Premium Essay

Staples Case Study

In:

Submitted By Cholthiong
Words 322
Pages 2
Introduction:

Staples is the largest office supply retailer in the United States. Founded in 1985 in Brighton Massachusetts, Staples has grown to operate 1,575 stores and 58 distribution centers in the US with and an additional 387 stores and 66 distributions centers across the globe.

Current Mission Goals and Strategy:

Staples mission is “to make it easy to buy office products”.¹ By utilizing its “Staples Soul” program, the company aims to provide exceptional value, selection and customer service.

INTERNAL ANALYSIS:

Staples is a strong company with an IFEM score of 2.64

Finance
Staples has a weak financial rating despite its overall strong IFEM rating. In looking at valuation ratios, Staples does look pretty good if you were looking to invest in this industry. Although Staples is performing well below the industry in P/E Ratio (9.11 vs. 14.5) they do have a lower price to cash, price to book and price to sales ratios and they are paying higher dividends (3.45 vs. 1.80) when compared to the industry. These indicators do paint a more favorable picture for investors.
This fact does not offset some of the weaker financial indicators. Even though their 5 year growth rate is nearly double the industry (6.82 vs. 3.86), recent growth rates are very alarming as they measuring far below the industry average (-1.10 vs. 5.11). This is especially concerning because it shows growth in the industry but a retraction for Staples. Total debt to equity looks okay when measured against the industry (28.70 vs. 41.35) but margins are just over half if the industry average (26.91 vs. 49.85). Add to these weak indicators the excessive amount of goodwill ($4 billion) and Staples must be evaluated as a weak financial company.
A shrinking retail market along with a shift to digital are major factors in Staples weakened financial status....

View Full

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Global Case Study

...Case Study 3-2 In the case study 3-2 of Aaker, Kumar, and Day’s book, Marketing Research, it cover’s Sperry/MacLennan Architects and Planners and the evolution of the company from start to present. During this time there were many ups and downs but with creative ideas and marketing research Sperry/MacLennan Architects and Planners have successfully stayed afloat. The company is a Canadian based firm which specializes in recreational facilities. At the beginning business was great; the company had multiple branches to provide a local presence as well as meeting licensing requirements during the baby boom housing era. After awhile though business slowed down drastically, at one point in the 1980’s the company cut staff down to the three remaining partners being Drew, Sheila Sperry, and John MacLennan. During these slow times two employees stayed working unpaid for several months with faith that the company and its partners would rebound. Then in 1983 Sperry won a major turning point, the competition for the aquatics facility for the Canada games in Saint John. With the planning and design work for the aquatic facility the business turned around. Unlike earlier though the company new tough times are always around the corner. With their company being a staple in Canada for complexes and no real competition they new they would need more business than just the few complexes a year. Sperry/MacLennan is looking to expand its operations from the neighboring United...

Words: 519 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Week 4 Summary of Chapters

...focused on the three case studies about Costco, Dove, and L’Oreal which was very interesting. First off in discussing Costco and after reviewing the case study their mission is to always provide great quality goods and services at the lowest prices possible. Costco, over the years has continued to provide quality manufacturers together to give great products to their customers. According to the reading, in comparison to stores such as Wal-Mart that has up to 150,000 SKUs, Costco has 4,000 SKUs that they focus on because they only provide the fastest –selling flavors, sizes, models and colors. Overall, their business model focuses on a high volume of sales, rapid inventory turnover, very low prices, and better product manageability. Costco has such a great business model because they work with manufacturers directly which cuts out the middle man and also creates a more efficient process. It also eliminates many additional costs having to use a distributor. I found it very interesting that of Costco’s 4,000 SKUs, 3,000 of them come from Staples and the rest from the the Costco “Treasure Hunt” of special temporarily offered items. I did not realize that this was the case for Costco but it has proven to be very successful because Costco is able to provide the best quality items that are in demand at the time which will always keep Costco relevant because they are selling what people want at the best price which undercuts everyone else. Furthermore in the case studies, we discuss Dove’s...

Words: 480 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Amazon's E-Business Model

...Barnes & Noble Vs. Amazon To attain a competitive advantage over Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble needs to develop a proper strategy and implement a successful marketing plan.   SITUATION ANALYSIS Barnes & Noble first must consider the issues and problems facing their company, and then perform an opportunity analysis to determine their strengths and weaknesses in relation to their customers, competitors, and company capabilities.   In regards to the main concerns of Barnes & Noble, the company needs to worry about the uncertainties associated with the expected rapid growth of the Internet, the changing profile of Internet users, increased competition and indeterminate future developments in electronic retailing from publishers, wholesalers, and retailers, and intense price competition.   By 2000, more than 80 million users will be on the World Wide Web, with an increase in females and a broader spectrum of education levels and age, changing the market demographics.   Additionally, some book publishers, namely Simon & Schuster and Bertelsmann, have expanded online, while the national leading wholesaler, Ingram, is developing a website where wholesalers could ship directly to consumers.   In the meantime, small publishers and universities have started to publish directly on the Web, avoiding print versions completely and thereby challenging the posterity of conventional books.   Within the Barnes & Noble Corporation, their smaller traditional bookstores such...

