...Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores Sheila Thomas Webster University Abstract Lowe’s exists to help customers improve and maintain their biggest asset- their home. We do this by meeting the changing needs of our customers by providing inspiration and support whenever and wherever they shop. Whether our customers shop in store, online, by phone, or if we’re meeting them at their home or place of business, Lowe’s is ready to help. In our more than 1,830 stores, we have implemented multiple systems to improve the customer experience, including an upgraded store information technology infrastructure that allows customers and employees to access richer product information, enjoy an endless aisle of product choices and manage their projects from inspiration to enjoyment (Lowe’s.com). Online, we are rapidly expanding our assortments to offer customers a broader range of products that can be researched and purchased online, in store or via our mobile app. MyLowe’s makes it easy for our customers to automatically track and store all purchases on their online customer profile. We’ve vowed to “Never Stop Improving” so we can satisfy the ever-changing needs of our customers (Lowe’s.com). Lowe’s operates more than 1,830 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. We serve approximately 15 million customers each week and employ more than 260,000 people (Lowe’s.com). Our stores stock 12 product categories ranging from appliances and tools, to paint, lumber and nursery...
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...Strategic Audit of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. | Explore Page 1 of 70 Home Blog Contact Site Map Explore Learn. Live. Share. http://www.jacobcamp.com/2011/05/29/strategic-audit-of-lowes-companies-inc/ 5/25/2012 Strategic Audit of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. | Explore Page 2 of 70 Strategic Audit of Lowe’s Companies, I May 29, 2011 | Business Development,ERP,General Business Home » Blog » General Business » Business Development » Strategic Audit of Lowe’s Companies, In Click for PDF: Lowe’s U.S. Strategic Audit Spring 2011 Lowe’s Company, Incorporated is a home improvement retailer that has stores throughout the Unit following report is a student strategic audit for Mike Anderson’s strategic management course at th undergraduate student project team was composed of the following people: Keelie Cox, Alicia Kelly Wu, and myself (Jacob Camp) I. Executive Summary This report critically overviews the U.S. Division of Lowe’s Company, Incorporated. The purpose of accurate and current representation of Lowe’s through research using a variety of sources, method statements, recommendations, or opinions offered herein are only perspectives from the respective state that these aforementioned statements will come to fruition. The current operations, performance, and policies of Lowe’s will most certainly lead the company t the fortunate position to avert disaster. A note of exceptionally good news is that Lowe’s was evalu with a probability...
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...Costco Wholesale Corporation Costco Wholesale Corporation - Financial and Strategic Analysis Review Reference Code: GDRT28577FSA Publication Date: 10-Oct-2014 Company Snapshot Company Overview Key Information Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) is membership warehouses chain operator. The company's product portfolio includes sundries, hardlines, food, softlines, fresh food and ancillary. It offers two types of memberships, namely, business and gold star to its customers. Costco operates gasoline stations in the US and Canada. Costco offers its products online through websites including costco.com in the US and costco.ca in Canada. The company carries out the manufacture of products through Costco Wholesale Industries and operates about 663 warehouses. Geographically, the company operates in various countries including Taiwan, Korea, Mexico, Australia, the UK, Canada and Japan. Costco Wholesale Corporation, Key Information Web Address www.costco.com Financial year-end September Number of Employees 103,000 NASD COST Source : GlobalData Key Ratios Costco Wholesale Corporation, Key Ratios P/E 27.81 EV/EBITDA 18.25 Return on Equity (%) 18.82 SWOT Analysis Debt/Equity 0.48 Costco Wholesale Corporation, SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Operating profit margin (%) 2.90 Diverse Product Mix Dividend Yield 0.01 Dependence on the North American Market Value-Added Services Note: Above ratios...
