...1. Identify at least three challenges when setting up a business. Explain why they are challenges. One challenge when setting up a business is the obstacle of arranging for financing. In business you’re going to have slow times when revenue is not steady or increasing. Ethically, businesses would like to retain their employees when times get rough. Being able to obtain a loan or establish a line credit is crucial to keeping the flow of the business going. You need capital and equipment to get your business up and running. Another challenge businesses face is finding the right employees for the job. Some people are lucky enough to have friends or family that are self motivated and are willing to put forth the effort to assist in establishing the business plan, practices, and model. Finding employees that have good work ethics: are punctual in their attendance, put in a full day’s work, and their personal integrity is held to a high standard, can be time consuming and difficult to find. Another challenge is getting your name out to a potential customer base. If people are unfamiliar and/or unaware of your company and services that you are offering to provide, they can’t contribute to the growth of your business. Creating an attractive, user friendly website is a great way to gain exposure and attract a new customer base. But most of the time, a company needs a sales force to reach out to its customer base so that the customers feel that there is personal interaction...
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...URBAN OUTFITTERS CASE STUDY 1 Urban Outfitters Case Study: Marketing a Business Bus105 March 7, 2010 URBAN OUTFITTERS CONTINUING CASE STUDY: 2 Urban Outfitters have created an image and market like no other. Urban outfitters has exceeded the normal niche size companies; they have hundreds of stores worldwide. Explain why Sears and Wal-Mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. In order to have a counterculture image, a company must cater to the culture and lifestyle of those people, especially among the young, who reject or oppose the dominant values and behavior of society. Most stores that have a counterculture image sell exclusive items. Wal-Mart and Sears are huge retail stores; they carry an abundance of each item and cater to everyone. If they became a counterculture image store, they would exclude too many people and risk having to close stores in certain areas. Could the big box stores sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters? Explain your answer. It wouldn’t be a wise decision for the big box stores (Wal-Mart, Target, JC Penney’s, etc...), to sell items identical to Urban Outfitters. Urban Outfitters originally catered to colleges and university students, and they choose store locations near those places. Most of these big box stores adjust to their changing market and are located on or near major highways. Even if...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Marketing a Business Robyn Miller Professor Marietta Lewis Business 100 August 28, 2011 Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Marketing a Business 1. Explain why Sears or Wal-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Sears or Wal-Mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image because Wal-Mart, for instance, operates on a high volume low profit margin and Sears operates on a high profit margin. The only way this can be done is to have the products mass produced which make it impossible to be either trendy or counterculture. To be trendy counterculture is to be unique when going against other retailers. Sears on the other hand are higher priced but still mass produced items which they think will appeal to the general public. Neither Sears nor Wal-mart can make the changes that would be needed to adopt the image. If they do, they would risk turning off their existing customer base. Lastly, the extensive product selection does not lend itself to the image. Furthermore, the best either of these could do is create a mini-shop, given the current brand image, the trendy image may be a hard sell for "trendy" customers, that may be the target. 2. Could the big box stores sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters? Explain your answer. Yes and no. Yes the big box stores can purchase the items that are sold at Urban Outfitters and place the products on the shelves. These stores are trying to modernize...