Words: 2657 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Diversity

...Exam Unit 3: Chapters 12, 13, 14, 15 Chapter 12 – Building Customer Relationships Through Effective Marketing Chapter 13 – Creating and Pricing Products that Satisfy Customers Chapter 14 – Wholesaling, Retailing, and Physical Distribution Chapter 15 – Developing Integrated Marketing Communications Unit Exam Unit 4: Chapters 2, 18, 20, 3 Chapter 2 – Being Ethical and Socially Responsible Chapter 18 – Understanding Money, Banking, and Credit Chapter 20 – Understanding Personal Finances and Investments Chapter 3 – Exploring Global Business Unit Exam Final Exam (cumulative) Your final grade will be based on: Four Unit Exams 40% (10% each unit exam) Final Exam 20% Case Study 10% Questions of the Day 20% Homework and class participation 10% Grades: A=94-100 A-=90-93 B+=87-89 B=83-86 B-=80-82 C+=76-79 C=70-75 D=60-69 F=59 and below The components of this course: 1) Unit exams Unit exams are designed to be completed within one class meeting of 80 minutes. The exams may consist of true/false questions, multiple...

Words: 1187 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Case Study Analysis

...Case Study Analysis Larry Dean Psy 322 June 2, 2014 April Ward Case Study Analysis When a company makes the decision to market their product or service to multiple cultures, they must be very aware of the intricacies and differences between each of the cultures. While some customs or traits associated with a particular culture are very overt or obvious, others may not be. Detailed analysis must be done to ensure that all of these traits have been considered. Failure to do so could result in a lack of profits at best and a negative hit to a brand name at worst. Two case studies give examples of companies attempting to market and sell their products and services in new cultures. Case One: Japan to Apple’s iPhone: “No Thanks!” When Apple unveiled its much anticipated iPhone to the United States the response was overwhelming. The iPhone broke new ground in smartphone technology with its touch display, 3G data network capability and internet-based applications and utilities. Apple enjoyed huge sales and revenue in the United States. Similar success was enjoyed when the iPhone was released in other countries around the world as well. Overall, the feedback was very positive. So when it came time to release the iPhone in Japan, analysts estimated a million sales. Revised estimates after the release, however, were a staggering 50% lower at 500,000 units sold. There was initially much confusion as to why actual sales were so much lower than what was initially anticipated...

Words: 1655 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Managment

...Assessment 2 Details BL5053 The Regulation of Business Creations Assessment 2: Group simulation and an individual written examination 1)    Group simulation                                     15-20 minutes (35%) 2)    Individual written examination                 2,000 words (35%) Presentations & Submit Coursework  During seminars in Week 14 (week starting 13/01/2014).  Weighting Group Simulation & Individual Written Examination 70% Case study analysis for a group advice conference and an individual written submission of the investigation: “McLibel documentary” Explain and critically comment on the various legal issues arising out of the documentary McLibel. Attention needs to be focused on the issues surrounding the importance for the protection of business creations and the intellectual property rights in place in order to provide such protection. Part 1: Group Simulation (15-20 minutes (35%)) The groups will consist of 3-5 members.  The information on the given topic will be presented as a group advice conference (simulation) which, may take many different forms (e.g. traditional presentations, board room scenarios, video footage, audio footage, explained posters etc).  The groups are free to choose the format in which they wish to present the relevant information.  It is the responsibility of each individual student to find, form and join the group.  It is the responsibility of each group and individual members to ensure...

Words: 683 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Sociology

...said to live in a ‘Risk Society’. This has been defined as ‘an account of contemporary society that emphasizes the development of the side effects of modernisation and the growth of many people's awareness of risk.’ You need to include a source reference for this quotation. A lot of risks are invisible, like for example, radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear accident, so there is an absolute reliance on expert knowledge in order to manage people’s anxiety. Perhaps a reference to Beck’s theory could be included here. He argues that as society has become increasingly complex, we look to experts to help us with assessing risks. How we make sense of, manage and incorporate risk into our life is a focus of this report and a number of case studies will be examined to determine how both expert and lay knowledge is used to manage risk. We shall see that the provision of knowledge by experts is not necessarily accepted by people who tend to assimilate the knowledge provided in their own different ways. Yes this is an important point which needs to be demonstrated. 2. MANAGING RISK: Soil Different tests, different outcomes (perhaps the issue of expert uncertainty could be incorporated into your...

