EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS:
Below are the environmental variables; we need to consider making the final decision of opening up the new dealership.
1. Economic Environment
2. Technological Environment
3. Political and Legal Environment
4. Cultural and Social Environment
1. Economic Environment:
Calgary is the largest city in Alberta with population of 1.1 million and is the fifth largest metropolitan area in Canada. Petroleum and agriculture are the main industries in Calgary. Alberta’s unemployment rate is 4.5% in October 2012, which is lowest in Canada. Average hourly rate for hourly employees and salary employees is $25.61 and $36.85 respectively.Calgary’s GDP increased by 2.9% in 4th quarter and retail sales increased by 3.7%. Alberta has no provincial tax and customers buying ATVs only have to pay 5% GST. The economic progress and oil fields exploration of Alberta will help us to successfully run this dealership. Even though, there are several ATV dealers in Calgary, we can compete with these dealerships by offering lower prices, high quality ATVs as well as providing them excellent customer service.
2. Technological Environment
Globalization and World Cities considers Calgary as a beta-world city and sees the city expanding in population, research and development and economic power. The city is trending towards reaching similar statuses as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
A very organized user friendly website that is secure with the ability to customize and order products will be needed to compete with the competition in the global market. Consideration should also be given to a Just in Time inventory system reducing cost and order time on customized orders.
In a thriving technological city such as Alberta, there will be vast opportunities for promotion, marketing, distribution, and sales of ATV’s in our new dealership. Residents will be interested in new models as they come out, and they will make use of various mediums to allow us options in how we want to market our products. All the detailed information about our dealership like contact numbers, emails and address and ATVs information like model, brand and prices will be one click away.
3. Political and Legal Environment
Stable political environment is a key to the success of any business. Government of Alberta supports and welcomes all the new companies to come to Alberta.There is a wealth of information available online. www.services.gov.ab.ca offers a lot of information, helpful hints, and what you need to know for almost any scenario involving Alberta. The “Guide for New Alberta Businesses” is one item that is available through