...Lowe’s Home Improvement By Noe Rodriguez MKTG 305-07 American Intercontinental University Online September 23, 2012 Abstract The paper contains information regarding Lowe’s home improvement. The 4 Ps of marketing that Lowe’s uses at this time are also included in this paper; Lowe’s is considered an oligopoly as the second home improvement store in the nation, explanation on how it has dealt with Home Depot and other stores is part of this paper. Lowe’s Home Improvement Introduction Lowe’s is a great company in the fortune 500 which serves home improvement and, has been around for 60 years; it was founded in 1946 and it is considered today the largest home improvement retailer globally. Lowe’s has 1,745 stores within the USA, Mexico and Canada; it ranks number 54 in the Fortune 500 list, it also is a contributor to the consumer by contributing over $32 million dollar to different schools. (Lowe’s.com) Countries Lowe’s operates in the USA, Canada, Mexico and Australia; the expansion to Canada began in 2007 where Lowe’s open a store in Hamilton, Ontario; then in 2008 proceeded to enter the market of Monterrey, Mexico, and is building 150 stores in Australia. In the USA alone it has 1,710 stores. 4Ps of Marketing Lowe’s There are market types which are to be considered important and they are competition, monopolistic competition, monopoly, and oligopoly, because Lowe’s is constantly in competition with...
Words: 526 - Pages: 3
...and Lowe’s are both large successful home improvement retailers. This paper discusses the background of both companies and goes into detail about the financial ratios including profitability and liquidity ratios. The paper also discusses business risks, audit risks, and the proper audit procedures that are necessary. The paper focuses on audit procedures of three important asset accounts: Cash, inventories, and accounts receivable. Team Members: Julie November Shuai Guo Wenqian Zhu Yusi Zeng Zongxian Wang Background Yusi Zeng No matter if customers are a homeowner, renter, or Pro customer, as long as they are creators and want improve their houses, they would seek quality tailored experiences, and are on the lookout for new ideas to improve homes. The home improvement industry or hardware stores, in terms of public companies was an industry once ran by smaller companies and is now dominated by some of the largest retail companies in the world. DIY or do it yourself has become the business and in the United States Home Depot and Lowe's are the two largest competitors and are currently changing the landscape of the industry. Both of them are among the the many businesses, including home centers, paint stores, hardware stores, lumber yards and garden centers. The industry growth is very limited, and very slow. But this doesn’t mean it’s small, “the industry generates...
Words: 3955 - Pages: 16
...Compliance This paper contains analyzed data of the organization Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores. Lowe’s is a home improvement store that provides its customers with the supplies needed for any improvements around the home. The discussion hereafter will assess the role of ethics in the financial department and describe the procedures the company has to encourage ethical behavior. Next, explain the role financial markets in the United States. Followed by how Lowe’s complies with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. Lastly, provide an evaluation of the company’s financial performance last two annual periods, followed by the calculations of ratios for each year. The ratios include current, debt, return on equity, and days receivable along with an explanation for trends. The code of business conduct and ethics at Lowe’s improvement stores starts with the board of directors down to the newest employee. Everyone associated with or represented by Lowe’s is required to read and adhere by the code of conduct. Lowe’s values its reputation as a leader when complying with governmental regulations involving ethics. Lowe’s applies ethics in its financial dealings by requiring, under Section B of the code of conduct. That “employees and members of their immediate families should not have any financial interest, direct or indirect, in any organization that is or is seeking to be a supplier of merchandise or other property or services to the company” according to (Lowe’s, 2012). Other...
Words: 1628 - Pages: 7
...Running head: INTERCLEAN BENCHMARKING PAPER INTERCLEAN BENCHMARKING PAPER Great Team University of Phoenix InterClean Benchmarking Today's organizations thrive on benchmarking to find best practices or solutions to a company's problems through outside industries or companies. This paper highlights some of those issues focusing on how other companies have implemented plans to handle those issues. The issues facing InterClean highlighted in this analysis are human resource philosophy, employee retention, mergers and acquisitions, human resources product handling and servicing. Benchmarking was conducted to evaluate how other companies had handled situations similar to those of Interclean. Outside companies evaluated for comparison come from the mortgage industry, pharmaceutical industry, oil industry, specialty eatery industry, technology industry, airlines industry, chemical industry, insurance industry, and home improvement retail industry. The companies evaluated in this paper were Guardian First Funding Group, Trinity-Chiesi Pharmaceuticals, BP Amoco, Starbucks, Google, Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines, Rohm and Haas Company, Liberty Mutual Holding Company, Pepsico, and LOWE’s. Evaluation of these companies showed several concepts used in handling the issues and how the companies used these concepts. Situational Analysis Retaining Employees Guardian First Funding Group - Guardian First Funding Group (GFFG) is a mortgage company exclusively involved...