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...Marketing plan Craftmade International Inc. Marketing Plan Executive Summary With energy prices increasing and an increased interest in sustainability, a market for high efficiency, environmentally friendly lighting has been created. This need can now be cost effectively met with LED lighting technology because of recent advances in LED manufacturing techniques in China combined with maturing LED technology. Currently, no one has successfully entered into the market place to fill this void. Craftmade is well positioned to step forward and fill this void. Recent legislation in Washington has paved the way for increased public uptake of more efficient CFL and LED lighting. While incandescent light bulbs have not been phased out yet, it is important for Craftmade as a lighting appliance manufacturer to lead the way in lighting technologies. Already, competitors such as GE Lumination, and Philips have begun to introduce innovative products that incorporate LED lighting, and have seen large returns as a result. Due to technological advances in LED manufacturing and increased consumer exposure on store shelving, LED light bulbs are increasing in quality and decreasing in price. In order to take advantage of these recent developments in the lighting industry it would behoove Craftmade to adjust current designs or introduce new designs that implement the use of LED technology. The most advantageous opportunity would involve re-introducing current designs with LED capabilities...
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...2013 Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 SWOT Analysis 7 Strategic Alternatives 7 Recommendations 11 Marketing Strategy 11 Marketing Implementation and Control 13 References 14 Executive Summary Where do you go to buy your home improvement supplies? Have you experienced an exceptional home improvement store that meets all your needs and provides exceptional service? If the answer is no, there are several reasons to shop at your nearest Home Depot home improvement store. You can count on the variety of products to choose from while viewing the floor showcase. If you are worried about transportation, we offer truck rentals and service installations so you can sit, enjoy and relax while we do all the work. However, we are going to change the customer experience, our goals and efforts are to change your experience the minute you step into your friendly Home Depot store. You will no longer have to wait for a cashier to answer your question because an expert associate will be available immediately to help guide you and meet your needs during your shopping experience. To help fulfill the new customer service experience, we will enhance our current Mobile App that will provide navigation around the store along with a product information scanner. We hope to improve your families shopping experience by incorporating a “Depot Station” as described in the Marketing Plan to capture a broader market segment including women, family and children. Lastly, we would like to...
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...Overview of the Chapter In an uncertain competitive environment, managers must engage in thorough planning to find strategies that will help their organization to compete effectively. This chapter explores the manager’s role as both planner and as strategist. It discusses various elements of the planning process, different kinds of plans, strategy formulation, and the challenge of strategy implementation. This chapter also contains a detailed explanation of SWOT analysis and Michael Porter’s business level strategies. Learning Objectives 1. Identify the three main steps of the planning process and the relationship between planning and strategy. (LO1) 2. Describe the different levels and types of planning and how they lead to competitive advantage. (LO2) 3. Differentiate between the main types of business-level strategy and explain how they lead to competitive advantage. (LO3) 4. Differentiate between the main types of corporate-level strategies and explain how they are used to strengthen a company’s business-level strategy and competitive advantage. (LO4) MANAGERMENT SNAPSHOT: Different Ways to Compete in the Soft Drink Business To compete in the soft drink industry, both Pepsi and Coke decided to build global brands by manufacturing soft-drink concentrate and selling it in a syrup form to bottlers throughout the world. Pepsi and Coke charge a premium price for the syrup and invest part of the proceeds into advertising to build and maintain...
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...COMPANY BACKGROUND Costco was founded by Jim Sinegal and Seattle entrepreneur Jeff Brotman. Operation of the first store of Costco began in 1983. There were nine Costco stores in five states by end of 1984. Costco became a public company for raising additional fund for business expansion in December 1985.Costco successful to reach one billion dollar in sales in less than six years which make the company the first ever United States (U.S) that reach that huge amount of sales. Costco merge with Price Club in year 1993 and came out with name of PriceCostco. Later, the name was changed to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999.This warehouse club chain have 57 million members. It sales volumes only based on its members as it only open to their members and guests. Costco is the fourth largest retailer in the US and is the seventh largest in the world. Currently, Costco holding market share or in other words industry standing of US and Canada is about 55% . Whereas its close competitor Sam's Club market share is about 36% and 9% by BJ’s Wholesale Club. Costco offer tremendously lower price products with good quality and branded name. The price which are offer by Costco much lower compare to other conventional wholesale or retail that sell similar items and products. Profit generated by the company from its membership fees is about one billion with E- commerce sales contributing about five hundred and thirty four million. It was estimated that the renewal rate of the card...
