Soundness Analysis • Suitability: Hertz has several potential opportunities and threats that it can face as a car rental company. Some of the opportunities include growth through strategic acquisitions. For instance, Hertz acquired Advantage Rent a Car in 2009 and Dollar Thrifty in 2012. With their Hertz brand, Hertz can target business travelers and upscale leisure travelers while also targeting cost-conscious leisure travelers with their Dollar Thrifty brand (IBISWorld, 2014). Hertz also acquired the remaining 35% stake in Navigation Solutions, which is the operational arm of Hertz 's NeverLost customized, in car GPS system, allowing them to add a GPS system into every car they own (Company Profile, 2013). A competitive response to these …show more content…
Hertz understands their challenges, but their strategy of increasing market share through acquisitions, product innovations, and variety of cars makes sense when it comes to intense …show more content…
They have over 11,555 worldwide rental car locations and are at the point where they can cover their short-term liabilities with cash flow from their operations. Hertz’s adjusted earnings per share increased 77.1% meaning that their market value has increased. Their revenues increased by 34%, while they had a cumulative cost savings of $3 billion (Hertz Annual Report, 2013). This demonstrates that Hertz has the financial resources and the access to markets that they need. Hertz has successfully integrated their ExpressRent kiosks in more than 48 markets and their eReturn option for Hertz Gold loyalty program members, in which they have the ability to choose the Hertz ‘Fuel Purchase Value Option’ that lets them automatically buy a full tank at the start of the rental, so they can turn in the car with the gas at any level and not have to worry about filling up on the way to the
How could Curtis Automotive Hoist (CAH) maintain its fast growth and prestigious brand image with expanded market share given its limited financial and human resources? Should it adopt a market penetration strategy in US or should it follow a market development strategy and expand to Europe? If it adopts the market penetration strategy, should it approach the US market through the establishment of a sales office or through enhanced joint efforts with its current distributor? If entering Europe is desired, should CAH start with licensing or joint venture agreement with Bar Maisse or through direct investment?
One of them that I suggest for CarMax is only focusing on used cars, not new-cars. As it shows in Exhibit2, selling new cars does not affect that much to CarMax. Used cars and wholesale cars are what customers usually looking for in CarMax. So I recommend CarMax to eliminate the new car selling but more focus on used cars business. The competitor, AutoNation, is focusing on new-car franchises after they closed other businesses, rental business and the used car. As AutoNation decided to focus its strategy only on the new-car franchises and have been succeeded, CarMax could only focus its strategy on used car selling which possibly help to save the money from purchasing the new-cars and get more profits from used-cars and wholesale cars. Another alternative is adding more stores. In Exhibit 9b, it demonstrated that CarMax has the smallest number of stores among the other competitors. However, the Sales per Store of CarMax, 95 million, is higher than the rest of the competitors. Thus, if CarMax decide to build more stores nationwide as they thought they should, the profit of CarMax will increase in several
The single most important problem faced by Olympic rent a car is that other competitors, like Enterprise, are aggressively trying to become the leading car rental service by implementing a stronger rewards program. The primary cause of this problem is that Enterprise made a dollar based loyalty program, the fear is that Enterprise will capture more of a business traveler market and take away customers from Olympic. To address this problem the company should match Enterprises loyalty program incentives to target business customers, this will help Olympic stay relevant in the rental market and capture business customers.
According to a recent study by Polk, a global automotive market intelligence firm, the average age of all light vehicles on US roads is at an all-time high of 11.4 years. That compares to an average age of 8.4 and 9.6 years, respectively, in 1995 and 2002. In addition, Polk expects the trend to continue through 2016, while prices of vehicles in operation (VIO) decline providing greater incentive for customers to purchase used rather than new. The shift gives way to significant opportunities for certain automotive aftermarket se...
