Analysing corporate mission: Improving retail strategy

In recent years a great deal of attention has been devoted to improving strategic planning in business, to identify the long‐term future direction for a company. At the centre of strategic planning for retailers — and this includes the small and medium‐sized independents as well as the national multiples and groups — is the difficult idea of corporate mission. It is this aspect of strategic planning which managers seem to find most difficult to accept and use. This article attempts to make the identification of corporate mission a practical tool for retail managers. The components of business strategy are summarised, and then corporate mission is emphasised as the underlying foundation for planning. The practical value of these techniques is illustrated in the case of a gardening centre.