Abstract

Spencer’s is major retail firm in India that operates in hypermarket and supermarket space. True to the formats, food and grocery business is the strength of Spencer’s. This case focuses on two strategic issues typical of retail business in most emerging markets: should the company follow aggressive growth model (that is used by many competing retailers who have more market share than Spencer’s) or should it consolidate its current position and focus on profitability instead. The case provides adequate customer information, competitors’ strategy vis-à-vis Spencer’s strategy to carry out an in depth analysis of retail business environment and generate appropriate strategy. This can be used for discussing retailing as well as marketing strategy

Learning Objective 

•  Identify and appreciate the various elements of marketing / retail strategy
• Develop a framework (process) for the “formulation / analysis of retail strategy”
• Examine and evaluate various strategic options available to organized retail players  (viz. innovativeness,  differentiation, profitability etc.) and suggest implementation decisions