ASSIGNMENT 2 FRONT SHEET
Qualification
BTEC Level 4 HND Diploma in Business
Unit number and title
Unit 32: Business Strategy (574)
Submission date
December 16, 2021
Date received (1
st
submission)
Re-submission date
Date received (2
nd
submission)
Student name
Phan Nguyen Uyen Nhi
Student ID
GBD201441
Class
GBD0901B
Assessor name
Mr. Vo Cong Nghia
Student declaration
I certify that the assignment submission is entirely my own work and I fully understand the consequences of plagiarism. I
understand that making a false declaration is a form of malpractice.
Student’s signature:
Grading grid
P2
M2
r
Summative Feedbacks:
r
Resubmission
Feedbacks:
Grade:
Assessor Signature:
Date:
Internal Verifier’s Comments:
Signature & Date:
Table&of&Contents&
I. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………… 1
II. STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES ……………………………………………………………. 2
1. Definition ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
1.1. Benchmarking ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
1.2. Value chain ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
2. Strategic capabilities of The Body Shop ……………………………………………………….. 5
2.1. Primary activities ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
2.2. Secondary activities ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
3. VRIO analysis ………………………………………………………………………………………… 12
3.1. Definition ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12
3.2. VRIO analysis of The Body Shop …………………………………………………………………………….. 14
III. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES ………………………………………………….. 18
1. Strengths of The Body Shop …………………………..………………………………………… 18
2. Weaknesses of The Body Shop …………………………………………………………………. 20
IV. CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………….. 21
V. REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………………… 22
Table of Pictures
Picture 1– The Body Shop store ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
Table of Tables
Table 1– Company Profile of The Body Shop ……………………………………………………………………………… 2
Table 2– SWOT Analysis of The Body Shop ……………………………………………………………………………… 21
Table of Figures
Figure 1- Value Chain Primary and Secondary Activities ……………………………………………………………… 5
Figure 2- A VRIO framework ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13
1
I. INTRODUCTION
Picture 1- The Body Shop store
The internal environment of a business is the most important factor in determining its direction
and the distinguishing characteristics that set it apart from others (Aldrich, 1979). Unlike the
external environment, the internal environment factors are largely under the control of a
business enterprise’s management. Factors such as tangible business resources, employees,
management, competencies, production, marketing, and strategic decisions are all significant
traditional contributors to the effective and efficient operation of any business (Kibera, 1996).
The assignment 1 of this subject demonstrated the external factors of a business in the Consumer
Goods and Services or Retail Industry. In this paper, the researcher will analyze the internal
factors of The Body Shop by assessing the strategic capabilities. Some methods such as
benchmarking, value chain, value system or activity system will also be applied in the report.
Moreover, the author will use VRIN or VRIO framework to evaluate which strategic capabilities
can be a basis to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Later, the main strengths and
2
weaknesses of the company will be identified and a complete SWOT analysis will be presented.
Lastly, all the key findings and analysis will be summarized.
The Body Shop International PLC is one of England’s most successful retailers of cosmetics and
personal care products, with over 3,000 stores (about two third of them are franchises) in 70
countries and 8,000 direct employees. The company is best known for pioneering the natural-
ingredient cosmetics market and establishing social responsibility as an integral part of company
operations (THE BODY SHOP, 2021).
COMPANY PROFILE
Trade name
THE BODY SHOP
Industry
Cosmetics
Headquarters
London Bridge, London, United Kingdom
Founder
Dame Anita Roddick
Founded
March 27, 1976 (45 years ago)
Website address
https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-gb/
Table 1- Company Profile of The Body Shop
II. STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES
The Body Shop‘s value chain analysis, in conjunction with benchmarking methods, will be carried
out in order to evaluate the company’s internal activities and determine where the company is
good and bad. The company’s value chain will be compared to the competitors in the cosmetics
industry, such as Estee Lauder and L’Oreal.
1. Definition
Before applying the methods to the analysis of the company’s internal factors, the theory of these
two methods will be given as follows.
1.1. Benchmarking
Benchmarking is defined as the comparison of products, services, and processes across
divisions that perform similar operations in the same organization, competing firms in the same
industry, or firms with similar processes in different industries.
Benchmarking is used to investigate how and why organizations achieve higher levels of
efficiency, as well as to identify the methods and processes that drive that performance.
Benchmarking determines an organization’s relative cost position and identifies areas for
improvement. Strategic advantage is gained by focusing on the competencies required to
advance to new levels of performance. Benchmarking is used to kickstart innovation through
organizational learning, new idea generation, and knowledge sharing (Sammut-Bonnici, 2015).
1.2. Value chain
The concept of “value chain” was introduced by Porter (1985) to describe the full range of
activities, which are required to bring a product or service from conception, through the different
