Introduction
Corporate structure is the way in which the parts of a corporation are put together. Corporations usually have several strategic business units (SBUs). These SBUs are also called strategy centers, strategic planning units, or independent business units (Jain, 1990, p.17). Kotler (1997, p.71) states that an SBU is a single business or collection of related businesses that can be planned separately from the rest of the company. An SBU can be a company division, a product line within a division, or sometimes a single product or brand (Kotler et al., 1998, p.35).
A corporation and its SBUs have structures that must be understood before a marketing plan can be created. These are very important because a marketing plan is a significant key to achieve the organisational goals. A good description of the corporation and its SBUs will provide an adequate understanding about them. This essay will describe the structures of a corporation and one of its SBUs, namely Coles Myer Limited and Coles.
Corporate Structure
Coles Myer Limited is an Australia company which provides services for its customers.
History
Coles Myer Ltd. is an Australia's retailer. It is a merge of two large retailers, namely G.J. Coles & Coy. Ltd. and The Myer Emporium Ltd. G.J. Coles & Coy. Ltd. started its first store in Collingwood, Melbourne on 9 April 1914; while The Myer Emporium was established in 1900 in Bendigo, Victoria, by Sidney Myer. G.J. Coles operated variety stores; Myer operated department stores, as well as discount and specialty stores. The two companies united in 1985 and became Coles Myer Ltd. with a new company logo.
Shareholders
Coles Myer Ltd. has over 300,000 shareholders. It has about 33,000 employee shareholders. These employees a ...