The History Of Engen, A Leading African Oil Company
Engen is an oil company that started in 1881. They are present in 18 countries spread across Sub – Saharan Africa, South Africa and the Indian Ocean. They are committed to delivering petroleum – based products and retail convenience across the continent. In 1881-1897 Johan Gottlieb Schade who was a German foreigner introduced Vacuum Oil to South Africa. In 1908-1920 Mobil was the first famous brand in South Africa car sales also increased which increased the demand for Mobil’s products.
There were 4000 new car sales in 12 months in South Africa. In 1950-1960 The first oil refinery happened on the 25th of April 1952 and they were called the Standard Vacuum Oil Company. 1960-1770 they renamed it to Mobil because it was a well-known brand. They made sure they stayed up to date with technology to remain world class. In 1993 they changed their name from Mobil to Engen. They are established as a modern, innovative and caring company that offers quality, service, Engen is a leading African company. They are driven by their five values of Integrity, Performance, Ownership and Empowerment.
They are partnered with Wimpy, Wimpy is a family restaurant that are at many of the Engen 1-stops. Wimpy was the first sit down restaurant in South Africa. Wimpy first partnered with Mobil which was now Engen in the 80’s, it is designed for families to stop at on their way to their holiday destination. They became known as ‘The Home of the South African Breakfast’. They were the first to introduce expresso based coffee to South Africa.
Porters Six Forces for Engen
Competition
Assessment of the direct competitors in a given market, so Engen should stay up to date with what the other businesses in their market are doing for example if Caltex has any specials that go along with their product that could possibly draw customers, then Engen should make sure they do something so that they do not lose their customers to their competitors.
New Entrants
This is when you assess in the potential competitors that want to enter the market that you are in, this is very unlikely with Petrol stations as they are expensive to set up and start, but you should still stay up to date with new competitors popping up around your location because that could pose a potential threat.
Power of Buyer
This is when you assess how much power your customers have, with regards to a petrol station situation the buyer has limited power as petrol is a non-elastic product as no matter what the price is they will have to buy it as there is no substitute product. The government also determines the prices of petrol so the buyer would not be able to go to your competitor and fill up there instead.
Power of Supplier
Assessment regarding the power of suppliers, the supplier of oil and petrol have a huge amount of power as they can determine the price and the customers would have to buy the product not matter what because we cannot live without it.
Available Substitute Product
Assessment that see whether there is availability of alternatives which in the case of petrol there is not.
Complementary Products
Assessment of the impact of related products that are within the same market that promote the product you are selling, a good complimentary product for petrol or diesel would be cars, trucks or any other mechanical machine that requires petrol or diesel to operate.
Porters Six Forces for Wimpy
Competition
Assessment of the direct competitors in a given market, so Wimpy’s competitor would be any sit down or fast food restaurant, Wimpy needs to ensure that they offer something that the other restaurants do not in order for them to prevent their customers from going to another restaurant.
New Entrants
This is when you assess in the potential competitors that want to enter the market that you are in, this would be for example and new café or restaurant that are also at 1-stop petrol stations and Wimpy has to be aware of that so that they do not lose customers.
Power of Buyer
This is when you assess how much power your customers have, in the restaurant industry the customer has a lot of power as they can chose as restaurant that suites their preference, so Wimpy has to ensure that they target the correct target market and that they keep their customers happy so that they do not chose to go to a different restaurant.
Power of Supplier
Assessment regarding the power of suppliers, the supplier of Wimpy have less power than they buyer as they need to ensure that the customers are happy, Wimpy also need to ensure that they have trustworthy suppliers.
Available Substitute Product
Assessment that see whether there is availability of alternatives, Wimpy will have substitutes available in case their suppliers cannot deliver but they need to ensure that they substitute products are of equal value and that the substitute is trustworthy as well.
Complementary Products
Assessment of the impact of related products that are within the same market that promote the product you are selling, a good complimentary good for Wimpy would be anything that makes their product desirable.
