¶ … Lewis Group Sustainability Model:
The Lewis Group is a retail furniture company operating in South Africa that sells its furniture to low-income customers. Notably, approximately 60% of the company's merchandise is being imported from some countries in Brazil and China. As the leading retailer of household furniture, home electronics, and electrical appliances, The Lewis Group sold its products mainly on credit through Best Home and Electric, the Lewis, and My Home Brands. The success and profitability of the Lewis Group is associated with the scope of its business and its business model. Currently, the company has more than 600 stores throughout the main metropolitan areas and has a strong presence in the rural areas in South Africa. Moreover, 56 of the firm's stores are located in the neighboring southern African nations like Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, and Lesotho.
The Lewis Group Business Model:
The Lewis Group business model basically revolves around creating value for its stakeholders in order to promote its productivity and success in the market ("Integrated Annual Report," 2012). As a result, the firm has an increased commitment to a decentralized and store-based business model that helps in ensuring sustainable performance through every market condition. The company's business model is based on the principle that furniture sale and provision of credit are mainly interdependent. Notably, the Lewis Group has adopted and implemented this model since the inception of the business. However, every aspect of customer relationship is handled by the stores' staff while provision of credit is handled centrally in order to promote consistency decision-making and wise credit risk management.
Through the business model, the Lewis Group personal and relationship-based interaction with consumers produces trust and confidence. In addition to this, it also creates high levels of loyalty and recurring sales. During the recent economic slowdown in the past few years, Lewis Group's business model has proved to be resilient and suitable for the firm's target market since customers are increasingly attracted by the merchandise offering and then depend on credit provided by the retailer. Together with its clear strategic focus, the proven and resilient business model of the Lewis Group has facilitated its positioning in the growth section of the South African consumer market. Consequently, the group continues to be attractive to potential investors who are looking for equity exposure to the local retail sector.
Lewis Group's Position in the Sustainability Space:
According to its annual report, the Lewis Group has not yet done enough or a lot to ensure sustainable operations since it has mainly focused on carbon emission reporting. The company's position in the sustainability space is reflected in its report on environmental sustainability. In this case, the company recognizes the need to launch and maintain environmentally sustainable business practices to ensure that it meets its responsibilities in sustaining the environment where it operates ("Environmental Sustainability," n.d.).
The Group achieves this objective through executing an Environmental Management System that helps in identifying the direct and indirect environmental impacts on the company. The system is also critical in development of an environmental policy that is achievable and relevant, creating stakeholders' awareness through suitable level of reporting, and improving the direct effect of business activities where it's economically feasible. Through environmental principles, economic pillars, and commitment to being a responsible corporate, the Group's environmental practices will evolve.
The relatively poor position of the Lewis Group could be partly attributed to the fact that South Africa's retail sector does not perform well in terms of sustainability ("Supermarket Sustainability," 2012). This is despite of the fact that this sector is located at the center of consumer goods value chain, which gives the industry players the power to influence the other elements of the value chain. There are huge differences in the quantity and quality of information in the sustainability...
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