Competition Analysis
Once again, BWB has different category of opponents: there are the physical stores, the online stores and hybrid venders.
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Amazon: Not surprisingly, Amazon is the most important e-retailer in the UK, employing more than 6.000 workers in its warehouses and client services centers. The company sold goods via Internet of £5.3bn in the UK in 2014 (a profit of just £34.4m), according to Farel (2014). The UK’s market represented 9,4% of Amazon’s global sales in 2014.
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ABE Books: As presented in the Germany’s study case, this website is among the top e-retailers in Europe.
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OXFAM: It has a website on which we can order second-hand books. Prices are cheap since OXFAM receives lot of donated books: “We have more than 45,000 books listed on the Oxfam Online Shop, 600 of our shops sell books and we also have more than 150 dedicated bookshops across the UK.”-OXFAM employee stated (Oxfam, s.d.).
Besides, total expenditures in OXFAM reached 294,8 million pounds in 2012 (from donations, social activities, sponsoring, goods sold etc.).
Additionally, the company has great partners:o Commercial partners: Unilever, Nokia, Marks & Spencer, Accenture, The Co-operative Bank and KPMG.
o Donators: ROMO, Monsoon Accessorize Trust, Ahmad Tea, JCB and British Airways.
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Hive.co.uk: Hive is an online network of 360 independent bookstores nationwide. It sells books, ebooks, as well as DVDs, music and stationery.
The company’s main goal is to support local bookshops against international
booksellers such as Amazon (hive.co.uk).
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Wordery.com: It is one of the fastest growing independent online booksellers in the country. The company was created in 2012 as an alternative to Amazon. It has currently a range of over 9 million different titles and serves 5 million customers. It offers free worldwide delivery.
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TheWorks, Waterstones, Foyles and other high street brands- Major high street brands have expanded and updated their online offers in recent years to compete with Amazon. Many have similar prices to it, though shipping often makes it pricier, and include offers you don’t get in bricks- -and-mortar.
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Bookstore.co.uk, BookDepositery.com (free delivery as well), thegreatbritishbookshop, alibris, thebookpeople and Blackwells are also among the best online retailers in the UK alongside with Amazon.
One should take into account the fact that there is a price comparison website, Bookbutler, which aims to compare over 55,000 titles being sold by online retailers (including Amazon and its subsidiary ABE Books). It's a comparator so it does not sell the books itself but it does give you a range of non-Amazon options and the chance to see whether the behemoth is actually the cheapest option after all.
Finally, the following table indicates several reviews in the UK for certain e- stores (local shops and international ones):
