Case Discussion Questions According to the principles of retail strategy how did Sears once become the nation’s biggest retailer? The Sears of the past was once America’s greatest retail power because they were boundless in meeting their customer’s needs. This can be considered through the company’s marketing mix (4Ps): Product – variation in products, superior domestic and general brands, goods for all shoppers. Sears sells everything except sustenance. Place – availability and comfort. Made its fortune as a list retailer, giving availability in a period when fixes had not extended to all business sectors. At that point, it infiltrated the U.S. commercial centre as an anchor store in pretty much every shopping centre – the place to shop …show more content…
If the company can move from decaying to sustaining to the overperforming and profits exceed revenue by not just a fraction then “yes” they can be “saved”. However, even to accomplish this, it will take uncommon procedures, far more noteworthy than the present "U-turn" design states. The online activities are extraordinary, however won't give enough development or benefit to turn things around in time. The stripping of Sears units requires needed interim money, however that will run out eventually, particularly because some of these sell-offs were doing great. To put it plainly Lampert's portfolio administration methodology isn't working and he needs to either give up his shares or higher the right people that knows what they are doing instead of taking the place as CEO after you four previously CEOs lefts. Plainly Lampert's portfolio administration methodology isn't working. Sears needs a solid retail policy, established in reinforcing the brand and fortifying client connections. No doubt Lampert will never have the capacity to give that. Furthermore, given that he controls the organization and will probably not supplant or fire himself, the future does not seem bright for
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...
“Sears is the leading retailer in home appliance, tools, lawn and garden, electronics, and automotive repair and maintenance. They are also the largest home service provider and answers over 11 million service c...
This goal of this analysis is to shadow some light on K-Mart and Target and with the help of extensive research. In this analysis we can find out what each company can do, where they lack and what has to be done in order to keep the company profitable and alive. Thus, we will try to look at the Target wholly and then it will identify a successful business strategy and thus show that the strategy has moved the Target into one of such leaders in the industry. When we will take a look at K-Mart and then we will move on the identification of a failed business strategy and then show that the strategy has been holding this company at the back. After that we will try to perform a cross- case analysis by contrasting and comparing the case studies on the points of difference and the parity. This will help us in looking at a side by side difference of a SWOT analysis and also the five force analysis.
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 purpose of this memo is to show the affects of how Albertson’s is trying to implement many strategies in order to try, and compete with its powerhouse competitor Wal-Mart. This memo will contain information on steps Albertson’s is taking to gain back some of the market share that Wal-Mart has swallowed up. It will also describe Albertson’s planned innovations that will be what determines their success. Lastly it will discuss how through IT as well as a successful implementation of satisfying consumers demands, will possibly allow them to compete with the ever so powerful Wal-Mart.
In general merchandise retailing, Wal-Mart’s primary competitors are Target and Kmart. Retail superstores such as Circuit City and Bed, Bath, and Beyond, also provide retail competition. A survey found that the majority of respondents favored Wal-Mart over stores like Target and Kmart. Respondents claimed Wal-Mart offered lower prices, better variety and selection, and good quality. The needs of consumers is an important economic feature in all competitive environments. What attributes (price, variety, quality, etc.) prompt buyers to choose one retailer over another is very important in the competitive landscape.
In 2002, CEO of Levi Strauss, Phil Marineau was faced with a tough decision: whether he should sell product at Wal-Mart. In the last five years, Levi-Strauss had lost sales and had to close US plants to move production to cheaper offshore areas. Levi's really needed to revive the brand image to gain back some lost sales and was using marketing to create new advertisements and product placement to broaden their target market. Levi's had tough competition on every level of the price-point spectrum, whether it be high end retailers like Diesel or Calvin Klein, middle vertically integrated retailers like Gap or American Eagles, and on the bottom, private-label brands like Wal-Mart and Target.
