Halfords is a multibillion company retailer that deals operates in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company deals with goods and services such as touring, car parts, bicycles and car enhancements. At the UK through the Halfords Auto centre, the company provides MOT and repair services. The company dates back to 1892 when it was founded in Birmingham. It got is name from Halfords street in Leicester. The company has more than 250 Auto Centre garages that deal with services of repairing, MOT services and car servicing. According to the Halfords website (2014), the company has more than 462 stores in the UK and the republic of Ireland. Because of this, the company also operates a website that serves their customers in Ireland.

Operating from a competitive environment, Halfords has to come up with ways of surviving in the environment to avoid being phased out by the competitors. According to the Harfords annual report of 2010 (Halfords 2010), the company is dedicated to production of high quality goods and services to make sure they maintain customers and not lose them to the competitors.

Compliance with the legislation is another requirement that the company takes seriously to ensure that they gain favour with the law enforcers and the customers. Harfords annual report (2010) highlights that the company’s policies governing their operations and the production of goods puts into consideration the requirements of the law. Apart from the laws of the country of operations, the company is dedicated to international conventions and codes governing the production of goods of their kind.

The company has employed strategies to deal with competitors by targeting the customers (Halfords 2010). For example, the company has a large variety of goods from which the customers can choose. The company also goes ahead to communicate to the customers on a regular basis about their products. They inform the customers on how to use their goods safely. The company does surveys to extract information from customers about the way they should improve their goods. This helps them eliminate the chances of being denied of customer by the competitors in the market. To consolidate this aspect further, the company has a customer service team through which customers can contact anytime and raise their queries.

The employees of a company matter a lot in ensuring the success of a company.  Lindner (1998) argues that motivated staffs reflect directly to the performance of the organization. This agrees with the policies of Halfords of motivating their staff. Motivation of staff ensures control of the internal environment. Halfords report (2010) highlights that the company boasts of knowledgeable staff that have a positive attitude towards the customers.

In line with complying with the requirements of the law, the company employs a serious policy is in agreement with the Disability Discrimination Act. To this effect, Halfords has mobility products in most of its stores. In addition, the company educates the employees on how to handle disability issues and how to make sure such customers are satisfied.

A business entity is required by the law and the norms to take care, and be sensitive to the environment within which it operates. Halfords has not been left behind in this act. The policy employed by Halfords is to assess the environment frequently to get information on any harmful effect that their packaging materials may have on the environment. Customers and colleagues are involved to make sure that the company gets the best feedback.

Dealing with suppliers is a major task that a business undertakes to ensure that it is doing well in the external environment. According to the Halfords website (2013), the company employs a fair trading policy with the suppliers. The company even takes the initiative of visiting the suppliers to make sure that the right procedures are followed when manufacturing products. Feedback from the suppliers is taken seriously and acted upon. The company has a sourcing code of conduct which they send to new potential suppliers as a questionnaire before they start dealing with them. The good selection of suppliers ensures that their quality is maintained for customer satisfaction. The company also does an audit of the suppliers to ensure that they work with the best.

In the internal environment, the department of human resource is given the seriousness it deserves. Promotion of the staff members is done on merit. Halfords website (2010) indicates that the company undertakes to grow staff by exposing them to opportunities whenever it is possible. The company does recognize and rewards good performance with about six different bonus schemes. This ensures continued employee motivation. Apart from this, the company also ensures the employees are worthy such kind of treatment by ensuring that they hire employees who are qualified.

Occupational health is another aspect that a company needs to ensure for their employees. At Halfords, there is commitment to occupational safety and health to ensure that employees are not injured during the course of their work (Halfords 2013). This concurs with the observation of Lindner (1998) that occupational health serves to motivate the employees of a company. To ensure that the company’s policy on occupational hazard is adhered to, the company compiles accident statistics and analyses them to know on which areas it should improve.

The company also undertakes a policy on environmental conservation that sees it reduce the use of some of the natural resources in the best way to conserve that. For example, the company has a policy that enables it to conserve water and fuel. The company also undertakes policies to minimize the emission of carbon dioxide and other emissions that may damage the environment.

The company has also undertaken measure to give charitably to the society. For example, the company works with Macmillan cancer support to help patients who are suffering from cancer. The company also participates in fundraising activities to enhance support programmes to the society. On the industry forum, the company works with universities and research firms, as well as, other relevant institutions to ensure that they contribute in new discoveries to improve the quality of life.

The marketing objectives and strategies employed by Halfords also make the company outdo the competitors and survive in the market. This is echoed by Philipallan (n.d). Embracing new technology in the marketing departments and the entire company departments has also made sure that the company outdoes the competitors in the market.

In conclusion, Halfords has employed strategies in both the internal and the external environment to survive in the market. It has handled the customers as well as the employees with caution and dignity. The company has also complied with legal requirements and continues doing so as a way of gaining favour with the external environment. It has dealt with the suppliers in a professional manner to ensure quality and a long term business relationship. These are the measure that has seen this company survive the ordeal of time.

REFERENCES

Halfords 2010. Corporate social responsibility. Viewed 4^th January 2014 from the Harfords website at http://halfords.annualreport2010.com

Halfords 2013.  Halfords group plc. Home. Viewed 4^th January 2014, www.halfordscompany.com

Lindner, R.J. 1998. ‘Understanding employee motivation’. Journal of Extension, Vol. 36, no 3. Viewed 4^th Jan 2014, http://www.joe.org/index.php

Philipallan, n.d. ‘Understanding marketing objectives’.  Chapter 7: Marketing Strategies. Retrieved online form http://www.philipallan.co.uk