For the purpose of meeting the goals and objectives of this assignment, we will be choosing two brands of retail stores such that one is strong and the other one is not and then after comparison and contrasting, we would propose a brand plan for the less successful retail store. Brand equity and brand portfolio of both the retail store will be analyzed in much detail. Let us look at the comparison and contrasting of the chosen retail store. We have chosen Walmart as the successful retail store and Safeway, Inc. as the less successful one.
Walmart
We know that Walmart has established itself as one of the topmost retail stores across the America as well as various other parts of the world. The retail store was established in the decade of sixties as has successfully spread out its branches in hundreds across the globe (Walmart, n.d.). Walmart has successfully positioned itself as one of the biggest hypermarket and grocery stores. However, its image as the discount store is more accepted which is also evident from its slogan which says Low Prices, Every day. In the unstable economic conditions of the present, people have become a spendthrift. They want to buy items of daily use at low prices without compromising on quality standards. Sub-brands of Walmart are operating successfully in various regions of the world. The products offered by Walmart are of multiple categories such as food items, grocery items, electronics, clothing, furniture, home improvement, patio and garden, baby items, health and fitness products. Walmart offers products of several brands under its roof as well as a brand portfolio of its own brand name (Lepore, 2011).
Safeway, Inc.
Forbes (2014) mentioned that Safeway is the name of one of the oldest supermarket chains in America, especially in central and North America. The retail store was founded in 1915 and after hundred years, it has more than twenty-five hundred stores across north America. Safeway has a long history of mergers and takes overs. The company had to bear losses due to the economic recession. The products offered by Safeway are mostly grocery items and other items of regular use. However, the brand portfolio of Safeway has widened over time by including products under several brand names as well as unbranded products under the label of Safeway (Fisher, 1988). Special organically grown fruits and vegetables are also available to the customers so as to promote a healthy lifestyle. Safeway has also established itself into prepaid cards and fuel stations to facilitate the customers. The negative aspects of Safeway which make it a little less successful than the popular Walmart are the high prices of grocery items as well as the unsatisfied workforce.
Low pricing, special discounted deals, discounted coupons make Walmart more attractive to customers. In the present time, where customers both single and families have a very busy lifestyle where they want to get more by spending less, they cannot afford to visit supermarkets where they waste time making comparison of prices on small items. Walmart is that one store where every item of use of available to customers at prices and quality which they can trust. Customers who visit Safeway do not get to know about the high prices they are paying for regular grocery items before they visit Walmart. They are disappointed when they notice that the for the same item such as tomato ketchup, they are paying a dollar extra. Poor customer satisfaction and retention strategies also make Safeway less successful brand as compared to Walmart. Employees are Walmart work in shifts and enjoy various benefits and perk. Loyalty programs by Walmart also keep the employees motivated and committed. Employees have access to special offers which they can avail to buy monthly grocery at cheap rates. Health and well-being plans are of great importance to employees. Walmart has special policies for ensuring that they manage the talent pool in an effective manner and employee’s exhibit loyalty. Stock ownership plans, transparent performance management, training and workshops make Walmart an attractive and amazing organization to work. The web is loaded with testimonials from Walmart employees which inform the public of how well they are treated by the management and express loyalty and desire to stay with Walmart forever. Matthews (2012) supported the success of Walmart by mentioning that the culture at Walmart is strong which all employees cherish and is enrooted deeply in their behavior, actions, and customer dealings.
On the other hand, the employees of Safeway are not very content with the management and policies directed towards employees benefits. Although the employees look very professional at the stores of Safeway in a white and black suit but the inner satisfaction is close to negligible. Both full time and part time employees complain of not getting paid on time and even not receiving the benefits they were promised. The employees are trained only once when they are hired and there exist no further career growth and development opportunities for them. Hess (2013) writes that many times, the salaries are not dispatched to the employees on time which makes them dissatisfied and switches jobs frequently.
Brand Equity
The brand equity of Safeway is much lower than that of Walmart which is due to its bad history of mergers and acquisitions. The brand equity of Walmart has been increasing over the years because the aim of Walmart is to bring back the customers for more whereas Safeway only wants the customers to take a big cart full of grocery items to their car and does not offer much to them to exhibit any form of loyalty. Bick (2009) proposed that brand equity is all about the value which customers receive from associating themselves with a certain brand.
