In the early 2000’s Lowe’s was rapidly intensifying its presence nationwide. The company carried a varied assortment of home improvement products and catered to the needs of retail as well as commercial business customers. Lowe’s expanded their reach by acquiring a 41-store chain, Eagle Hardware and Garden, and engaging in a strategic alliance with HGTV to obtain a more profound existence in their market (Rouse, 2005). By 2004, Lowe’s operated almost 1,000 stores with plans to continue expansion across the nation (Rouse, 2005). The company has a core competency in helping customers meet their home improvement needs at a low price. In order to use this core competency to gain a competitive advantage, the company has focused on key functional strategies. To continue their success, Lowe’s must specifically focus on marketing, logistics, and human resource management strategies. Lowe’s grew through strategic choice by heavily focusing on key functional areas involving research and development (R&D), marketing, and logistics. Lowe’s important R&D investments included the creation of two prototype stores. The first prototype with 147,000 square feet catered to large markets and the other with 120,000 square feet catered to smaller markets (Rouse, 2005). Lowe’s used these store prototypes to help guide their continued growth and store placement. The prototypes also aided the company in designing future stores more efficiently with respect to energy and sustainability (Lowe’s Companies, Inc., n.d.). Furthermore, Lowe’s marketing strategy concentrated on attracting new customers and enhancing current customer satisfaction. To bring new customers to the store, Lowe’s engaged in a pull marketing strategy (Wheelen & Hunger, 2012). The com... ... middle of paper ... ...ompanies, Inc. Retrieved from https://careers.lowes.com/areas_distribution.aspx Cassidy, W. B. (2005). Lowe's reroutes logistics. Traffic World, 269(34), 16. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Efficient store operation. (n.d.). Lowe's Companies, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.lowes.com/cd_Efficient+Store+Operation_911814199_ Lowe's invests in logistics. (2005). Traffic World, 269(37), 18. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Lowe's looks to logistics for growth. (2002). Home Textiles Today, 23(49), 10. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Rouse, M. M. (2005). Lowe’s Companies, Inc. In T.L. Wheelen & J. D. Hunger (12th ed.), Strategic management and business policy (pp. 33-1 – 32-5). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2012). Strategic management and business policy: Toward global sustainability (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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).
Lowe’s is leading the way by example. Lowe’s believes that creating long-term partnerships is a win-win situation for both sides of the deal. Lowe’s is the second largest home appliance retailer in the country, by working hand in hand for twenty-six years with Whirlpool, the largest marketer and manufacturer of home appliances. Whirlpool and Lowe’s have worked together to become unmatched in bringing their customers a high quality product and a very low competitive price. Through a tremendous logistical effort Whirlpool and Lowe’s have created a one of a kind Innovation Tour. A semi-trailer transforms itself into a functioning kitchen to show customers cutting edge appliances that will be available at Lowe’s in the future from Whirlpool and Kitchen Aid. As Lowe’s motto states, Lowe’s truly is “Improving Home Improvement”. (http://www.businesswire.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.).
