The importance of environmental sustainability to Clas Ohlson's customers
Nurminen, Tuomas (2020)
Nurminen, Tuomas
2020
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020102621628
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020102621628
Tiivistelmä
Sustainability and particularly environmental sustainability have raised a lot of interest and concern during the recent years. Even though there are different interpretations of sustainability, the United Nations’ definition from 1987 is still one of the most used: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. According to Eurobarometer Survey 2020 every third European believes that the best way to actively contribute for the well-being of the environment is to change the way people consume or change the way companies produce products. This sends a clear message to retail companies.
The focus of this thesis is on environmental sustainability from the point of view of customers of Clas Ohlson, a Swedish retail company established in 1918. According to Sustainable Brand Index 2020 Clas Ohlson was the most sustainable company in category Leisure & Home electronics both in Sweden and Norway but not in Finland. Out of all nominees Clas Ohlson was 55th in Norway, 53rd in Sweden and 100th in Finland. Clas Ohlson has also conducted three own brand tracking studies in 2019–20 and only every tenth Finnish respondent connected Clas Ohlson with sustainability. The purpose of this thesis is to find out the opinion Finnish customers have on Clas Ohlson and overall on environmental sustainability.
The study was conducted as a quantitative research using a questionnaire. In total 591 people answered to the questionnaire. The results show clearly that environmental sustainability is important to Clas Ohlson’s customers. For example, almost half of the respondents buy ecological products at least on a weekly basis and nearly 60 per cent of the respondents answered that it is important that companies they use are active promoters of sustainability. The results show also that respondents are not familiar with Clas Ohlson’s actions on sustainability nor are they familiar with Clas Ohlson’s sustainable products.
Based on the results it is clear that Clas Ohlson has not been able to get the message of sustainability through to its customers, thus has not been able to use sustainability as a competitive advantage. This thesis aims also to suggest first steps on how to improve the image customers have on Clas Ohlson regarding sustainability. As the results show, by focusing on sustainability companies can attract more customers, making it is crucial for retail companies to have a solid plan on how to work sustainably in order to attract more customers.
The focus of this thesis is on environmental sustainability from the point of view of customers of Clas Ohlson, a Swedish retail company established in 1918. According to Sustainable Brand Index 2020 Clas Ohlson was the most sustainable company in category Leisure & Home electronics both in Sweden and Norway but not in Finland. Out of all nominees Clas Ohlson was 55th in Norway, 53rd in Sweden and 100th in Finland. Clas Ohlson has also conducted three own brand tracking studies in 2019–20 and only every tenth Finnish respondent connected Clas Ohlson with sustainability. The purpose of this thesis is to find out the opinion Finnish customers have on Clas Ohlson and overall on environmental sustainability.
The study was conducted as a quantitative research using a questionnaire. In total 591 people answered to the questionnaire. The results show clearly that environmental sustainability is important to Clas Ohlson’s customers. For example, almost half of the respondents buy ecological products at least on a weekly basis and nearly 60 per cent of the respondents answered that it is important that companies they use are active promoters of sustainability. The results show also that respondents are not familiar with Clas Ohlson’s actions on sustainability nor are they familiar with Clas Ohlson’s sustainable products.
Based on the results it is clear that Clas Ohlson has not been able to get the message of sustainability through to its customers, thus has not been able to use sustainability as a competitive advantage. This thesis aims also to suggest first steps on how to improve the image customers have on Clas Ohlson regarding sustainability. As the results show, by focusing on sustainability companies can attract more customers, making it is crucial for retail companies to have a solid plan on how to work sustainably in order to attract more customers.