Mothercare Companys Financial Performance, Industry, and Competitors Statistics Project

Essays on Mothercare Companys Financial Performance, Industry, and Competitors Statistics Project The paper â€Å"Mothercare Company’s Financial Performance, Industry, and Competitors" is an excellent example of a statistics project on business. By the year ended March 2014, Mothercare Company had a total of 220 stores and it was forced to shut down 35 stores that were making losses. Total direct sales of Mothercare Company on March 14 grew by 5.0% at  £134.1 million. Direct in Home sales expanded by 5.9% at  £993 million while Direct in Store up sales enlarged at 2.7%, which amounts to  £34.8 million. The investment in regards to online mode, enhanced delivery options, and customer’s encounter has contributed to the raising sales. The next day click-and-collect online service that provides delivery options accounts for a third of the entire online orders. On the other hand, total wholesale sales in the UK in the March 14 market dropped by 5.7% representing  £29.7 million. Nevertheless, a strategic partnership with Boots, Miniclub, increased sales and perfo rms well in the UK market (Mothercare plc 2014, p. 3).Mothercare Company’s online sales account for 25% of the total UK income. Retail analyst for N+1 Singer, Matthew McEachran, explains that Mothercare is currently in ‘better position than it was one year ago’. A report by Warmoll (2015), reveals that Mothercare losses coming from its UK stores had dropped to  £13.5m in comparison to  £14.9m in the previous year. From the perspective of overall group pre-tax profits, Mothercare stands at  £5.5m at the same time, in contrast to  £11m loss in 2013. However, the international profit was constant at  £25.3m (Warmoll 2015, para 13).Mothercare Company shares went down by 6.02pc or 11.25, to 175.5p as a result of a statement released by the organization that it was negotiating with its banks about funding and future strategies for the business (Armstrong 2014, para 3). A report by Armstrong (2014, para 4), discloses that Motherecare’s net debt stood at  £48m in November, which had an impact on the cash inflows in the second half. Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald reveal that the company has discussed its bank conditions three times in a period of two years. This is an indication that the Mothercare Company recovery strategy needs much more capital than  £90m that is not available in the present total banking facilities. As a result, the company uses a tactic of extending credit terms to suppliers as a way of recovering money (Armstrong 2014, para 5).Overview of the company’s industry and competitors Mothercare Company is a business enterprise that specializes in products for babies and children up to eight years, as well as expectant mothers. Mothercare gives a wide range of products that include maternity clothing, pushchairs, clothing for children and pushchairs. In addition, the company through its retail activities in the UK provides home furnishings, travel equipment, toys, feeding and bathing products. Mothercare Com pany has various international branches that run through franchises in the Far East, Middle East, Europe, and Africa using ‘Mothercare’ brand name. Moreover, Mothercare Company acquired Chelsea Stores Holding Limited in June 2007 that owns the Early Learning Centre brand. Under the Early Learning Centre, the company provides books and toys containing educational information (Mothercare plc. 2015, para 1-4).Mothercare Company faces stiff competition from Mama Papa business that offers a wide range of baby products, furniture and interiors, toys and gifts, kids and baby clothing as well as pushchairs (Shop Direct Limited n.d, p. 1). Another competitor Toys R US company provides the same products as Mothercare but has an advantage of other different products such as outdoor fun products, multimedia, and bikes (Toys R US 2015, para 2). Boots and Mothercare has a joint venture that creates a stylish collection of high standard clothing for children between the ages of 0-6 y ears at an affordable cost. This has helped to increase Mothercare marketing and sales (Miniclub 2014, para 1).Analysis of the industry and the position of Mothercare According to research by Scaramanga (2015), there was a growth in the search volume for baby products in 2014 compared to 2013. The increasing development of the sector is realized from expanding financial safety since the recession, which has resulted in purchase choices trust. The industry has been an attractive field for upcoming businesses where large expansion was witnesses in 2014. It is estimated that there will be more than 6,000 organizations dealing with baby products selling through e-tail by 2018 (Scaramanga 2015, para 3). On the basis of brand searches per month, Mothercare Company ranks position six with 27100 searches. The leading company is Toys r the US with 1500000 searches and the last company is I candy world with 50 searches (Insideonline 2015, p.4).Mothercare social media presence compared to its competitors A report by Rigby (2010), indicates that the Mothercare Group consisting of Early Learning Centre and Mothercare brands launched a social media strategy (para 2). The company selected Diffusion an integrated agency to create a plan that targets 4.6m UK mothers who take more than 26hours exploring the internet every month. The strategy includes a plan to actively listen to how consumers perceive its products and brand online. In addition, the aim of the strategy is to enlarge participation of social network sites, parenting blogs and forums, which puts the company on a competitive edge against its competitors (Rigby 2010, para 3).