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...Michael Clark Lithonia Campus Business 100 November 2, 2011 Strayer University Starting a Business: An Open Door for Anyone Question 1: Identify at least three challenges when setting up a business. Explain why they are challenges: Three challenges involved in starting a business are finding an idea or ideas, finance or funding, and finding committed people. Finding an idea or ideas for a new business may not be as hard as it sounds or seems. Most of the time, the idea comes from inside you. There is a deep, nagging desire to see something accomplished or provided. This focus may start with a select group of people, as it did with “Urban Outfitters”, who began by targeting college students. Finding financing or funding may prove to be a bit more challenging until you decide to do some serious research. You may find various opportunities to acquire the financing you need through investors from different business industries. There are investors searching for small businesses in which they can invest money, time, and/or resources. Finding committed people who can see your vision for your business, and commit to working hard to meet the mission and goals for the business are valuable assets. These people may be family members, friends, classmates, or someone you met and connected with soon after sharing your vision. Urban Outfitters was started by Richard and Judy Hayne, and Richard’s old college roommate, Scott Belair. Roughly a year after the first store opened,...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Part 5: Managing a Business Dr. Deborah Hill December 15, 2009 As businesses today is about passion and creating new things. The word fun has become a big element in the business strategy of many highly successful businesses. Make fun an important part of your corporate culture to enable relentless innovation and create an inspiring culture. 1. Explain how Urban Outfitters’ management ensures that no two stores are the same. Urban Outfitters ensures that no two stores are the same by knowing what is selling in the retail stores nationwide. In addition, Urban Outfitters has corporate directors which are in charged of what merchandise is brought and sold to the different stores. The store concepts, operations and products are very much integrated. Some stores are duplicated across the nation; Urban Outfitters does not have the same stores due to management and the company policy. John Kyees has stated that upper management is responsible for the mundane bones of the business, such as distribution and call centers, design at the store level. For example, director’s over sight the budgets for the store displayed at corporate level, but managers many of whom are artist and are very intelligent in interior design regarding specific store design. Moreover, in opening up new locations it demands that store managers and product developers are to be in teams to make sure each store is different. Their brand is to be unique even with the...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Marketing a Business 1. Explain why Sears or Wall-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Sears and Wal-Mart do not solely devote time to the fashion business. They sell clothes because it is a necessity everyone has and to make money. That is their main goal. In doing so, they are like a high school teenager. They see a fashion trend in the magazine or in their case, big corporation see what the leading fashion industries are buying and follow suit. Then they mass produce that look, using cheap materials and most of the time the craftsmanship is poor. People interested in being trendy want to make a statement about who they are and are out and be different. The clothes sold at Sears and Wal-Mart is available to everyone and is not in any way unique. 2. Could the big box stores sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters? Explain your answer. Wal-Mart and Sears are unable to sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters because they mass produce there items and the clothes are often poorly made with low end quality material. They focus more on quantity instead of quality to meet the highest profitability. Urban Outfitters sell their merchandise for a higher price and sell a smaller amount of items to turn a profit; Sears and Wal-Mart must sell a significant amount more to make the same profitability. Also, Urban Outfitters makes sure they have the current trends, Sears and Wal-Mart stores are...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Part 4: Marketing a business Introduction to Business – BUS100001041 Christopher Bell Instructor: Professor McNeil Strayer University December 1, 2010 Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Part 4: Marketing a business Explain why Sears or Wal-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Businesses such as Wal-mart or Sears are built around serving the most products to as many customers possible. Let’s start with Wal-mart. In 2010, Wal-mart served customers more than 200 million times a week at more than 8,600 stores around the world. You may recall hearing several mission statements in the many years of Wal-mart business. In early years Mr. Sam Walton was heard “To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people.” This statement has evolved throughout the years into many slogans, but for most part they continue on with the same concepts. “Help people save money so they live better” and “Always low prices” are two more recent examples. Sears mission statement states “To grow our business by providing quality products and services at great value when and where our customers want them, and by building positive, lasting relationships with our customers.” If we look into the meaning of trendy counterculture the layers of the onion begin to peal back and we can get a better understanding of why these two giants are unable to capture that market. Trendy relates...