Mission Statement
Spinneys’ vision is “to be the supermarket of choice for those who enjoy good food and are community opinion formers” (Spinneys, 2013). This vision has three main parts. First, the enterprise wants to be the supermarket of choice. This means that it wants to have a competitive position among customers, and to be the first one that customers think about when they plan to go shopping. The second part of the vision identifies Spinneys’ preferred market.
The preferred market for the enterprise consists of people who enjoy good food. This distinction is calculated to make people feel that the place to find good food is Spinneys. The enterprise wants everyone who shops in any of its stores to feel certain that the company gives them only the best. The third part of the vision clarifies the organization’s target customers. This section points out that Spinneys is interested in getting opinion shapes to be its main customers.
The Competitive Position of Spinneys
The competitive position of Spinneys comes from three aspects. First, the company derives its competitive position from its geographical spread. The business has stores in several countries in various parts of the Middle East. In particular, the company has twenty-nine stores in the UAE (Spinneys, 2013). Twenty-one of the Spinneys stores are in Dubai, five in Sharjar and one in Ajman (Spinneys, 2013).
In addition to these stores, the company has one store in Egypt, seven in Lebanon, and one in Jordan (Spinneys, 2013). The main advantage that comes from having several stores in different locations is that the company can present itself as an international brand. This comes with an international supply chain that reduces supply disruptions and creates a regional sense of loyalty in their customers. It also makes the company attractive to the increasing number of immigrants into the Middle East.
The second element of Spinneys competitive position is its strong focus on customer service in the Middle East. The supermarket chain has a long history of serving this market since 1924 (Spinneys, 2013). The result is that the company has developed a deep understanding of the customer needs in the region. This understanding translates into a strong competitive advantage because of the institutional memory of the organization. The longevity of the life of the chain of stores in the Middle East is almost unrivalled.
The third element of the organization’s competitive position is its strong brand name. The Spinneys brand is one of the best-known brands in the UAE, and in the Middle East. The company has dedicated a lot of time to the branding of its stores across the region. A strong brand name is part of the assets of a modern corporation (Meredeth & Mantel, 2011). The Spinneys brand is well recognized by customers in the entire Middle Eastern region.
Spinneys has been growing its market share very aggressively in the Middle East. It is also eyeing new opportunities for business in other parts of the world. Its focus remains the MENASA ((Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia)) region and parts of Europe and Africa (Shane, 2013).
The main advantage that the supermarket chain enjoys over its competitors is that it has a unique understanding of the retail business in the region. The supermarket chain has served the Middle East market for a longer time compared to any of its competitors.
Significant Challenges
Spinney is facing three main challenges in its operations. First the expansion plans of the organization failed to materialize because to the Arab Spring (Mahajan, 2012). The company had plans to expand into more Arab countries in the MENASA region. However, the Arab Spring made it impossible for the company to open stores in Libya, and to increase the number of stores in Egypt.
This halted an aggressive expansion plan designed to find and develop markets in the MENASA region. Business in the entire Middle East region is yet to recover fully after the Arab Spring (Mahajan, 2012). Economies of countries such as Egypt are struggling to get back on their feet. Regime change is not delivering economic results fast enough.
The second challenge the Spinneys is dealing with is the emergence of new supermarket chains in the Middle East. In countries such as the UAE, the number of stores dealing with merchandise similar to what Spinneys sells is on the rise (Shane, 2013). This is because of the realization that the region can support more supermarkets than it previously had. This is eroding Spinneys market share, and may affect the company’s long-term business plans.
The third challenge that Spinneys deals with on an ongoing basis is customer segmentation. People at times assume wrongly that the Middle East is a homogenous market. However, each country has its own laws and national character. This has forced Spinneys to take interest in each of its markets in order to provide the exact needs of that market. For instance, the supermarket does not sell alcohol in some countries, but in other countries such as Lebanon, the supermarket chain stocks alcohol.
References
Mahajan, V. (2012). The Arab World Unbound: Tapping into the Power of 350 Million Consumers. New York, NY: John Wiley &Sons.
Meredeth, J. R., & Mantel, S. J. (2011). Project Management: A Managerial Approach (8 ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Shane, D. (2013). Spinneys: The Price is Right. Web.
Spinneys. (2013). Spinneys Sourcing. Web.