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**1. Introduction
- Strategic Position of the Company** Until positioning, the company must pick and identify its strategic objectives and understands the market climate in which it operates. Cooperate strategy is a mechanism where the organization agrees on the position it wants to be, its rivals and its unique target market (Chew, 2009). On the other hand, Johnson et al., 2005 described strategy as the long-term strategy and scope of a company that benefits companies by configuring resources in a changing environment to meet customer needs and expectations of stakeholders. Strategic positioning is concerned with the manner in which an organization as a whole distinguishes itself from its rivals in a valuable way and provides value to particular segments of consumers (Wickham, 2001). The aim is to place the brand in the minds of customers in order to maximize the potential benefit of the company (Kotler & Keller, 2006, p. 310). Post Holding’s strategy was to gain profit through international expansion and executed this strategy by acquiring Weetabix and knowing that Weetabix manufactures a series of distinct grains. this was considered a functional theory for Post Holdings through a diversity of products. In the case of Weetabix, due to cultural differences, despite being owned by the Chinese company (Bright Food), the Weetabix company could not find a strategic position in the Chinese market because the Chinese preferred hot breakfast that Weetabix had less knowledge of, thus caused it to lose its market share and eventually decided to gradually find a way to the US where people eat cold breakfast, fruit and cereal. The assessment of Weetabix's strategic role prior to the acquisition by Post Holdings is an excellent method for understanding its strategic potential and expectations of the internal and external environment, as well as the impact of stakeholders and shareholders. Poster’s Generic Strategies and Bowman’s Strategic Watch will be used to explain how to align business strategy to achieve a distinct competitive position among market rivals. 2.1 Poster’s Generic Strategies
Michael Porter described three fundamental ways in which companies could gain a sustainable competitive advantage namely; (i) cost-leadership strategy; (ii) differentiation strategy; and (iii) Market segmentation or focus strategy (Porter, 2008). These generic strategies were designed to represent the three ways in which a business could give its customers what it wanted at a better price or more effectively than others. Figure 1 categorizes the scheme into a three- dimensional matrix. The figure below describes the choices of "generic strategy" that a firm can pursue. The relative role of a firm within a market is determined by its choice of competitive advantage (cost leadership vs. differentiation) and its choice of competitive scope. Figure 1: Porter Generic Strategy Grid (https://sites.google.com/site/cembaknust2009/home/cemba-1-sem-1/mis/) the context of the overall generic strategy which a firm may be pursuing will determine the strategic options to be considered. Let us consider the implications of each of the three generic strategies. Cost leadership: Companies adopt this style to reduce their costs of supplying products and services to their consumers by decreasing prices, which may eventually lead to a rise in revenue, thus increasing market share and resulting in profitability. Also, It offers the company the ability to sell its product cheaply and find a wide market share relative to its rivals. The cost-leadership approach is generally targeted at a wide market (Porter, 2008). In light of the
Figure 2 : Bowman’s Strategic Watch (Source: https://www.aqa.org.uk/resources/business/as- and-a-level/business-7131-7132/teach/teaching-guide-bowmans-strategic-clock) Bowman suggests that a competitive advantage can be gained by giving buyers a higher demand for the commodity, either by lowering the price of the products or by purchasing payments and services that might justify a price increase. Bowman's strategic watch comprises eight separate strategic positions at the x-axis price and the value of the Y-axis perceived by the consumer as shown in Figure 2 above. With regard to the acquisition of Weetabix Post Holdings, the principle of product differentiation would be a valuable position technique to achieve an edge in market competition. Bowman's product differentiation is similar to Porter's generic differentiation strategy but does include some inexpensive elements combined with product differentiation. This strategy was ideally suited for Post Holdings to win the market and benefit in China by persuading Chinese customers that its commodity and certain distinguishing features are of good value compared to typical Chinese hot grain rice consumers. Equally, according to (Thebusinessprofessor.com, 2018), Weetabix has adopted a range of technical approaches to work on international expansion by implementing unique techniques for high-value "focus strategy differentiation." Eventually, the company's use of a differentiation focus strategy has helped to meet the varied needs of various markets, such as
Kenya, which relies on local consumption-dependent distribution. In Mexico, on the other hand, it depended on different positioning.
