...meetings and submit to me via e-mail. The written assignment is due at the beginning of our class on March 16 and each team member will fill out a Team Evaluation Summary to be turned in at the same time. Report Requirements: * Cover sheet with case name, date, team number and team members; * Two page written report analyzing questions given; and * Exhibit with any financials, ratios, charts/graphs that you address in your report. Your analysis should cover the following concerns: 1. Describe and critique Target’s capital budgeting system. 2. How does Target’s business model compare with Wal-Mart’s and Costco’s? 3. What is Target’s capital-budgeting process? Is it consistent with the company’s business and financial objectives? 4. Explain what the dashboards tell you as a manager. Isn’t the net present value (NPV) enough information to make you a go/no-go decision? 5. Which top five of the following capital-projects requests should Doug Scovanner accept and why? a. NPV and IRR b. Size of project c. Cannibalization of other stores’ sales d. Store sensitivities e. Variance to prototype f. Customer demographics g. Brand-awareness impact There is no required presentation on this report. Each team member is required to complete a team evaluation summary and turn hard copy in to...
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...number, does not count as a page. A deduction of 10% will apply if your assignment is more than 10 pages long. For additional advice on how to complete this assignment, refer to the Preparing Assignments page (a link is also provided in the Evaluation block on the course homepage). ------------------------------------------------- Read the case “Target: From ‘Expect More’ to ‘Pay Less’” on pages 103 to 105 of the textbook and prepare answers to the questions below. Do not answer the questions at the end of the case in the textbook. Question 1 (20 marks) Identify four actors in the microenvironment that have affected Target’s performance over the past few years. Question 2 (10 marks) Describe how economic and cultural factors affected Target’s marketing strategy during the economic downturn. Question 3 (10 marks) According to its chief financial officer, Target primarily allocates its money to remodelling existing stores to better accommodate the shifts in inventory. Under such a circumstance, which growth strategies in the product/market expansion grid best describe Target’s strategy? Question 4 (20 marks) Name Michael Porter’s four basic competitive positioning strategies. Which one of these best explains Target’s original positioning of “better stuff for slightly higher prices” in the context of global recession? Explain. Question 5 (20 marks) Define both competitor-centred and customer-centred. Is Target a...
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...Background and Description of Major Issues Target actually began as Dayton Dry Goods, a department store - focus on high quality feel at lower prices - Customers have a more pleasurable shopping experience • However, many customers are willing to forgo aesthetics for lower costs in tough economic times. o Because Target is following a “Cost Leadership” strategy, it is important to play the game, because the target market will not respond to largely excessively higher costs in the name of differentiation. • Additionally, it is important to make sure that an efficient supply chain is maintained and that inventory is turned over as quickly as possible. Target’s gross margin is higher than the industry average and Wal-Mart’s, which implies that Target is relatively efficient in this area. o Wal-Mart’s large amount of stores, both within the United States and internationally, help the low-cost retailer bring in revenues. ▪ Target could improve by stepping up against this strategy. • As the world becomes more inter-connected, Target needs to stay on board o For example, the potential revenues gained by reaching foreign markets can be seen as an opportunity. ▪ However, PEST analysis shows that this can also pose problems: • U.S. Export Tariff on Chinese goods • Risk of instability in other countries o Both politically...
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...industries. This is done in order to eliminate competition or enter additional or new markets the existing firm has yet to enter on its own. Undertaking the aforementioned action is seen to be beneficial in its ability to provide additional benefits in the form of an established market position, technological expertise, economies of scale, capital assets, and an essential customer base. Said acquisitions are common in high tech, pharmaceutical, and retail sectors. Often these acquisitions come at a premium and demonstrate mixed results based on the evaluation and subsequent actions undertaken by the existing firm....
