Introduction
J Sainsbury PLC is a UK based company established in 1869 and currently it has grown to up to 890 stores across the globe. The company is a distinguished brand because of its heritage of offering its clients with fresh, healthy and tasty food stuffs which are safe for human health.
Given that it is such a high profile company, the events that precede the planning of trade fair should be equally eccentric and grandeur. This paper details the events for the launch of the trade fair.
Proposed Contingency Plan
The plan for the launching events needs to consider a number of things that are important for the planning of the events of the launch. These events constitute things to consider for the preparation of the event and are:
- Getting an ideal venue for the event that keeps in mind the theme and objectives of the function
- Getting spacious venue that will be able to host all the invitees to the event
- Setting up committee and teams to take care of invitees and handle all management issues pertaining to the event
- Reception arrangements to avoid inconveniences for the invitees
- Safety and health arrangements at the venue during emergencies
With these concerns in mind, the event management committee will institute three sub-committees that will have distinct roles for the organization of the events of the launch. These committees will be: Logistics team, Hospitality and Décor team and Emergency Response Team.
These three teams will work in conjunction and consultation and under the auspice of the Event Management Committee that will coordinate and oversee the overall performance of the teams. It is important to have this overseeing role done appropriately since it is the one factor that the success of the event will be predicated upon.
The teams are formed to meet specific requirements for the event with the kind of glamour reminiscent with the grandeur of trade fair event. To help organize the event adequately, the instituted teams will have the mandate to address the following concerns for the preparation the Launch of J Sainsbury PLC market in London.
Pre-Event Preparation
The Event Management Committee
This committee will be the overall management team that will oversee the harmonious running and working of the other three teams. It will set the working plan and the timeline along which the preparation of the event will take place.
The committee will then identify and outline the roles that need to be done towards the preparation of the event and then appoint members from the Event Management Company’s personnel to work in the three teams (Raynolds, Murray & Wilkinson 2007, p. 45).
The following are the specifics of this event preparation which the entire team will be working towards so as to realize a successful event that befits the name and stature of Sainsbury PLC:
- The preparation of the events will take two months
- The teams formed to oversee various aspects of the preparation will bear the following names: Logistics Team, Hospitality and Décor team and Emergency Response team.
- There will be updates of the status of the preparation as follows: on a fortnight basis for the first month; in the last month, the updates will be done on a weekly basis and for the last two weeks, the updates will be done thrice in a week.
- The committee will come up with a proposal budgetary allocation which will be followed by the teams in the discharge of their duties.
Logistics Team
This team will be the ‘engine’ of the event preparation since it is the one that will determine a host of things which are important for the preparation of the event.
This team will comprise of ten members from the Event Management Company’s personnel who will be at liberty to outsource additional man power from outside the team as need may arise. This outsourcing will include input from professionals, corporations, consultants and organizations providing required services.
The logistics team will work in accordance to the legal framework set in place and will also apply for and get necessary permissions and/or licenses from the local authorities as required by law to host the event.
The selection of the venue will have to be astute and very strategic since Sainsbury PLC requires that this launch is made to be historic and ostentatious to enable it make an impression in the market and kick up on the right footing.
To establish an appropriate venue, the team will talk with the management of Sainsbury PLC to establish the objectives and clout with which the management would want the launch to have.
Venue Selection and Justification for the Choice
Sainsbury will conduct a trade fair event for a fortnight and in this event, the company will be campaigning for and urging consumers to eat bananas. The company intends to have about 26 million bananas eaten in two weeks and this would help the fair-trade even to make more premiums for the producers in the developing nations (McAlexander & Hansen 1999, p. 68).
The venue for this will be in all the Sainsbury stores across the country. The management urged all consumers not to miss the fabulous event as part of the two week food celebration. The choice of these stores is precise because the company will not incur costs of hiring a venue, and this will also promote purchase of other food products beside the bananas.
