...wealth in poor communities.” The research draws on experience and insights from: • Interviews with leading handicraft buyers in the United States, the European Union, and the Caribbean, including importers and retailers currently sourcing from Haiti, those who have done so in the past, and those who source handmade products from other destinations; • Interviews with market experts, such as product development consultants, designers, enterprise development consultants, and marketing specialists who work with handicraft producers in developing countries; • Discussions with market experts and USAID at a roundtable conducted in Washington, D.C., on April 12, 2006; and • Existing literature on the handicraft market and home accessory industry. This study provides an overview and analysis of the global market for handicrafts and the key trends that affect producers in developing countries, with the ultimate objective of offering practical recommendations for the Haitian handicraft sector. This paper represents...
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...faltering Do-It-Yourself (DIY) home improvement chain, Builders Square. Leonard Green & Partners, a Los Angeles-based retail buyout firm, had proposed to buy Builders Square (BSQ) and merge it with Hechinger’s, a Washington, D.C.-based DIY chain that had been a pioneer in the retail home improvement industry. The newly-formed Builders Square-Hechinger combination would create the nation’s third largest DIY retailer, and seemed to be one of the few options left to Kmart. Kmart’s CEO, Floyd Hall, had a difficult decision to make: should he move forward with Green’s offer of $10 million for Builders Square, or should he continue the search in hopes of receiving a higher offer? Green’s offer seemed surprisingly low, even given Builders Square’s recent sub-par performance, yet bidders for Builders Square had been slow to materialize. Indeed, Kmart’s recent talks concerning a joint venture with Waban Co.’s HomeBase centers ended when Waban’s management withdrew without explanation. As the decision neared, Kmart’s options seemed limited and time was short. Kmart and its Entry into Specialty Retailing Kmart Corporation, one of the world’s largest mass merchandise retailers, began as the S.S. Kresge Company in 1912 and by the 1950s it was one of the largest general merchandise retailers in the United States. In 1962, it opened its first Kmart discount store in Detroit. By the late 1970s, Kmart’s success had attracted new competitors to the discount retailing industry. These...
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...+91-98925 97890 +91-98205 62709 Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies Environment Analysis - Porter’s 5 forces Bargaining Power of Supplier - High DTH relies on three major suppliers: Customer Premise Equipment – Satellite dish, Set top box and Access card, Ku Band Transponder and content. Bargaining power of DTH operator with CPE supplier has increased due to supply. Transponder is provided by Astrix, ISRO hence dependency exists and due to no regulations in channel pricing, DTH operators are at mercy of Broadcasters. Bargaining Power of Buyer-High Consumer has the power to choose in this industry with variety. Unless players can differentiate against each other, the market shall remain mostly homogeneous. Customers will have high bargaining power and will be influenced by costs versus services. Threat of Substitutes- Medium DTH faces major competition from Terrestrial, Cable & IPTV. Doordarshan is world’s largest Terrestrial broadcaster with over 1400 transmitters and covering 88% of India geographical area. They offer Digital service in collaboration with BBC resources. This wide reach and low cost approach are offset by its lack of attractive content. Cable TV operates in 2 modes: CASwhich requires separate set top box and Non Addressable system. The cost varies from Rs. 100 – Rs. 350 to customers depending upon location. Due to its phenomenal reach, there is bound to be a resistance from Local Cable operators. 1 IPTV is service where television signals are...
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...is dominated by few retail giants, with Wal-Mart competing in several retail categories. Wal-Mart competes against Kmart and Target in the general merchandise retailing; against Costco in the warehouse club segment; and against Kroger, Albertson’s and Safeway in the supermarket retailing. Competition among retailers centers on pricing, store location, variations in store format and merchandise mix, store size, shopping atmosphere, and image with shoppers. Further analysis provided by the following figure diagnoses the competitive environment of the retail industry. As a fact, Wal-Mart is considered as the world’s largest retailer nationwide that has been guided by its founder Sam Walton’s passion toward customer satisfaction, and his beliefs in excellence, as well as his philosophy in lowering his prices that has been proven with his famous slogan “everyday low prices.”1Visible outstanding success has required a lot of effort, strategies, dedication, and wide consideration. Such as Wal-Mart, victory is an echo that needs a lot of challenge to market real as Sam Walton did. Since 1962 which was the year of the first Wal-Mart retail store birth till nowadays, Wal-Mart has built up their achievement tremendously to reach the highest fiscal year ending over its rivals. In 2005 only, Wal-Mart fiscal year ending has evaluated with $285.2...