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...[pic] King Saud University College of Administrative Sciences Strategic Management 597 BUS Case analysis Target Corporation Professor Dr. Nadia Ayoub Submit by Ghadeer Al- Mutawa Reem Abdul Jabbar 9, January 2007 Contents Introduction Vision Statement Mission Statement Strategy Analysis State 1: The Input Stage External Factor Evaluation o Opportunities o Threats Competitive Profile Matrix Internal Factor Evaluation o Strengths o Weaknesses Summary of Financial Ratios in Target Corporation Stage 2: The Matching Stage 1) The Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) Matrix, 2) The Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) Matrix, 3) The Grand Strategy Matrix, 4) The Internal-External (IE) Matrix. Summary of Matrix Analysis Stage 3: The Decision Stage Quantitative Strategic Planning Model [QSPM] Recommendations Epilogue Introduction Target Corporation is a powerful retail brand. It has a reputation for value for money, convenience and a wide range of products all in one store. Target Corporation is the third-largest general merchandise retailer in the United States. It offers an assortment of general merchandise, including consumables...
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...Wal-Mart Business Analysis Part 2 Dr. Kenneth Edick Wal-Mart Business Analysis Part 2 This paper compares Wal-Mart’s financial health to its competitors such as Target and K-Mart, which are also designed in retail multi-shopping department stores. Further review will detail how Wal-Mart’s rates in comparison of profitability through its income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow in relationship to Target and K-Mart. Upon examination, this information will illustrate the future perspective success of Wal-Mart and determine areas of improvement such as sales, operating income, return on investments, liabilities, and cash flow. Further information will identify the processes that Wal-Mart has designated to comply with the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. Detailed evaluations will specify Wal-Mart’s financial performance and the principal tools of benchmarking analyses that differentiates Wal-Mart’s position in best practices, operational processes and procedures in the domestic and global markets as well as the technology advantages in relationship to Target and K-Mart (University of Phoenix, 2011). Financial Statements Wal-Mart implemented a new financial system, which reflects the retail method of accounting for inventory. This procedure affects the operating income and the consolidated net income for all comparable periods. Wal-Mart reclassified expense and revenue items within these statements of income for the purpose of reporting. However, the...
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...Case analysis Target Corporation Professor Contents Introduction Vision Statement Mission Statement Strategy Analysis State 1: The Input Stage External Factor Evaluation o Opportunities o Threats Competitive Profile Matrix Internal Factor Evaluation o Strengths o Weaknesses Summary of Financial Ratios in Target Corporation Stage 2: The Matching Stage 1) The Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) Matrix, 2) The Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) Matrix, 3) The Grand Strategy Matrix, 4) The Internal-External (IE) Matrix. Summary of Matrix Analysis Stage 3: The Decision Stage Quantitative Strategic Planning Model [QSPM] Recommendations Epilogue Introduction Target Corporation is a powerful retail brand. It has a reputation for value for money, convenience and a wide range of products all in one store. Target Corporation is the third-largest general merchandise retailer in the United States. It offers an assortment of general merchandise, including consumables and commodities; electronics, entertainment, sporting goods, and toys; apparel and accessories; and home furnishings and decor; as well as a line of food items. The company operates its stores under Target and SuperTarget brands. It also sells its merchandise online, as well as offers credit cards to its customers. In addition, the company runs Target...
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...Executive Summary Target prides itself on its charitable contributions and being an environmentally friendly corporation. This is one of Target Corporation’s many strong characteristics. Their strengths include innovative techniques, branding, and design. With strengths, there come weaknesses for companies. Target’s weaknesses include the lack of geographic locations and numerous litigation cases. Competitor competition, along with a recovering economy, serves as threats to the retail industry. There are many opportunities for Target, such as expansion into the global market, continued growth in private label, and broadening their target demographic to increase the market share. II. Company Background and Mission, Vision, and Values Statement In 1962, the first Target store was opened by the Dayton Dry Goods Company in Minnesota. Target is one of the few franchises to have been established for such a long period. In 2002, Target became the second largest retailer in the United States (Target, 2013). Target could do this by adapting to the changing environment and meeting customers’ needs and wants. Even though Target’s revenue is not as much as Wal-Mart’s, Target’s customer base is attracted to the...
