Dufry International Company
Dufry international is a global duty free company whose operations are over 44 Countries. The Company has its base in Basel, Switzerland .The Company has over 1000 shops that are in operation located in airports, seaports, onboard cruise liners and other locations that attract tourists (Dufry AG, 2006). It is therefore the largest travel retailer in the world and a global leader in its segment. It is globally active with its corporate structure organized in four regions. It works with local partners and make adjustments o the services offered to local habits of the customers. Its vision is clear which is to be the most innovative a profitable company. It is in pursuit of a strategy of profitable growth focus being on the tourist destinations and emerging markets.
Dufry international has solid and robust business policies in place. The policies have registered subsequent positive results to the business. These policies are based on the following elements. This include; combining global research with the knowledge on local markets. It aims to use the global reach on its operations to diversify and in so doing reduce the companies risk profile. This also results to an increase in the company’s know-how and experience in global travel retail operations.
Another policy is for the company to be true retailer that has its focus on the needs of the customer. This they achieve through the management of operations of the company directly and do their own staffing on the employees. This has resulted into an in depth understanding of the customer’s preferences and behaviors’. They also have put in place a project dubbed “Dufry plus one “that focuses on an increase in the productivity by maximizing the customer service experience in their stores.
Another policy is to ensure that Dufry is the preferred partner for long-term business relationships. They aim to structure their relationship with the owners of facilities as mutual beneficial. The company aims to give an offer to airport authorities or their landlords packages that are comprehensive that include alternative business plans that will allow landlords and the company to maximize their revenues. In so doing there will be a positive relationship between these landlords and the company that will result to a smooth running of the business.
A policy to enhance the central functions that will improve profitability is also in place.ths is through the capitalization of different synergies that are created by the standardization of the processes among the operations. The negotiations with suppliers are made centrally and also implementation of IT platforms, financial platforms and logistics functions that are centrally placed. This will enhance the profitability of the company.
The company also focuses on growth that will plough back profits. There is continuous improvement and expansion of shops in place, to ensure that their full potential is tapped. They also have the aim to strengthen their presence in attractive market all over the world. When an assessment of new opportunities is done the financial discipline approach is the one that is applied. All this policies result to increased profits to the company.
Dufry has a customer service policy in place where they have warranty for their products. They allow exchange of products that have been purchased from their shops the only condition being that the products should not have been used and the exchange made within thirty days of purchase. The product should also be in the original package and containing all the accessories if any and receipts to act as proof of purchase. There is also a policy to replace or refunds for any faulty products sold to the customers. This results to a good relationship from the customers that ensure loyalty to Dufry international.
Stakeholders Analysis
There are various factors that affect organizations. These include people and organizations and form what is known as the stakeholders of a business. These stakeholders can be categorized into four theses are; customers, competitors, community and company. All these will be analyzed in detail.
Customer analysis
Customers are the people who purchase or use the products from Dufry international. The products that are retailed in the Dufry shops are tailored to meet the customer needs. With a high base of potential international and domestic customers worldwide there have been retail concepts that have been customized so that the full potential of the customers is captured. Therefore there are different customer categories according to the shops that they have put in place. The customer categories include; Passengers who are impulse and convenience shoppers are targeted by the news and convenience stores; where the assortments are newspapers, magazines, books that are complemented by a wide range of convenient products.
There are also target customers for specific special products such as electronics, jewelry, and confectionery and so on. These are stocked in specialized shops that have adopted special concepts according to the location they are in. There are also specific customers who are into shopping in boutiques that are in names of prestigious brands such as Victoria secrets, Armani and so on. This are satisfied by the brand boutiques that Dufry have put in place that complement the general retail stores.
The entire passengers are targeted through the general travel retail shops that offer a wide variety of products that are balanced in terms of brand exposure and the pricing levels. They are stocked with over 50,000 different products that include tobacco, food and confectionary, perfumes and cosmetics, tobacco, alcoholic beverages, and so on( Dufry AG,2006). The shops are different in each location in terms of customer profiles and their patterns of spending. They are located in both arrival and departure areas of the airports. There are also walkthrough shops set up that are specifically designed so that the entire passenger flow goes direct through the shops. The passengers have different habits and preferences, this shop are therefore fully stocked with different brand to satisfy the different tastes and preferences of the customers. The locations of these outlets are set differently in such a way that the different customer profiles and spending patterns will be put into consideration.
