Research On Competitive Strategy Of Shanghai Continental Futures Co., Ltd

By going through the initial development, the improvement and rectification, and the regulation re-formalization, the futures industry has grown for almost20years. Due to the fluctuations in economic environment, there have been changes both internally and externally of our industry, including the acquisitions of securities companies, the introduction of financial futures and the launch of classified regulation.The launch of new products and the improvement of regulations and laws brought a huge number of opportunities for futures companies. However, theses evolvements also brought intense competition into the industry. Futures companies owned by securities companies usually have a huge client basis, in the recent years, they have got a significant portion of market shares. That caused the profitability of the whole industry decreased dramatically.Founded in1994, Shanghai Dalu Futures Ltd. is one of the largest professional futures companies in China. It is a domestic futures broker provides services regarding both commodity futures and financial futures. By providing services like customer education, it once had a significant position in the futures industry. However, as the competition intensified, like the other traditional futures companies, it is facing a lot of difficulties now. Hence, it is meaningful to do a research of the development strategies of traditional futures companies.This article took Shanghai Dalu Futures Ltd as a case, did a research of the competition in the industry, analysed the industry structure, compared the business mode of main competitors, and argued the features of the low commission competition. It also analysed the internal advantages and disadvantages, and the external opportunities and threats in detail, then it concluded the future strategies of the company.It was argued in the article that Dalu Futures Company should adopt its advantages and avoid its weakness, change its traditional operation mode, and enhance its strategic advantages by providing differential services. It is paramount to make innovations and complete its strategic transition.In this article, we made some suggestion for Dalu Futures Company. It was advised that the company should improve its operation mode to adapt to the changing environment. It was also suggested that the company should create a classified commission system. Moreover, its professional research should be more practical for market development while its risk management service should be enhanced. It is summarized that the company should focus on customer management, distribution innovation, brand marketing and potential mergence and acquisition.