Woolworths Space Gap Analysis

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The five types of gaps that exist between the buyer and the seller are namely: space gap, time gap, information gap, ownership gap and value gap (Cant & Van Heerden, 2010).
The space gap can be described as the actual physical distance between the manufacturer and consumer (Cant & Van Heerden, 2010). Woolworths successfully bridges the space gap by means of store numbers and locations. Most retailers, typically approach production houses, like Albany or Nestle to buy their products and re-sell them, however, Woolworths is a brand of producer in itself. If consumers seek out their goods and services then no middleman is required; the company caters for easy customer access. As a producer of goods (not a retailer), Woolworths transports their retail products from their production/distribution warehouses, via road (trucking), to bridge the existing geographical gap.
The time gap comprises of seasonal or perishable goods, Woolworths

Question: 2
• The primary marketing activity: the primary marketing activity is transport (Cant & Van Heerden, 2010).The purpose of this is to deliver the product to the consumer in the fastest and safest way (Cant & Van Heerden, 2010).Woolworths transport their retail products from their production/distribution warehouses, via road (trucking), to bridge the existing geographical gap. Woolworths also use reusable plastic lugs to transport their product to and from stores, rather than cardboard boxes , which are recyclable and reduce consumption of natural paper-based resources; and also use transit packaging that are used to protect clothes during transport, as well as hangers being collected by stores and sent back to the distribution centre’s for recycling. Woolworths Primary Fre...

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...customers in both these areas and is well placed to benefit from the growth in the number and spend of these customers.
Competitors: Woolworths is a perfect competition, it has unlimited competitors and its products are homogenous; Woolworth’s biggest competitors are Edgar’s on clothing and pick n pay on food. Foreign retailers such as Walmart, Zara and Top Shop are finding South Africa an attractive investment opportunity, with a relatively high return and a gateway to the rest of Africa. Competition is expected to intensify, with more global entrants delivering more fashion relevance and choice at reasonable values. Local retailers all have sourcing and speed-to-market initiatives to balance margin and customer demand. Woolworths has shifted and consolidated a significant percentage of its sourcing offshore, but still remains one of the largest local procurers.

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