BUSINESS STUDIES CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT
INVESTIGATION 3 (10% OF OVERALL GCSE) and 25 marks
Dilali is a highly successful discount supermarket chain based in mainland Europe. It has grown in recent years and is now looking to open a new store in the United Kingdom (UK). The owners of Dilalirealise that there is a highly competitive market in the UK for food and other related retail products. However, Dilali thinks that it has a winning formula in offering quality food and other ‘special offer’ products in its midsized neighbourhood shops. Dilali’s owners are interested in developing online sales. They know that supermarket store sales have declined, with more consumers switching to home delivery after ordering online. The move to Internet sales will be a first for Dilali and they are keen to see if potential customers in the UK will order online from them.
Advise the owners of Dilali on:
*Whether or not e-commerce should be used to help the business become established if it were to open in your area
*Whether or not Dilali’s product mix should be similar to the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets or the midsized discounters already in the UK.
You should consider the following in your investigation:
*Your knowledge and understanding of e-commerce
*Your knowledge and understanding of the product mix and how it might be applied to Dilali
*Your own research into whether or not Dilali should use e-commerce if the business were to open in your area
*Your own research into how Dilali should develop its product mix if it were to open in your area
*Any other information that may be relevant.
This is how we suggest you present your answer
Part A– E-commerce (80mins)
Paragraph one (20 mins)
Define ecommerceand explain the pros and cons to Dilali from using e-commerce
Paragraph two (50 mins)
Evidence to show pros and cons to Dilalifrom using online shopping – eg (graphs from class survey, newspaper articles, what competitors are doing, census data)
Paragraph three (10 mins)
Overall evaluation – after weighing up the pros and cons do you think Dilali should engage in online shopping? Justify your decision, eg what was your deciding factor. If you think they should then suggest how they could go about setting this up and running the service.
Part B – Product mix (80mins)
Paragraph one (30 mins)
Explain what is meant by a product mix and why having a range of products is advisable. Consider Product life cycle and the Boston Matrix.
Paragraph two (10 mins)
Give examples of product mixes used by the ‘Big 4’ and other competitors of Dilali. You can refer to your Aldi notes and the product positioning maps to help you. Identify and explain any gaps in the market.
Paragraph three (40 mins)
Suggest a product mix for Dilali use evidence to back up your answers eg – (graphs from class survey, product positioning maps, newspaper articles, secondary links, census data, demographics)