Competitor Analysis
Competition in a business means any product or service that can be a substitute to the product Dufry offers in meeting a customer’s need. Competitors may not only be present when it comes to sales they may also come into play when it comes to employees, suppliers,investors,publicity ,real estate or any other thing that the companies needs to operate and succeed. The competitors of Dufry international include World Duty Free, Nuance, DFS and Aldeasa.
World Duty free is a very great competitor to Dufry international. It has several strengths that have made it successful and a strong competitor to Dufry international these include the pricing of products in world duty free. Some of the products have a great percentage off and these trickles’ down to how many the shoppers save (Autogrill Retail UK Ltd,2010) For instance some fragrances’ have up to 40% saving against the average high street price in the UK.There is also about 20% off on the high street price of champagne .this is because they get a great value for money from the largest producers of champagnes(EBSCO Publishing, 2010).
Service provision; they provide quality service that involves excellent customer service through the customer service team in the stores and also after sale services. They also have an extended period which the products that have been purchased can be returned which is 60 days (Autogrill Retail UK Ltd,2010)The staff is effective and provides high quality services that are second to none. They have a shop and collect later service where the customers can shop and travel then collect what they purchased later after they return. This service is free hence no extra costs are incurred. This is an advantage since it enables the customers to get around the restrictions on carrying liquids on flights. Products they offer; the products they stock are exclusive that are unique and are not available in high street. They have a great product choice that include great specialized whiskies, fragrances, cosmetics and fashion accessories (Autogrill Retail UK Ltd,2010)
World duty free just like other companies has weaknesses. For instance the fact that their stores are only located in airports is a weakness. This is because Dufry has numerous locations and not in airports only. This means that their clients are limited when a comparison is made between the two companies. World duty free is only located in Europe and hence they limit their customers in Europe unlike Dufry which has expanded its markets to Africa. This means that its operations are limited in terms of location.
Company Analysis
The company is made up of the internal stakeholders this include the investors, employees and executives. Dufry has employed more than 15000 employees who are of many nationalities (Dufry AG, 2006). The employees are very important since they are the ones who enable the company to realize its vision which is to be the most innovative and successful travel retail company. The employees are very important since they help through supporting the customers to make decisions. They also assist them to find the right products since the stores have a wide range of brands and products within them. The fact that these employees have a vast diversity in culture forms the basis which Dufry operates globally. This is because these employees have an in-depth understanding of the markets of the local areas where they are based and also have adequate information on the customers. They combine this information with the attractive concepts put in place by the company. This form a basis for the marketing strategy of Dufry international and hence gives the customers a unique experience in this shops that makes them want to shop in Dufry shops over and over again. They also represent a brand image to suppliers and customers. This is also a form of marketing done by the employees.
Community Analysis
This is an important aspect of each business. It involves the external factors that affect the business this can be for instance suppliers, religious organizations, journalists, and governments among others. Dufry international collaborates worldwide with around 1,200 suppliers who are well known in the retail sector. The use of the bet brand suppliers is a marketing tool for Dufry international since they have business strategies in line with those of these suppliers through elaboration of specific marketing plans and promotional activities. Dufry have developed the strongest portfolio of brands per product category and customer segmentation in the industry. Dufry plans and works together with the suppliers to bring out strong partnerships so that they can analyze and combine the information they gather from their research to use it as marketing strategies. The brand plan establishes a vision and a road map that will optimize maximum market potential and also do the main promotional activities. The brands together with Dufry put up customized promotional calendars that will enhance the shopping experience and convert non shoppers to shoppers. This will increase sales and the brand awareness. The collaboration with suppliers is enhanced through the implementation of the Dufry supplier Extranet where the partners have online access to their brands and products commercial performances in our locations.
References
Dufry AG, (2006). Our Company. Retrieved October 19, 2012 from http://www.dufry.com/en/OurCompany/Ourpeople/index.htm
EBSCO Publishing, (2010). World duty free sale update. Retrieved October 19, 2012 from
HYPERLINK “http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/31976452/world-duty-free-sale-update”http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/31976452/world-duty-free-sale-update
BusinessDB,(2012)Dufry.Retrieved October 19,2012 from
HYPERLINK “http://sg.businessdb.com/company/www.dufry.com”http://sg.businessdb.com/company/www.dufry.com
RBR, (2010). Dufry AG company overview.Retrieved October 19, 2012 from
HYPERLINK “http://www.retail-business-review.com/companies/dufry_ag”http://www.retail-business-review.com/companies/dufry_ag
Autogrill Retail UK Ltd,(2010) World duty free.Retrieved october 19,2012 from
HYPERLINK “http://www.worlddutyfree.com/gifts-for-them”http://www.worlddutyfree.com/gifts-for-them.
