Group 7: Adhil Ahmed Sagir (1021003) Arun Anand M (1021007) Deepak George (1021013) Kushal Singhania (1021022) Prajwal

ajwal KS (1021025) Varghese John (1021035) Aanchal Nichani (1021037)

INTRODUCTION
Since June 1847, five generations of the Booths family have led

E.H. Booth & Co. Ltd, from its humble beginnings, with just one small shop, to the present day where the company proudly boasts no fewer than 26 modern food stores
Edwin Booth's philosophy was simple Sell the best goods

available, in attractive stores, staffed with first class assistants

Tea dealer Edwin Henry Booth, then aged 19 years, opened the

China House in Blackpool 160 years ago

He borrowed 80 in goods from the Preston grocer who had

taught him his trade

 Just three months later he repaid the debt and made a profit of

50
Under his eldest son Johns leadership the stores were enlarged

and cafs were added in 1902

The developing caf society helped this activity to become

more fashionable, especially in the seaside resorts

John Booth recognised the enthusiasm of staff by offering all

the assistants a bonus on company profits

In 1920 the staff were invited to become shareholders in this

private company

 Edwin J Booth, became executive chairman in 1999 From its beginnings as a single store in Blackpool, the company

has grown throughout the UK North West, and had 26 stores by

the end of 2008
Its main competitors are leading four UK supermarkets, namely

Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons

In spite of the economic recession during 2008 they were able to

report a growth of 4%

S.W.O.T Analysis
Strengths
Has been around for more

Weaknesses
No home delivery facility Danger of complacency

than 160 years

Strategic investment made

creeping into the

management
So far has avoided

to enhance distribution
network, local sourcing
Managed to stay away from

competition
Is concentrating on only few

head-on competition
High levels of customer and

areas

employee loyalty

Opportunities
Attract the youth early on Consolidating its online

Threats
Danger of takeover Cant easily enter into

presence.
Enter the major cities

alliances in long run

Danger of local suppliers

defaulting

Booths has successfully fought off challenges to remain a profitable business

1. BOOTHS RECORDED STRONG SALES IN 2008, AIDED BY

SUBSTANTIAL
NETWORK

INVESTMENT

IN

ITS

DISTRIBUTION

Booths reported growth of 4% in fiscal 2008, generating sales

of 243 million, & profit increased by a substantial 30% from

the 6.9m recorded in 2007
This is particularly impressive, as they runs only 26 stores

compared to its competitor Tesco's 3,700 plus

Booths's invested 3m in a new distribution and warehousing

operation in 2008, which help its operations run more smoothly

2. THE COMPANY STILL REMAINS INDEPENDENT IN SPITE OF THE ONGOING THREAT OF THE BIG FOUR
Booths has been approached many times to be acquired, but

they always refused the offers in order to retain its independence

Safeway was one such chain who approached booths Booths's continued profitability has enabled it to refuse such

offers, which other less profitable businesses would have taken

up

3. BOOTHS STORES ARE LOCATED PREDOMINANTLY IN MARKET TOWNS WHICH PROVIDE A LESS COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
They concentrated on building its business in smaller market

towns which have a high proportion of middle class people like Blackpool, Preston etc
less competition from major supermarkets than larger towns,

cities and major suburbs, giving the company a degree of protection from supermarket-scale competition
The majority of town planners have perceived Booths to be an

attractive retailer to have in their area, due to its status as an

independent business

Booths has won consumer loyalty by providing its customers with a tailored offering
This has given it more flexibility over its national competitors

The core customers of Booths are mainly Middle class older people
The following factors have contributed to the loyalty (both Customer

and Employee) enjoyed by Booths

1.

BOOTHS UTILIZES ITS STRONG HERITAGE TO ITS ADVANTAGE

The core processes have not been changed. The focus is still on Quality

and Service
Booths stocks quality product lines to attract consumers Booths is a considerate employer. The staff are friendly and

knowledgeable

2. KEY TO BOOTHS LONGEVITY : ADAPTATION

The company's product mix and style of retail have changed dramatically since the 1960s The shopping patterns have changed. It is more weekly than everyday As a result, the shelf life of products (especially food products) has increased Shopping has been made easier through initiatives such as self serving aisles and till bar code scanners

3. BOOTHS SOURCES A QUARTER OF ITS PRODUCTS FROM THE LOCAL AREA

This is a key differentiating factor. Booths sources a high percentage (around 25% in 2008) of its product range from the local area

