Davina - Super Body Workout [2008]

Fitness DVD Description - By Davina McCall
Hello! I’m back and fitter than ever, and this is all thanks to my new Super Body Workout DVD.

My personal trainer Mark is an ex-Marine, and runs my workouts like a real Sergeant Major, so we decided that military–style fitness training would be a great concept for the DVD. It’s fun and pacy, full of variety and gets the very best results.

Each routine is completely self-contained and designed to work your whole body. There are two complete 40 minute routines for you to do – and both of them include their own warm-up and cool-down, so no excuses for skipping those bits!

Order Now and start your journey to a fitter you!

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These are our top picks in the latest Fitness DVDs, enjoy your workout with these great DVDs.

Dance Off The Inches With Camilla Dallerup

 Fitness DVD Review:
Dance off the Inches is a professionally programmed workout presented by Strictly Come Dancings Camilla Dallerup. Camilla has developed and choreographed four dance-based workouts exclusively for you, so you can have fun dancing and lose inches at the same time. This dance workout brings the fun back to fitness. It takes you through four levels of dance routines with a steadily increasing tempo. Set to hit music so that you can burn calories as well as learn some new steps for the dance floor. Workout: - Warm up, The mambo and cha cha workout, The jive workout, The funky workout, The calorie burner, Cool down

Only £11.98 - Buy Now from Amazon.co.uk - Click on the Image to Order Now!

Mel B - Totally Fit

Fitness DVD Review:
Mel B, AKA ‘Scary Spice’, releases her first ever fitness video, TOTALLY FIT, a carefully regimented full-body workout. By combining the 30-minute cardio and resistance training programmes with Mel B’s tips on healthy eating, you too can achieve a wonderfully svelte figure. There’s even a series of 10-minute workouts for those with limited time.

Only £11.98

Buy Now from Amazon.co.uk - Click on the Image to Order Now!

10 Minute Solution - Pilates

Fitness DVD Review:
Studies have shown that regular short workouts can be just as effective as less frequent, longer exercise sessions. ‘10 Minute Solution: Pilates’ partitions the body into five different segments, each with a separate workout: Pilates for Abs, Pilates for Buns and Thighs, Sculpting Pilates, Pilates for Burn, and Pilates for Flexibility. Incorporating both standing and mat Pilates, these workouts are high impact and suitable for all levels.

Only £3.98 - Buy Now from Amazon.co.uk - Click on the Image to Order Now!

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 The debate as to whether the advent of the internet has rendered strategy obsolete is still unresolved by academics. This report intends to look further into the debate by focusing on one particular industry (the UK DVD rental industry*) and three types of organisation within this industry (Physical, Hybrid and Virtual)

 Before tackling the question at hand we must first understand what is meant by strategy. According to Johnson and Scholes (1993):

“Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term: ideally, which matches its resources to its changing environment, and in particular its markets, customers or clients so as to meet stakeholders expectations.”

 The advent of the internet has led to the development of new organisational structures which require new strategic thinking. Organisations may now come as:

• Physical Organisations: organisations with purely physical market places, serving as the primary point of contact between the organisation and the customer, fixed in a particular geographical location. The main physical, U.K. based, chain of DVD rental stores is ChoicesUK. The organisation does have an online presence, however the online marketplace is currently only being used to sell DVD’s and not to rent them.

• Virtual Organisations: organisations which exist exclusively on the internet and use this medium as their sole point of sale and communication with the customer. The online DVD rental market leader in the U.K. is LoveFilm.com. The company has a majority market share, though other virtual service providers exist, these often specialise in a variety of services; these include Amazon.co.uk, WH Smith, Toys R Us, Tesco and CDWoW.

• Hybrid organisations: organisations which have both physical outlets as a point of contact with the customer and also exist in the internet marketplace. As the DVD rental market leader previous to the move to online rental, Blockbuster Ltd remains the leading hybrid firm, offering both online rental and rental from over 720 stores nationwide.

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 So, does ‘the Internet render strategy obsolete’ (Porter, 2001) for the UK DVD rental industry?

After an in-depth investigation into the strategies of physical, virtual and hybrid organisations, it is with some confidence that we can state that the Internet does not render strategy obsolete.

This conclusion is supported by the significant amount of literature connected to Internet strategy, E-commerce strategy and IT strategy that thoroughly deliberate the strategic issues, options and tactics of organisations operating in Internet marketplaces.

However, the relationship between Internet and strategy in general is extremely complicated, arguably more so than for non-Internet industries, which are increasingly rare. Due to the continuously changing dynamics of Internet marketplaces, creating intense levels of competition from global competitors, all communicating through one channel (a website), will to some extent lead to a convergence of strategies. Therefore, differentiation becomes increasingly hard to achieve, so continuous strategy innovation is essential to gain competitive advantage.

We acknowledge that there are other Internet markets that comprise of non-standardised products, for which there are a greater variety of strategic choices that can lead to a competitive advantage. It is therefore necessary to highlight the limitations of this discussion, in that the degree to which strategy is obsolete significantly depends on the industry in question.

