week 7

Activity Week Task

 

Competitive analysis of two local retail supermarket chain in Kathmandu

                                              

 

Bhat-Bhateni Vs Big-Mart

 

Bhatbhateni is a leading supermarket and departmental store chain in Nepal. It was established in 1984, and since then it has developed a reputation for continious improvements in retail store. It offers everyday low price and a product offer second to none. There are currently 9 stores centrally located in Kathmandu, Lalitpur  and Pokhara valley which was opened in 2012. Bhat-Bhateni has a growing customer base as they are creating the trend of convenient stores. More than 40,000 people visit the stores daily  and benefit from 7 - day return/ exchange policy. They have over 2500 combined store staff, who provides consistent merchandising  and guarantee  assured customer service. Bhatbhateni group operates as a private limited company and has been the largest tax payer in the retail sector since 2008 A.D. Bhat-Bhateni stores open at 7:30 A.M, 7 days /week  and offer a full range of 120,000 products from local and international suppliers(Bhat-Bhateni Supermarket and Departmental store, 2014).

 

Though Bhat-Bhateni stores have good management and physical ambiance , due to potential competitors  it needs to have more key success factors for competitive advantage. The competitors are 'Big-mart' and 'Gorkha departmental store'. These stores have been expanding in most of the cities in Nepal for a decade. They have created a competitive scenario in the Nepalese retail stores. The customers move to the stores which are near to them where similar kind of products and at similar price as compared to that of Bhat-Bhateni stores. Thus, there are some factors that causes shift in customer choice from Bhat-Bhateni to Big-mart stores and vice versa.

 

Key factors are:

• Difference in Price: Customers flows to the stores which offers lower price than that of the competitor’s offerings. The company should follow the appropriate pricing policy that attracts more customers, causing the shifting of choices from competitors to own stores.

• Access to the location of the stores: People choose to visit the stores that are nearby to them because it saves their time and cost of searching for the goods. It is very important to any retail stores like Bhat-Bhateni and Big-mart to have their stores centrally located where people have easy access to their location.

• Availability of products: Another factor is the availability of the varieties of products available in the stores. If the customer didn't find what they want to buy then they shift to other stores. It may have a bad impact on the image of the store.

• Discounts and offers: People usually are looking for the discounts and product offers and it is the best way to attract the customers in the retail stores like Bhat-Bhateni and Big-mart. It increases the customer loyalty and positive word of mouth.  

• Physical ambiance: People also love to have good physical ambiance in the big stores like Bhat-Bhateni and Big-mart. Good physical ambiance creates better shopping experience in the customers and customize the shopping standards. 

Bench-marking 

 

Bench-marking is the measurement of two companies with respect to the quality of company policy, product, programs, strategies,etc. 

 

Here, we determine the Key Success Factors of both the retail chains for bench-marking.

 

        KSF's                                       Bhat-Bhateni Supermarket                 Big-Mart

1. Ease of access                          Yes                                                  Not every stores
2. Size                                           Large                                              Medium
3. Variety of Products                   Large                                              Limited
4. Price                                          Moderate                                        Moderate
5. Quality assurance                     Yes                                                  Yes
6. Physical Ambiance                   wide                                                Mostly narrow
7. Favorable image                       Excellent                                         Good
8. Media Presence                        Yes                                                  Yes

 

So,  with the above analysis it can be said that Bhat-Bhateni has the dominant position in the retail chain industry.

 

References:

References:

Bhat-Bhateni Supermarket and Departmental store, 2014. BBSM - Bhat-Bhateni Supermarket & Departmental Store. [Online]
Available at: http://www.bbsm.com.np/
[Accessed 29 December 2015].

 

Big mart, 2015. BIGMART. [Online]
Available at: http://www.bigmart.com.np/
[Accessed 29 December 2015].