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Marketing a Business Jason A. Knight August 21st, 2011 Professor A. Garabedian 1. Explain why Sears or Wal-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Urban Outfitters can be credited for successfully creating a trendy counterculture image. They have been able to do this by targeting specific markets in key areas and locations, offering exclusivity, and promoting a certain lifestyle. Sears and Wal-mart have both established themselves as being highly successful and profitable business chains. However, even though these large chains have established themselves as strong contenders in the retail market Sears and Wal-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Sears and Wal-mart lack the ability to offer exclusivity and the ability to target specific markets. Both chains are just simply too large. Even though there are Urban Outfitters locations worldwide they still manage to offer a very specific selection of items on a small scale to accommodate the social and socioeconomic demographics of the area in which they are located. You can find a sears or Wal-mart in virtually every state in the U.S. and find the exact same broad range of products. There is really no differentiation, nothing that sets the stores apart. Literally just anyone has the ability to shop in these places and offering such a broad range of products, including groceries, clothing, and electronics attracts a wider range of people...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Part 4: Marketing a Business 1. Explain why Sears or Wal-Mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Wal-mart and Sears in large part created the idea and foundation for the thinking of bigger is better. How can they try and cater to the little man or sub-culture when they are the very corporation that killed the little man. The basic principles of a sub-culture are to go against the “norm”, and Wal-mart is one of the largest examples of the corporation normalcy. Therefore, the reasons above would be by answer to why they cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. 2. Could the big box stores sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters? Explain your answer. Of course they do in my opinion! Big box stores always take a look at what the market around them is selling best and most of (the trends), anything from clothing to kid’s toys or apparel or even house hold items. The big box store creates a cheaper, less quality product that they mass produce for less. For example, the latest fad for children even young adults is “silly bandz” (rubber bracelets that pop back to their original shape when you take them off, they have animal shaped ones, Disney themes, etc..). Now you see them everywhere but they are called something slightly different from the original brand and are most likely made of cheaper rubber as well and sell for less. Thus in my opinion how the big box stores cater to the “middle...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Marketing a business Deborah Riley Dr. John H. Carter BUS100 – Spring/2010 May 30, 2010 Question #1 - Explain why Sears or Wal-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. In my opinion I don’t think that Wal-mart would be able to create a trendy counterculture because it sales clothes at a lower price. Trendy clothes would not be effective for them because the cost associated with trendy clothes would not be profitable. Wal-mart shoppers are looking for a bargain when they go shopping at their stores. Wal-mart is known for their lowering prices on items in their stores called the Roll Back Price. “Wal-Mart said last week that it is stepping up price cuts, although it wouldn't specify how much it is boosting its typical weekly discounts designed to lure customers.” (Anderson, 2010, para 2). They also buy their merchandise in bulk as oppose to small quantities. While Urban Outfitters buy their merchandise in smaller quantities and there items are priced higher which is why they can create a trendy counterculture. When speaking of Sears they are not on the same line as Wal-mart considering they do not offer their customers price cuts such as roll back prices. But they do buy their merchandise in larger quantities then Urban Outfitters. Sears prices are high when compared to Wal-mart but they offer designer labels that are not offered at Wal-mart. But they also mass produce...
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...BUS100096VA016-1118-001 Assignment #1: Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Part 2: Creating a Business 1. Setting up a business can be a very challenging job. Having a beautiful dream thinking about the business while sitting in your nice office with all the amenities is not enough. It is great to have an idea, but you have to make that idea work. There are lots of challenges that face their owners when setting up a business. It could take years for a business to produce enough profits for the owners to be able to enjoy. Most businesses start small and in time, with experience, goodwill, and success, they can grow into bigger businesses. Here are three challenges that new business face: ➢ Idea/Concept: Many entrepreneurs face risks to create their own business because they do not have the right idea or concept. Sometime ideas and concepts are good but if customers will not buy what they are offering, the business will fail. Richard Hayne and his wife Judy along with an old college roommate, Scott Belair had a great idea. They wanted to open a small shop filled with unique objects that they could sell. The basically sold used second hand clothes, bohemian knickknacks, and “found objects”. Their customers would come for the unique “found objects” and were willing to pay what they were being sold for. Entrepreneurs- people who risk their time, money and other resources to start and manage business-business basics chapter 1 page 3 ➢ Sale...
