Marketing is about making sure that a business is providing the goods and services that customers want. It involves identifying and anticipating what consumers want today and will want in the future. The marketing department then plays an important role in taking these goods and services to market through all the channels the business sells through.
This report is about identifying Argos key external stakeholders and also analysing the external stakeholders’ influence on Argos, Conclusion and finally, bibliography.
History
Argos is a subsidiary retailer of Home Retail Group, and was founded in 1973 by Richard Tompkins. It is the biggest supplier of consumer goods in United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland and has 750 stores. Argos Limited has about 51,000 employees and its headquarters are in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England.
Argos serves over 130 million customers a year through our stores and takes 26% of sales through the internet channel alone. Four million customer orders either online or over the phone. On average, 18 million UK households, or around two thirds of the population, have Argos catalogue at home at any time. They intend to open approximately 20 stores this financial year. Argos.com was the most visited high street retail website in the UK in 2008.
“Customers browse through the Argos catalogue, select items to purchase, pay for the items, and then collect the items from the in-store collection desk or have the item delivered to their home – it is a catalogue merchant” (Argos 2009).
Argos key external stakeholders
According to Bennett (1988), “stakeholders are those who use the company’s products or services, those who work for the firm, those who own it, and those who are affected (even indirectly) by it”. Argos’ key external stakeholders are as follows
1. Customers
2. Suppliers
3. Media
4. Shareholders
5. Government
6. Banks
7. Community Groups
8. NGO’s
Bibliography: Bennett. PD, (1988) “Marketing” International Student Edition, McGraw-Hill, Inc. USA. Bolt. G, (1994, p. 21) “Market and Sales Forecasting: A Total Approach” 3rd, Kogan Page Limited, London. Carrigan. M, Ghauri. P, Moutinho. L, and Kasper. H, (2001) “Marketing : Concepts and Strategies” 4th European Edit, Houghton Mifflin Company, USA. Gillespie. A, Marcouse. I, Martin. B, Surridge. M, and Wall. N, (2003) “Business Studies” 2nd Edit, Hodder & Stoughton Educational, Spain. Oliver Brooks. I, (2000, P. 69-70) The Business Environment: Challenges and changes” 2nd, Pearson Education Limited, London. Argos stores (2009)e, Scotland, http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ArgosStoreLocator Accessed 23/11/10 (Home Retail Group 2009, p (UK online Public Service, 2009), VAT, http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/BeginnersGuideToTax/DG_4015895 Accessed 27/11/10 Word count: 2,461