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Construction industry and the environment
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External Analysis
Macroenviorment Analysis:
· Economic- The home improvement industry is below their normal state with the present economic status. Consumers are putting their wants such as adding new appliances or redoing their bathroom on hold. Construction companies are also in a slump; with the building of new homes on a downward slope the large orders of construction companies are not being made
· Technological- Technological advances have played a huge role in the home improvement industry with advancements in appliances and power tools. These advancements help with everyone from people at home doing their daily chores to large construction companies finishing their jobs quicker.
· Social/Culture- The social and cultural aspects
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Lowe’s is taking a step further with these efforts and building “green” stores. Lowe’s now has 30 “green” stores nationwide and making efforts to build more in the future.3 Lowe’s was also awarded with the Energy Star in 2004.4
Intangible
· Culture: o Lowe's has a rich history of community involvement across the country, from natural disaster response to community improvement and education-based initiatives. In 2007, Lowe’s and the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation together contributed more than $27.5 million to support community and education projects in the United States and Canada.5
· Brand Reputation: o Lowe’s home improvement is rated second in home improvement stores nationwide.1 During its existence Lowe’s has created a great environment for its customers to come and shop and find the quality product they can count on Lowe’s to have.
Human Resources
· Skills: o Lowe’s and Home depot both employ specialists from their respective fields, but Lowe's provides a supplemental commission-pay structure with a philosophy of retaining energized quality staffing, while Home Depot's employees are paid a flat salary.5
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By being a customer oriented company Lowe’s uses the information that is given to them to help build upon their great reputation. To help show that Lowe’s is willing to help others they continue to help with disaster relief not only by donating money and supplies but also help rebuilding.
Compared to its rivals I am certain that Lowe’s will be able to carry out its goals and missions. With having one of the best customer service programs in its market Lowe’s does its best to not only help its customers out as a whole but also on an individual level. Lowe’s will continue to grow across the nation to ensure to help you with your every home improvement need.
1 Retrieved September 21, 2008, from http://www.hoovers.com/lowe's/--ID__10920,ticker__LOW--/free-co-fin-factsheet.xhtml
2Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Retrieved September 21, 2008, from http://finance.google.com/finance?fstype=ii&q=NYSE:LOW
3Lowe’s Going Green, Retrieved September 21, 2008, from
Internally the strategy moving forward was unclear. The chance to address 25,000 dealers demanded the new leadership had a clear picture of their mission moving forward. With a very narrow scope of product offerings and the slowing sales of their high-end speakers, the decision to expand into additional products, or stay focused on their main revenue source would determine the future of the company. Offering their product in the large retailer market and pulling away from the independent installers had already damaged their brand equity. Furthermore, engaging with the production home builders, while generating the necessary revenues for survival, alienated the custom installer and their referral clients. (Kerin & Peterson, 2013). Considering the relatively small size of the company combined with the dangers associated with brand extension could overstress the resources necessary to launch and maintain a new line. One of the keys to a successful concentric diversification is close coordination with existing customers and distributors. Unfortunately, the dealers that had made them successful were not pleased with their recent brand dilution. (Gordon,
Lowe’s employs more than 260,000 people in more than 1830 stores; these employees are trained to provide exceptional customer service as well as receiving up-to-date product knowledge to assist customers with their improvement needs. In addition, Lowe’s has upgraded store information technology infrastructure to assist employees in accessing product data faster and easier. This is accomplished by providing the sales team with computers that have Internet access, and Ipad’s and Iphone’s loaded with specialized apps (Lowes, 2014).
Home Depot was started in 1978 as a one-stop shopping for do-it-yourselfers. As the fastest growing retailer in U.S. History, Home Depot went public on NASDAQ in 1981, and moved to the New York Stock Exchange in 1984. By 1989, Home Depot had opened its 100th store. In 1994, Home Depot moved into Canada with the acquisition of Aikenhead’s, in 2001, they moved into Mexico with the acquisition of Total Home. Home Depot acquired The Home Way in China in 2006.
