Sherry He
301187162
Sherry He
301187162

Individual Assignment
Woolworths in Ghana
Individual Assignment
Woolworths in Ghana

Executive Summary

This report analyzes the current marketing strategies of Woolworths in Ghana from four perspectives: products, price, project and promotion. Also, it will briefly mention the company’s successful marketing strategy in other African countries.
According to what Woolworths has accomplished in Ghana, the recommendations in this report are generated based on the findings and analyses of Ghana environment. In particular, Ghana’s social, political, legal and economic factors will be presented as they relate to the commercial atmosphere. The recommendations, which are meant to help Woolworths define its future development, are as follows:
• Seek more opportunities in Ghana and open more Woolworths C&GM stores in Accra.
• Utilize social media to build strong brand awareness among Ghanaians.
• Maintain positive, healthy relationships with the government of Ghana for further development.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Company Description and Current Marketing Strategy Analysis 4 Company Description and Analysis 4 Scope and Limitations 5 Description of Current Marketing Strategy of Woolworths 5 Product 5 Place 6 Promotion 6 Price 6 Market/Business Environment Analysis and Recommendations 8 Economic 8 Social 9 Political 10 Legal 10 Reference List 12

Introduction
Woolworths is a familiar retail brand in Africa, especially in South Africa. It has 551 stores in South Africa and 62 stores in the rest of Africa, including Botswana, Ghana, Tanzania, and Kenya (Woolworths Limited, 2015). According to Woolworths Group Director of Retail Operations Paula Disberry, “We are delighted to be able to meet our customers’ growing expectations and needs by opening a new store in a great location and we are optimistic about our future in Ghana” (Nyamuda, 2015).
Ghana, which currently has three Woolworths shops, seems like a plain waiting to be explored by Woolworths in the future. However, how will Woolworths lead its development successfully in Ghana? Why is Ghana an optimistic place for the company to explore? To answer these questions, an analysis of Woolworths’ current marketing strategies in Ghana and various aspects of Ghana’s market is first required.

Company Description and Current Marketing Strategy Analysis
Company Description and Analysis
Woolworths is a large retail chain headquartered in South Africa that sells clothing and general merchandise, as well as various food products and financial services (Woolworths Limited, 2015). Woolworths has successfully operated in South Africa and become one of the largest retail chains in the country. Woolworths belongs to Woolworths Holdings Limited (WHL), which is a large retail investment group. As shown below in Figure 1, WHL mainly consists of three departments: Woolworths, David Jones and Country Road Group (Woolworths Holdings Limited [WHL], 2015). David Jones and Country Rad Group are two retail chains that exist primarily in Australia.
Figure 1: Source: Woolworths Holdings Limited. (2015). 2015 Integrated Report. Retrieved from http://www.woolworthsholdings.co.za/investor/annual_reports/ar2015/whl_2015_integrated_report.pdf
Scope and Limitations
This report will completely focus on Woolworths under WHL. As research limitations based on the three Woolworths branches in Ghana exist, the scope of this report will analyze Woolworths’ current marketing strategies not exclusively in Ghana. However, the main purpose of this report is to evaluate the market of Ghana and come up with recommendations for Woolworths’ further development in Ghana.
Description of Current Marketing Strategy of Woolworths
Product
The three Woolworths shops in Ghana sell a range of men, women and children’s clothing, beauty, footwear and accessories. All of these products are sold under Woolworths’ own brand name (WHL, 2015). Food products and financial services have not yet been imported by Woolworths into Ghana.
Woolworths has two main distribution stations in South Africa. According to Dos Santos, Svensson and Padin (2013), all Woolworths’ purchases go through these two main distribution stations and are then distributed to Woolworths stores. As shown below in Figure 2, WHL takes responsibility for all products and controls the entire product distribution carefully (especially for food).
Figure 2: Source: Dos Santos M, Svensson G & Padin C, (2013),"Indicators of sustainable business practices: Woolworths in South Africa", Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 18 pp. 104 - 108
Place
All three Woolworths shops are located in Accra, the capital of Ghana. The first shop operates near Kotoka International Airport, which is the premier international airport in Ghana, serving more than 1.5 million visitors each year (ARUP, 2015). The second branch opened in the city car park building at Accra Central, so it is reasonable to believe that the location has a high flow of visitors. The third branch opened in 2014 in Accra’s modern West Hills Mall. According to the official website of West Hills Mall (2014), it is “the largest single-phase modern shopping center in Accra”.
Promotion
Woolworths has a Facebook page, and Twitter and Instagram accounts with a total of more than 900,000 followers in South Africa. The company has also built separate Facebook pages for its shops in Kenya, Botswana and other eight countries in Africa. Unfortunately, no Facebook page exists for any of the stores in Ghana. The company frequently posts new products and sales events on Facebook. Between the various countries’ pages, the posts have no big differences. That means Woolworths use same promotion strategies across all African countries.
Also, Woolworths has a loyalty program called “WReward,” which rewards regular customers with benefits and savings (Woolworths, 2015). To date, this program has been launched in all African countries except Ghana (WHL, 2015). There are no promotion activities exclusively in Ghana’s Woolworths can be found online. However, the West Hills Mall has Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, through which Woolworths promotions are occasionally announced.
Price
According to WHL’ 2015 annual report, the company is trying to become the leading fashion retailer in Africa by delivering fashionable merchandise and great quality at affordable prices. Although it is difficult to research the exact prices of the products found within these three shops online, customers’ comments on the Woolworths Facebook page indicate that the products have a high quality to price ratio. Thus, it is reasonable to believe the prices are moderate, although middle- and upper-income groups are still the primary target market (WHL, 2015).

