Measuring market orientation of Muscle Pharm Corp. (MSLP:US) British American Tobacco South Africa | Page 10

British American Tobacco South Africa: Evaluating the role and substance of its strategy in achieving sustainable competitive advantage

2.5 Analysis of SWOT
This section critically analyses the strengths and weaknesses based on the track record shown in
previous page other information gathered in previous chapters and future prospects.

Image 2: own illustration

Strenghts
As retrieved from the value chain analysis, one of the major strengths of BATSA is that it is able to
effectively control important elements of production allowing them to achieve dominant market share
and a robust position within the market. Another crucial strength are the global driver brands (GDB’s)
products – Dunhill, Kent, Peter Stuyvesant and Rothmans which generate sustainable profits (see KPI
table) for BATSA and create customer loyalty through its strong emotional characteristics. Thirdly, the
management is very competent and demonstrated that it can successfully execute the strategy (see KPI
productivity) that is based on the four strategic pillars. The management team was able to transform the
big South African Heidelberg cigarette factory from a poor performing operation that relied on manual
labour to a highly computerized and high achieved state-of-the-art facility. Along the way, they exalted
working systems, methods and attitudes so that Heidelberg today is an exemplar of British American
Tobacco’s culture (Sutton, 2013). Last but not least, BATSA was announced by the “top employer
institute” as the top employer in Africa and South Africa because it invests in its employees on a
consistent basis and offers the highest employee standards. BATSA is able to captivate, flourish and
retain the best people so a ́Ѽ