The store will use at least £1 in every £4 spent on Fair-trade in its stores (Nicholls & Opal 2005, p. 68). The money will be used to assist over 33,000 small scale producers of bananas hence encourage competition and enhance their sustainability and also increase their earning by introducing new products to the market.
The event is bound to be a great success looking at the statistics, last year, in 2010, the company was able to raise for banana suppliers a fair trade premium of £3.75 million and per year, the company sells over 600 million bananas in fair-trade (Lyon & Moberg 2010, p. 68).
After the selection of venue, it will be incumbent upon the team to source for materials that will be required for the event. These materials include entertainment and public address system, tents, chairs and tables, and stand-by generator(s).
The team will be prepare and organize how these things will be got and in the event that they are not readily available and have to be hired; it will prepare a mini-budget that details the cost of hiring all the necessary equipment and appliances to be used during the launching event.
Hospitality and Décor Team
This is the team that will be involved with all the catering and decorations for the event. Decorations will entail decoration of the venue and selection of the theme colour to be in tandem with the objective of the day. This is the team that will be deal with the fine details of the opulence of the event organization giving it the executive expensive touch that depicts Sainsbury PLC and the products it deals with.
The team also will be responsible for all the ushering of the invited guests into the venue. The docket of hospitality (ushering) will also assume the role of guiding parking of guests’ vehicles and ensure that there is enough parking space reserved for the guests.
It will also be the responsibility of this team to plan for the sitting arrangement of the guests to ensure ease in movement around the podium and the exhibition areas where the pieces of exhibition will be displayed.
The team will further ensure that the arena where the launch will be is properly prepared and arranged for the event with all the electrical connections for lighting and decorations and public address system in place. The back-up generator should also be installed in place in the event that there is power failure from the mains.
Given that the aim of this event is among other things to increase awareness of the gallery and its brand in the new market while at the same time promoting some of the major providers in the industry showing some of their pieces during the event, the hospitality and décor team will have to come up with preparations that meet this main objective of the event.
This will be by choosing striking and attractive theme colour for decoration and choice of entertainment music, group (etc) that is reputable and one that can satisfactorily appeal to invitees’ fancy and entertain them in a way that leaves an impact.
Since there will be showcasing of other providers’ pieces of work, the team will set aside an exhibition area that will be organized in such a way that the providers’ work is organized in a manner that is easy to follow and trace. Such a way will be arranging the providers’ work alphabetically using their surnames and indicating in writing at the base of every piece a brief history of the piece and some more information about the providers.
This will require that the team will assemble all the works to be displayed during the exhibition at least three weeks before the day of the launch so that all the inscriptions can be done and verified.
The other objective for which this launch seeks to realize is to attract service providers to Sainsbury PLC to increase the volume of productivity work and establish the company as a formidable centre where all forms of merchandize can be found. To realize this objective will require that there be proper display of pieces all over the place to elicit interest in the people that will attend.
It is anticipated that most of the attendants of the launch will be nutritionists or persons with interest in food and nutrition and therefore this surmise will be used to device mechanisms that maximize on the attendants’ interest and fancy.
This will require that the team in conjunction with Sainsbury PLC’s Management comes up with a theme statement that is just as attractive and appealing as the theme colour taken and the decorations so that it will invoke curiosity and interest.
In addition to these, the team will also come up with the Master of Ceremony for the day who will have to be a charismatic, entertaining and lively person. In consultation with the team, the management of Sainsbury PLC Company and the Events Management committee, the MC will come up with the day’s program to direct the activities of the day.
It will be the duty of the master of ceremony to ensure that the program is followed to the latter so that events do not fall behind schedule. It is important that the CEO of the company graces the occasion by his address since this will further help to crown the event with the officialdom and executive touch that is required to create the impression of how serious, executive and organized the company being introduced in the London market is.
Emergency Response Team
This team will deal with the safety and health emergencies that may arise during the launch and will comprise of health personnel and professionals trained in offering first aid for minor health and safety related accidents and emergencies.
