoo can visit the other zoo. Chester zoo have many areas where they could build this zoo such as somewhere in the south of England around Cambridge would be a good place as it is a good distance away from other zoo’s and would have a good income as it would be close residentially as there are universities in that part of the country. Chester zoo could also take over another zoo, this would mean that they would not have to start from scratch and they would already have a customer base meaning that they would have a steady income it is just that they would need more conservation projects and would need to get in more endangered species to attract more customers. Chester zoo already have a very good knowledge about zoo’s and how to run them but if they built a theme park the would have to get experts in to and would have to go through rigorous procedures to make sure they get it right and this would cost them a lot of their revenue which they could have spent on getting conservation projects whereas if they took over another zoo and rebranded it with their image and improved it a little bit then they could make a bigger revenue helping to save more animals
Instead of making a theme park which would require Chester Zoo to create another department, Chester Zoo should just create another zoo in another location as they already have the expertise to manage another zoo because they have kept Chester zoo ahead of its rivals for more then a hundred years. Chester Zoo should concentrate on their own strengths as a zoo, creating a theme park would make them focus their attentions on another area of business therefore making it a risk to proceed with that idea.
I will now outline what prestige means in the terms of Chester Zoo. This aim is absolutely vital to nearly all businesses as everyone wants to have a good name and when you have a better reputation you can make more profit as consumers will want to visit firms that have a better reputation because consumers want quality. Reputation is built up by providing customers quality products and services. Chester Zoo need to have very good prestige because most customers that visit the zoo are repeat customers not first time customers. Therefore the zoo needs to target really good customer service to give them a better name and reputation therefore helping them to bring more customers to the zoo.
Firstly, the zoo needs to target training as good customer service is all about the training given to employees and how they effectively produce such skills when situations arise. Chester zoo are working towards gaining an Investor In People award(IIP) award so that means that they are on their way to completing this objective as they are training employees consistently well and helping them to learn and use new skills. Chester zoo need to make sure each and every employee is dressed smartly and is reflecting the zoo’s image. Chester zoo should concentrate on what they do best as this will also raise their name and prestige. The zoo can accommodate more operations and help save more wildlife such as Bengal tigers as there are only a few hundred left in the whole world and when the zoo raises awareness about animals like these then they will get lots of good publicity making sure that everyone knows their name and will recognise their brand.