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...CHAPTER 1 Foundations of Strategic Marketing Management The primary purpose of marketing is to create long-term and mutually beneficial exchange relationships between an entity and the publics (individuals and organizations) with which it interacts. Though this fundamental purpose of marketing is timeless, the manner in which organizations undertake it continues to evolve. No longer do marketing managers function solely to direct day-to-day operations; they must make strategic decisions as well. This elevation of marketing perspectives to a strategic position in organizations has resulted in expanded responsibilities for marketing managers. Increasingly, they find themselves involved in charting the direction of the organization and contributing to decisions that will create and sustain a competitive advantage and affect long-term organizational performance. The transition of the marketing manager from being only an implementer to being a maker of organization strategy has resulted in (1) the creation of the chief marketing officer (CMO) position in many organizations and (2) the popularity of strategic marketing management as a course of study and practice. Today, almost onehalf of Fortune 1000 companies have a CMO. Although responsibilities vary across companies, a common expectation is that a CMO will assume a leadership role in defining the mission of the business; analysis of environmental, competitive, and business situations; developing business objectives and goals;...
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...EMBA [1] “Best Buy Corporation: Strategic Management Analysis” S. Bensen, A. El Haddi, K. Fitzsimmons, A. Hussein, H. Marotske Strategic Management University of St Thomas, College of Business Executive MBA program, Cohort 62 Abstract Best Buy’s news coverage of the last few years has been consistently negative. The company’s performance and reputation suffered greatly. Its Earnings per Share fell by more than 200% in 2012 alone. These negative events were the result of governance problems, a changing market landscape (cloud computing, music streaming, online purchasing, online gaming, etc.) and a significant leadership turnover in a period of crisis. The company’s value stream is in a state of flux and could be said to be a master of none at this time. This paper presents strategies to deal with these problems by creating a strategic road map that will first stabilize Best Buy and eventually put it on a growth path. As a result of our analysis, we recommend that the company employs new strategies that include growing its online business by capitalizing on Geek- Squad’s expertise and exploring an internal fix-it strategy with the development of a compelling mission and vision. Finally, we recommend that BB explore the formation of an alliance with its rivals and leverage opportunities presented by new markets. 1. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to examine Best Buy’s (BB) strategies using SWOT, TOWS and value stream analysis. It proposes business strategies that...
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...influences B: Social Influences C: Personal factors 2. Maryanne purchases Maxwell House coffee every two weeks from the grocery. What is this type of behavior an example of? A: Routinized Problem Solving B: Limited problem solving C: Extended problem solving 3. Aaron does research on several local colleges before applying to his first three choices. This is an example of: A: High – involvement purchase decision B: Low – involvement purchase decision Marketing Plans Reading: Contemporary Marketing: Chapter 2 + Ch. 2 Appendix Web sites: http://www.jpec.org/handouts/jpec33.pdf http://www.netmba.com/marketing/process/ Questions: 1. Strategies are designed to meet objectives. Tactics are designed to implement strategies. Are tactics designed to be long-term actions? A: Yes B: No 2. Ralph’s Jelly Rolls are experiencing a decrease in market share. He is thinking about creating a new product to help gain market share. Should he perform a competitive analysis? A: No B: Yes Marketing Strategies Reading: Contemporary...
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...Copyright Copyright © 2012 Joan Magretta All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu, or mailed to Permissions, Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02163. ISBN: 978-1-4221-6059-6 By his example, Arthur Rosin, my uncle, taught me the pleasures of understanding and explaining. This book is dedicated to him, to Betty Rosin, and to my parents, Cyrille and Eugene Gorin. Contents Copyright Acknowledgments Introduction Part One: What Is Competition? 1. Competition: The Right Mind-Set 2. The Five Forces: Competing for Profits 3. Competitive Advantage: The Value Chain and Your P&L Part Two: What Is Strategy? 4. Creating Value: The Core 5. Trade-offs: The Linchpin 6. Fit: The Amplifier 7. Continuity: The Enabler Epilogue: A Short List of Implications FAQs: An Interview with Michael Porter A Porter Glossary: Key Concepts Chapter Notes and Sources About the Author Acknowledgments The Michael Porter I know is first and foremost a gifted teacher. If this book succeeds in helping readers understand Porter’s ideas in their full richness, it is thanks in large measure to his encouragement, his guidance, and his patience in explaining...