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...Rachelle Stanley Columbia College FINC 350 A firm’s performance and financial situation is measured by financial ratios. In order to reach these ratios a financial analysis must be done on the company’s financial information. Financial analysis is the evaluation, selection and interpretation of financial data to assist in investment and financial decision-making. Financial data is drawn from many sources however, the primary source is data that is provided by the company in its annual reports. These annual reports consist of the income statement, the balance sheet and the statement of cash flows. Financial ratios can be used to analyze trends and compare the firm’s financial standing to those of other firms. Financial ratios are classified according to the information they provide. Some of the frequent used ratios are: liquidity ratios, P/E ratio and profitability ratios. Ratios should be viewed as indicators of a company’s background since most of them are not highly meaningful. I will use Target and JCPenney to analyze some of the above mentioned ratios, as well as compare them to the industry. Liquidity Ratios A liquidity ratio provides information on a company’s ability to meet its short-term obligation usually within the next 12 months or the company’s business cycle. Current ratio & quick ratio are two of the most frequently used ratios and both appear on a company’s balance sheet. An acceptable current ratio varies from industry to industry, the higher the...
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...Capital Valuation Paper YOUR NAME COURSE Instructor NAME DATE Capital Valuation Paper A business valuation of a company, especially one the size of Target, is a mystery but is often an integral part of planning, decision-making, strategic assessment, and maybe an equitable resolution to a touchy concern. Knowing what a business is worth and placing a value on it builds confidence so undervalue or overvalue of the business does not happen. Team C will perform a capital valuation of the retail merchandising chain Target. To obtain the answers needed for the valuation, Team C will justify the current market of Target’s debt and equity by using various capital models of valuation. Team C will provide in-depth calculation of the discoveries and include models with rates of return. Current Market Price of Target’s Debt Valuation models are used in investment decisions whether it is a decision on which assets are under or overvalued. When in an efficient market, the market price is the best estimate of value. The purpose of the Discounted Cash Flow valuation model is the justification of the value. In the discounted cash flow valuation, the value of an asset is the present value of the expected cash flows on the asset. The information needed to use the discount cash flow valuation is: estimate of the life of the asset, estimate the cash flows during the life of the asset, and estimate the discount rate applied to these cash flows to obtain a...
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...Target’s Supply Chain Unit 2 Assignment GB570 Managing the Value Chain Dr. Rita Gunzelman Kaplan University December 12, 2011 Target’s Supply Chain The purpose of this paper is to show evidence of cohesive knowledge of the supply chain and how it works by the exploration of Target Corporation’s supply chain. Target, one of the nations largest retail chains, first opened in 1962 in Minnesota as key leadership were looking for new ways to move from a family-run (The Dayton Family) department store to a mass market national chain strengthening customer relationships by appealing to value-oriented shoppers in quest of a higher-quality experience. Today, Target operates approximately 1750 stores (including nearly 240 SuperTarget stores) in 49 states with Gregg Steinhafel as their CEO. We will review the effectiveness of Target’s supply chain and analyze if it meets the necessary expectations of their demand chain. (Target, 2011) Overview of Target’s Supply Chain Target, the 2nd largest discount-retailer in the U.S. has focused on their slogan, “Expect More Pay Less” and strategizes to increase optimal value and growth for global networking, an exclusive upscale and trendy product line, and value added service that creates a distinctive niche throughout the world. This multi-billion dollar company set out to change how consumers thought about discount shopping by offering a more upscale shopping experience. In 1998, Target purchased Associated Merchandising...
