Macy’s Operations Management for 2016
Background
Macy’s is one of the America’s largest retailers – a department chain which sells a variety of low-cost to mid-range goods such as apparel, shoes, household goods, home décor and appliances, cosmetics, jewelry, and accessories. Established by Rowland Hussey Macy in New York in 1858, the store has become an iconic name to mane generations of Americans. Macy’s operates about 730 physical stores, as well as available online at www.macys.com and through a mobile application (Macy’s, 2016a). The department chain also operates the Bloomingdale’s, an upscale department store chain, where more upscale and fashionable offerings are sold. Macy’s operates 38 Bloomingdale’s stores and 16 outlet locations,
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According to the 2015 Macy’s Annual Report and Form 10-K, Macy’s saw a decline in net sales from $28.1 billion in 2014 to $27.08 billion (3.65%) in 2015 which decreased its net income from $1,526 billion to $1,072 billion (p. 14). There are many risk factors that affect profitability of the company such as: competition from other physical and online retailers, consumer preferences and consumer spending, unfavorable economic and political conditions, seasonal nature of business, extreme weather conditions, regional or global disasters or pandemics, changes in interest rates, increases in costs of employee benefits, inability to access capital markets, ability to attract and retain quality employees, dependency on supply networks, product safety concerns, success of advertising and marketing efforts, disruptions to computer systems, and legal and regulatory changes. Macy’s requires new approaches to affect consumer experience and draw them away from other retailers through innovations and more exclusive merchandise. Macy’s introduced 40,000 Internet-compatible terminals that allow shoppers to search for merchandise while in store, initiated digital marketing efforts such as a 360-degree view of customer shopping habits, and developed digital mannequin applications and virtual fitting rooms. Most importantly, our group suggests that Macy’s needs to concentrate on the development of mobile applications and other digital initiatives which result in changes to operations management, process analysis, capacity planning, project and quality management, inventory management, lean systems, demand forecasting, and consumer preferences forecasting. Productivity should be measured on the regular basis using best practices and compared against sales goals. Gantt chart can be used for project scheduling and performance monitoring. The
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
This nationally recognized mass merchandiser that stood as Kohl’s other leading adversary in the market has everyday low prices that were able to compete with Kohl’s promotional events. Wal-Mart also outdid their competition when it came to number of store locations around the country. The weaknesses of this reputable company come to light when shoppers are looking to buy clothes and are not presented with nearly the selection that the department store can offer. Also, their service is not considered to be as helpful as the department stores that can input more expertise when trying on
The retail industry has always been a very competitive environment when dealing with sales and maintaining up to date with the current trends. Ross Stores has become one of the most successful companies in the apparel business since established in 1982 by Stuart Moldaw. (Ross Stores, Inc. History, n.d.). Although there is much competition out there, Ross is different from other retail stores. The reason for this is that Ross acquires most of their merchandise comes from their competitors, such as name brand department stores who ordered too much of an item and have decided not to sell it anymore. The overstock then results in in a loss of money for this company which in turn becomes a gain for Ross since the items are sold to Ross at a low price.
After reading the article, “Why 62,000 Abercrombie & Fitch Employees Are Suing The Company,” there were two different problems that were brought to attention regarding Abercrombie & Fitch’s business ethics. The two problems were the mistreatment of their employees, and how their business marketing strategy is not well developed throughout their company. Abercrombie & Fitch is a company that has always been concerned about their image, which leads us to their, “look policy.” A “look policy” is a policy that relates to a certain look every employee has to follow to be eligible to work there. The company is facing a high-profile lawsuit over its, “look policy” (Greenhouse, 2015). Each employee is forced to purchase the company’s clothes to wear to work, each time a new sales guide comes out (Greenhouse, 2015). This is known as compelled purchases, which is a violation of the state’s labor codes (Greenhouse, 2015). They force the “look policy,” way too strong upon their employees, which developed into a huge problem. The company is facing a high-profile lawsuit
Nordstrom can continue providing their exceptional online experience and client focused approach using their online system by offering an unmatched online experience that copies their in-store customer service. This would allow Nordstrom to raise its revenue considerably as well as further improving their brand image. I will also discuss specific ways of successful execution, and the steps required to provide Nordstrom a stunning picture of how to execute strategy.
J. Crew, also known as J. Crew Group Inc., is a private label company known for its preppy fashions that are fashionable yet costly. Essentially, the company was owned by the Cinader family for most of its history. Mitchell Cinader and Saul Charles founded the company in 1947. It was originally known as Popular Merchandise Inc. doing business as the Popular Club Plan, in which Mitchell’s son Arthur was the overseer. The company sold women’s clothing through in-home demonstrations. In the early 1980’s, Cinader and Charles observed catalog retailers such as Land’s End, Talbots and L.L. Bean reporting rising sales in revenue. With intentions to increase sales and duplicate success of these well known companies, Popular Club Plan began its own catalog (http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/j-crew-group-inc-history/).