Lynn M. Zott. Vol. 117. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard' Detroit: Gale, 2003. http://www.gale.com/http
The company has 8 values they drive: excellent customer service, taking care of our people, giving back, doing the right thing, creating shareholder value, respect for all people and entrepreneurial spirt. They have many policies in place to ensure they keep up with competitors such as Lowes, JC penny, Harbor Freight, Lumber Liquidators etc. An example of such policies is the "meet and beat" policy in which at point of sale they meet any competitors price of an item plus take off an additional 10% off. The Home Depot’s strategic factors include creating an emotional connection with all customers. They have opened customer call centers so customers can call to receive the best customer’s services and fix any issues they might be having. They have recently created a new returns system to increase customer satisfaction as well as a new scheduling system for store employees to ensure maximum coverage at all times. Another strategic factor is product authority. The company aims to keep an assortment of products in all departments. Another strategic factor is productivity and efficiency. The company is dedicated to building the best relationships with its supply chains as well as leveraging new technology that allows them to lower operating cost and increase shareholder value. A strategic
Opening its doors for the first time in 1946, Lowe’s is now the second largest home improvement chain in the world, operating over 1,800 stores in the United States, generating $56.2 billion in sales and $2.6 billion in net income for 2014 (Lowes Newsroom, 2015). Employing around 265,000 personal making them one of the top employers in the nation, there is no question that Lowe’s must be doing something right. According to Lowes Newsroom, “Lowe’s professional customers represent approximately 30 percent of total sales, approximately 16 million retail and professional customers are served each week. (2015, para 3) “Never Stop Improving”, is Lowe’s slogan; encouraging employees and customers to work together to maximize their in store
Target Corporation is a well-known retailer in the world. The company offers multiple products and services and to satisfy every needs of its consumers by offering these products in one destination. Secondly, the company provides their products and services by offering higher valuable products but with affordable prices in most locations within the United States and other countries. The company’s store has multiple divisions to satisfy and to differentiate the needs of its consumers. Other strength includes the store’s large square foot store with attractive design to create an excellent shopping experience for its consumers. Other strength includes strong retail chain distributions, employee diversity, and successful
The Home Depot began changing consumer’s perspectives about how they could care for and improve their homes, by creating a “do-it-yourself’ concept. According to the founders, the customer has a bill of rights at the Home Depot. The bill of rights entitles the customer to the right assortment, quantities and price (of tools and home improvement supplies) along with trained associates on the sales floor. Home Depot describes their business strategy as a three legged stool, which stands for customer service, product knowledge and availability and disciplined capital allocation. (Moskowitz,
Lowe’s has been around a long time. They have weaknesses but so many more strengths. Lowe’s is one of the oldest and largest big box retailers. They are the second largest home improvement retailer in the world next to Home Depot. Lowe’s key strengths are its size, market share and distribution network. Lowe’s also knows how to adapt to the needs of time. More strengths of Lowe’s lie in the customer service and store layout. Lowe’s is ranked second in customer satisfaction with Home Depot being last. They spend around 650 million dollars to upgrade their stores and make sure they are set up so that the customers can find everything they need easily. As Lowe’s continues to improve their stores they will continue to gain more loyal
Content 1.Preface 2.Introduction 3.Problem definition 4.Summary 5.Conclusion 6. Chapter 1: External analysis of Home Depot Inc. 7. Chapter 2: Internal analysis of Home Depot Inc. 8. Chapter 3: Strategic forces. 9.
Some core competencies that must be exploited are: Brand Kmart is an existing well-known and trusted national brand in USA Kmart has private label and designer clothing that is well endorsed Infrastructure Kmart has a large number of well-located, low-cost, leased stores in urban far away from competitors through out the country ( Appendix B ). Staffing Confidence by the market in Kmart is created by the achievements of its staff and management. With the turn-around strategy in place, new blood has been put into the top management structures. In any renewal there will be retrenchment as unprofitable stores are closed. This can be used as an opportunity to retain and move high performing staff to where they are needed and to get rid of non-performing staff. Anderson the chairperson of Kmart is well supported by Wall Street and the board of Directors. These new staff members enter the company with needed skills to address problems in certain areas that previously were poorly managed such as inventory control and merchandising. Store locations, layout and Performance Stores conveniently located away from competitors like Wal-mart and Target therefore less to compete for customers face-to-face. There are 250 non-performing stores who have already been identified as being more cost effective to close than continue with running costs. Expertise exists in-house for the planning of store layout and appearance to meet different customer segments. This concentration of effort will enable focus on key areas Technology Kmart has already invested in good retailing systems. The system can be use to control inventory, supplier payments, track customer buying and monitor income versus profit margins across all stores. Research and Development The planning department is well established and in cross-functional to provide various perspective. The planning department to ensure that strategies at all levels are executed can further use the access to past data and knowledge of changes in buying patterns. Financial Backing JP Morgan Chase has agreed to support Kmart to avert the current threat of closure due to bankruptcy.
Their mission: ‘Customer service and community service are core commitments at Lowe's — and they have been for more than 60 years. Being a good neighbor means being committed to improving the places our employees and customers call home. We see that as an investment in our future. We've grown that investment as Lowe's has grown from a small-town hardware store in North Wilkesboro, N.C., to the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world.’
Eds. Linda Metzger, et al. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, Inc., 1989. 411-416. Mobley, Marilyn Sanders.
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