M RahmanSWOT analysis of Morrisons (Morrisons SWOT)
This is a detailed SWOT analysis of Morrisons. It examines the strengths and the weaknesses of Morrisons. It also examines the opportunities and the threats facing the company. Morrisons is a British born and value-led grocer, headquartered at Bradford in England.
Strengths of Morrisons
Morrisons is the 4th largest supermarket in the UK. It has 9.8% market share of the UK grocery industry (Kantar Worldpanel, 2022). It is very well-known for its offering of good quality products at low prices. Being a food specialist and having its own freshly made food items provide Morrisons with a competitive advantage over some of its competitors.
Morrisons has over 100 years of supermarket history. It has 497 stores to serve customers across the UK (Bedford, 2022). It also has an online home delivery service. Approximately 11 million customers visit Morrisons every week and shop online.
It goes without saying that many customers now-a-days like companies that buy products from local suppliers. Morrisons buys many of its products directly from farmers and fishermen. It buys thousands of cattle and lambs every week from farmers. This makes it the largest supermarket customer for British farmers. It has also recently announced to recruit many more British suppliers.
Having a very well-integrated supply chain is a strength. Many of the Morrisons products are processed through its own manufacturing sites and abattoirs and then distributed through its own network. Morrisons has more skilled specialists on hand to prepare fresh food in store than any other retailer in the UK, with over 9,000 fully trained craftspeople including butchers, bakers, fishmongers, and cheesemongers (Morrisons, 2022).
Morrisons has strong marketing campaigns leading to many customers being referred to it from friends and family. It makes use of both traditional and digital marketing media which enables it to reach out to different people via different platforms; however, with a consistent message. It sponsors TV entertainment programmes as well.
Weaknesses of Morrisons
Weakness is the next issue to address in the ‘SWOT analysis of Morrisons (Morrisons SWOT)’ Compared to some other competitors, Morrisons’ online presence is weak. Similarly, it mostly operates in the UK and is unable to benefit from the international exposures. It is worth noting that this over reliance on the UK market may be costly during the time of economic recessions in the country.
Poor customer satisfaction is also a problem for Morrisons. For example, the company was voted one of the UK’s worst supermarket stores in a survey of thousands of people conducted by Which? in 2022. It was ranked Number 9 (out of top 10) showing that it needs to put a lot of work in place to improve its brand image (Simmonds, 2022).
Opportunities for Morrisons
Exploring opportunities is a key part of this SWOT analysis of Morrisons (Morrisons SWOT). According to forecasts by many market researchers and organisations, the UK food and grocery market is forecast to grow giving it a value of around £218.5bn by 2023. This is a great opportunity for Morrisons to expand further in the UK. Likewise, expansion into international markets is also worth exploring.
The rise of online and grocery delivery service means that Morrisons could benefit from it very well. Its online delivery service already covers over 97% of the UK postcodes (Morrisons, 2022). Offering additional products could also be useful.
Threats to Morrisons
Threat is the last element to address in this SWOT analysis of Morrisons (Morrisons SWOT). Competition is one of the biggest threats to Morrisons. The retail industry is constantly changing and evolving; therefore, it is important for Morrisons to stay ahead of the game. The UK grocery industry is dominated by three big giants i.e. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Asda. Morrisons falls well behind them. Likewise, it is challenged by Aldi, Co-op, and Lidl. These challengers are capable to overtake Morrisons in the future.
Morrisons was fined a number of times in the UK for reasons such as hygiene offenses and sending unsolicited emails to customers. Though the money paid by the company was not huge; however, the negative impact of these occurrences in the minds of customers was huge. Likewise, economic crisis may turn out to be deadly as well.
Concluding remarks
Morrisons is a well-known supermarket chain with a strong presence in the United Kingdom. In fact, it is the fourth largest supermarket chain in the country. However, it has several weaknesses such as over reliance on the UK, and poor customer satisfaction records. While it has many opportunities to explore, it must also keep an eye on threats, particularly relentless competitive pressures from some competitors.
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Last update: 12 March 2022
References:
Bedford, E. (2020) Number of Morrisons stores in the United Kingdom 2020-2021, available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/382340/morrisons-number-of-stores-united-kingdom-uk/ (accessed 12 March 2022)
Kantar Worldpanel (2022) Grocery Market Share https://www.kantarworldpanel.com/en/grocery-market-share/great-britain/snapshot (accessed 12 March 2022)
Morrisons (2022) Company history, available at: https://www.morrisons-corporate.com/about-us/company-history/ (accessed 11 March 2022)
Simmonds, E. (2022) Which? reveals the best and worst supermarkets of 2022, available at: https://www.which.co.uk/news/2022/02/which-reveals-the-best-and-worst-supermarkets-of-2022/ (accessed 12 March 2022)
Photo credit: www.morrisons-corporate.com
Author: M Rahman
M Rahman writes extensively online and offline with an emphasis on business management, marketing, and tourism. He is a lecturer in Management and Marketing. He holds an MSc in Tourism & Hospitality from the University of Sunderland. Also, graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University with a BA in Business & Management Studies and completed a DTLLS (Diploma in Teaching in the Life-Long Learning Sector) from London South Bank University.
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