I. Introduction Present day Federated consists of both Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s stores and operates in 34 states as well as Guam and Puerto Rico. While Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s provide both private and national brands and are similar in merchandising categories (men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, home décor, shoes, beauty, and accessories), they differ greatly in culture. Bloomingdale’s, being more upscale, targets consumers that are more concerned with trend and quality than they are price. Macy’s targets the more value oriented consumer and represents a broader Federated clientele. Macy’s represents 423 of the 459 Federated locations while Bloomingdale’s represents only 36 locations. Because I can better relate to the value conscious consumer of the Macy’s division and because they represent such a large portion of Federated, I will further explore their current characteristics and behaviors that suggest that they possess qualities of both monopolistic competition and oligopolies. II. Brief History Federated Department Stores was founded in 1929, the same year the stock market crash signified the commencement of the Great Depression, with the merger of Abraham & Straus of Brooklyn, Filene’s of Boston, F&R Lazarus & Co. of Columbus, Ohio and Bloomingdale’s of New York. Recognizing economic sensitivity to the Great Depression and WWII, Federated initially focused its efforts on ground-breaking retail tactics such as accommodating credit policies. In the mid to late 1900’s, Federated shifted its endeavors to growth and development, having increased its stores by 400 percent between 1964 and 1979. Although the company filed for bankruptcy in 1988 because of a failed takeover by Robert Campeau, a Canadian real-estate developer, Federated persevered through the tough times by taking risks and embracing change. While originally being composed of four family-owned department stores in 1929, Federated is now comprised of over 450 stores and is known as one of the leading department store operators in the industry. III. Nature of the Product/Target Market After co-branding the Macy’s name with local Federated stores in 2003, the Macy’s division became the central focus for revamping. Federated descri... ... middle of paper ... ... several actions presently being taken to refurbish Federated. The company has hired a new CEO, Terry Lundgren, and also appointed an organization within the company to focus on the further development of the Macy’s home division. Between the diversity of quality employees and vendors, they hope to overcome the premonition that the department store is a dying breed. They are well on their way opening seven new firms in 2004. Federated, and department stores in general, encompass a huge portion of not only American history but also the American economy. Fred Lazarus, former president of the present day Lazarus-Macy’s, was even responsible for the changing of the Thanksgiving holiday to the fourth Thursday in November. Lazarus suggested this to President Roosevelt in 1939 in order to give consumers more shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas thereby improving economic efficiency. Federated also operates the largest store in America, the Macy’s flagship in Manhattan, and sponsors the annual Thanksgiving Day parade. Without retail stores like Federated, America would not only lose a substantial amount of history, but the backbone of our economy.
Macy’s intended to deliver enhanced shopping experiences to its consumers through dynamic department stores and online sites. In this regard, the company developed a North Star strategy that allows it to improve its sales growth and to develop its existing core activities. The company’s consumer research monitors, analyze and anticipate their needs and wants based on the changing market trends. This allows it to strengthen its customer base and also helps it in identifying new markets and customers. Macy’s also identifies different styles and designs based on various occasions and events that allow it to capture the changing preferences of its customers. The company also celebrates various iconic events to interact with its customers which
The primary problem would be the structure of the organization. This is due to the fact that there are thirteen departments in total which would lead to the failure of the ability to concentrate on long term viability of the business.
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.
A foster parent, as defined by the Health reference series second edition, is an individual who is licensed to provide a home for an orphaned, abused, neglected, delinquent or disabled child (Matthews, 2004). A permanent placement is one that is intended, but not guaranteed, to last forever (Barth & Berry 1988). Foster care is not for delinquents but somewhere for children go when their parents can no longer care for them. A form of foster care has always been around in early Christian churches where “worthy widows” would board children in need and were paid by church collections. Foster care started in 1562 during the time of the English poor laws, which stated the poor children were allowed to be placed in legal services until they reached of aged (nfpaonline.org). In the 1970’s, foster care increased in popularity but foster parents were seen as unfit to adopt children permanently (Barth and Berry, 1988). In 1980 the Adoption Assistance of Child Welfare Act (public law 96-272) made it clear that the most desirable permanent placement for children is with their own family. The law...
The branding Ms. Klein wrote about only appears to work because the idea of “choice” as defined by the brick-and-mortar retailers is an illusion. Anyone entering a department store or mall understands this quiet truth. There are many styles to choose from, it seems, b...
Mullen, Brian, Cynthia Symons, Li-Tze Hu and Eduardo Salas. "Group Size, Leadership Behavior, and Subordinate Satisfaction." The Journal of General Psychology. v116 i2 p155, Apr. 1989.
Imagine waking up everyday in a home where there is nobody you can call mom or dad. Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home, or private home of a state-certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent". The placement of the child is usually arranged through the government or a social-service agency. The institution, group home or foster parent is compensated for expenses. The state will inform through the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions while the foster parent is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor throughout the time the child is in the system.