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is averaging the opening of about two stores per week. This is part of an unprecedented two billion dollar store expansion, which is the most aggressive expansion in the company’s fifty-five year history; thus, magnifying Lowe’s locality and customer convenience in the United Sates home improvement marketplace. Lowe’s new superstores are currently the largest in the home improvement marketplace, averaging a retail space of about 150,000 square feet. (http://www.lowes.com)
Home Depot is built on the principle of creating value for our stockholders while never forgetting our values. We seek to be profitable, responsible, and balance the needs of our communities. Throughout our company, our associates are challenged with finding ways in which we can provide the best products for our customers, provide the best possible work environment for our associates, have a positive impact on the communities in which we operate, and provide excellent returns for our stockholders. Working in a Store Support Center, rather than a corporate headquarters, their leadership team knows that the most important people in the fabric of the company are the store associates and store leadership teams. Frank Blake was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Home Depot in January 2007 (Sellers, P.).
Slow Economic Recovery resulting in demand moderation of HVAC systems and leading to greater emphasis on energy savings: Global economic recovery has been sluggish especially in the US and Europe regions. This coupled with reduced incomes and high energy bills have impacted the overall demand for HVAC systems.
An expansion into markets outside the USA would appropriate for Lowe’s if it is to take Home Depot head on. This kind of strategy would require acquisition of existing businesses and stores rather than going internationally as a green-field. This would be appropriate if done within a time frame of 6 months as this would provide the company with enough time to study the foreign market environment factors that may hinder or boost its operations. Such a move would thus help neutralize the risks exposed by the US housing markets as well as the purchasing economies of scale.
The method of depreciation the company uses is the straight-line method. The straight-line method is the most common method of calculating deprecation; therefore, it makes logical sense that this is the method that Lowe's Home Improvement uses.
Despite its advantages and the general receptiveness of the market, and after several years of vigorous private and industry efforts directed at expanding market share, steel framing has achieved a disappointingly small share of the residential framing market. To begin to change this, it is essential that the steel industry gain a thorough understanding of the needs and economic realities of the residential construction industry.
Corporate Social Responsibility challenges businesses to go beyond the general practices of customer service from a social standpoint. This tool has enhanced many companies into doing what is social right among society. Lowe’s has gained many third-party vendors by being socially responsible in many of the business practice. The framework of corporate social responsibility has engaged society to look further into Lowe’s and hold them responsible for the customer service and the product that they sell. Social media has facilitated a two-way communication with companies paying attention to social media postings and responses. I believe that social media plays more as the devil’s advocate in some social posting. Corporate websites contain
First and foremost, it’s essential that the appliances are addressed. Appliances are the “age spots” of a house. As a result of planned obsolescence, products such as refrigerators and dishwashers are meant to be replaced every ten to fifteen years. This leads to the innovation of new ideas during product manufacturing. For example, when manufacturers released stainless steel refrigerators, the once-popular white models with the convenient ice distributer quickly became outdated. This illustrates a simple rule: investing in new appliances is one of the quickest ways to make a home feel as though the builders recently made the finishing touches and packed up their tools. They instantly modernize the house. This is the reason new appliances weigh so heavily in a buyer’s decision ...
Lowe’s is a large chain of home improvement outlets with more than 1840 stores in North America. Their corporate slogan is ‘Never Stop Improving’
Home Depot was founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank in Atlanta, Georgia. With their store, Marcus and Blank revolutionized the do-it-yourself home improvement market in the United States. Home Depot began as a very basic store, operated in a large, no-frills warehouse. Home Depot carries over 35,000 products, with national brand names along with the Home Depot brand. At the start, Home Depot was able to offer exceptional customer service with knowledgeable employees who could guide customers through home renovation projects. Since its opening, Home Depot has experienced incredible growth, and today is North America's second largest retailer, and the largest home improvement retailer. Internationally, Home Depot has expanded into Canada, Mexico, and is beginning to operate stores in China. Home Depot's competition includes Sears, Ace Hardware and Lowes (the main competitor).
Technological -The knowledge explosion has introduced new technology for nearly every business function. As we enter a technology based century, the technology used in every organizations operation is increasingly turbulent, rocked by forces such as competition and customer demands. The technological element tends to develop through periods of incremental change punctuated by technological breakthroughs that either improve or destroy the ability of firms in an industry. It is the current state of knowledge about the production of goods and services in an industry.
First off the United States economy, in general, needs to improve. Economy is like a domino effect, and now it is hitting the housing industry. Our unemployment rate is up to about 10%. Banks are not prospering like in the past. Tons of Americans are in debt; by the end of 2008 Americans reached a $972.73 billion debt due to credit cards.