COMPANY BACKGROUND

‘Leisure Games is a specialist Games retailer. We stock only Games, and pride ourselves in having a remarkable breadth of stock of Games of all types (except computer Games!). We stock Role-playing, War games, Collectable Card Games, Board Games from all over the World, Miniatures, Traditional Games and Non-Collectable Card Games.

We also stock accessories, such as dice, scenery, game mats, counter trays, card sleeves etc.

We operate a Worldwide Mail Order Service which has the highest reputation for being fast, efficient and friendly. We use First Class mail or 48 hour guaranteed delivery for UK destinations, and Air Mail for Overseas destinations.

The shop is crammed full of virtually every game you could think of, and quite a few that you have most probably never even heard of. We stock every new game that we can (Role-playing, War games, European Board games, Collectable & Non collectable Card Games) as soon as it comes into the country, and do our best to ensure that we keep them in stock for as long as supplies are available, so for all your gaming needs, whether they be current best sellers or obscure titles that other shops would have to order specially for you, give Leisure Games a try! Because of the stocks we keep we can send your order out the same day in over 99% of cases, so usually the games you order will be with you in a couple of days at most’.

  1. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

UK market for games is the world's third largest behind the US and Japan. The industry generates per annum some £1.1 billion of value to the UK in terms of retail, distribution and publishing margins, development advances and royalties. It employs more than 20,000 people including 6,000 in development – well above any of our European neighbours. And is a significant contributor to the UK's balance of trade delivering a positive £186m balance and so compares very favourably with other creative industries such as film and TV.

The following is a description of some of Leisure Games direct competitors and their web sites:

Their website was good and it had latest games updates.

This site is quite hi tech. they have easy to use ‘buying online’ features. They are linked to Amazon.

This website was not functioning at the time research was conducted.

This company has 4 branches. Their web site looked good and was easy to use. They had good graphics. They also had a site meter that registered how many hits they received.

As a part of this analysis, the following tools were used in order to identify the external and internal influences on Leisure Games and the industry as a whole:

P.E.S.T analysis (external)

Porter’s 5 forces (external)

S.W.O.T analysis

We also constructed a possible questionnaire that the company could use, either by including them in the package sent off, or by posting it on the web site as a pop up menu, asking visitors to quickly fill it in. This questionnaire could be posted periodically, so as to not be a constant nuisance, only to evaluate customer’s opinions and to assess satisfaction.

  1. P.E.S.T ANALYSIS

Political Factors: The political arena has a huge influence upon the regulation of businesses, and the spending power of consumers and other businesses. You must consider issues such as:

  • Tax on downloadable games.
  • No obvious regulations on card games
  • Economy seems stable at the moment

.Economic Factors: Marketers need to consider the state of a trading economy in the short and long-terms. This is especially true when planning for international marketing. You need to look at:

  • Interest rates
  • Higher disposable income
  • There is high level of inflation and unemployment.

Socio-cultural Factors: The social and cultural influences on business vary from country to country. It is very important that such factors are considered. Factors include:

  • People work very hard and value their leisure time
  • The population is ageing
  • People are receptive of different cultures ,ideas and opinion

 Technological Factors: Technology is vital for competitive advantage, and is a major driver of globalization. Consider the following points:

  • Internet and video games are becoming more popular
  • Faster communication systems
  • Easier assess to resources

  1. PORTER’S FIVE FORCES

The model of the Five Competitive Forces was developed by Michael E. Porter in his book, Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors’ in 1980. Since that time it has become an important tool for analysing an organizations industry structure in strategic processes. 

Porter’s model is based on the insight that a corporate strategy should meet the opportunities and threats in the organizations external environment. Especially, competitive strategy should base on and understanding of industry structures and the way they change.

Porter has identified five competitive forces that shape every industry and every market. These forces determine the intensity of competition and hence the profitability and attractiveness of an industry. The objective of corporate strategy should be to modify these competitive forces in a way that improves the position of the organization. Porter’s model supports analysis of the driving forces in an industry. Based on the information derived from the Five Forces Analysis, management can decide how to influence or to exploit particular characteristics of their industry. 

The Five Competitive Forces: the Five Competitive Forces are typically described as follows:

Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The term 'suppliers' comprises all sources for inputs that are needed in order to provide goods or services.

  • This might be high in this case as it an area of specialisation e.g. out-of-print games suppliers
  • It may be low in some cases as it is very easy to get games from anywhere. 

Bargaining Power of Customers: Similarly, the bargaining power of customers determines how much customers can impose pressure on margins and volumes. This is high because:

  • Switching to an alternative product is relatively simple and is not related to high costs
  • Many sellers.

Threat of New Entrants: The competition in an industry will be the higher; the easier it is for other companies to enter this industry. In such a situation, new entrants could change major determinants of the market environment (e.g. market shares, prices, customer loyalty) at any time. There is always a latent pressure for reaction and adjustment for existing players in this industry. The threat of new entries will depend on the extent to which there are barriers to entry. These are typically:

  •  Economies of scale (minimum size requirements for profitable operations),
  •  Brand loyalty of customers
  • Access to products

Threat of Substitutes: A threat from substitutes exists if there are alternative products with lower prices of better performance parameters for the same purpose. They could potentially attract a significant proportion of market volume and hence reduce the potential sales volume for existing players. This category also relates to complementary products.

  • Computer games
  • Video game
  • Other forms of entertainment

Competitive Rivalry between Existing Players: This force describes the intensity of competition between existing players (companies) in an industry.

  • There are not a lot of game cards company so rivalry is relatively low.
  • Barrier to exit is low.

  1. S.W.O.T ANALYSIS

Strengths:

  • Their stock turnover rate is fast
  • Their delivery service is efficient
  • They offer specialist products and services, making them unique
Join now!

Weaknesses:

  • The company does not currently have a system of customer evaluation and feedback, and from a marketing perspective, its important for a firm to aware of their consumer’s opinion, habits, and purchasing behaviour
  • Relying more on their website means that it will have to be constantly monitored, maintained and updated – perhaps more equipment might need to be purchased, or more staff employed

Opportunities:

  • The website could be updated more often
  • Leisure Games could the internet to its advantage and broaden its customer base
  • A sample game demo could be uploaded to the web site so ...

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