...An Overview of the UK Pharmaceutical Industry The Pharmaceutical Industry in the UK is the second largest contributor to Gross Domestic Product behind Financial Services. There are several very big players in the UK with GlaxoWelcome & SmithKline Beecham who merged in January 2000 to become Glaxo SmithKline and AstraZeneca being the two largest UK based companies. Almost all the other major pharmaceutical companies operating in the UK have undergone or are in the process of undergoing mergers and acquisitions, including AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Warner Lambert, Shire and Roberts, and Celltech with Chiroscience and Medeva. The UK pharmaceutical market is a successful, research-driven, high-technology industry. The UK market is dynamic and increasingly competitive and, it ranks third after Germany and Switzerland in the global pharmaceutical industry rankings in terms of trade balance. According to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (Abpi), the industry employs around 75,000 people, of whom over 25% are graduates. Introduction to AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, with a major presence in the UK. Their business is focused on providing innovative, effective medicines that make a real difference in important areas of healthcare. Other facilities in the UK include research and development, sales and marketing and manufacturing. In 2008 AstraZeneca’s total contribution to wealth creation was £4.1 billion...
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...K economic performance in 2007 The level of the inflation rate in 2007 is 2.3 annually. There was a level trending rate across the months of 2007. The UK has experienced its fastest growth since 2007 and is currently being the fastest growing major developed economy. Annual growth rates averaged 2.68% between 1992 and 2007. In 2007, UK had the world third’s largest current account deficit due to mainly a large deficit in manufactured goods. The UK in 2007 had government debts at 35.5% of GDP. The unemployment rate in the UK for 2007 was about 6.0 % Summary of UK economic performance in 2012 The unemployment level or rate for 2012 was 7.9%. The level of GDP growth for Uk was 0.8% and the inflation rate was 2.83%. The UK economy fell during 2012. The level of output in the first three quarters of the year was little changed from the period of 2011. There was a disappointing foreign trade performance and export volumes rose only by 0.2 %. Export volumes are the imports of individual countries on a constant price basis. This means that the UK slightly increased their importing. Mark and Spencer’s performance Market Overview Gross Domestic product is predicted to grow by 2.7% in 2008. The total revenues were up 5.1% driven by new space in the UK and strong performance in our international business. Operating profit before property disposal and exceptional items was £1,089.3m up 4.3%. The UK gross margin was 0.4 percentage points down on the year at 43.0” mostly due to...
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...Building 243 University Campus Cranfield Bedford MK43 0AL Tel: +44 (0)1234 750323 Fax: +44 (0)1234 752040 www.scp-uk.co.uk How Supply Chains Create Shareholder Value by Dr. David Lascelles, Supply Chain Planning UK Limited S upply chain management is no longer a boring Cinderella of the business world. Not since the mid-nineties when enterprises as diverse as Amazon, Cemex, Cisco Systems, Dell Computers and Zara started to create dominant competitive positions, build huge market capitalisations and delight their shareholders through the brilliant management of their supply chains. No, supply chain management has become a hot topic in boardrooms worldwide. The case histories of Internet retailer, Amazon; web systems builder, Cisco; PC giant, Dell; and Spanish fashion retailer, Zara are well documented. But Cemex, a Mexican cement supplier? Well, you don’t need to be in hi-tech or high fashion to reap the benefits of supply chain excellence. The effects can be just as dramatic for a commodity supplier. As a result of its supply chain performance improvement efforts, Cemex enjoys the highest value-to-sales ratio of the world’s six largest cement manufacturers. These enterprises represent just the tip of the iceberg. More than one study indicates that superior performing supply chains increase free cash flows – the key driver of shareholder value – by up to 20% on average. Supply chain excellence is a crucial engine of economic growth. And yet, even though it represents...
