Guangzhou X Corporation Development Strategy

With the in-depth transformation of China's planned economy into market economy, particularly after China's entry into the WTO, various newly emerged retail modes have swarmed into China's market in a short span. The general merchandise industry in China is therefore facing rigorous challenges. In order to strengthen the overall competitiveness of its general merchandise industry, the Municipal Government of Guangzhou carried out strategic restructuring for the state-owned commercial enterprises in August 2001. X Group Ltd. is one of the two major retail flagships that were formed in the state-owned general merchandise enterprise restructuring. Now faced with the entry of domestic and international competitors, X Group Ltd. feels the urgency of formulate a set of feasible enterprise development strategies. Based on the research on the development strategies of X Group Ltd., the present paper aims to provide suggestions for the company in its strategic decision-making.The whole paper consists of six parts. The first part provides the context and significance of the research and offers a brief review of relevant theories and research as well as an introduction of the methodology and approach of this paper. In the second part, the PEST Model and Potter's Industry 5-Power Model are used in analysis of the macro environment and the industrial climate the company has been faced with. The third part deals with the strategic strength the company has from the perspectives of resources and strength. In the fourth part, the mission and goal of X Group Ltd. are raised, together with a discussion of X's development strategies as well as business portfolio strategies based on the SWOT strategic combination analysis method and the BCG business portfolio matrix model (Boston Matrix Model). In the fifth part, corresponding countermeasures and suggestions for implementing the strategies are made in areas including management structure, innovation in business modes, brand marketing, informatization, human resource management and cultural marketing. The last part of the paper is the conclusion.The paper argues that X Group Ltd. is facing both challenges and opportunities in its strategic environment. It enjoys proven strength in resources and capabilities and therefore should adopt a multi-form development mode with focus on generalmerchandise as well as the business strategy featured by parallel development of chained operation, logistics and wholesale franchise. Efforts should be made to realize various strategic measures such as standardizing the company's management structure, renovating the business mode, implementing brand marketing, upgrading informatization, enhancing human resource management and carrying out cultural marketing so that through 3 to 5 years of development, the company may grow to a cross-regional and cross-industrial modern merchandising group company combining business flow, resource flow, capital flow and information flow, which is focused on the main business area and at the same time has achieved common development of multi-business modes.