Methods to Measure the success of the event
Methods of measuring the success of the event will be analyzed under two methods: by use of post-event feedback from various selected people and by a check list that will be considered during the Events Management Committee evaluation meeting after the event.
The post-event feedback will be in form of questionnaires that will seek to get responses of how the invited guests gauged the general preparedness and arrangement of the launch.
These questionnaires will contain sentiments from the attendees and will be analyzed during the evaluation meeting of the events Management committee meeting three days after the event. Portions that will be of importance in determining the success of the event will those that relate to the following areas:
- Whether all outstanding dues were serviced in time in accordance with the budget
- Whether all the invited guests made it to the event
- Whether refreshments and snacks served in the course of the event were enough
- Whether the day’s program was followed and time well managed
- Whether the event began and was concluded at the correct time according to the set out program
This preparedness for this launch is aimed at using this event to create relationships between the company and various guests in attendance (Leigh & Waddock 2006, p. 406). To help realize this, the event will be promoted using contemporary food web-site that will be designed specifically for this job.
Another promotional tool that will be used will be releasing press statements to the Culture Section of London’s most distinguished newspapers (Thompson & Martin 2005, p. 34). The website created for promoting the event will also be used to provide audience feedback where it will be designed to have an interface that allows people to log in and leave their comments and thoughts about the events of the Launch.
Corporate Aims and Objectives
There are a number of corporate goals and aims that Sainsbury has as a company which will inform the details of the preparation of the event used for this paper. These goals are among others:
- To offer superior quality shopping experience to the consumers giving them a variety of products at a fair price
- To exceed the client expectation of safer, healthier, fresher and taster products
Financial Status
Sainsbury is a robust company that can be considered a financial giant in its own respect which is partly the reason that has ensured that it remains in the business for this long. The following figure gives a summary of the company’s financial statements for more than a decade of its operation as was projected which formed the company’s financial base:
Figure 1: Sainsbury’s Financial Details for over a decade
Staffing and Management Structure
For this event Sainsbury has a workforce of about 150,000 employees who are committed to the success of the business and have somehow to be involved in the event in some sort. The company strives to ensure that it developed very good relationship between itself and the workforce.
This makes the employees to be more committed to the success of the organization as they feel the company appreciated their efforts and cares for them as well. The company also invests in the training of the employee and their career development (Blythman 2004, p. 79). This strategy has helped to see the company develop efficiency and sustainability of the operation of the company.
The employment policies of Sainsbury and the remuneration and benefit package for the company employees have been revised to offer competitive reimbursement for the services offered. This also offers the workers fulfilling careers where employees derive satisfaction (Competition Commission 2000, p. 24).
The company conducts surveys, performance reviews, reporting systems and communication form trade union to understand the need of its employees. Besides, eh company has some programs that are designed to help in identification of talent and nurturing it to help the business go through succession process (Leigh & Waddock 2006, p. 406).
Board of Directors
Management Structure
J Sainsbury Plc’s organization structure is designed of provide effective management and accountability which is perfect for the trade fair event being planned (Brassington & Pettitt 2006, p. 79). The company uses a decentralized structure of the board of directors to manage a decentralized production employees which has allowed the company to function autonomously (Jeston 2009, p. 54).
The appointment of Justin King to the CEO position was strategic as he brought great expertise and experience to the position. He has worked for major food companies across the UK before he joined Sainsbury. At Spencer and Marks he was a director of food moved to ASDA where he was the managing director. This is the kind of leader that is able to effectively run the organization and planning of the trade fair event.
Key Stakeholders
The stakeholders in this event include the customers, the management team of this company, the employees, the government and the business regulators. The stakeholders especially the customer generally agree that the company will act in a responsible manner by providing quality products, taking responsibility of the environment and other important social, ethical and legal issues (Blythman 2004, p. 81).
The stakeholders look at the company to take the lead in encouraging clients to do their shopping in with ethical and environmental map.