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...being marketed. In the following questions and answers, this will tell you why customers will definitely pay for the quality. 1. Identify at least three challenges when setting up a business. Explain why they are challenges. 2. Define what a “niche” product is. Give at least three examples of niche products. 3. Explain why a niche company might have an advantage in a market. Would price necessarily be an advantage? Explain why or why not. 4. Identify and explain three reasons why customers would pay more for exclusivity. 5. Explain how a niche player “chips away” at a larger competitor’s base. Give three examples of retailers who have done this. Identify at least three challenges when setting up a business. Explain why they are challenges. Financing: Does the owner have sufficient cash flow to fund the opening of the business as well as continuing operations? Many times an owner does have enough financial background to open their doors, but they fail to consider that the company has ongoing issues, extreme growth can be a factor, but financing liquidation of the company can get them into some hot water. Securing an ideal location: In retail, the location can be a good deal or a bad one to the success of the company (Brown, 2004). The type of product can also have an impact of a certain location. For example, in the urban...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Part 2 1. Setting up a new business can be a tumultuous task. Order, timing and planning is key when trying to execute a successful business. Even though you might have an excellent idea without proper execution a business can fail. It is imperative to understand that starting a business is not easy and conducting your own research, heeding the advice of experienced business owners and seeking other organizations and resources that help small business owners are key steps in addressing these challenges. - Financing. Does the owner have sufficient cash to fund the opening of the business as well as its ongoing operations? Many times the owner has enough financing to open their doors but they run into cash flow troubles and end up losing their business because they have failed to consider that the business has ongoing cash flow requirements. Excess growth can be a factor, and financing limitations can hinder growth, or growth can outstrip financing and cause a liquidity crisis. - Securing an Appropriate Location. In retail, location can be a deal maker or a deal breaker of the success of the firm. The type of product can have a big impact on the appropriateness of a given location. For example, in the Urban Outfitters case, the owners decided at first to focus their store openings near college campuses where young people looking for trendy fashions would tend to be in close proximity. - Legal Issues: Patents and trademarks must be...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Creating a Business Introduction to Business Prof. Maria Gambuzza Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Creating a Business 1. Identify at least three challenges when setting up a business. Explain why they are challenges. One of the challenges when setting up a business is about finance. First and foremost, business needs to determine the startup cost. To be able to do that, they must identify all the expenses their business will encounter during their startup phase. The expenses will be either one-time cost, such as business license fee or going costs, such as leasing cost, supplies, etc… After that phase, business needs to find their capital sources. If they don’t have their own savings or can’t borrow money from friends or family, their option will be getting loan from banks. In the early state of the business, their inexperience “in financial matters often prompts banks to deny loan requests”. (1) Business owner needs to well prepare and organize to prove to their lender that they are the bank’s good investment. The other challenge is experience and skills. Many people are first time business owners who are inexperience and lack of skills. Some start a business because they see people doing successfully and think they can do the same. However, running a business smoothly and successfully requires owners to have skills and experience in all perspective of the business, including accounting, marketing, etc. The third...
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...Case Study - Slavery in Chocolate 1. What are the systemic, corporate, and individual ethical issues raised by this case? • Local and Global Laws are not enforced due to lack of resources or the desire to enforce the laws. • The number of farmers (1M) and the system makes it difficult to identify the source of the cocoa beans harvested using slavery. • Global decline in cocoa bean prices drove farmers to use slavery to lower labor cost. • Corporations are unable or unwilling to take action to improve the situation in harvesting the cocoa bean. • The fundamental demands of shareholder profits drives corporation to turn a blind eye to how cocoa is harvested. • Chocolate Consumers are kept so far removed from the Cocoa source that they are unaware or choose to be ignorant of the cost involved to create chocolate. 2) In your view is the kind of child slavery discussed in this case absolutely wrong no matter what or is it only relatively wrong i.e. if one happens to live in a society like ours that disapproves of Slavery. I believe that Slavery is wrong. Kidnapping is wrong. Forced labor for children is wrong. I would like to believe Slavery is absolutely wrong but this is coming from a Western perspective where we hold personal freedom as a right. We also don’t see the populations of poverty that some third world countries face. In countries where there is a high infant/child death rate due to poverty, and starvation, living as a slave could be seen as a preferable...
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