Specifically, with regards to the UK DVD rental industry, the advent of the Internet has had a profound impact on the strategic actions of organisations, leading to a variety of pre-determined and reactive strategies. However, due to the total product standardisation of DVD rentals, the set locations of physical stores and equality of access to any online website, strategic choices to some extent are limited to price and promotion, although are by no means obsolete.

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 The Technological Advantage

To clarify, strategy is very important to organisations who wish to establish themselves in the industry, through pioneering a new format. However when the product becomes standardised, strategic choices become limited as competitive forces place a greater emphasis on price and service combinations. (Please refer to Appendix 7 for a discussion of Game theory in regards to this industry.)

The Internet has a large role to play in the rapid standardisation of technological developments. Previous to the Internet it was the case that the competitive advantage gained through technological innovation was much less easily replicated or obtained by competing organisations. Access to Internet and network technologies has made it easier for firms to both research technological advances and to monitor the acquisition of these advances by rival companies.

How will technology affect the future strategies of DVD rental organisations?

If consumer trends show a preference to rent by mail or to use VOD rental services, we could see the market to shift fully towards virtual companies, most likely resulting in the demise of physical organisations such as ChoicesUK as they struggle to adapt to serve a smaller, physical impulse market.

However, if the advent of HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs successfully replace DVDs and become the most popular formats, physical stores could remain constant, although they would still be in competition not only with rental by mail, but also by the virtual VOD services.

This future forecast raises some important questions; will consumers see Video on Demand services as a substitute to DVD/ HD-DVD rental? In addition, do consumers gain the same utility from watching a downloaded film on there PC, as they do from a rented DVD? The majority of DVD rentals are for the ‘night in’ scenario, relaxing on the sofa with a selection of snacks, which will be difficult to achieve when crowding around a PC screen. This seems to suggest that, in the short-term; only VOD services through TV services such as Sky Box office will have an impact on the rental industry, until integrated Internet and television technologies become more popular.

As the above argument shows, it is clear to see that there are many factors which will affect the future of the rental industry. A major strategic factor that organisations must consider is the direction in which the market is heading. One direction may see the Internet entirely engulf this industry; alternatively the industry could fragment to include several delivery mediums.

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 The impact of the Internet on Blockbuster’s strategy

• Increased ability to compete in international markets – Has locations in 29 countries, including a major presence in the UK and US markets.

• Blockbuster had been offering online rentals in 2002, but with only one format, 1 DVD for 5 nights, this has been changed to multi-format, up to 5 DVDs at a time, unlimited per month.

• Blockbuster has been forced to sell off some of its rental stores due to competitive pressures from virtual companies and now has to focus its strategies of boosting its online services.

Possible future strategy developments

• Throughout the US Blockbuster has attempted to blend the virtual and physical elements of the company to provide a unique service for its customer base to differentiate itself from competitors. This development was named “Total Access” and it gave customers the option of returning DVDs rented online through either mail services or by dropping them off at their local Blockbuster store. Blockbuster Ltd could exploit the core competences of its hybrid structure by introducing this service throughout the UK market.

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 Blockbuster’s pre-Internet strategy

Blockbuster created its’ economic value through identifying a fragmented market sector and addressing the negative aspects of more traditional video-rental stores. For example, Blockbuster picked up on the unwelcoming atmospheres and the limited number of new releases available to customers.

To establish itself in the market, Blockbuster developed a strategy to counteract the weaker aspects of the traditional stores, centred on creating a family customer base. This strategy was supported through not including an erotic films section in their stores and focusing on creating attractive atmospheres through careful interior and exterior design.

However the main focus of Blockbuster’s pre-internet strategy was the provision of a wide range of recent top films in order to always meet customer demand. Once established as a large successful company it gained greater negotiating powers to demand improved services from its suppliers of film material again improving its ability to provide and efficient service.

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 Blockbuster

Mission Statement

“To be the global leader in rentable home entertainment.”

They accredit this success to “a commitment to providing our customers with outstanding service, selection, convenience and value, and our ability to hire and promote customer-focused employees”

Blockbuster

Blockbuster is classed as a hybrid firm as its’ company structure includes both physical and virtual components. The first Blockbuster store in the UK opened in March 1989 and its’ UK market share has now become the largest Blockbuster business outside the US boasting over 700 physical stores and an average of 4.2 million member accounts.

Blockbuster launched its website in 2001 and by 2002 had established an online DVD rental service. This virtual aspect of Blockbuster UK, (Blockbuster.co.uk), has continually expanded and now provides customers with access to a vast online catalogue of DVD’s available in the UK.

Managing director of Blockbuster – Alistair MacRow, insists that “online service will complement, rather than take business from Blockbuster’s physical stores. For many people, there will be no substitute to walking into a Blockbuster store and picking up a DVD.” – Source: Will Smale, BBC (2006).