Words: 1906 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Managenment

...------------------------------------------------- Course OutlineDepartment of Accounting and FinanceSchool of Business and Economics | ACCT 4250-01 Advanced Management Accounting (3,0,0) MWF 1:30-2:20 PM A&E 208 Instructor: Dr. Laura Jean Kreissl Office: IB 2060 Office Hours: please check office door Email: lkreissl@tru.ca Email is strongly recommended over voicemail as it is checked more frequently Phone/Voice Mail: 250-852-7675 Last Updated: November30, 2015 Calendar Description Building on ACCT 3250: Intermediate Management Accounting, students explore the integrative and interdisciplinary role of management accounting and its contribution to the strategic management process and the provision of quantitative and non-quantitative information for planning, control, and decision making. Topics include management control systems; results controls, action, personnel and cultural controls; control system tightness; control system cost; designing and evaluating management control systems; financial responsibility centers including transfer pricing; planning, and budgeting; incentive systems; financial performance measures; the myopia problem; uncontrollable factors; corporate governance; and ethical issues. | Educational Objectives/Outcomes Upon completing this course, students will be able to: 1. Locate the role of Management Control Systems (MCS) in both strategy and operations. 2. Describe results control and its applications. ...

Words: 7415 - Pages: 30

Premium Essay

Case

...THE ON OT C OP YO CASE STUDY HANDBOOK RP OS T ON OP YO RP OT C OS T THE ON OT C Write Persuasively About Cases OP CASE STUDY HANDBOOK How to Read, Discuss, and William Ellet Harvard Business School Press Boston, Massachusetts YO RP OS T Copyright 2007 William Ellet All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 11 10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2 1 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. The copyright on each case in this book unless otherwise noted is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and they are published herein by express permission. Permission requests to use individual Harvard copyrighted cases should be directed to permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu, or mailed to the Permissions Editor, Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163. ON OT C Case material of the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration is made possible by the cooperation of business firms and other organizations which may wish to remain anonymous by having names, quantities, and other...

Words: 96750 - Pages: 387

Premium Essay

Business

...Chapter 1 Case Study: Harmonix Embrace Your Inner Rock Star Little more than three years ago, you had probably never heard of Harmonix. In 2005, the video game design studio released Guitar Hero, which subsequently became the fastest video game in history to top $1 billion in North American sales. The game concept focuses around a plastic guitar-shaped controller. Players press colored buttons along the guitar neck to match a series of dots that scroll down the TV in time with music from a famous rock tune, such as the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” and Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” Players score points based on their accuracy. In November 2007, Harmonix released Rock Band, adding drums, vocals, and bass guitar options to the game. Rock Band has sold over 3.5 million units with a $169 price tag (most video games retail at $50 to $60). In 2006, Harmonix’s founders sold the company to Viacom for $175 million, maintaining their operational autonomy while providing them greater budgets for product development and licensing music for their games. Harmonix’s success, however, did not come overnight. The company was originally founded by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy in 1995, focused around some demo software they had created in grad school and a company vision of providing a way for people without much musical training or talent to experience the joy of playing and creating music. The founders believed that if people had the opportunity to create their own music, they would jump...

Words: 25169 - Pages: 101

Premium Essay

Bharam

...Chapter 1 Case Study: Harmonix Embrace Your Inner Rock Star Little more than three years ago, you had probably never heard of Harmonix. In 2005, the video game design studio released Guitar Hero, which subsequently became the fastest video game in history to top $1 billion in North American sales. The game concept focuses around a plastic guitar-shaped controller. Players press colored buttons along the guitar neck to match a series of dots that scroll down the TV in time with music from a famous rock tune, such as the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” and Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” Players score points based on their accuracy. In November 2007, Harmonix released Rock Band, adding drums, vocals, and bass guitar options to the game. Rock Band has sold over 3.5 million units with a $169 price tag (most video games retail at $50 to $60). In 2006, Harmonix’s founders sold the company to Viacom for $175 million, maintaining their operational autonomy while providing them greater budgets for product development and licensing music for their games. Harmonix’s success, however, did not come overnight. The company was originally founded by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy in 1995, focused around some demo software they had created in grad school and a company vision of providing a way for people without much musical training or talent to experience the joy of playing and creating music. The founders believed that if people had the opportunity to create their own music, they would jump...