On January 22, 2002, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection becoming the largest retailer ever to do so in U.S. history. Most industry analysts attributed the immediate cause of the company's bankruptcy filing to a dull holiday season and stiff competition from WalMart and Target as the chain's more fundamental problem. But competition wasn't the root cause of Kmart's consistently poor performance. The real reason for Kmart's poor performance is that Kmart never had a marketing strategy. Kmart completely misunderstood its market and was positioning itself in the wrong direction. Also, on the strategic side, there are issues of where stores were located. On the whole, Kmart stores did not seem to be sited as well as the stores of the competition. Then there was the issue of technology. While Wal-Mart was becoming the relentless efficiency engine that we know today by investing in technology and streamlining the supply chain, Kmart held back. As Wal-Mart developed an infrastructure that enabled it to lower prices, Kmart slipped into a price disadvantage. This paper discusses these strategic problems that led to Kmart's poor performance.
By the 1980s, just before the rise of Wal-Mart, Kmart had become complacent. It believed it would be the king of discount retailing, now and forever. It didn't perform an accurate SWOT analysis, but to be fair, who could have seen the rise of Wal-Mart to the position of the world's number-one retailer? Still, as Wal-Mart built new stores in town after town, supported by cutthroat pricing and solid logistics, Kmart's complacency would cost them. Part of the problem was that as Wal-Mart was pouring money into information technology (IT), Kmart's IT budget continued to shrink – not just once, but several years in a row. While Wal-Mart's logistics and supply chain management got sharper, Kmart's stagnated. And while Wal-Mart was able to squeeze more value out of its stores and its systems, Kmart lost ground. By the time Kmart had finally decided to start devoting more resources to IT, it was so far behind Wal-Mart that catching up would have been a near-impossible task without the recession in the early part of this decade. With the effects of the recession taken into account, Kmart instead was consigned to also-ran status among discount retailers.
Our Strategic Issue for SHC is, "How can Sears Holdings Corporation strengthen Kmart's position and regain its competitive advantage? Our recommendations are as follows: 1. Differentiation Strategy: Appeal to low and middle income families with children, Quality clothing and decorating store. 2. Stable & Effective Management: Retention, Value Chain Analysis: Supply Chain, Inventory Control (Product Selection), Technology (Reserve), Overall Consistency, Continue Value Adding Strategic Alliances, Similar to alliance with Joe Boxer. 3. Continue to Evaluate Store Portfolio, Focus on owning more/ Premium space. 4. Meet Customer Expectations, Customer Service, and Continuous Research & Development.
Therefore, Sears Holding Corporation failed to reach the needs of current and future customers and the fads of society. Both organizations have struggled with offering outdated brands, merchandise, and store layouts. Further, there was little to no attempt to rebrand any part of their organization.
The key issues for K-Mart strategies are finding the right cost level for an opportunity to be aggressive, and differentiating the product for consumer in terms of different consumer and different intangible product attributes. K-Mart and Sears should be combined with a new overall corporate competitive strategy using a cost focus. This may turn out to be the only sensible strategy, and the one which best describes the strategy adopted. Strategies of cost leadership and product differentiation are often described as if they were mutually exclusive you can either pursue one or the other, but not both.
Sears began as a small retailer but as the years have gone by, they have become
Penney's approach to strategy is best measured using a SWOT analysis, which maps out the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. For instance, J.C. Penney's strengths include a strong liquidity position, an efficient supply chain, and a broad product and service offering. J.C. Penney's liquidity position grew to lend the industry from 2014 to 2015 (J.C. Penney Company, Inc., 2015). Strong liquidity against its competitors provides J.C. Penney with an advantage while funding any potential opportunity that arises in the market. Its supply chain facilitates the flow of goods between two thousand four hundred domestic and foreign suppliers, distributors, and stores (J.C. Penney Company, Inc., 2015). Its efficiency enables J.C. Penney to generate higher margins, which allows for lower prices for customers. Moreover, it allows the business to operate in a cost effective manner. The broad product and service offerings help the company serve the diverse needs and preferences of its customers. J.C. Penney also has the largest apparel, home furnishing, and general merchandise catalog in the United States (J.C. Penney Company, Inc.,
In the Grocery industry today there are 4 major companies that dominate the United States market share; Kroger, Safeway, Super value and Publix. With the competitive advantage of being the largest stores in the industry these retail giants should have competition at a minimum and should be thriving (Farfan, US Largest Retail Supermarkets - Complete List). The application of Porter’s Five Forces that influence an industry shows that these retailers do have many advantages but being vulnerable in even one of the areas can make a significant difference in market share and profitability.