Boots pharmaceutical has been in existence since the 19th century. It is based in the UK having prime outlets England and Ireland. The company has undergone radical transformations since the early 90s. Faced with unending competition from supermarkets and other specialized stores, this company underwent a series of mergers, most notable with Alliance Unichem in 2006 to form Alliance Boots. This was later bought by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a concealed equity entity.
Strengths
Boots pharmaceutical has employed 60,000 employees on a permanent basis. These are fully committed employees who are motivated and have the desire to see the company grow in leaps and bounds. A survey carried out showed that employees are contented with the present, working conditions. This is a crucial component for entities that endeavor to make inroads in the market.
The company is focused on beauty products as well as pharmaceutical products. This guarantees a large market base due to the wide range of products on offer.
The parent company also provides many other products apart from medicine. The company is properly protected from turbulent markets and has adequate options incase a product fails in a certain market. Boots Company has focused on marketing in order to establish and maintain stable client base. Their prime of ensuring customer satisfaction by offering quality service will also work in their favor.
The company has adopted modern technology as a method of dispensing its products. Customers are required to take their prescriptions to a store, after which they collect their prescriptions from a vending machine at a central location. This service has been rolled out on a small scale in England, but will be applied en masse after trials have been finished.
Weaknesses
Although they have a website, it is difficult to carry out online shopping. The website is poorly designed; hence customers can easily get annoyed when they opt for this method. It can easily be confused for a company offering advice on medical issues online. The site barely quotes the range of products and services offered in specialized shops.
Lack of proper management techniques saw the company incur massive losses. The poor planning and incompetent strategies employed by the management frustrated customers, further driving them away to other firms. This resulted in a large decline in its market share hence weakening its brand name.
Opportunities
The company has an excellent customer attraction strategy. Improving their presence in specialist and departmental stores will be immensely beneficial to them. As a result of differences in upbringing and socialization, some customers may not feel relaxed buying certain products from public stores.
They are more comfortable talking to attendants at boots about toiletries and other personal effects. These outlets also provide trained medical personnel to respond to various customer needs. This is in contrast to other retail outlets, which lack such additional privileges and instead sell the products in order to clear stocks they hold.
Threats
The main problem facing boots is the decision by supermarkets to incorporate non-food items in their goods list. This has been facilitated the concept that they are convenient and offer prime products at fair costs. It also offers a variety for people shopping for groceries. It is noteworthy that most supermarkets understand their purchaser’s wants hence design their products and services to satisfy this.
The company is also under threat from government supported proliferation of pharmacies and other medicine distribution agencies. This eventually affects their core business since most supermarkets run fully fledged pharmacy chains, and doctors who operate spare hours are paid extra amounts by the government.