Marketing management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing management - Essay Example According to a survey carried out by IBIS world, the profit margins of the industry will reduce by 1.5% over the next 5 years due to mounting competition among the providers. However, this has also led to the falling price of the phones. The company projects that UK mobile phone industry is expected to reach $3 Billion by the end of 2014. Furthermore, the development of new technologies such as, 4G services, the development of smart phones and the new applications, is also driving the industry (Adler, 2010). The UK mobile phone industry is characterised by high rates of market concentration and competition. Some of the key players of the industry are Vodafone, T-mobile, Virgin and O2 among others (Cohen, 2004). The industry will be analysed with the help of Porter’s five forces analysis and on the basis of that, a SWOT report will be prepared. The industry analysis is presented below: - Factor Analysis Resultant Bargaining Power of Buyers The bargaining power of buyers refers to the ability of the buyers to bargain and reduce the price. Reports have shown that the industry is growing at a robust rate and one of the reasons for this colossal growth is the enthusiasm among the buyers. However, due to the presence of a number of providers in the market, the buyers have the tendency to explore the other. This reduces the brand loyalty rate among the consumers. High Bargaining Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers refers to the ability of the suppliers to bargain and increase the manufacturing cost of the firm (Ferrell, 2006). The suppliers of raw materials for the mobile phone industry in UK is adequate in number and in most of the cases, these companies enter into a treaty with the suppliers which reduces their power to a great extent. Some of the key suppliers are Huawei and ZTE. Moderate Threat of New Entrant The threat of new entrant refers to the threat of a new player entering the industry, thereby increasing the level of competition. To start a telecom business in UK, one needs to go through a series of legal acts and moreover, acquiring spectrum rights is an apprehensive issue. Setting up of a telecom business also requires huge start up cost which often acts as a hindrance. Low Threat of Substitute The threat of substitutes refers to the extent to which substitute products can increase the competition within the industry and act as a potential threat to the firm. The substitutes of a mobile phone are tablets, land phones, palmtops and also, mini laptops to a certain extent, as it serves the core function of facilitating communication. These products are available throughout the country and in almost every outlet. However, due to the portable nature, mobile phone has its own set of customers. Moderate Threat of Competitors The threat of competitors is the level of competition within the industry. In the context of the mobile phone industry of UK, the industry is fiercely competitive due to the presence of a numbe r of players. Some of the established players of this industry are Vodafone, T-mobile, Virgin and O2, among others. High On the basis of the outcome of the industry analysis, following is the set of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for Blackberry in UK market. The same is illustrated below in SWOT analysis framework. Furthermore, the subsequent section will also prioritise the opportunities by considering certain

Business Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Research - Essay Example NatWest traces its origin to the year 1968 when the National Provincial Bank merged with the Westminster Bank. NatWest has remained one of the â€Å"biggest four clearing banks† in the United Kingdom and it has opened over 1,600 branches and 3,400 automated teller machines across the UK (Jones, 2012, p.258). The bank currently has nearly 7.5 million customers and over 850,000 accounts specifically tailored for small businesses. It operates through a subsidiary bank known as Ulster Bank in the republic of Ireland. As per the year 2003 NatWest was a wholly owned subsidiary of the RBS. However, it has currently become the ultimate holding company of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS). Basing on this, it is evidently cleat that the shareholders, competitors and interest groups of RBS are directly linked to the National Westminster Bank. The government of the United Kingdom acquired majority of the shares of RBS in 2008 to become the majority shareholder of the bank. Currently, the UK government owns over 67% of the ordinary shares floated by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group in the stock market. OWNERSHIP Government Ownership of National Westminster Bank As already stated, NatWest is the main holding company of the Royal Bank of Scotland. ... The government went further to acquire B shares in December thus making the cumulative government ownership of the RBS Group to stand at 81.15 percent (Waller, 2000, p.31). Stephen Hester is the chief executive officer of the Royal Bank of Scotland, a company which by extension owns the National Westminster Bank. Since the majority of the shareholding comes from the government whose main source of income is the taxpayer’s money, it is also true to say that NatWest is a bank owned by the public (Steiner, 2000, p.18). UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI) was then charged with the mandate of overseeing the government’s investments in financial institution including Royal Bank of Scotland Group. In connection to the desire of promoting economic stability and healthy competition in the banking sector, the UK government has given UKFI the duty to manage the orderly but active disposing of government’s shareholding in some of these institutions. Norwich Union is a compos ite insurer and owns about 1.12 percent of the original shares of NatWest Bank. Before the â€Å"takeover† of the company by the Royal Bank of Scotland, the managers of this bank were in full support of the bid presented by the RBS. COMPETITION NatWest, which by extension refers to the Royal Bank of Scotland, faces competition from several banks that include HSBC, Credit Suisse Bank, Barclays Bank and Standard Chartered. About HSBC: It is ranked as the top most banks in the whole world. According to the financial statements of the bank released in the first quarter of 2011, this bank recorded the largest profit of 4,153 billion dollars. It highly trusted in emerging markets such as China. This factor