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...Summary - Greggs is the top bakers’ chain in UK. - Greggs owned 1400 shops and employ 19,000 workers. - Ken McMeikan – Chief Executive leads Greggs to success. - Greggs has a good performance in the economic downturn. - Changes and strategies help Greggs to defy economic downturn. - Greggs is planning for an international expansion. - Greggs is a company responsible to its stakeholders – customers, employees and shareholders. - Part of the ideas are generating from analysis of Greggs’ reports and PESTEL analysis. 2. Introduction Greggs is a national company which has recently owned more than 1400 shops in UK. After the closure of its Belgium operation, Greggs changed from a decentralized to a centrally run business. This successful bakery chain is led by Mr. McMeikan who served under some of the most-respected retail sectors’ leaders before. In the near future they are planning to open a further 600 shops to create 6000 new jobs and will carry out an international expansion in the next few years. In the report, we can see the latest performance of Greggs, how its chief executive manages the changes and the considerations of the business development and how it treats its stakeholders. 3. Environment that Greggs works in Greggs holds on to its top position as the UK’s largest bakery retailer by the narrowest margin in British Baker’s new BB75 league table for 2010 – covering the 75 biggest bakery retailers in the UK and its strong competitor Subway is in second...
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...Executive summary Inchcape is an independent international automotive retailer and distributor, which is operating in 26 Emerging and Developed markets. It has diversified multi-channel revenue streams comprising sales of new and used cars, spare parts, sales service, insurance and finance. Inchcape’s vision is to be the world’s most customer-focused automotive retail group and good operation of world’s famous automotive brands, such as BMW/Mini, Land Rover, Porsche, Toyota/Lexus, Volvo, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, and Volkswagen. Inchcape, whose headquarter is in London and has around 14300 employees, has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1958 (Inchcape.com, 2011). Inchcape wants to acquire other automotive dealers to expend their market share. Pendragon is one of the most potential car dealers which Inchcape interested in. The main purpose of this report is to access Pendragon through knowing the main risk they face and analyzing their performance, financial status and evaluate whether Pendragon should be acquired by our company. According to the research and analysis covered, the contents have been divided into five parts: a. background b. context of Pendragon c. overview of Pendragon d. ratios of Pendragon e. evaluation of Pendragon CONTENTS 1. Background----------------------------------------------------------3 2. Context-------------------------------------------------------------3-4 3. Overview 3.1 survivors of...
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...Both mills are certified to the ISO 14001 environmental management standard. Barclays PLC Annual Report 2008 “ We thank our customers and clients for the business they directed to Barclays in 2008. High levels of activity on their behalf have enabled us to report substantial profit generation in difficult conditions. Our priorities in 2008 were (and remain): to stay close to customers and clients; to manage our risks; and to progress strategy. ” John Varley Group Chief Executive © Barclays Bank PLC 2009 Registered office: 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP Registered in England. Registered No: 48839 9910115 www.barclays.com/annualreport08 51° 30' 36"N London, UK 12pm GMT Contents Business review 3 Barclays today 4 Key performance indicators 6 Group Chairman’s statement 10 Group Chief Executive’s review 12 Financial review 15 Corporate sustainability 66 Our people 68 Risk management 69 Governance 151 Board and Executive Committee 152 Directors’ report 154 Corporate governance report 157 Remuneration report 171 Accountability and audit 187 Financial statements 189 Presentation of information 190 Independent Auditors’ report/Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm’s report 191 Consolidated accounts Barclays PLC 193 Barclays Bank PLC data 299 Shareholder information 315 Delivering our strategy Our strategy...
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...assurance and pensions. Retailing accounted for 96% of fiscal 2000 revenues and financial services, 4%. The company was always considered to have a great management support that helped in its growth. But the last years, M&S’s managers seem to fail on their strategic decisions, leading the group to lower and lower sales and profits. The share price is also dropping and shareholders feel insecure for the future (figure 2). Group structure and financial performance The group’s performance measures for the year ended at 31 March were disappointing (figure-5). The return on equity ratio and the earnings per share were zero as the company had only £1.3m profit this year. For the same reason, the dividend cover was also zero. Last year the dividend cover was 1,0p as the company paid the shareholders all its profit. For doing so the company had to cut the dividend from 14,4p to 9,0p. This year the company proposed the same dividend even though it had almost no profit. The group reports the results of three operating divisions: the UK Retail, the International Retail...
