Success of Circuit City
The success of circuit city can be attributed to their concept of strong management, customer service focus and a good merchandising formula which capitalized on innovative electronic consumer products. They created world-class competencies in efficient and effective logistics expertise. Their deployment of sophisticated point-of-sale and inventory tracking technology, IT investments which helped them to connect the flow of information among geographically dispersed stores was the best in the industry. These core competencies allowed them to track customer preferences and enabled them to adapt quickly to changing trends. Added to these competencies, their highly trained sales personnel who provided superior service
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The collaboration and carefully connected network was consistent with a culture that allowed the retail kingdom to remain flexible, profitable, and prosperous for two decades (Mehrmann, 2009). Their 4S business model – service, selection, savings and satisfaction where the customer has a choice of wide variety of merchandise, received 110% back if they found a better deal, 30-day money back guarantee and the customer service of high trained sales professional help the company establish a competitive advantage. Their point-of-sale systems facilitated quick transactions and took care of their inventory (Wells …show more content…
This decision was based on the fact that the company was trying to pursue a cost leadership strategy in order to compete in the saturated market. The highest paid employees were the more tenured and experienced ones. These experienced, successful, well paid, and loyal employees were trimmed from Circuit City and quickly became a wealth of talent available for their competitors (Mehrmann 2009). This turned out to be “stuck in the middle” scenario for Circuit City. They neglected to upgrade and protect their core competencies which the competitors took advantage of. The company’s decision to pursue noncore activities like creating CarMax, a retail chain for used cars and introduction of a proprietary DivX player, which was a huge flop and the attempted merger with Blockbuster lead to further erosion of the company’s competitive advantage (Rothaermel
Nordstrom is one of the top retailers in the United States. With a solid brand image and a sound financial situation, Nordstrom is relentless in their expansion in the US, and are beginning to expand into international markets. Nordstrom takes pleasure in providing state of the art client support and having experienced sales people. In order to hold their position as the most successful high-end retailer in the United States, Nordstrom must continue to figure out ways to improve their brand image and customer satisfaction. Nordstrom’s current business working strategy is successful but I believe there are a few ideal solutions that the organization could apply to further enhance the organization. Due to the aggressive characteristics of the fashion retail store market, it is crucial that Nordstrom preserves an aggressive advantage providing the highest level of customer support as possible.
The company had to be the second largest retailer shop in the US; it has many advantages that come along. The customers well acknowledge the company and its brand have been well established.
The United States located electronic company Electrocorp faced the problem of declining profitability due to rising production costs, specifically high wages, costly worker's safety and environmental standards. In order to solve this problem Electrocorp is deciding whether to relocate some of their plants to South Africa, Mexico, or the Philippines.
Since the customers in this industry are not price sensitive, having a competitive advantage is vital for firms. Hill-Rom considers customer service is its reputation, thus gives significant value to its customer relationships. In addition, its variety of products gives high competitive advantage to the
The eighties prompted change as well as the opening of Best Buy’s first superstore. During 1983, a new corporate name was approved and the Sound of Music Company became known as Best Buy Co., Inc. With mounting consumer support Best Buy continued its road to expansion by opening an additional five stores. In 1985, the newly named company was being publicly traded under the symbol BBY. The late eighties brought forth additional change for the continuously growing company. Best Buy adopted a new concept in retail merchandising with the opening of massive superstores. The new concept shifted the placing of all inventory on the sales floor and hiring a specialized staff of non-commissioned service representatives (FAQ). Such adaptations have fueled the company into progression and continued to promote the company’s corporate vision of “Making life fun and easy”(Fact Sheet).
The franchise owner is results oriented. Meeting and exceeding sales goals is the main objective of daily, weekly, and monthly goals. His main expectation of the staff is getting the job of selling shoes done right the first time and in an efficient manner. It is expected that the sales representative does such an excellent job that the product does not return back to the store. SAS Shoes is a very structured business model at the level of retail. There are very detailed steps that the employee is required to follow from adhering to the strict dress code, utilizing the four-step selling structure, to putting the shoes back in their assigned boxes the correct and efficient way. The employee is expected to not only meet but excel at using these meticulous techniques. Although the culture at SAS Shoes is very stringent, it works well with the ever changing environment surrounding shoe sales in Albuquerque, New
• CarMax executives were keenly aware of the fate of their one-time parent company, Circuit City, demise to Best Buy after ignoring or underestimating the threat Best Buy had become to their business and vowed that CarMax would not meet the same fate.
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.
Management experience will also play a large role in the success of the forecast. The current team is quite new and will gain some needed experience over the next year in the hopes of staying on track for success. The ability of management to ensure product is readily available for the client, their training techniques with new and seasoned associates, and general management style will ensure success or spell defeat for the store.
Target Corporation pioneered value chain activities like focusing on customer experience through superior marketing, ability to attract global talent, sustain in and outbound supply logistics, develop supplies with a high-quality vendor and partners, a great customer service, extend return by 30 more days if purchased through Target brand store cards, and a skilled workforce supports its generic strategy of "Expect more Pay Less" improves competitive position that its rival cannot match. --
Another point can be the innovational shopping techniques put forward by the CEO, like the self service checkout stations which tries to provide some form of quality service for the customers.
This essay describes how Costco has undergone evolutionary changes from its inception to present through its value chain model to become a success story. For example, in its distribution system, Costco utilizes the cross-docking technology to help in the conveyance of products in the different locations. This ensures that there are no product delays in the respective markets (Guo, 2016). Accordingly, Costco can attract more customers who prefer the warehousing services provided by the company.
Amazon’s also tried to spearhead the industry by introducing the customer-pleasing traits in terms of the technology, order fulfillment and retailing strategies categori...
...e different supply chain mechanism ultimately helped Morrison to be strong and stable in replying the customer. In the following there have been some strategies that have been introduced in Morrison to survive and to make profit in the competitive market.
Thau was inspired by the Bashar Nejdawi, president of Ingram Micro Mobility that is a provider of technology and supply chain services. According to Nejdawi, “In five years, consumer electronics stores as we know them today won’t even exist, and the same rings true for our favorite apparel brands”. He also asserts that three influential factors will change the retail landscape: instant gratification, borrowing and customization. A good example of instant gratification is Uber or Amazon. The Uber customer can see in real time where the Uber car is and when is going to arrive. In the same way the Amazon provide fulfillment program that allow retailers to sell products that are not physically in storage. In this way the retailers do not have to care about inventory and can concentrate on marketing. Secondly, the borrowing culture is going to grow. As an example is Zip Car or Netflix applications. On the Zip Car program someone can borrow a car just for few hours. Likewise, some business offer a mobile device rental program that allow a customer to lease the latest device for a fraction of the cost. Further, the customization program permits customers to choose their preferences before the product is being made. As an example is miAdidas company that gives to the clients the possibility to create