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...Lowe’s Companies is worlds the second largest home improvement retailer and its individual customers such as homeowners and renters are shopping for supplies to complete a wide array of do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. A large portion of Lowe’s customers are professional customers such as construction and trade, maintenance and repair. In 1989 Lowe’s pursued an aggressive growth strategy by replacing its smaller stores with larger warehouse stores. Lowe’s also expanded into new markets, through both internal growth and acquisition. The Lowe’s headquarters is located in Mooresville, North Carolina. It grew from a small hardware store called “Lowe's North Wilkesboro Hardware” that opened in 1921 to what it is known as today. By 1945, Mr. Lowe’s son Jim and son-in-law H. Carl Buchan were running the stores. Lowe’s was founded in 1946 and Buchan bought out Jim Lowe in 1956, but retained the family name so as to keep the catchy slogan, “Lowe’s Low Prices.” Buchan quickly set out to expand the company’s territory by opening new stores in North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Lowe’s currently operates 1,835 home improvement and hardware stores across North America. In 2013, company revenues totaled $53.4 billion. (Merrill Lynch) A typical Lowe’s store stocks approximately 40,000 items with hundreds of items available through special order. Some of those items include appliances, lumber, paint, millwork, building materials, lawn & landscape products, flooring and...
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...MGT 499 Whole Foods Case Review Summary Whole Foods Market, Inc. has long been admired as an innovative company with quality standards, a devotion to community and environmental responsiveness, a healthy growth model and highly regarded employment practices. However, the company has faced recent difficulties as a result of the economic recession, increasing competition, and complications from acquisitions. To revitalize the company from historical lows in its toughest year in history, Whole Foods Market must reassess its costs, refocus its expansion strategies, and promote its brand to compete for the diminishing consumer spending dollar. During the changes in strategic initiatives, it is also important for the company to keep Whole Foods Market’s mission and its brand value intact. The chain is known for its high standards, quality, and ethical practices; this image is at stake when any changes in brand or reputation are made. It is of utmost importance to balance the positioning in order to increase awareness and sales, but at the same time avoid diminishing the brand and message of the company. Without the value behind the Whole Foods brand, the company will not survive—recession or not. If Whole Foods can successfully complete these initiatives that include major restructuring while also generating public relations buzz that coincides with its vision of quality and goodwill, the specialty food retailer will be well positioned to experience rapid growth again when...
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...Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Brief History of Amway 3. Global Growth 4. Amway Values 5. Marketing Strategies 6. Conclusion 1. Introduction Amway is an American multinational direct-selling company that uses multi-level marketing to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Its product lines include home care products, personal care products, jewelry, electronics, Nutrilite dietary supplements, water purifiers, air purifiers, insurance and cosmetics. Amway is an abbreviation for "American Way" and was coined in 1959 by company’s founders, Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos. Short, unique and easy to remember, Amway has been registered as a corporate name and trademark ever since. Today, Amway is a multibillion-dollar international business representing freedom and opportunity to millions of people in more than 88 countries and territories around the world. Amway generates US $ 10.9 billion (Feb’ 2012) in sales at estimated retail through this global product distribution network. The business is built on the simple integrity of helping people lead better lives. It offers over 3 million Business Owners the inspiration to grow those businesses, and work hard to provide new and better ways for them to achieve their life goals. Amway was ranked No.114 among the largest global retailers by Deloitte in 2006, and No.39, 32 and 28 among the largest private companies in the U.S. by...
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...Industry Surveys Retailing: General Jason Asaeda, Department & General Merchandise Stores Equity Analyst JUNE 2013 Current Environment ............................................................................................ 1 Industry Profile .................................................................................................... 12 Industry Trends ................................................................................................... 13 How the Industry Operates ............................................................................... 23 Key Industry Ratios and Statistics ................................................................... 29 How to Analyze a Retail Company ................................................................... 31 Glossary ................................................................................................................ 36 Industry References ........................................................................................... 37 Comparative Company Analysis ...................................................................... 38 This issue updates the one dated November 2012. The next update of this Survey is scheduled for December 2013. CONTACTS: INQUIRIES & CLIENT RELATIONS 800.852.1641 clientrelations@ standardandpoors.com SALES 877.219.1247 wealth@spcapitaliq.com MEDIA Marc Eiger 212.438.1280 marc.eiger@spcapitaliq.com S&P CAPITAL IQ 55 Water Street New York, NY 10041 ...
