Shoprite Case Study

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Threats to Shoprite Holdings (Strategy/Income): Demand Challenges

Demand is defined as “the various amounts of a product that consumers are willing to purchase at various prices under the assumption of all other things equal” (Rensburg et al. 2015, p54). Customers have the most direct microeconomic impact on a business; therefore, it becomes very important to consider the needs of a specific group of customers as well as the impact of the economic climate on their purchasing power in order to manage supply and pricing decisions. South Africa is plagued with increased unemployment rates and low levels of household income. These, currently are negatively affecting demand in general, but retail goods more so. “In the first quarter of 2017, the …show more content…

2015, p58). In order for a company to operate profitably it is crucial that equilibrium price is achieved, that is “the price where the intentions of buyers and sellers match” (Rensburg et al, 2015, p62). Shoprite holding has been met with some challenges in this regard. In this section we consider the impact that drought, fuel prices and increased labour costs have had on Shoprite Holdings performance and competitiveness. “South Africa is a water-scarce country with increasing pressure on its water resources” (Sershen, Rodda, Stenström, Schmidt, Dent, Bux, & Fennemore , 2016, p456). Lack of water is directly related to food shortages, this in turn is directly related to increases in commodity prices. The increase in commodity prices has an inverse relationship with demand, therefore as one increase the other decreases. “Over a half of global population is affected by water scarcity e.g. Middle East and North Africa region, India, Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of China” (Porkka, Gerten, Schaphoff, Siebert, & Kummu, 2016, p1), a potential solution to this scarcity would be sharing resources through global trade. Unfortunately in the context of Shoprite Holdings, even this is limited as South Africa has faced the spectre of a credit ratings downgrade. “ Standard & Poor's credit rating for

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