Gun rights and gun control have long been the topics of popular debate here in US. Strict gun control laws that ban guns/ make them difficult to obtain for law abiding citizens in New York City are not the solution to the problem of violent gun crime. These laws do more harm than good by infringing the rights of and criminalizing law abiding citizens. By not allowing law abiding citizens to defend themselves efficiently, these laws make them ideal targets for the outlaws (Journal of Business and Economic Research). Banning or restricting firearms has no correlation with the number of deaths or suicide (Harvard Journal Of Law and Public Policy). One of the main arguments for strict gun control is that violence should not be met by violence; doing so would only increase it (Civil Liberties Review). They also argue that strict gun control is something that the majority of the population wants hence it is beneficial (New Labor Forum of Murphy Institute). My paper is going to focus mainly on New York, with some discussion of other places.
Nordstrom retail stores have large hallways, and everything is presented in a very classy manner. The color scheme includes pale yellows, whites, and gold, to provide a more elegant appearance in the store in order to make the shopped feel special. The design is also seen through product organization. Compared to stores like Macy’s, which organize their products based on brand, Nordstrom organizes their products based on lifestyle. Because of this, it is easier for shoppers to find clothes similar to their style as opposed to by brand. In effect, shoppers will purchase more products. This also is a type of experiential retailing, where Nordstrom customers are able to experience the elements of their lifestyle within one section. More so, the product presentation will draw people’s eyes to products, even if they are not looking for it. This gives Nordstrom a competitive advantage in relation to other similar retail stores because it makes their store look more glamorous and high-end. While other stores may focus on value, Nordstrom utilizes the retail positioning strategy to make a customer feel more high-end and
Foster care is the planned care for children who cannot live with their birth parents for a period of time (Emerson & Lovitt, 2003). Children in foster care may live with unrelated foster parents, a relative, in a group home, or in residential care. Children who are removed from their home and placed in foster care are often removed due to issues concerning abuse, neglect, parent-child conflict, or physical and/or behavioral problems (Trout, Hagaman, Casey, Reid, & Esptein, 2007). According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS, 2015), on September 30, 2014, approximately 415,000 children were in foster care in the United States; approximately 64% of these children were school-aged.
According to the International Foster Care Organization “Foster care is a way of providing a family life for children who cannot live with their own parents.”(2004) Foster care is supposed to provide temporary care while parents get help dealing with problems, or to help children or young people through a difficult period in their lives. Children will return home once their parents are able to provide a safe enviorment for them. However if parent are unable to resolve the issues that cause their child in foster care their children may stay in long-term foster care, some may be adopted, and others will move on to live independently. (IFCO, 2004) Foster care has been a problem for many years and although there have been many attempts to improve it; it there still seems to be negatively impacting
The foster care program has become such a huge thing worldwide. It can help to provide children homes and families which they would not be able to find otherwise. Foster care programs also offer temporary food, domestic care for children from birth to age eighteen. While programs laws and rules are different from state to state, typically foster care is used by children 's welfare services when a child is identified as having been orphaned, abandoned, abused, or neglected. At the same time though it has a negative impact. The foster care system hurts the structure of the family unit which has existed for centuries. Foster Care has become better and better as time goes on. Before, there would be people who scam the system and it was hard to
JCPenney is a chain of American mid-range department stores that is based out of Texas that started over 100 years ago. JCPenny has been successful for most of its time up until the last three to four years. The company is trying relentlessly to overcome the lingering effects of the makeover that former CEO, Ron Johnson, had implemented in order for the company to take a new direction in hopes of increasing sales. The new CEO, Myron Ullman, has taken a close look into the markets demographic segmentation along with the income segmentation in order to attempt to return the retailer back to its old self, which is to appeal to middle-market customers. A couple issues of major concern for the company are the dissolving of Johnson’s Boutiques, the price of their products, and overall revenue.
Foster care is supervised care for delinquent or neglected children usually in an institution or substitute home. There are many people involved upon placing a neglected child in the foster care system. The children are assigned a social worker who is responsible for a child to have a place to sleep every night. Although the government has this system set up to help children, there are a bountiful amount of flaws in the system, affecting the children in a negative way or circumstance. Due to “ageing out” adolescents are leaving their foster homes and are not able to become fully independent due to their lack of child development , emotional necessities , and lack of stability.
In 1945, Sam Walton opened his first variety store and in 1962, he opened his first Wal-Mart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas. Now, Wal-Mart is expected to exceed “$200 billion a year in sales by 2002 (with current figures of) more than 100 million shoppers a week…(and as of 1999) it became the first (private-sector) company in the world to have more than one million employees.” Why? One reason is that Wal-Mart has continued “to lead the way in adopting cutting-edge technology to track how people shop, and to buy and deliver goods more efficiently and cheaply than any other rival.” Many examples exist throughout Wal-Mart’s history including its use of networks, satellite communication, UPC/barcode adoption and more. Much of the technology that was utilized helped Sam Walton more efficiently track what he originally noted on yellow legal pads. From the very beginning, he wanted to know what the customers purchased, what inventory was selling and what stock was not selling. Wal-Mart now “tracks on an almost instantaneous basis the ordering, shipment, and delivery of literally every item it sells, and that it requires its suppliers to hook into the system, enabling it to track most goods every step of the way from the time they’re made and packaged in the factories to when they’re carried out store doors by shoppers.” “Wal-Mart operates the world’s most powerful corporate computing system, with a capacity (as of late 1999) of more than 100 terabytes of data (A terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes, or roughly the equivalent of 250 million pages of text.).