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...change requires an integrated approach that remodels a company’s social systems. The leadership team of Home Depot employed a remarkable set of tools to do that. by Ram Charan W hen Robert Nardelli arrived at Home Depot in December 2000, the deck seemed stacked against the new CEO. He had no retailing experience and, in fact, had spent an entire career in industrial, not consumer, businesses. His previous job was running General Electric’s power systems division, whose multimilliondollar generating plants for industry and governments were a far cry from $10 light switches for do-it-yourselfers. re tu ul C Change HOME DEPOT’S BLUEPRINT FOR april 2006 61 H o m e D e p o t’s B l u e p r i n t f o r C u l t u re C h a n g e Nardelli also was taking over what seemed to be a wildly successful company, with a 20-year record of growth that had outpaced even Wal-Mart’s – but with latent financial and operational problems that threatened its continued growth, and even its future, if they weren’t quickly addressed. To top it off, Nardelli’s exacting and tough-minded approach, which he learned at General Electric, set him on a collision course with the freewheeling yet famously close-knit culture fostered by his predecessors, Home Depot’s legendary cofounders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. It was this culture that Nardelli had to reshape if he hoped to bring some big-company muscle to the cooled from the breakneck pace of the late 1990s, the company continues to enjoy...
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...research, and so much more. The following will provide all the phases Allen’s Foods had to develop in order to create and introduce their new home delivery service. Organization Overview Allen’s Foods is a local small town grocery store located in the retirement town of Bella Vista, AR, and was established in June of 1999. Although, it has not been around nearly as long as some of the big chain grocery stores they have still won the hearts of many local customers. Allen’s Foods is a full service grocery store that includes an on site butcher to freshly cut any meat a customer wants, fresh produce from regional and local growers, gourmet foods, specialty foods, and natural and organic foods (Facebook, 2013). The staff is very friendly, and Allen’s Foods has something big chains do not have; they carry your groceries to your car and load them up for the customers. The one thing they do not provide in their full service grocery store is grocery delivery. Many of the retired and elderly community are extremely busy or too old to have to go grocery shopping every time they need food, so on occasion, they would like to have (or need it) their groceries delivered directly to their homes. The community agrees it would free up more time and take a burden off of those that cannot shop very often due to age. Allen’s Foods New Service Allen’s Foods Home Delivery is offered to save time, gas, and money for all in the community. All products can be ordered by phone or online. Allen’s Foods...
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...change. New stores open, others go out of business. Market leaders experiment with larger or smaller store formats. They change the layout in their stores and launch new private brands on their shelves. Loyalty programs are tweaked, new offers and affinity programs designed. Supply chains become more automated and efficient, resulting in increased product availability and improvements in inventory management.But in reality there are few really big innovations in retail. Most of the change we see year after year is relatively incremental. True transformation in this sector comes along only once every few decades. And when these transformational events occur, they nearly always create new winners and leave a trail of casualties in their wake. To understand whether today’s innovations represent seismic industry shifts, it’s useful to recognize the three preceding “ages of modern retail”. This report focuses on the grocery sector, but we also draw on the best practices and experiences of leading retailers in different categories from around the world. For the purposes of this article, we’ll peg the birth of modern retailing to the 20th century and begin with what we call “Retail 1.0.” Retail 1.0: Birth of the modern supermarket Retail 1.0 had its start at the beginning of the 20th century. In the grocery business, Piggly Wiggly was arguably the earliest and most influential innovator, offering the first true self-service grocery store—at least...
