Jardine Matheson being an influential enterprise chain business in the system, the group is a model of secure and efficient management, especially in dealing with contestants in various markets globally. The business made it through its unique channels of distribution and tremendous procuring authority.
Jardine Matheson is a conglomerate that started in Bermuda, it’s headquartered in Hong Kong. It is founded in July-1832. Jardine Matheson is dealing in the conglomerate industry. Benjamin William Keswick is the CEO of this group and it is administrated by the Keswick family. Its current stock price is US$53.70.[1] Company is registered in London stock exchange and its stock is traded in London stock exchange and Singapore Exchange and Bermuda Exchange for the secondary purpose. Its main subsidiaries are Jardine Lloyd Thompson, Jardine Strategic Holdings, Jardine Motors, Jardine Pacific, Dairy Farm, Jardine Cycle & Carriage and Astra International, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, etc.[3] This group did a business of 39.5 billion USD, with total assets of almost USD 66 billion. [2]
Threats of New Entrant
In this industry where oligopolistic competition exist, threats of new entrant is low. These are the following reasons for low threats: All the companies are large groups of the merged business, a large investment is required, established brand name and awareness plus diversified market creates a high level of entry barriers for new entrants. Economies of scale are another factor that creates a barrier for new entrants. In this industry, exit barriers are also high because these companies need more employees and all of them depend on them, similarly the cost to exit the market is also high so this restricts the new entrants to enter.
Threat of Substitute
Jardine Matheson is dealing with unrelated diversified businesses in the market. The most common competitor in the conglomerate’s industry for this company is Seaboard, Janel Corporation, Uber International B.V., Some similar businesses are owned among these companies. All of these are holding companies, all of them deals in travel and leisure. Similarly, many other companies can be competitors based on such criteria. So, all of the information shows that threats of substitutes exist in the market, where Jardine Matheson is doing its operations.
Bargaining Power of Buyer
Jardine Matheson is doing business in the conglomerate industry, there is oligopolistic competition in the market because there are fewer competitors and buyers are more in number. In this industry as large organizations such as Jardine Matheson are supplying its products to a large share of the market. So, companies have some control over the prices they charge to their customers. But there is one limitation, for increasing the market share if a company lowers its prices, other companies often get effected and have to follow the trend to remain in competition.
In this market switching cost is low because a person who knows how to drive a car can drive any car, whether it is Audi or any other brand, no learning cost, information, data is available, etc. As most of the products are the same as jets, cars, airbuses, etc. so there is minimal price and product differentiations regardless of extra features in products. Consumers can switch to other brands due to any aspect at little cost. Some products are standardized and some are not standardized. So, all of these factors shows that a certain level of bargaining power of buyer exist in this market.
Bargaining Power of Supplier
As the size of companies is large, it’s obvious their operations will also be on a large scale which needs a large amount of different supplies. So, conglomerates need the number of suppliers globally to satisfy their need for resources. Single suppliers cannot fulfill their requirements due to the large scale. These companies doing business in unrelated diversified markets, these facts show that each SBU needs a separate supplier. In this market company like Jardine Matheson can switch its supplier but at a specific cost. This cost can affect the company’s pricing strategy. So all of the above indicators show that the supplier holds a moderate level of bargaining power.
Competitive Rivalry
Already existing conglomerates always strive for identifying new opportunities and further develop their businesses, in this regards there is an immense rivalry between existing players to tackle each other and lead the market. Conglomerates not only compete with industry but these industries also compete with other businesses doing business in other industries, so all of these factors show that competition among current companies is high.
References
1 Trading Economics, 2019, Jardine Matheson | Dividend Yield, [online] Available at: https://tradingeconomics.com/j36:sp:dy
2 Jardines, 2019, Investors, [online], Available at: https://www.jardines.com/en/ir/ir.html
3 Craft, 2019, Jardine Matheson competitors, [online], Available at: https://craft.co/jardine-matheson/competitors