Brand Portfolio
The brand portfolio of Walmart includes Sam’s Choice which offers products to promote nourishment; Great Value which includes products accounting for significant part of Walmart’s product strategy; Equate is a brand which includes products for beauty and skincare and healthy living; Mainstays is a brand which is popular in offering furniture and bedding; scarf, shoes, ties, wallets and formal clothing items for kids, females and males are offered by George; Parent’s choice offer products of baby food, baby accessories, and baby care; Ol’Roy offers food items for pets especially dogs and; White Stag targets women with formal and informal accessories. The brand portfolio of Safeway includes various private labels which keep on adding and subtracting from the list of brands available at the supermarket. The products which are selected to putting on shelves at the stores of Safeway are good companies.
Brand Audit and Proposed Brand Plan
We will conduct a brief brand audit Walmart and Safeway and do a comparison and contrast and then propose a brand plan for the weak brand that is Safeway. Keller (2013) mentioned that brand equity is a very comprehensive process which is carried out for the purpose of unearthing the sources of brand equity. Brand equity helps marketers access the health of a specific brand. It also suggests ways of understanding brand equity from the perspectives of the organization as well as customers. There are two steps of a brand audit process namely brand inventory and brand exploratory. Brand inventory is all about brand profiling meaning detailing the features of brand or service as perceived by the organization whereas brand exploratory is a research activity which is aimed at understanding how customers view a product or service associated with a brand as well as look for sources of brand equity. In the case of Walmart, the performance of the retail store is extraordinary. The customer service is excellent, insanely low prices are offered to the customers on daily basis, the return is hassle free and offers a variety of items which satisfies the shopping needs of customers. Customers find it convenient to buy from Walmart as everything is available under a single roof. Customers rely on the products and prices offered by Walmart and see it as an economical option for shopping for individuals as well as busy families (Cascio, 2006). On the other hand, Safeway is a bit expensive brand which does not offer discounted prices to its customers every time they shop. Although discount cards are provided to customers to buy grocery items at a low price but the prices cannot be compared to Walmart. The brand portfolio of Walmart is strong and customers trust quality whereas the brand portfolio of Safeway is based on private brands which may change whenever mergers and acquisitions take place. The employees of Walmart are quite satisfied with the overall culture, benefits, training and development opportunities and cherish diversity whereas the employees of Safeway are not satisfied with the compensation and benefits and exhibit no loyalty towards the retail store brand. The branches of Walmart are spread out in more than twenty-seven countries whereas those of Safeway are concentrated in North America and international expansion has not taken place in more than six countries. In order for Safeway to strengthen its brand equity, it must consider re-positioning its brand. Safeway must realize that customers prefer to buy items of daily use from those stores where they are offered quality as well as low prices. Economic structure never remains stable for a long time which is why the purchasing power also varies and busy lifestyle also prefers low priced items. Safeway must understand the changing needs and demands of customers and respond timely like Walmart.
References
Bick, G.N., 2009. Increasing shareholder value through building customer and brand equity. Journal of Marketing Management, 25(1-2), pp.117-141.
Cascio, W.F., 2006. Decency means more than “Always low prices”: A comparison of Costco to Wal-Mart's Sam's Club. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(3), pp.26-37.
Fisher, L.M., 1988. Safeway Buyout: A Success Story. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/21/business/safeway-buyout-a-success-story.html?pagewanted=all. Last accessed 19th April 2016.
Forbes., 2014. Safeway's Not The Best Bet In Supermarket Stocks.Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/zacks/2014/01/07/safeways-not-the-best-bet-in-supermarket-stocks/#400ce31d5307. Last accessed 20th April 2016.
Hess, A.E.M., 2013. 9 retailers with the worst customer service.Available: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/03/16/9-retailers-worst-customer-service/1991519/. Last accessed 18th April 2016.
Keller, Kevin L., 2013, Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity. Global 4th edition, Pearson, Boston.
Lepore, M., 2011. Here's How Walmart Became The #1 Grocery Store In The Country. Available: http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-biggest-supermarket-2011-2. Last accessed 20th April 2016.
Matthews, C., 2012. 10 Ways Walmart Changed the World. Available: http://business.time.com/2012/07/02/ten-ways-walmart-changed-the-world/slide/every-day-low-prices/. Last accessed 16th April 2016.
Thomas, R., 2012. Why Safeway Is Overpriced. Available: http://www.minyanville.com/sectors/consumer/articles/safeway-safeway-stock-stocks-safeway-stock/3/30/2012/id/40157. Last accessed 18th April 2016.
Walmart., n.d. Our History. Available: http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/our-history. Last accessed 19th April 2016.
