Company Overview Of Safeway's Marketing Strategy

According to Forbes (2014), Safeway, Inc. founded in 1915, in Pleasanton, California by M. B. Skaggs. Since that time, Safeway has also grown to become one of the top four retail food stores that make up the market shares of 63.8%, which is an increase of over 39.9% within a decade. In addition, the United States Department of Agricultural (USDA, 2014) indicates that the top 20-grocery retailer revenue was $449 Billion in year 2013. In the food and non-food category, all the same, Safeway competes heavily with their competitor that places Walmart in number one slot, Kroger in number two slot, placing Safeway in the number three slot. Subsequently, in US Today (2014) indicates that these three companies produced revenue sales of $117.7 Billion
Safeway took on the philosophy of providing good quality products and a reasonable price strategy (Safeway, 2014). Branding was also a major part of Safeway’s marketing strategy in that the organization carried a brand line consisting of roughly 70 brand products. Christensen & Russell (2013) indicates how companies continue to fight for position in the retailer and other markets, none-the-less, ultimately trying to survive during the recession during years 2007 through 2009. Christensen et al. (2013) suggest that brand recognition will provide major visibility in differentiating a strategy – offering low cost as a leader. Realizing that the market brand strategy was to broad, Safeway management took steps to reduce its brand from 70 items down to 10 items, whereby laying out where its product line will stand as well as creating a much more visible direction for the company (Saylor Academy, 2012). Today, some well-known brand items are Signature café/select/care, Eating Right, Fresh Décor, Lucerne, Mom-to-Mom, Organic, Open Nature, Primo, Priority total pet care, and Refresh, (Safeway Brand, 2017). Pleasantly, by Safeway streamlining the brand line has proven very successful in creating brand equity that resonates with the current identity the consumers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012, p.
This loyalty program aimed at regaining lost revenue and customers by discounting products (Hughes, 2017). With 40% of sales at stake, Safeway needed a strategy to ensure that customers would maintain spending habits and continue to support the corporation. In as much, Safeway predetermined that they could invest only $2 per month to maintain customer. Moreover, Safeway needed a balance solution that would gain and attract potential customer through the loyalty club card as well as not run dangers of providing offers to already loyal customers, whereby, creating cannibalization of consumers who supports the business (Hughes, 2017). By apportioning customers into two groupings principal and subordinate, Safeway could create offers attractive to potentially new loyal customers as well as maintain current loyal customers. Through the identification of the 1.2 million and segmentation of each of the group, the corporation mail out a combination of roughly 451,000 different offers to primary and secondary customers, consequently, assembling offers equivocal to each need. Examples of primary offerings consist of receiving $1 off in the cookie department as well as a free for being a loyal customer. Whereas, conditioning behavior of the secondary customer receive coupons that one gave a $1 off to shop in the