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...number, does not count as a page. A deduction of 10% will apply if your assignment is more than 10 pages long. For additional advice on how to complete this assignment, refer to the Preparing Assignments page (a link is also provided in the Evaluation block on the course homepage). Read the case “Target: From ‘Expect More’ to ‘Pay Less’” on pages 103 to 105 of the textbook and prepare answers to the questions below. Do not answer the questions at the end of the case in the textbook. Question 1 (20 marks) Identify four actors in the microenvironment that have affected Target’s performance over the past few years. Over the past few years there have been many actors that have affected Targets Performance, the four major ones are, Competitors, Customers, Publics and The Companies Operations. The first major Actor in Target’s microenvironment is the Competitors. When the economic crisis hit in 2008 Target lost market share to its major competitor Walmart. The reason for this Loss was because Walmart positioned themselves in the marketplace as always having low prices on their products, whereas Target positioned themselves as having better brands than Walmart. In this case Walmart as the competitor is a major actor in Target’s microenvironment kick starting a change in philosophy to a more of a Pay less side of things. The second major actor is the customers. When the crisis hit it caused the customers to have a more “frugal” approach to their spending...
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...Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Act Nguyễn Phước Đại dnguyen0191@student.bristoluniversity.edu Bristol University BUS 555: Business Ethics 10/16/2013 Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Act Cynics sometimes like to say that locks on doors only keep honest people out, and the same is often true for accounting rules and regulations. We only trust financial statements from honest companies. Hefty penalties for violating the rules may act as curb for executives who are considering whether to play with their numbers. Accounting frauds most often stem from two conditions: lack of transparency and conflicts of interest1. The string of corporate scandals since the beginning of the millennium has taken its toll on investor confidence. Because reliance on corporate boards to police themselves did not seem to be working, Congress passed the Public Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002, commonly known as Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which enforced by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (Hartman, L., DesJardin, J. 2011, p426) The collapse of Enroll, WorldCom, accounting frauds at Tyco and the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley have forced boards of directors, particularly at publicly-traded companies, to reassess how they do acquisition deals and on what basis they can represent to the shareholders that the deal is fair to all parties. (Andrew J. Sherman & Milledge A. Hart 2006, p87) In business there is one simple rule: grow or die. Companies on a growth path will...
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...numbers and are often lost in the everyday shuffle of information, products, and customers. However, while working for Target, one will find an immense respect and a collaborative effort among co-workers. Target Corporation utilizes the five management functions: planning, leading, organizing, staffing and controlling, to benefit their company, their employees, and their customers. Planning “Managers use planning to choose appropriate organizational goals and identify courses of actions to best reach those goals,” (Baack, Reilly, & Minnick, 2014, Section 1.3, “The Five Management Functions,” para. 2). According to an interview conducted by Jennifer Rooney, a Forbes staff member, Jeff Jones, VP and CMO of Target Corporation believes Target’s role in retail consists of knowing what the consumer wants and needs, while delivering top quality products at an everyday price point (Rooney, 2012). Mr. Jones reiterates the goal of Target Corporation is to continually fulfill the motto, expect more, pay less and states that the corporation as a whole relies heavily on the Target Brands that are unique to only Target (Rooney, 2012). These brands allow guests to shop at Target knowing they are getting a product they cannot purchase anywhere else, they are purchasing a top quality product that delivers consistent results, and they are purchasing from a company that has the guest’s best interest in mind. Ultimately, Target Corporation’s goal is to cater to the needs of the consumers and...
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...increasingly global and many companies are diversifying to enter new markets. A factor which companies have become increasingly aware of is supply chain management. A supply chain connects supplies with customers (Chin, Lie, Tsai, 2012). Supply chain management has become an important for companies to evaluate and research because improper management can lead to can hinder performance. Therefore, increased evaluation and research in proper supply chain management is essential for businesses to maintain a competitive advantage. This paper is going to analyze supply chain management a retail perspective to new learning perspectives of modern businesses. Issues For many years supply chain managers had difficulty determining the optimal amount for their inventory levels (Chin et al, 2012). For example, in Wal-Mart the company has to determine how much inventory to include in stores in comparison to a just in time approach. Research has indicated that improper supply chain management can lead to inefficient company performance (Asamoah, Annan, Nyarko, 2012). Therefore, improper evaluation of inventory can increase costs for the company and decrease sales to lack of inventory. For example, typically businesses would replenish inventories when the inventory is low. The supply chain manager would order new inventory when current inventory was low and based on historical trends (e.g. Christmas). The result of replenishing according to inventory levels and trends is the possibility consumers...
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