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 LoveFilm.com – online strategy

LoveFilm.com’s main brand values, reflected in their corporate strategy include:

• Championing the customer

• Offering value for money

• Delivering a quality service

• Driving innovation in the home entertainment market

• Building a passionate community

Source: http://www.lovefilm.com/corporate/

The above brand values clearly demonstrate the importance of strategy in LoveFilm.com’s organisational culture. LoveFilm.com pursues this strategy through the development of a customer-driven online information database, indicating a strategy that encourages customer involvement, and relies upon up to date customer reviews to drive its online community (over 30million film ratings have been generated through LoveFilm.com with over 370,000 reviews and film blogs) These intangible resources serve as a strong source of differentiation in the competitive online market, adding value to the service, not offered by physical rental organisations.

LoveFilm.com has attributed much of their success to being an entrepreneurial business and as a result has been able to react to market changes quickly and more efficiently than larger companies.

LoveFilm.com’s growth has been rapid, largely attributed to their innovative offerings as well as various mergers and acquisitions. LoveFilm.com’s growth strategy has involved 10 mergers and acquisitions within Europe since its launch in December 2003.

This growth strategy has helped increase LoveFilm.com’s market share, for example a recent press release (06/04/2006) states;

“LoveFilm International Ltd and Video Island Inc (owner of ScreenSelect.co.uk) announce intention to merge and create Europe’s leading web-based home entertainment subscription service.”

LoveFilm.com’s growth strategy aims to take advantage of synergies in marketing, technology, operations and distribution to achieve profit goals and increase their market development across Europe. Clearly, this strategy is defensive; creating a competitive platform in Europe to counter competition from large U.S based virtual organisations.

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LoveFilm.com

Mission Statement

“Our goal is to revolutionise home entertainment for everyone, delivering the best choice of films and entertainment to people when they want it, at a price that they can afford.”

As our chosen virtual company LoveFilm.com provides its DVD rental service via its online website, with a catalogue of over 60,000 titles with no postage charges and free trial promotional offers. The company also is the supplier to various retailers such as WH Smith and CD Wow!

LoveFilm.com is currently the third most visited Entertainment and Movie website in the UK, with over 4million visitors every month and is also the UK number 1 online rental provider.

December 2003 saw the UK launch of LoveFilm.com. Since then the company has gone on to acquire more than 120,000 members and is currently the pioneering online DVD rental service in the UK.

More recent development to their service includes a VOD service through ‘download to rent’ whereby a movie can be downloaded onto a PC and has a one week expiry limit in which you can view the film, as well as a ‘download to own’ service, with which there is no expiry date and as a bonus LoveFilm.com will send you the original DVD via the post. This is just one example of LoveFilm.com’s development strategies; others include building a top management team and a leading edge technology team to improve their ability to react to changes in the industry.

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 Virtual Organisations

The current marketplace is beginning to settle, after the initial boost caused by the DVD rental by mail through online stores format. With all virtual companies using very similar DVD rental by mail processes, with minor differentiation through service offerings for a monthly subscription.

In the DVD rental industry, the internet has been both a source of competitive advantage in itself, as illustrated by the initial threat posed by LoveFilm.com. It may also serve as a means through which online movie rental develops to overcome the advantage of impulse rental experienced in physical stores through online VOD downloads.

Current operational strategies:

• Consolidation of group resources such as Purchasing and Marketing, adding to the existing group functions of Information Services, Human Resources and Finance.

• Disposal of non-trading and unprofitable retail sites, reducing its store base by 12.

• Substantial re-configuration of stores has been undertaken to increase the space given to Electronic Games and Trade-in, reflecting the shift in entertainment markets in preparation for the release of next-generation consoles.

• Overall company wide cost reductions of over £3m to date, creating a more competitive cost-base.

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 The impact of the Internet on ChoicesUK’s strategy:

ChoicesUK is currently undertaking a defensive strategy to create a more competitive organisational structure to combat the increasing online threat.

One of the innate problems with the overall structure of physical store rental services, is the greater effort required by the company to facilitate the rental process. In comparison to the consumer-led virtual organisations, which encourage consumers to review films and recommend to their peers, in effect doing a lot of the virtual organisations day-to-day marketing.

In response to the threat from the Internet, ChoicesUK decided to re-brand its divisions and focus upon a single brand strategy to encompass all company activities. This improves brand awareness and increases the overall industry presence in the UK’s home entertainment retail and distribution market.

After this rebranding strategy, ChoicesUK has 3 divisions:

• ChoicesUK stores has 180 outlets located throughout the UK, cater for impulse rentals of DVDs, games and music.

• ChoicesUK Local still supplies third-party outlets with white-label DVDs.

• ChoicesUK Direct has incorporated the catalogue mail-order service, and transferred this service to an online mail order service, through the ChoicesUK website.

ChoicesUK has clearly chosen to circumvent the online DVD rental market, and instead chosen to focus on a consolidation strategy with restructuring of its physical base of stores and supplying the convenience store sector with new white-label rentals.

However, the success of the Internet rental process has made ChoicesUK recognise the strategic significance of modern data management systems. This has led to various collaborations and partnerships with e-commerce specialists such as QAS plc significantly improving the data management systems of ChoicesUK.

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