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...the organization) Strengths • Strong liquidity position • Strong financial performance • Diversified business operations Weaknesses • Limited investor confidence • Weak performance in the plantations • Limited Geographic Presence External Origin (attributes of the environment) Opportunities • Strategic acquisitions • Resort World at Sentosa (RWS) • Improvement in Malaysian tourism sector Threats • Legislative changes in gaming sector • Economic condition in UK • Growing competition Overview Genting Berhad (Genting) is a Malaysia-based investment holding and management company. Its diverse business portfolio and its strong liquidity position place it at an edge over its peers. Genting's weak operational performance and declining returns could be of concern. The company's growth could be restricted by factors such as competition and economic situation in UK. However, the company could stand to gain from RWS, its resort project in Sentosa (Singapore). Strengths Strong liquidity position The company's current ratio was 4.82 at the end of fiscal year 2009. This was above the S&P 500 companies average* of 1.46. A higher than S&P 500 companies average* current ratio indicates that the company is in a strong financial position and is more capable of meeting its short term obligations than other companies in the S&P 500 index. This may be attributed as the company's operating income...
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...strategy 5 2.3 SWOT analysis 6 3. PEST ANALYSIS 6 4. PORTER´S FIVE FORCES Analysis of entering the UK Market 7 5. CONCLUSION 11 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY 12 7. APPENDICES 13 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The aim of this report is to analyse Picard´s market performance as well as challenges in its operating market using the PEST analysis tool, in order to identify if the company has prospects of entering and succeeding in the UK based on Porter´s five forces model. Picard is a French frozen food retailer focusing exclusively on its own brand product lines. The company has grown to be France´s leading frozen food specialist capturing 20% market share with a network of over 800 stores, and it is also the largest specialised network of frozen food in Italy. Picard also offers a leading home delivery service from internet and telephone orders, including in other countries such as Spain, Luxemburg and Belgium. The retailer´s overall strategy is characterised as a premium proposition with a vision of convenience, quality and innovation, firmly positioning itself on the high end of the market. Picard currently aims to continue opening approximately 50 new stores per year given its successful and consistent performance, allowing the company to potentially expand further overseas. Using the PEST analysis tool it was identified that Picard´s major challenges in its operating market are the increased competition with other retailers in the convenience sector, the extent to which...
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...Marketing Plan Executive summary This marketing plan examines the case of TOPSHOP as a UK’s fast-fashion retailer. The following marketing plan is structured according the SOSTAC framework. Topshop is operating under the parental Arcadia Group. Over the latest years, Topshop has been one of the most popular UK’s fast-fashion retailers. The company is a multinational Omni-channel fashion retailer. Topshop is well-known for its high-quality products in medium low prices. The company’s portfolio owns a wide range of products and services. According to the Situational Analysis, the UK’s macro environment has changed over the latest years. The UK’s fast-fashion industry is becoming more and more cluttered with competitors from both UK and overseas. The business frameworks PESTEL, Industry key drives, Industry’s life cycle indicated that the UK’s fashion market is influenced from several external factors. The industry’s key drivers are the Europe’s economic recession, the social-media and e-tail evolution and the environmental crisis. However, the UK’s fashion sector remains a dynamic and innovative sector worldwide. Moreover, the buying behavioral is shaped by the UK’s market trends. The UK’s consumers are driven by the economical and political unstable environment and the digital evolution. The internal analysis indicated that the company is preforming well compared with its competitors. The SWOT analysis presented that TOPSHOP has important strengths and opportunities...
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...|MARKS & SPENCER PLC[1] | | |[pic] |In 1985, Britain's best-known retailer was the | | |subject of a gusher of a book: Marks & Spencer: | | |Anatomy of Britain's Most Efficiently Managed | | |Company. Nowadays, any book on the 115-year-old food | | |and clothing chain would need a new title. Comedy of | | |Errors is more like it. | | |Businessweek – 18.10.99 | Introduction Marks & Spencer Plc (from now on M&S) is an international retailer with 718 locations across 34 countries. The group sells clothing, footwear, gifts, home furnishings and foods under the St. Michael trademark in its chain of 294 stores in the United Kingdom. Approximately half of the group's overseas stores are franchised to local partners. The group also owns the clothing retailer Brooks Brothers and the Kings Super Markets chain...