 This enables it to stock unusual, high quality ranges that would not normally

be found in the bigger chains

Local sourcing is also related to freshness and ethicalness Consumers could perceive the company's focus on local produce as being

environmentally friendly and benefiting its carbon footprint

The company's small size and slow and steady growth strategy has aided its

local sourcing commitment

4. THE COMPANY HAS TARGETED ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS BY

FOCUSING ON LOWERING CARBON EMISSIONS
Booths undertook an environmental audit in 2008, intended to help lower

the firm's carbon emissions at a faster rate than its larger rivals
Its willingness to invest in audits and other measures that the public demand

is another reason why it has retained customer loyalty

Booths has addressed the economic downturn with lower priced offerings
1. THE COMPANY HAS PROMOTED PRODUCE THAT COST ONLY

0.50, IN LINE WITH OTHER RETAIL OFFERS

In August 2008, responding to credit crunch, Booths launched a

50p Price Guarantee on five different vegetables and salads every fortnight in its 26 stores

Helped the company retain consumer loyalty by showing that it

had addressed the cost issues with lower priced fresh produce

2. BOOTHS HAS FOLLOWED OTHER GROCERY RETAILERS BY

LAUNCHING NEW LOWER PRICED LINES

In January 2009 the company kick-started the drive to enhance

its discounting efforts

Introduced more then 170 products under new discount brands

across product categories

Followed Tesco, which introduced 350 new low cost brands in

September 2008
However the main area of focus remains same for Booths

premium quality

The company's web presence is small and provides opportunities for growth
Unlike the larger UK supermarket chains, Booths has a

limited online presence. It does not offer an online shopping portal, limiting its online retail presence to the sale of wine

Although its two wine shopping websites have won plaudits,

the company has opportunities to expand its online presence, which would provide it with the ability to compete more strongly in the current recessionary climate

1. Booths does not offer an online grocery delivery service, giving larger retailers an advantage
Booths does not offer an online grocery shopping service, unlike many of

its main supermarket rivals, with its main online website limited to providing a history of the company and current in-store deals
Rivals such as Waitrose offers two online shopping networks; one through

Ocado, which offers delivery around the UK, and a more limited Waitrose Deliver service, which only delivers to areas immediately located by its stores (mainly in the South East)
Booths could therefore offer a similar service to the latter, delivering to

customers near its stores, and in doing so could gain customer loyalty among those who do not have the time to shop in its stores

2. The company's online wine stores offer a template of how

Booths could move into the specialist food market web arena
Booths has garnered praise by offering a substantial online wine

ordering service through its two sites, Booths-wine.co.uk and everywine.co.uk. Booths Wine offers wine that is sold through the company's shops, making them available for online purchase

around the UK
Booths could use its wine websites as inspiration, in order to

develop a way to offer specialist foods for online delivery

Items such as cheeses and meats could be given their own online

presence, using a similar template to the wine offering

Snapshot of the website

Booths' growth strategy remains slow and steady

Slow & steady Growth since its inception Consistent strategy - non-corporate approach to business Support local suppliers without compromising on quality Continue with same business model while adapting to

certain changing trends

1. Booths plans eight new stores over the next 10 years

Aim at entering larger cities. E.g Leeds and Manchester providing

it with a larger customer base, will also bring it closer to rival

supermarkets
Challenge which they aim to meet with its locally sourced quality

food proposition 2. Focus remains on North West

Booths aims at consolidating and expanding in the northern

region
Booth believes that if they expand quicker and at a more wider

range their smaller local suppliers may not be able to keep up

3. Target a younger clientele with in store re-branding

Traditional customers are middle aged Youth will be the life blood in future

Change of sign from 'Booths the grocer' to 'Booths

Color of the logo has changed from green and orange to a more

up-to-date wine, lavender, olive and saffron color scheme

Redesigned carrier bags, and new look packaging on products

4. A partnership with Waitrose

In September 2008, Booths formed a partnership with up

market supermarket chain Waitrose.

The partnership was in the form of a buying alliance

to

negotiate better prices for branded goods.

Attracted a lot of criticism as it was felt that it would harm

Booths non corporate image

The move could provide important security during the

downturn, it could harm its reputation in long-term

Learning's

Business can survive by catering to local demands

Small size can also work as an advantage

Importance of employee loyalty

Need to adapt to new situations

Thank You..!!