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...Systems (medical cyclotrons) * Affinity Credit Union (banking) * Areva Resources Canada (uranium) * Air Canada (airline) * AldrichPears Associates * ALDO Group * Algonquin Power * Allied Shipbuilders * Alta Newspaper Group * Alterra Power * Angoss Software Corporation (software) * Appnovation * Arc'teryx (outdoor apparel/equipment) * Atimi Software Inc * Aritzia (clothing) * Army & Navy Stores (Canada) * Arsenal Pulp Press (publisher) * ATI technologies (semiconductors) * Atmosphere Visual Effects (movie special effects) * AVI Sound International (audio/visual equipment manufacture) B * Ballard Power Systems * Banff Lodging Co * Bank of Montreal * Bank West * Barrick Gold * Bard Ventures Company * BBC Kids (television) * BC Biomedical Laboratories Ltd. * BC Hydro * BC Research Inc * Becancour Silicon (silicon manufacture) * Bell Canada * Bennett Environmental * Becker's * Ben Moss Jewellers * Big Blue Bubble (software firm) * BigPark (software firm) * Biovail * BioWare (video games) * Bison Transport Inc. (Transportation) * Black Diamond Cheese Limited * Black Hen Music (record label) * Black Photo Corporation * BlackBerry (wireless devices) * Blake, Cassels & Graydon (law firm) * Blackburn Radio * Bleeding Art Industries (special effects) * Blenz Coffee * Blue Water Studios (recording...
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...tMARKET RESEARCH REPORT E-Commerce In the Middle East Contents Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3 E-Commerce Market Trends ................................................................................................. 3 Online buying habits: ........................................................................................................... 7 Demographics of Online buyers: ........................................................................................... 9 Challenges for e-commerce implementation ........................................................................ 11 Group buying players of Middle East .................................................................................. 13 Online Payment gateways in Middle East............................................................................ 15 Confidential Page | 2 Introduction Electronic commerce, or E-Commerce, involves the sale of goods and services via electronic means—principally over the internet, although sales via television (terrestrial, cable, and satellite) are also included. E-Commerce can be further divided into the following sectors: business-to-business (B2B), business-to-government (B2G), consumer-to-consumer (C2C), government-to-business (G2B), government-to-citizen (G2C), and business-to-consumer (B2C). Retailers that rely primarily on E-Commerce to sell goods...
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...Chapter 7 Operating in Global Markets “Globalisaton is clearly a double-edged sword. The advantages of being a transnational corporation in emerging markets have declined dramatically in recent times. Smart local companies have used the benefits of globalization to close gaps in technology capital and talent with their rivals from the developed world.” - Arindam K Bhattacharya, David C Michael, Harvard Business Review, March 2008. Introduction Global companies operate across the world. In different markets, customer requirements may vary. The temptation to customise for each market, has to be tempered by the need to keep costs down through standardisation. As discussed before, the logical approach would be to identify and analyse the various value chain activities that make up the marketing function and decide which of these must be performed on a global basis and which localised. This chapter covers product management, pricing, sales and distribution and customer relationship management. Global branding, which merits a separate treatment is covered in Chapter 8. Product management Should the same product be offered across overseas markets? Or should it be customized according to the specific needs of different markets? A globally standardised product can be made efficiently and priced low but may end up pleasing few customers. On the other hand, excessive customisation for different markets across the world may be too expensive. The trick, as in the case of...
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...For the exclusive use of K. Larsen, 2016. 9-914-525 DECEMBER 16, 2013 FRANK V. CESPEDES JAMES KINDLEY Clique Pens: The Writing Implements Division of U.S. Home A fierce thunderstorm had just brought brief relief to the sweltering mid-August temperatures in Tampa, Florida, as Elise Ferguson, president of the writing implements division of U.S. Home, Clique Pens, stared at the notepad in front of her. She had jotted some thoughts about just whose needs were more important for Clique to satisfy—its retailers or its consumers? Fortunately, the 2013 back-to-school sales of her core writing implements product lines appeared to be on goal for a 3% increase over 2012. These sales were not without a cost, however, as various discounts, allowances, and other off-invoice deals had pushed gross profit margin down from 42% in 2010 to just over 36% in 2012. (See Exhibit 1.) Another one of Ferguson’s primary goals for Clique was to stop this decline in gross profit margin percentage and grow its overall gross profit by 4%. She hoped to accomplish this by growing revenues and increasing the gross profit margin. At this point, she felt it was unlikely that the latter would happen this year (2013). Ferguson wondered, were all these “giveaways” to retailers necessary? If so, couldn’t the monies be shifted to a form referred to generally as Market Development Funds (MDF), which would in theory allow Clique to have more control over their use in driving sales of its products...
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