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...business decisions. It will landscape, also aid the student’s understanding of the role and impact of management and explain the importance of employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention. Keywords: Circuit City, Five S’s, customer service, product differentiation, competitive ity, landscape, employee retention, Alan McCollough, Philip Schoonover, layoff, Chapter 11 bankruptcy Rise and fall, Page 1 Journal of Business Cases and Applications INTRODUCTION history This case covers the time period in Circuit City’s history between the decision of CEO Alan McCollough to halt the sale of appliances in 2000 and the decision of CEO Philip Schoonover to lay off 3,400 employees in 2007 The case also highlights the importance of 2007. sound strategic business decisions, target marketing, and customer input. Moreover, the case points to the need for a retailer in such a competitive marketplace, with both brick brick-and-mortar and online competitors, to find its c competitive advantage and adhere to it. Differentiation and customer...
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...services such as Installation service and Pro & Tool Rental service. Home Depot offers installation service to complete home renovation service by their contractors for a wide range of products. Home Depot offers repair and remodel tool to their customers. These services include a contractor loyalty program (Contractor Plus) and an on-site tool rental department (Home Depot, 2015). The project objective is to establish a good marketing plan for the whole organization which includes internal and external analysis. COUNTRIES The Home Depot operates in the USA, Canada, Mexico, China, United Kingdom and South America. The company has it’s headquarter at the Georgia, in Greater Atlanta. Home Depot Canada is the Canadian unit of the Home Depot and one of Canada's top home improvement retailers. The Canadian operation consists of 180 stores and employs over 35,000 people in Canada. Home Depot Canada has stores in all ten Canadian provinces and serves territorial Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon through electronic means (Online sales). SWOT...
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...Chapter 1 Strategic Leadership: Managing the Strategy-Making Process for Competitive Advantage Opening Case Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is one of the most extraordinary success stories in business history. Started in 1962 by Sam Walton, Wal-Mart has grown to become the world’s largest corporation. In the financial year ending January 31, 2004, the discount retailer whose mantra is “every day low prices” had sales of nearly $256 billion, five thousand stores in ten countries (almost three thousand are in the United States), and 1.3 million employees. Some 8 percent of all retail sales in the United States are made at a Wal-Mart store. Wal-Mart is not only large but also very profitable. In 2003, the company earned a return on invested capital of 14.7 percent, significantly better than rivals Costco and Target, which earned 9.4 percent and 10 percent, respectively (another major rival, Kmart, emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2004). As shown in the accompanying figure, Wal-Mart has been consistently more profitable than its rivals for years. Wal-Mart’s superior profitability reflects a competitive advantage that is based on the successful implementation of a number of strategies. In 1962 Wal-Mart was one of the first companies to apply the self-service supermarket business model developed by grocery chains to general merchandise (two of its rivals, Kmart and Target, were established in the same year). Unlike its rivals, who focused on urban and suburban locations, Sam Walton’s Wal-Mart...
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...gerry JoHnson KeVan sCHoles rICHard WHIttIngton Fundamentals oF strategy ACCESS CODE INSIDE unlock valuable online learning resources Once opened this pack cannot be returned for a refund Welcome to FUNDAMENTALS OF STRATEGY Strategy is a fascinating subject. It’s about the overall direction of all kinds of organisations, from multinationals to entrepreneurial start-ups, from charities to government agencies, and many more. Strategy raises the big questions about these organisations – how they grow, how they innovate and how they change. As a manager of today or of tomorrow, you will be involved in influencing, implementing or communicating these strategies. Our aim in writing Fundamentals of Strategy is to give you a clear understanding of the fundamental issues and techniques of strategy, and to help you get a great final result in your course. Here’s how you might make the most of the text: ● Focus your time and attention on the fundamental areas of strategy in just 10 carefully selected chapters. Read the illustrations and the case examples to clarify your understanding of how the concepts of strategy translate into an easily recognisable, real-world context. Follow up on the recommended readings at the end of each chapter. They’re specially selected as accessible and valuable sources that will enhance your learning and give you an extra edge in your course work. KEY CONCEPT AUDIO SUMMARY ● ● Also, look out for the Key Concepts and Audio Summary icons...
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