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...Contents Title Page 2 Introduction 3 1) History 3 2) Location 3 Mission Statement and Value 4 Financial Performances 4 1) Share Price Analysis 4 2) Ratio Analysis 5 Company Analysis 7 1) Company Strengths 7 2) Company Weaknesses 7 3) Company Opportunities 8 4) Company Treats 8 Conclusion 9 Referencing: 9 Books: 9 Websites: 9 Appendix 11 Part A) 11 Part B) 11 To: Mary RitsonFrom: Yi Xu (10324142)Date: 08-12-11Subject: The relevant company research report of WH Smith plc for recent years. This report consists of financial performances and relevant company analysis. | Title Page Acc2005 Report Summary The report describes the relevant information for the UK biggest retailer, WH Smith plc.The company sells books, newspapers, magazines, stationery,and entertainment products as their main business activities. It is operating the business into two divisions, High Streets and Travel. It covered 0.4 million square feet as travel and 3.0 million square feet for selling space. The company achieved recorded revenues of £1312 million during the fiscal year endedAugust 2010. The year operating profit was£89million in 2010.In contrary, it increased by 7.2% from 2009. The net profit was £69 million in 2007, an increase of 9.5% over 2009.(WH Smith plc, 2010) Also, the financial performances for recent years and company SWOT analysis will also be concluded in this report. Introduction ...
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...trains. They do not think about the infrastructure of the train network. This consists of countless bridges, viaducts, embankments, cuttings and tunnels. Independent companies built the first railways in the 19th century. From midnight on 31st December 1947 the government took control of the railway industry and British Rail ran it. In 1994 the railway industry was privatised and its services franchised to train operating companies such as Virgin and First Group. Responsibility for the infrastructure passed to a new plc called Railtrack. In 2002, the government transferred the assets and business of Railtrack to a new not-for-dividend company – Network Rail. When Network Rail was created it needed to invest in the tracks and services. Since 2002, it has made many improvements. For example, in 2005 it replaced or repaired over 700 miles of rail. Network Rail is a company limited by guarantee with a board of directors but no shares or shareholders. Instead, it has unpaid stakeholder 'members' who check standards of corporate governance and monitor performance. Strategy and the external environment The external environment is the context in which a business operates. This takes in various factors including those outside its control, for example, laws or standards. Each factor can have an effect on the business – positive or negative –and so companies make plans and strategies to try to anticipate these effects. If a company does not plan for external environment...
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...The supermarket retail sector in UK has started as a fundamental part of the retail industry, that leading the food retailing (Shitti et all, 2006, P.94). The supermarket sector has an essential influence on the retail industry. The UK supermarket sector is led by few companies, Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury, Safeway, Morrison and Co-op Group that control over 50% of grocery retail. A shift in consumer lifestyle has changed retail industry to offer a diversity of services. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)) The UK grocery has been classified with a wide range of formats including Hypermarkets, Superstores, Discounters and Convenience stores. Generally, food retailers were developed from a highly simple source then they established a sound successful business, interspersed by failure (Williamson et al. 2004). The UK competing supermarkets in the retail industry are; 1. Morrison The supermarket was established in 1899 by William Morrison. In 1962, he purchased the Victoria Supermarket out of town. The growth of Morrison went steadily to increase their stores from 45 in 1990 to 81 in 1996 located in towns that close to main roads. It has been regarded as a leader in Sale-Based Ordering (SBO). Customers consider Morison chains as price competitive. Morrison is considered as the pioneer in feature of Market Street 2. Tesco It is classified as the market leader in grocery retailing that reached 545 outlets by 1996 guided by formula ‘pile it high, sell it cheap’. Tesco...
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...“big four”# supermarket chain in UK. It currently sorely operates in UK and employs about 150,000 people. Its cooperation business is composed of four areas, which are supermarkets, online business, property market and banks. The Sainsbury supermarket operates a total of 890 stores comprising 547 supermarkets and 343 convenience stores around the UK. The stores are pride of providing health, safe, fresh and tasty food to its customers. It also jointly owns Sainsbury’s bank with Lloyds Banking Group and has two property joint ventures with Land Securities Group PLC and the British Land Company PLC. Its total revenue (excluding the value added tax) in Fiscal Year (FY) #2010 was £19,964 million, which increased 5.6% from the last year. The underlying profits before tax grew to £610 from £519 million. The basic earnings per share increased 93.4% to 32.1 pence from 16.6 pence. Food retail industry in united kingdom: In 2009, the value of United Kingdom food retail industry increased by 3.1% to reach $186.1 billion. According to forecast for 2014, the United Kingdom food retail industry has a value of $219.4 billion, and increase of 17.9% since 2009. The compound growth rate of the industry from 2009-2014 is predicted to be 3.4%. With a market share rose to 16.5% over the 12-week period, from 16.3% a year ago according to Kantar (which monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 25000 demographically representative households in the UK) (notefoot), Sainsbury is now...
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