Words: 4333 - Pages: 18
...Introduction As Lowe’s seeks new international markets to expand its highly successful home improvement model, the opportunities in the Asia market provide a unique untapped region. In Korea, recent political changes have opened its economy to foreign investors and businesses. Korea’s strong economic growth provides Lowe’s with the ideal situation of opening up stores before their competitors. Based on research I conducted, this assessment considers the potential of expanding Lowe’s into the Korean market. With any major investment, it is important to consider the monetary and non-monetary aspects including gaining an understanding of the culture, the ideal management approach, past and future trends, along with political roadblocks. In this paper, the following information provides a roadmap to the decision-making process. First, an assessment of the Lowe’s vision, mission, and promise are discussed and compared to the similarities and differences within Korea. Then, an analysis considers Korean trends that support the expansion of Lowe’s. Next, a culture assessment of Lowe’s base country (USA) is compared against Korea including management styles to consider for the local corporate office and stores. Lastly, a communication strategy is discussed based on the cultural assessment and offers best practices for the expansion of Lowe’s into Korea. This paper is intended to assist Lowe’s senior managers begin an assessment of expansion into the Asian market via Korea by...
Words: 3561 - Pages: 15
...CONFORMING LETTER Home Depot Inc. Dear Home Depot Inc. Management, As a partner of KNAM LLC, it is my pleasure to present you with the results of our initial review. Included with these results is our assessment of Home Depot Inc.’s performance is our proposition of areas we’d like to review further to determine improvements, efficiency, functionality, and health of your organization. Background Your organization’s core service is in the DIY home improvement market. You sell goods that consumers need for home improvement as well as advice on said projects, contracting services, lawn and garden, and appliances and tools. Your organization was founded in 1978 with the purpose of providing DIY one-stop shopping. Since inception, Home Depot Inc. has grown to become a multinational company with foundations strongly in the United States with roots in the Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese markets. Shortly after inception, Home Depot Inc. enlisted on NASDAQ and the NYSE. Your company has seen considerable growth in its main business as well as developments in subsidiary businesses and services. Home Depot Inc. has become one of the fastest growing retailers in America and as such, you would like to review the operations of your organization to determine areas of further growth and areas that may need to be leaner. Objectives of the Operational Review As a result of our initial review and interviews with your executive management...
Words: 8379 - Pages: 34
...Introduction The purpose of the paper is demonstrate all that has business models that have been learned by me in the course BUSU 630. To demonstrate the lessons learned, through different models taught, will look at Home Depot in how they are the leader of their industry. Than it will delve into how they can maintain their leadership over their major competitor Lowes; this paper will include a brief background on each company, and how they stack against each other in history’s timeline. Analysis Brief History The Home Depot was founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank; the first stores that opened were approximately 60,000 square feet having in stock over 25,000 SKUs which made look competition look small. To the consumer they also appeared to have more product than they actually did, as they placed boxes on shelves super high give the illusion of even more product (homedepot.com). Currently Home Depot operates just over 2, 200 stores across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Virgin Islands, and Canada. Compared to their top competitor Lowe’s, Home Depot is relatively young company. Carl Buchan originally founded Lowe’s in 1946, where the first store was in North Carolina originally named the North Wilkesboro Hardware Company. The name Lowes stemmed from that fact they had the lowest prices originally as they eliminated wholesalers and dealt directly with manufacturers (lowes.com). Currently Lowes has just over 1,825 stores throughout the United States, Canada...
Words: 1174 - Pages: 5
...TermPaperWarehouse.com - Free Term Papers, Essays and Research Documents The Research Paper Factory Join Search Browse Saved Papers Home page » Business and Management Should Companies Comply With China's Terms In: Business and Management Should Companies Comply With China's Terms Should companies comply with China’s terms? As our society advances towards a global society, and companies begin to transition themselves into multinational and global organizations, the question of which rules and regulations should the company follow is likely to precipitate. I feel such is the case with China. I believe prior to answering the question of foreign nation compliance, one should examine the reasons why an organization has entered into that foreign market. The primary objective is typically profits, a secondary could be expansion, an initiative to become a globally known brand and gain international market share. Once the fundamental question of “why” is answered, the remaining issues, such as foreign government policies, can be addressed as well. So should a company comply or defy? Proponents of both sides of the fence are up in arms and ready to debate their stance. Proponents argue loss of market share if a company decides to leave a potentially new market, especially an international market. And proponents of defying the compliance terms are citing moral and ethical beliefs which make it wrong to comply with a communist government (http://hbswk...
Words: 506 - Pages: 3
...Building Better Home Improvement Experiences 2012 ANNUAL REPORT Building Better Home Improvement Experiences Learn more by visiting our online Annual Report at www.Lowes.com/2012annual or scan the QR code with your smartphone. Shareholder Letter Great customer experiences start with our associates, whether they interact with customers face-to-face or work tirelessly behind the scenes to simplify the complex business of home improvement. And together, Lowe’s associates are building better home improvement experiences. We’ve laid the foundation to transform our core business over the past two years, and we will continue our efforts in 2013 and beyond. We expect to generate compelling returns for shareholders as we further align our people, processes and financial resources to provide better home improvement experiences. 2012 PERFORMANCE We delivered solid performance in 2012. Comparable store sales grew 1.4% and total sales grew 0.6% to $50.5 billion. Net earnings increased by 6.5% to $2.0 billion and diluted earnings per share increased 18.2% to $1.69. Operating cash flows, along with the net issuance of $1.4 billion of long-term debt, were used to acquire $1.2 billion in fixed assets and return $5.1 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Robert A. Niblock Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer OUR PROGRESS Our transformation is centered on the customer. In the inspiration phase of a project, customers realize...