3. Stakeholder analysis The stakeholders are individuals or groups who are involved in an organization and may have a stake in the business. These individuals and groups are deeply active in organizational decisions, and others who are not aggressive in political decision-making are adversely influenced by the effects of corporate decisions (Freeman, 1984). The organization’s stakeholders are loosely divided into two major categories. They are external and internal stakeholders. The company's internal stakeholders are primarily active in the company's internal operations and are made up of founders, shareholders and employees. External stakeholders, on the other hand, are involved in the organization but do not engage in the internal actions of the company. This includes suppliers, the general public and consumers (Walker et al, 2008). Let us adapt Stakeholder Analysis or ( Power vs Interest Grid) to Postholdings and Weetabix operations in Figure 3 below. High Power Keep Satisfied 1. Customers 2. Investors 3. Partners Key Players 1. Senior Executives 2. Shareholders 3. Employees 4. Competitors Low Power Monitor and Inform 1. Press 2. Public 3. Pressure group Keep Informed 1. Government 2. Regulatory bodies 3. Supplier Low Interest High Interest Figure 3: Stakeholder Analysis (Power vs Interest Grid)
performance that directly impacts a company and have resonating long term effects. For example, a rise in the inflation rate of any economy would affect the way companies price their products and services. Adding to that, it would affect the purchasing power of a consumer and change demand/supply models for that economy. The purchase of Weetabix by Post Holdings coincided with a downturn in the US economy during the British exit strategy from the European Union. There is no doubt that Post Holding took advantage of this situation to overthrow its bidding competitors from Aruba due to the weakening of the British Pound and the fall in buying power. Social factors in PESTLE Analysis These factors examine the social environment of the business, and gauge determinants like cultural trends, demographics, population analytics, etc. Culture and social factors are different from one country to another. Whenever a business plans to make acquisitions, they should assess whether they can cope with changes and evaluate their capacity to generate the food needed and the needs of their culture. Weetabix had to adapt its strategies and policies to compete in various markets in different countries by offering goods that are compatible with customers in those countries. Technological factors in PESTLE Analysis This factor includes innovations or developments in technology that may directly or indirectly affect the operations of the industry and the market favorably or unfavorably. This refers to automation, research and development, and the amount of technological awareness that a market possesses. Due to knowledge of the external climate and technological change, Weetabix invented a new grain product containing protein and created "Weetabix on the Go" drinkable tablets. This product was also top-rated. Weetabix has differentiated itself through its constructive way of knowing consumer dynamics and trends and translating its insights into product innovation. (Happen, 2018) Legal factors in PESTLE Analysis
These factors have both external and internal sides. Certain laws affect the business environment in a certain country while there are certain policies that companies maintain for themselves. The legal analysis considers both angles and then charts out the strategies considering these legislations. Post Holdings must abide by them and be well informed of the legal and regulatory authorities and be committed to keeping in mind the laws and regulations of local and foreign markets, such as the United Kingdom's jobs law. Environmental factors in PESTLE Analysis It is necessary for the company to function within the context of an appropriate country's environmental legislation due to global warming and climate change. The ability of an organization to recycle waste is key. Post Holdings must ensure that it eliminates the use of packaging materials such as plastics that are detrimental to the environment and uses more degradable materials.
5. Industry analysis Industrial analysis is a market feature conducted by business owners and other people to determine the existing business environment. This research helps companies consider the different economic parts of the market and how these different parts can be used to achieve a competitive edge. (Palepu et al., 2020). According to Michael Porter, there are five parameters in the competitive landscape of any business. We focus on two of the parameters as it relates to Post holding and Weetabix. The Bargaining Power of Suppliers: This is a representation of the bargaining power of customers and refers to the pressure that suppliers may place on businesses by increasing their costs, decreasing their quality, or reducing the availability of their goods. The less the vendors, the more effective they are against the organization. The influence of Weetabix Suppliers is strong as there are few suppliers on the UK market compared to Post holdings that have readily available raw materials in well-established farms from the head office in St. Louis, Missouri (Businesswire, 2017). The bargaining power of buyers
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