Strategies for sustaining business vitality in international wholesale and retail trade : the case of a small company in Singapore

• Main Authors: Avni Dhanvantry Shah, Wang, Shu Li, Lim, Stefanie Qinwen
• Other Authors: Nanyang Business School
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Management::Strategy
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/35536
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The wholesale and retail trade is an important contributor to Singapore’s GDP. Small medium enterprises (SMEs) in this industry make up 32% of the total SMEs in Singapore. However, the large number of cessations of companies in the wholesale and retail trade attests to the importance of understanding how SMEs can survive in this competitive industry. The case we analysed, Shah Commercial Company (SC), adopts an array of strategies, and leverages heavily on relationship marketing. Relationship marketing is an integrated effort to identify, maintain, and build up a network with individual consumers and to continuously strengthen the network for the mutual benefit of both sides, through interactive, individualized and value-added contacts over a long period of time. In light of the increasing competition in SC’s target market, Seychelles, we investigate sustainable relationship marketing as a core strategy of the company. Although relationship marketing is a useful strategy for customer retention, it needs to be complemented with other strategies.