Analysis of the biscuits and oatcakes industry
A full analysis of the biscuit and oatcakes industry must be completed in order to make an informed decision on what strategic options Nairn’s as a company has within the UK market.
In order to understand the environment Nairn’s is operating in a SWOT analysis has been used to critically analyse and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses within the industry and any threats or opportunities that may arise. This can be seen in the appendix.
The industry is currently at the mature stage of the lifecycle and this would lead you to believe that companies within it would be in difficulties, however according to the case study the oats industry is one of the fastest growing segments.
The industry has been up against some ‘complex challenges over the past five years due to the difficult trading climate’ this is owed predominantly to the global recession and most recently the Euro-crisis. This can be seen as one of the major economical threats to the industry as consumers will be looking for similar perceived value but at a cheaper price. As this industry is driven primarily by customer preference companies will have to adjust their strategies to maintain market share. However through the process of the economic recovery there is room for innovation and new products. This change in the environment can be seen as both a threat and an opportunity.
Globally consumers are looking for a healthier lifestyle. This is a new market in the industry for companies to expand into, for Nairn’s this is the perfect opportunity for their oatcake company as they pride themselves on their ‘quality and healthy offering’. However there is an increase in the volume of competitors in the healthy good sector, this leads to good competition and further innovation; although this is a positive outcome it can also be viewed as a negative. The more