Facts of the Case: In 2008, Samantha Elauf applied for a job at Abercrombie & Fitch, Inc., who as part of their “Look Policy” prohibit the use of caps. Elauf, as part of her religious practice, wore a headscarf to the interview. She was interviewed by assistant manager Heather Cooke, who gave her a score that qualified her to be hired. Cooke, however, was worried that Elauf’s headscarf was against the store’s policy and called her district manager Randall Johnson. She informed Johnson of her belief that Elauf wore her headscarf because of her religion, and Johnson replied that headwear whether it was religious or not violated the “Look Policy” of the store. Elauf with the help of the EEOC sued Abercrombie on the grounds of religious discrimination. The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an agency established by the government of the United States that imposes federal laws that make it
The case was between Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc in 2006. The case started on Feb 25, 2015, and came to final decision on Jun 1, 2015. The facts of the case can be summarized to the Abercrombie & Fitch Co has drawn criticism for not hiring a Muslim woman because of her headscarf. The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Muslim woman, who was sued for discrimination after being denied a sales job at an Abercrombie & Fitch Co clothing store in Oklahoma for religious reasons.
The company 's stores under the Bloomingdale 's brand offer high-end customers an assortment of established brands such as Armani, Burberry, Christian Dior..." (Bailey, 2015). "Macy 's target consumers include Millennials (and) the company has launched several collections aimed at Millenials" (Bailey, 2015). Macy 's plans to shape its products according to customer 's ethnicity and race. The company plans to enter the Hispanic fashion market, as "Hispanics account for about 17% of the US population" (Bailey, 2015). Macy 's launched a strategy known as the My Macy 's strategy. Through the My Macy 's strategy the company styles products at each of its current stores to the needs of its customers. The My Macy’s localization strategy is a focus strategy used by Macy’s, Inc. Through this strategy the company targets specific consumers by tailoring its products and inventory to the customer’s needs. "It is a localization tactic which accelerates the sales of its stores" (Schoneberger, 2012). Analysts at Boston Consulting Group have advised that Millennials, individuals between the ages of 16 and 34, will account for $1.3 trillion in annual
Aéropostale, Inc. is a mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories, principally targeting 11 to 18 year-old young women and men. The company provides customers with a focused selection of high-quality, active-oriented, fashion basic merchandise at convincing values. Aéropostale maintains control over its proprietary brands by designing, marketing and selling all of its own merchandise. Aéropostale products are currently purchased only in its stores, on-line thorough its website (www.aeropostale.com) or at organized sales events at college campuses. The first Aéropostale store was opened in 1987 and as of June 2006 has over 700 stores nationwide.
Case Study: Victoria's Secret OVERVIEW Victoria's Secret, one of the world's most recognizable fashion brands, established itself in the Bay Area in the early 1970s. Originally owned by an ambitious Stanford graduate looking for a comfortable and high-end retailer to buy his wife lingerie, Roy Raymond opened the first store at Stanford Shopping Center. Styled after a Victorian boudoir, Raymond's success prompted him to open three other locations, a catalog business, and a corporate headquarters within a few years. His inability to balance finances with his creative vision, Roy Raymond fell into trouble and was forced to sell his company for the small sum of $1 million dollars to The Limited, an Ohio-based conglomerate owned by Les Wexner.
The last dimension discussed is the environment. The scores for environment are quite close and even exceed that of other sustainable businesses. Jury (2015) indicated that Michaels Stores Inc. is an arts and crafts store, most of their products are made from paper and there might be other products that contain substances that will be harmful to the people if not properly disposed. Therefore there is a facility where products from paper and cardboard are disposed of properly. Also there is a company that comes in to take away harmful chemicals and dispose of them accordingly.
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.
“Give the customers what they want, when and where they want it.” Joe C. Thompson Jr. Seven Eleven Founder. 7-Eleven is a global chain of convenience stores, based out of Dallas, Texas. As of now they have around 58.308 stores in 16 nations worldwide, the majority of them are franchises. They are for the most part centered on offering essential nourishment things, pharmaceutical and toiletries and magazines and whatnot, yet this all relies upon their host country itself. Their central stores are situated all through the Untied States and Asia. They supply a enormous mixture of client needs, 24 hours a day 7 times a week in many areas. There achieve, limit and administration have made 7-Eleven one of the greatest and most beneficial
In the case of Dayton Hudson Corporation, the company fell into a situation of a hostile takeover attempted by the Dart Group in 1987. At that time, Kenneth Macke was the CEO of the Dayton Hudson Corporation and sternly disagreed with letting the company fall into the hands of the Haft’s. Macke’s decision on what could be done to terminate the takeover turned the circumstances over to the hands of the state of Minnesota where Dayton Hudson’s headquarters resided. Macke requested a special session of the legislature to revisit the Minnesota corporate takeovers statute. This proved to work in Dayton Hudson’s favor and a statute was enacted that left the decision of a takeover up to the Board of Directors of the company.