Considering that the world has been changing a lot in terms of the needs of the customers, the societal expectations of the company, government regulations and ethical environment in general, Sainsbury needs to be more considerate of its stakeholders (British Parliament: House Of Commons: International Development Committee 2007, p. 24). Consequently, whereas customers demand high quality from Sainsbury this does not need to be done at the expense of the society or the environment.
Risks Assessment
There are a number of risks that are associated with this event which have a bearing on the company. This event is closely aligned to progression of the business growth taking into consideration new channels of marketing and asset management (Jeston 2009, p. 54).
The first is the risk of terrorism and future continuity where possible attacks may be launched during the event and will have deleterious effects on the overall business (J Sainbury Plc. 2010, para. 3).
Given the estimated cost of the preparation and planning of the event, there is a risk that has economical effects to the company. This usually affects the demand since many people try to save in economic tough times (Kerzner 2009, p. 70). The various household do not have enough disposable income, and therefore seek for cheaper products to accommodate their budget.
Maintaining a competitive price while producing or offering quality product of international appeal is a major challenge (Dixon 2005, p. 169). This can only be achieved by assessment of customer metrics, strategic price management and good sale propositions (Jeston 2009, p. 55).
Financial and treasury risk come into play considering that there is currently shortage of long term and shot term financing to cover the needs of different requirements of the event (Dixon 2005, p. 171).
Furthermore, the interest rates fluctuate quite a lot while foreign currencies cause unpredictable impact on the business creating a considerable challenge on the risk on the preparation of the event (Leigh & Waddock 2006, p. 406).
SWOT Analysis
This analysis considers external and internal factors regarding the event that impact the business with the view of how the trade fair event benefits the company in the long run.
PESTEL Analysis
The Political Environment – as the company seeks to expand into many countries and offer better quality of products it has to comply with the requirement in other nations. From the preparation and organization of the trade fair, it has been apparent that the firm has seen its reputation get tarnished because of the impact of several policy changes like European Union law on competition (Ton, Bijman & Oorthuizen 2007, p. 135).
The Economic Environment –There are economic issues that the event has to be concerned about and this regards the rising global economic depression that has translated to a fall in the share prices. The world food crisis is set to see food prices rise and as a result the cost of the products at Sainsbury will affect its business profitability and hence the planning of the event (Leigh & Waddock 2006, p. 406).
The Social Environment – the consumers are increasing gaining education and knowledge of healthy eating and seek to have healthy lifestyle by eating organic foods (Wright & McCrea 2007, p. 206). This means that this trade fair will go a long way in further educating and encouraging consumers on different ways of healthy living which in response will help meet the companies (Hughes & Merton 1996, p. 5).
The Technological Environment – the introduction of technology at Sainsbury has had good outcomes on the performance of the business as it has encouraged innovation and development of between quality products all of which are elements that will be on display at the trade fair (Pearce & Robinson 2008, p. 68).
The trade fair will indicate that with online operations, more clients can shop and get products delivered to them at their homes. Sainsbury has to use technology to its advantage to leverage services in order to remain competitive in the current worlds (Palmer & Hartley 2006, p. 81).
The Ecological Factors – the future generation sustainability is the responsibility of those living in the earth today and this is why governments and international agencies advocate for businesses and other organization to use productive means that would conserve the environment (Warnaby et al. 2005, p. 193).
The trade fair will major on the issue of energy usage which has been the main subject of study because emission of gases causes greenhouse effect and every business is required to ensure efficient energy utilization in this 21st century. The environmental conservation strategy should be taken seriously.
Legal – there are several laws that affect the business; the government regulates the food industry by the food standards act. The competition commission affects the food retail industry in which Sainsbury is part of (Ton, Bijman & Oorthuizen 2007, p. 135).
Conclusion
From the events of this trade fair, it is clear that there are many benefits that are central to the success of the business. With an appropriately constituted event organization as has been detailed herein and appropriate methodologies to gauge the success of the event, it is clear that the trade fair is an event that will greatly influence the success and prosperity of the company.
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