IS TIGER BRANDS STRATEGICALLY READY TO COMPETE AND COOPERATE?
Headquartered in Bryanston, South Africa, Tiger Brands Limited has been one of the largest manufacturers and marketers of food, home and personal care brands, and baby products in Southern Africa for several decades. Founded in 1921, the consumer goods company has used expansion, acquisitions, and joint ventures to achieve a distribution network that now spans across more than 22 African countries. Apart from its operations in South Africa, Tiger Brands also has interests in international food businesses in Chile, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya, and Cameroon. For the period October 2014 to March 2015, Tiger Brands reported a 9 percent increase in operating profit from domestic businesses; the total group turnover increased by 7 percent to 15.9 billion South African Rand, while operating profit before the IFRS 2 charges declined by 3 percent to 1.7 billion South African Rand. In 2010, the Competition Commission found Tiger Brands, and its competitors Pioneer Foods and Premier Foods, guilty of anti-competitive behavior and conspiring to increase the price of bread. However, Pioneer settled on a penalty of nearly 1 billion South African Rand and Premier was granted immunity for co-operating with the commission, while Tiger Brands, despite co-operating had to pay a fine of nearly 90 million South African Rand. Tiger Brands’ statements of vision and mission, posted on their corporate website, include its aim to be the world’s most admired brand for consumer packaged-goods in emerging markets. Tiger Brands is also working towards being a high performing, fast–moving company that operates across the globe in several emerging territories.
Questions
1. How well does Tiger Brand’s vision and mission statements help narrow down feasible alternative strategies available for the firm?
2. Does Tiger Brand pursue a cost leadership, differentiation, or focus strategy? Evaluate its strategic approach in comparison to its competitors.