Reputation is everything, and Woolworths knows.
Woolworths Holdings Limited is a Southern Hemisphere corporate brand that has been ranked in the top 40 JSE listed companies and is valued at R100.5 billion(Woolworths Holdings Limited). Being such a massive corporate conglomerate, the brand knows how important brand reputation and managing of the brand portfolio is. In this blogpost we will have a look at the success of Woolworths' brand portfolio and we will explore Woolworth's reputation in the mind of the consumer by looking at the consumer's perspective on the transparency of the brand when it comes to ethics and sustainability.
The corporate brand consists of 3 divisions:
1. Woolworths SA
2. David Jones (Australia)
3. Country Road (Australia)
(Woolworths Holdings Limited)
The three divisions mentioned above are Woolworths Holdings Limited's corporate brands and within each of these corporate brands the group supplies consumers with different product brands. The below image shows exactly how the 3 divisions are divided into product categories.
Image 1: WHL brand portfolio.
As a corporate brand that has stores and brands in Australia as well, I think that, Woolworths is doing an exceptional job at managing its massive brand portfolio. When we look at all the Woolworths products we can see that there is a cohesiveness in the products across the geographical area. Woolworths South Africa is a store where you can purchase products from homeware, clothing and food. Woolworths has shown a shift/ expansion in its brand portfolio by introducing its Australian companies within the South African market. This expansion has shown the brand adapt and adopt an ever higher standard of quality. Adapting to this shift, whilst not alienating customers shows that Woolworths customers are loyal.
Gallery 1: Range of Woolworths products available at Woolworths Food.
In 2016 Woolworths has been voted the 3rd most reputable brand in the South African market (business tech). Woolworths managed to remain in the first spot in the retail space, even though there has been a surge in new companies flooding the South African market. Woolworths is a company that takes its customer queries seriously, with prompt replies and often giving customers vouchers if they are unsatisfied with a product. Woolworths' CEO said the following regarding the companies reputation,"We work hard at addressing the issues that our customers care about and we strive to be a leader in making a broader contribution to South Africa. We would like to thank our Woolies Team, customers, suppliers and partners for their contribution to this achievement" and this is evident in everything the company tackles. Even when Woolworths has received horrible press for "slave mannequins" and alien objects in foodstuffs, the brand always give a prompt response with a definite solution (Destiny ,2016).
Image 2: Customer complaint response.
Image 3: Slavery mannequin controversy.
Across the Woolworths website and on products the brand promotes the fact that its produce are sourced ethically and sustainable. Woolworths also initiated the good business journey aiming to make the brand green (Woolworths, 2017). This shows that the brand truly cares about its customers and the environment they live in. On the website (Woolworths,2017) more can be read about how the brand is committed to creating a corporate brand that is good for its customers and environment.
Video 1: The Good Business Journey.
In general I think Woolworths has successfully managed its brand portfolio and reputation. I would, however recommend that the brand takes extra care in not involving themselves in scandals such as the "slave mannequins". Preventative action is something that is incredibly important when managing a brand. Woolworths can prevent this by upping their internal marketing, meaning, putting extreme emphasis on how important the brand's reputation is. This emphasis should be made very clear to employees. As we have seen on previous posts (ZelniTerblanche, 2017), the opinion of staff can completely influence the reputaion of a brand.
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References:
Image 1: Woolworths Holdings Limited brand portfolio. WHL report 2015.
Gallery 1: Range of Woolworths products. Available at: http://www.woolworths.co.za/store/dept/Food/_/N-1z13sk5
Image 2: Customer complaint response. Available at: http://citizen.co.za/news/news-national/869961/woolworths-in-hot-water-over-slave-ropes/
Image 3: Slavery mannequin controversy. Available at: http://www.onpointpr.co.za/prbrief-article/woolworths-epic-fail-of-an-in-store-display/
Video 1: The Good Business Journey. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uNz2zcTg5A
