Marzilli’s Fine Italian Foods: SWOT Analysis Essay

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The SWOT analysis
Alternative strategies
Recommendations
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

Marzilli’s Fine Italian Foods was started in 1940 by two Italian immigrants, Gino and Maria; his wife. It is a grocery store that initially provided grocery items in Milan; the capital city of Italy. The grocery has gained prominence in Milan and has recorded growth over the years. The two founders of the grocery, Gino and Maria run the business until 1975 when they retired and left it to their son Jim who then runs it alone.

The business had excellent performance through 1980s and 1990s until recently when the sales revenue went down due to migration of customers to the suburbs. The business has not breakeven for the past couple of years and has therefore not recorded profit. Jim is working on strategies to alleviate the situation. He argues that the business can mitigate the costs by reducing the number of operating hours and concentrate on the hours that customers visit the business most. This paper seeks to present the SWOT analysis for the business. The SWOT analysis will be considered under the internal and external factors that are strengths and weaknesses on one side and opportunities and threats on the other hand (ICMBA, 2007, P.1).

The SWOT analysis

Internal factors

Strengths

Weaknesses

The grocery is located in the city center where there is high concentration of people. This would ensure many customers.
The company does not have many competitors in the region and therefore enjoys the whole market advantage.
The cost of goods sold is high thus making profits to be low.
The company deals only in the Italian foods and therefore has a small market.

The grocery is run by family members who may lack marketing skills and other skills.
Inability to capture the market for its products. For instance the young professionals could be influenced to buy the grocery products.
Concentrating in the city center alone weakens the grocery sale volume and increases its inability to serve the customers even after they move.
The grocery specializes in only grocery items and is unable to fully serve or satisfy its customers. e.g., the professionals find other products somewhere else
Increase in total expenses with net profit still declining as shown in the income statement.

External factors

Opportunities

Threats

The grocery operates in the city center alone and has can expand to the suburbs.
The grocery has the opportunity to introduce the American foods in order to exploit the market.
The company should employ qualified people to carry out business operations. Like the brother with expertise in marketing and is interested in working in the grocery.
The opportunity to grow the products to satisfy the needs of the customers.

The presence of mew substitutes. The customers shifting in to consuming substitute products. For instance the professionals consume other substitutes.
The other threat is the bargaining power of the customers. This may influence the pricing policy of the business and loss.
The company could face competition from the grocery businesses in the suburbs where the old people are migrating.
The Marzilli’s Fine Italian Foodsis opening more room for new entrants in the market through operating in only one area (city center).

The mission statement: to provide high quality grocery items to our esteemed customers through out the region and integrate information technology with our service delivery to ensure satisfaction to our customers in both the local and urban areas.

Alternative strategies

There are many strategies that the Marzilli’s Fine Italian Foods grocery can employ in order to become the best in the industry. First is to expand its operations to the rural areas to ensure that they maintain the old customers who move to live in the suburbs. It should also device marketing strategies for its grocery items like advertisements, sales promotions et cetera. The grocery should work on its pricing mechanism to ensure that it becomes the price leader and prevent or minimize new entrants in to the market. Then identify the needs of the people around and then come up with new products to meet their needs.

ese strategies are achievable and they aim at making the company more profitable and also satisfying the customers fully.

Recommendations

The grocery should adopt the two strategies suggested by Jim and also those suggested above. All strategies should aim at satisfying customers who are the core reasons for the grocery existence.

Conclusion

Despite the declining sales volume of Marzilli’s Fine Italian Foods, the grocery still have many opportunities for growth and increase its profitability.

Reference List

Internet center for management and business administration, Inc (ICMBA). (2007). QuickMBA. SWOT Analysis. Web.

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