Words: 25518 - Pages: 103

Premium Essay

Case Study Handbook

...1/22/07 3:37 PM Page i RP OS T ElletFM.qxp THE DO N OT C OP YO CASE STUDY HANDBOOK 1/22/07 3:37 PM Page ii DO N OT C OP YO RP OS T ElletFM.qxp 1/22/07 3:37 PM Page iii RP OS T ElletFM.qxp YO THE OP CASE STUDY HANDBOOK How to Read, Discuss, and OT C Write Persuasively About Cases DO N William Ellet Harvard Business School Press Boston, Massachusetts 1/22/07 3:37 PM Page iv RP OS T ElletFM.qxp Copyright 2007 William Ellet YO All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 11 10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2 1 OP 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. The copyright on each case in this book unless otherwise noted is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and they are published herein by express permission. Permission requests to use individual Harvard copyrighted cases should be directed to permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu, or mailed to the Permissions Editor, Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163. OT C Case material of the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration is made possible by the...

Words: 99835 - Pages: 400

Premium Essay

Managing Information Technology (7th Edition)

...CONTENTS: CASE STUDIES CASE STUDY 1 Midsouth Chamber of Commerce (A): The Role of the Operating Manager in Information Systems CASE STUDY I-1 IMT Custom Machine Company, Inc.: Selection of an Information Technology Platform CASE STUDY I-2 VoIP2.biz, Inc.: Deciding on the Next Steps for a VoIP Supplier CASE STUDY I-3 The VoIP Adoption at Butler University CASE STUDY I-4 Supporting Mobile Health Clinics: The Children’s Health Fund of New York City CASE STUDY I-5 Data Governance at InsuraCorp CASE STUDY I-6 H.H. Gregg’s Appliances, Inc.: Deciding on a New Information Technology Platform CASE STUDY I-7 Midsouth Chamber of Commerce (B): Cleaning Up an Information Systems Debacle CASE STUDY II-1 Vendor-Managed Inventory at NIBCO CASE STUDY II-2 Real-Time Business Intelligence at Continental Airlines CASE STUDY II-3 Norfolk Southern Railway: The Business Intelligence Journey CASE STUDY II-4 Mining Data to Increase State Tax Revenues in California CASE STUDY II-5 The Cliptomania™ Web Store: An E-Tailing Start-up Survival Story CASE STUDY II-6 Rock Island Chocolate Company, Inc.: Building a Social Networking Strategy CASE STUDY III-1 Managing a Systems Development Project at Consumer and Industrial Products, Inc. CASE STUDY III-2 A Make-or-Buy Decision at Baxter Manufacturing Company CASE STUDY III-3 ERP Purchase Decision at Benton Manufacturing Company, Inc. CASE STUDY III-4 ...

Words: 239887 - Pages: 960

Premium Essay

Strategy Case Studies

...beginning of the 21st century, its CEO/ Chairman, Yang-Ho Cho undertook various transformation initiatives - for instance, improving service quality and safety standards, technology integration, upgrading pilot training, better business focus; putting in place a professional management team, improving corporate image through sponsorship marketing, etc. He gave a new corporate direction in the form of '10,10,10' goal. However, Korean Air is held up by a slew of challenges. Among which are inefficiencies of - Chaebol system of management, possible clash of its cargo business with its own shipping company, limited focus on the domestic market and growing competition from LCCs. How would Korean Air manage growth as a family-owned conglomerate? The case offers enriching scope for analysing a family business’s turnaround strategies, with all the legacy costs involved. Pedagogical Objectives • To discuss the (operational) dynamics of Korean Chaebols - their influence/ effects on the country’s industrial sector and the economy as a whole • To analyse how family-owned businesses manage the transition phase - from a supplier-driven economy to a demanddriven economy • To identify all the possible reasons for Korean Air ’s turbulent times and assessing whether they are controllable or not • To critically evaluate Korean Air ’s transformation efforts - in terms of growth, productivity and cost cuts, especially the efficacy of '10,10,10' goal in a family-run business • To identify various challenges...

Words: 71150 - Pages: 285

Free Essay

Role of Power

...contemporary organizational issue you find intriguing. Use one field site or example for the entire paper. Also, be explicit about the level issue. For example, if you are using the concept of personality then it is an individual level issue. A list of concepts and their related levels is provided in a separate document. Focus of paper-related requirements: Outline: Submit a formal outline for your paper, complete with references. The purpose of the outline is to help you organize your content, which also results in increased clarity, improved logic, and better structure of the paper. There may be adjustments from this document to your final paper, but at this stage the paper should not require major revisions. Final Paper: Use a case study format for the structure of your paper. Identify and analyze issues using course concepts, and propose recommendations for the organization you are focusing on. Use of course concepts 1. Use a minimum of 8 concepts for the paper. Include a list of the concepts you used at the beginning of the paper. 2. Briefly define each concept you use within the text (a paragraph or two). 3. For each concept, write a diagnosis at one level (e.g., the person level). For example, you might write “The employee misses work frequently due to stress from conflict with her supervisor.” Note, stress and conflict would require definitions.) 4. For each concept, write a solution or solutions. Identify the level(s) you addressed in Step 2...

Words: 594 - Pages: 3