PLACE

Ria Cagampang

Marta Molla-Gonzalez

Roberto Tudorica

CONTENTS

What is place? About Amazon Amazon SWOT analysis Critical Success Factors Place Issues and Amazon Marketing Plan - Objectives - Strategies High street vs Online retailing Research Needs Bibliography

WHAT IS PLACE? Place or Distribution

is about how you can place the optimum amount of goods and/or services before the maximum number of your target market at the times and locations they want.’ Baines, Fill & Page (2008 p.551)

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Distribution Channel: an organized network of agencies and organizations which perform all the activities required to link producers and manufacturers with purchasers and consumers (Bennet,1998). The aim is the orderly flow material, personnel, and information throughout the distribution channel to ensure product delivery (Russell, 2002).

ABOUT AMAZON.COM“ Our vision is to be the earths most customer centric company, to build a place where people can come to find and discover everything that

they might want to buy online”1

Sector: Services Industry: Catalogue and Mail Order Houses Operating countries: China, Japan, Canada, France,

Germany, Italy, U.K and USA Founded by Jeff Bazos in 1995. Based in Seattle, Washington. Market share price: $170.68 Revenue: $34.2 billion(2)

1. Amazon.com FAQ Section. (n.d.)2. Yahoo Finance (n.d). Amazon.com Inc. Retrieved Feb 23,

2011,

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths Strong brand image

and brand loyalty Large market share

and strong grow th Low pricing Customer Centric Innovation in

technology

Weaknesses No physical

presence Delivery only Brand damage Misleading produts Free delivery

strategy Warehousing fees

SWOT ANALYSIS CONT.

Opportunities Increasing online

retail spending Exporting their

technology Expansion into new

target markets Partnerships (with

Google)

Threats High street

competition Worldwide economy

downturn – consumer confidence and exchange market fluctuations

Rising shipping costs and Amazon free shipping costs

New technological changesDatamonitor (Sep 30, 2008) Amazon.com, Inc Company Profile.

Datamonitor (May 11, 2009) Amazon.com, Inc Company Profile.

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

Enter new markets. Expansion into new or emerging economies. Increase customer base. Product differentiation. Maintain level of performance in logistics. Revaluate delivery options.

PLACE ISSUES AND AMAZON

No high street storeReturns policyShipping costs

MARKETING PLAN

Objectives Increase turnover through the implementation

of a high street presence Explore and expand to new target markets Keep hold of environmental standing

MARKETING PLAN CONT.Strategies Open high street ‘Amazon stores’ with small

catalogue of products for sale (i.e. Books and technology – Amazon Kindle1)

Implement in store deliveries – pick up and pay service in high street Amazon stores.

1. BBC News (Oct 21, 2010) Amazon profits boosted by Kindle.

HIGH STREET VS ONLINE E-TAIL

Physicality- customer can see product before they purchase

Many people enjoy the shopping experience

Harder to make mistake with purchases e.g. Clothes can be tried on

Easy to return purchases Face to face contact- more

personal Extra help from experts on

your purchase Usually no waiting time

You can purchase products from your own home

Can be cheaper- easier to find better deals

Bigger market available to customer- they are not restricted to just the retailers in their area

Customers can place orders 24/7

No pressure to buy Easy to compare product

prices and features

Highstreet Online

HIGH STREET VS ONLINE E-TAIL

Travelling expenses More time is needed May have to wait for

delivery/stock - and this can be slower than online

Lack of convenience if customer must travel long distance

Pressure selling Customer restricted to only

purchasing within opening times

Harder to compare products from different retailers

Can be harder to find better deals

Enjoyment of retail shopping is lost

Customer cannot physically see/touch product before purchase

Customer must wait for their product to be delivered

Delivery cost Privacy and security issues Easy to be mislead by imitation

products Customer must have access to

computer and internet Too many choices? Customer

may not be able to process vast amount of product info

Highstreet Online

AMAZON’S RESEARCH NEEDS

1. Close competitor information: How profitable is the high street sector? Can they take the market easily?

2. Geographical information: Where to open the first store? Which country? How many stores? Which areas of (for example) UK/USA have the most triving high streets/shopping centres? Which regions turn over the most profit?

3. Demographic information: Which target market are likely to shop in these stores?

4. Product information: What will they sell? Books? Technology? Top online buys? Tailor it to new target markets?

CONCLUSION

Even though proving to be one of the best online retailers, Amazon.com can take the opportunity to expand into different markets’ through a physical presence on high street, boosting their revenue while creating better customer relationships and brand awareness through tangible assets.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

BIBLIOGRAPHY1. Baines, P. Fill, C. and Page, K. (2008), Marketing, Oxford,

Oxford university Press.2. Amazon.com FAQ Section. (n.d). Retrieved Feb 22, 2011.

Retrieved from http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-faq#6986

3. Kirby, J & Stewart, T. The Institutional Yes, An Interview with Jeff Bezos. (n.d) Retrieved Feb 22, 2011. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/2007/10/the-institutional-yes/ar/pr

4. Datamonitor (Sep 30, 2008) Amazon.com, Inc Company Profile. Retrieved Mar 11, 2011, from the Business Source Premiere: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?hid=13&sid=60eec78e-1752-4d2c-a5fb-9890920866ce%40sessionmgr12&vid=6&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=41223880

5. Datamonitor (May 11, 2009) Amazon.com, Inc Company Profile. Retrieved Mar 20, 2011, from the Business Source Premiere:http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=13&sid=23238633-51e0-47f8-8ed0-8ff900f09315%40sessionmgr13&vid=1

6. Hyman, R. (Feb 16, 2006). E-tail can provide an antidote to slow growth on the highstreet [Electronic version]. Marketing Week, Vol 29 (issue 27), p33 – 35

7. Simpson, R. (Sept 11, 2006). Christmas Battlefield for E-tail vs High Street [Electronic version]. New Media Age, p10

BIBLIOGRAPHY CONT.

1. BBC News (Oct 21, 2010) Amazon profits boosted by Kindle. Retrieved Mar 20, 2011, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11602923

2. Penenberg, Adam L. (Jul/Aug2009 ) The Evolution of Amazon. Fast Company (Issue 137). Retrieved Mar 11, 2011, from the Business Source Premiere http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?hid=13&sid=60eec78e-1752-4d2c-a5fb-9890920866ce%40sessionmgr12&vid=19&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=42215882

3. Yahoo Finance (n.d). Amazon.com Inc. Retrieved Feb 23, 2011, from http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=AMZN

4. Yahoo Finance (n.d). Amazon.com Inc. Retrieved Feb 23, 2011, from http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=AMZN

5. Brassington, F & Pettitt, S. (2006). Principles of Marketing (4th Edition). Harlow, Essex: Pearson Eduction Ltd.