Market/Business Environment Analysis and Recommendations
Economic
According to 2015 Ghana Country Review [GCR], Ghana’s economy developed very well due to its cocoa and gold exports over the past few decades. The World Bank (2015) forecasts that the real GDP will continually increase and eventually rise higher than the Sub-Saharan Africa average in the future (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Source: The World Bank. (2015). Data. Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/country/ghana

The consumer markets in Sub-Saharan Africa provide many attractive opportunities for rapid development (Passport, 2007). In the last five years, the government of Ghana has concentrated on fueling economic growth by developing infrastructure and creating jobs: The country passed a $10.7 billion budget in 2012 and $750 million in 2013 on infrastructure development and debt refinancing (GCR, 2015). Ultimately, favorable economic conditions will increase the number of potential customers for Woolworths.
As Woolworths’ target customers are the middle- and high-income groups, sustainable economic growth in Ghana will build more opportunities for the company. Woolworths opened its first two branches in Ghana in 2002, but the third shop was opened in 2014. As a result, the company missed many opportunities during this gap. Since Woolworths entered the Ghanaian market very early, it should explore Ghana more deeply by opening more clothing and general merchandise shops in the future and building strong brand awareness among Ghanaians.

Social
The official language of Ghana is English. However, Ghanaians do not have a high literacy level; the average literacy rate of Ghanaians is only 57.9% (GCR, 2015). Thus, Woolworths should take note of this and try to avoid any complicated descriptions on the products it sells in the country.
Ghana is a country in which true religious freedom exists, but most Ghanaians are either Christians or Muslims (GCR, 2015). Therefore, Woolworths has an opportunity to design its products in ways that will attract a large range of customers.
Ghana has the fastest-growing Internet and social media usage in Africa. Ghanaians spend most of their time on Facebook and blogging, even more than they do on local news sites (Issaka, n.d.). This is a reminder for Woolworths that it should create a Facebook page for Ghana’s shops as soon as possible. Particularly since the latest Woolworths only opened in Accra at the end of 2014, Woolworths need to utilize more social media channels to advertise its brand to Ghanaians.
Political
Ghana has built strong relations with other countries for international business. Furthermore, the nation actively joined many international unions, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which encourage economic, social and culture interacting in West Africa (GCR, 2015). Therefore, this is a good sign that Ghana can welcome more investment from international companies.
Compared to other countries in Africa, Ghana is a relatively stable country (Passport, 2015). However, there are still some ethnic conflicts in the northern part of Ghana where poverty runs rampant (Passport, 2015). Until the conflicts settle down, Woolworths should avoid development in these areas. However, Accra has a high-density population of about 52 people per square kilometer (GCR, 2015). So the three branches of Woolworths that are currently open there are a good step forward. Woolworths should still focus more on Accra in the future by decreasing the risk.

Legal
According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, Ghana has a relatively good score (48) compared to other African countries, such as Nigeria (27), Egypt (37) and South Africa (44) (Transparency International, 2015). Doing business with low-corruption countries means less bribery and better legal security.
From their WHL 2015 annual report, the lack of shopping malls and informal nature of retail sector in some countries became a problem. Therefore, for Woolworths, maintaining a good relationship with the government of Ghana can get more commercial information and advanced opportunities. In 2002, the president of Ghana was invited to the opening ceremony of Woolworths’ first branch in Ghana. The president said he was confident with Ghana’s economy and welcomed Woolworths’ investment in the nation (Mohammed, 2002). Woolworths seems to be doing a good job at this point.

Declaration: “I, Sherry He, declare that this papers includes exactly 1489 words.”

Reference List
ARUP. (2015). Kotoka International Airport New Terminal. Retrieved from http://www.arup.com/Projects/Kotoka_International_Airport_New_Terminal.aspx
African Business. (2015). Welcome to Ghana, Africa's shining star. Retrieved from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-411013604.html
Dos Santos M, Svensson G & Padin C. (2013). "Indicators of sustainable business practices: Woolworths in South Africa", Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 18 pp. 104 – 108
Ghana Country Review. (2015). Ghana Country Review, 1-241.
Issaka, S. (n.d.). The Rise of Social Media in Ghana. Retrieved from http://www.tabj.co.za/western_africa/blogging_ghana_is_more_than_just_a_platform_for_bloggers_to_netw.html
Mohammed, H. (2002). Ghana: Woolworths Comes to Accra. Retrieved from http://allafrica.com/stories/200211220186.html
Nyamuda, R. (2015, February 15). Ghana Gets Another Woolworths Store. Retrieved from http://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/western-africa/2014/12/15/woolworths-ghana-expansion/
Passport. (2007). Consumer markets in Sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities and challenges
Passport. (2015). Ghana: Country Profile
The World Bank. (2015). Data. Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/country/ghana
Transparency International. (2015). Corruption by Country / Territory: Ghana. Retrieved from http://www.transparency.org/country#GHA
Woolworths Holdings Limited. (2015). 2015 Integrated Report. Retrieved from http://www.woolworthsholdings.co.za/investor/annual_reports/ar2015/whl_2015_integrated_report.pdf
Woolworths Limited. (2015). Woolworths Limited MarketLine Company Profile, 1-27.
West Hills Mall. (2014). About the Mall. Retrieved from http://westhillsmallgh.com/about.html
Woolworths. (2015). Promotion. Retrieved from http://www.woolworths.co.za/store/fragments/wrewards/wrewards-index.jsp