David Jones: the Nature of Competitive Advantage

David Jones: The Nature of Competitive Advantage.

Strategic Management is the systematic analysis of the internal and external factors of an organisation, to provide the framework for rethinking the current management practices (Jeyavelu, 2006). Its objective is to realise a greater alignment of corporate policies and strategic priorities, implementing processes to achieve the organisations goals. The Australian company David Jones has been around for over one hundred and fifty years and in this time has had its fair share of operational strategic management processes in place.

This essay aims to establish why David Jones is a market leader in its industry, having a competitive advantage above its rival firms, and to outline the strategic management processes they have employed internally to ensure they remain in this profitable position.

The nature of competitive advantage is one aspect of the strategic management process that aims to evaluate a company’s position against its rivals (Galvin, 2007). The nature of competitive advantage incorporates both internal analysis, such as strengths and weaknesses, and external analysis, customers and competitors (see appendix1). Analysing the resources, capabilities and distinct competencies of David Jones, we should be able to further understand the nature of competitive advantage.

The first David Jones store opened its doors in 1838 in George St, Sydney, marking the start of an empire for Mr David Jones. A welsh-born immigrant, his mission to sell "the best and most exclusive goods" and to carry "a stock that embraces the everyday wants of mankind at large” continues, more than a century and a half later.

With a $300 million increase in Sales (from $1.674.6 million in FY03 to $1.983.2 million in FY07), David Jones is a business that has been successfully managed, both in terms of financial performance and market position (see appendix 4). This success is not accredited to sheer luck, but can be traced to...