This was noted as a bold endeavor with a substantial amount of risk. Tom Folliard, the CEO of CarMax used innovation to redirect the current trend of standard practices, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). Through expansion, CarMax provided a wide variety of automotive brands to their customers, not limiting their sales to only a few makes and models, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). CarMax also eliminated the past practices of pressure sales by establishing fixed prices. The Team agreed that CarMax had gained a competitive edge in the market by catering to the consumer through a variety of products with set prices and no sales pressure. AutoNation CEO, Wayne Huizenga was noted as quite the entrepreneur with an initial focus on Waste Management and Block Buster Videos, an example of fragmented industry, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). This diversity definitely has its advantages, but can lead to misdirection regarding sustainability in one industry. The team noted similarities between the CEO’s regarding their creativity and defiance of industry rules. As the team compared the different strategies of CarMax and AutoNation, we noticed two different methods of application, each were effective yet differed in application. In a bold move, AutoNation, under new CEO Mike Jackson, followed the CarMax strategy of implementing set prices and eliminating high-pressure sales, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). Through creative thinking, AutoNation improved upon their practices by implementing Smart Choice software, which enhanced customer satisfaction by reducing transaction times, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). AutoNation captured the competitive edge over CarMax by catering to the automotive manufactures with a focus on brand versus variety, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). The
FreshDirect is an online grocery store who delivers groceries to customers who reside in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and parts of Connecticut. FreshDirect was launched in July 2001 with a promise to deliver the freshest foods to consumers for the best price. FreshDirect claims that, “their food is fresh and their customers are spoiled.” FreshDirect has been able to charge their customers the best prices by cutting out the middleman and acquiring their goods from local suppliers. The State of New York welcomes FreshDirect with open arms, along with them tax breaks and abatements because of the 300+ permanent full time jobs it has accounted for since their launch. FreshDirect’s CEO Jason Ackerman and partner Joseph Fedele envisioned the entrepreneurial opportunities for an online grocery store and set their sights high with a steady growth plan, the use of off-the-shelf software, automated delivery
Charles Hughes, president and CEO of Land Rover North America (LRNA), and his executive committee want to expand LRNA’s reach within North America. Based on the growing strength of the U.S. SUV market, research which suggests consumers are seeking vehicles that can help them have “experiences” while being practical, safe, reliable and luxurious, the success of the Discovery in the U.K. and near doubling of the Land Rover brand worldwide, LNRA is seeking to become the “world’s premier 4x4 specialty company” through effective brand, product and retail strategies. LNRA’s success hinges on making the correct positioning, marketing mix and retailing decisions.
GM should continue to use its technological advantages to create innovative automobiles, but do so cautiously. GM should follow the direction of today’s environmentally conscious consumers who want less expensive, economical automobiles. GM should primarily utilize a cooperative game-theory approach in its sales and marketing strategies in order to stay in sync with the current automotive industry needs.
...egic alliances with automakers in Japan and in the United States to help fund these charging stations. With a further development of infrastructure, the Nissan Leaf and other electric vehicles will become the future of transportation. Although sales are not what Nissan had expected, with a few changes, Nissan could meet those objectives in the near future. Nissan has very effectively acknowledged the weaknesses and potential threats facing the Nissan Leaf and made valuable changes that will benefit their company in the long run. They have also effectively recognized the strengths and opportunities of the Nissan Leaf available and have taken a competitive advantage over their rising competitors. Nissan has adequately applied a number of changes that will ultimately result in an increase in sales of electric vehicles all over the world, especially the Nissan Leaf.
In the recent past, Tesla has been noted as a great competitor in the automotive industry. This is attributed to its three huge competitive advantages. Generally, the advantage lies in its ability to bring about innovative disruption in the industry. This include; a strong battery supply chain that is sustainable in itself, a supercharger network celebrated by the customers and a software system several leagues ahead of its competitors (Zach, 2015).
In 2000, Kia continues to sell a wide range of vehicles. They target a wide range of needs by offering less expensive economic ...
Another strategy used by BMW to differentiate itself from other automakers in the market is the proactive usage of technology and innovativeness in the development of products. From the early 1990’s, BMW has been on the forefront of incorporating technology in its designs in line with the technological advances of the modern world. This has led to the creation of inventive products. The uniqueness of these auto products put BMW in a position of advantage. The development of the hydrogen car as early as 2000 was an indicator of the company’s innovative strategy. In addition, the company also presents itself as environment friendly creating a whole range of vehicles in this category. This is a differentiation strategy meant to boost the company’s image and reputation amongst customers. In addition, this gives the environment conscious customers a variety of products to choose from giving BMW an upper hand in the industry.
With product and service initiatives (Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, and NeverLost) as well as unique cars and SUVs offerings through Adrenaline, Prestige, Green Traveler and Dream Car Collections. These initiatives are what set Hertz apart from its competitors. Advantage Rent A Car is the low cost provider and they differentiate through offerings such as high level customer service through technological innovations such as the streamlined rental stations that bring the rental agent closer to the customer making the service experience more individualized. Hertz introduced more than 750 video kiosks featuring a live rental representative that allows customers to talk face-to-face and complete their rentals without waiting in line (Hertz Annual Report, 2013). Furthermore, Hertz set up “Road Trip” retail stores that provide customers with road trip supplies such as food and mobile device accessories. The best-cost strategy aids Hertz in establishing itself as a top competitor while providing its customers quality services and products at relatively low prices in comparison to its
As stated, the Toyota brand has and will continue to maintain a competitive advantage due to the quality of their product. They are able to charge a premium price while still utilizing the differentiation strategy. Their customer service is even superior to others. From a personal experience, I have enjoyed the small things, such as my dealership interactions, especially with Lexus, over a company such as Ford. Although miniscule to some, their kindness, helpfulness, and even additional resources within the waiting area make you proud to be
This report provides an analysis and evaluation of strategy implementation used by California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) and discusses the effectiveness of their strategy through organization design, control systems, people and culture. My research concluded that CPK relies on control systems to undertake a majority of the company’s operational activities and that human resources and organizational culture must support the strategy implemented, which it does in in the case of CPK.