Words: 42739 - Pages: 171
...how this week’s material relates to you professionally and to organization. Post to Weekly Summary Thread. Day 7 1 Learning Team Instructions Create the Learning Team Charter. Select one of the following Virtual Organizations to use throughout the course for strategic plan development: • Riordan Manufacturing • Huffman Trucking • McBride Financial Services Day 7 Individual Internal Risk Assessment Resource: University Library’s Datamonitor 360 Access the University Library’s Datamonitor 360 and look up one of the following companies: • Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. • Jet Blue Airways Corporation • Hewlett-Packard Company • The Home Depot Prepare a 1,050- to 1,750-word paper identifying the key capabilities of your selected company. • Discuss the firm’s strengths and weaknesses in marketing, human resources, management, research and development,...
Words: 29510 - Pages: 119
...how this week’s material relates to you professionally and to organization. Post to Weekly Summary Thread. Day 7 1 Learning Team Instructions Create the Learning Team Charter. Select one of the following Virtual Organizations to use throughout the course for strategic plan development: • Riordan Manufacturing • Huffman Trucking • McBride Financial Services Day 7 Individual Internal Risk Assessment Resource: University Library’s Datamonitor 360 Access the University Library’s Datamonitor 360 and look up one of the following companies: • Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. • Jet Blue Airways Corporation • Hewlett-Packard Company • The Home Depot Prepare a 1,050- to 1,750-word paper identifying the key capabilities of your selected company. • Discuss the firm’s strengths and weaknesses in marketing, human resources, management, research and development,...
Words: 6810 - Pages: 28
...Family Working in Yard By: Xiao Tan Case analysis of " Stihl Incorporated: Go-to-Market strategy for next-generation Consumers" The successes of Stihl Incorporated's distribution network was based upon it's great supports to their independent retail dealers, to help them service the end customers with a great selling performance. But, when the Generation Y ( Echo Boomers: 1985-2003) gradually become the major house owners (which is the target consumers of outdoor power equipment industry) of United States, their unique buying habits will increasingly affect Stihl's marketing performance. After couple decades, Stihl's two-step retail distribution channels and present products' designs will no longer be profitable. For keeping and improving Stihl's brand equity, I strongly suggest: First of all, create a informative, highly functional Web sites, personalize notification and a mechanism for capturing and responding to customer feedback; Second and the huge move, create a new brand not only sell tools but also providing excellent home improvement experience to house owners and their families; Third, introducing new products that add style, technology and color to the mix in home improvement centers and mass merchants, for commercial buyers, using the web-site only. New brand, New products & New channels There are some unique characteristics of the new generation, such as: "want challenges" and " give me info, but I call shots". Also, "The present research takes an...
Words: 892 - Pages: 4
...Topic Identification: Supervisor-Subordinate Communication Chasity Stephens BUS 600: Management Communications with Technology Tools Prof. Raj Singh March 11, 2012 Supervisor-Subordinate Communication Supervisors fail daily. Why? There is a gross lack of effective communication to subordinates. What is the cause? Supervisors are not categorically trained in communication skills. Many were high achieving front-line workers, promoted on the merits of their day to day work. An outstanding hourly worker does not instantly evolve into a star supervisor overnight. Supervisory skills require cultivation and a deep understanding of the complexities involved with communicating to subordinates. This paper discusses communication in the various elements, principles, levels, barriers, and strategies. Improvement options will be presented to train and reward employees, strategically aligning supervisor-subordinate communications with overall organizational goals. Supervisor-subordinate communication is a delicate matter deserving an enormous amount of time, preparation, and execution. Clear, direct, and honest face-to-face communication is the one business tool most needed yet least trained. Solving the inefficiencies of supervisor-subordinate communication can be perceived as a monumental undertaking. It does not have to be. The first step understands that a problem exists. The next step is selecting a problem solving model to implement a strategy...
Words: 2032 - Pages: 9
...Customer Relationship Management Holly Smith August 16, 2011 Introduction Customer acquisition and retention have become essential in a highly competitive global market where advanced technological and web-based tools and applications are used to lure new customers as the old marketing strategy of quality goods at low cost has become redundant and the focus is on customer centric marketing and product development. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has been defined as, “a cross functional, customer-driven and technology-integrated business process management strategy that maximizes relationships” Chen and Popovich (as cited in Parsongsukan,2010, p.17). The successful implementation of a CRM strategy requires organisational transformation, changing business processes and only then can CRM implementation achieve the desired results and CRM vision. CRM implementation cannot be restricted to software and technological upgradation for enhancing customer database management. CRM is an integrated approach that requires organisation and business process transformation for effective implementation. History of CRM The evolution of CRM started from mass marketing when companies’ mass- produced goods and services believing that customers had similar needs and preferences. This trend gave way to target marketing where marketing campaigns were used to target goods and services to different strata’s of consumer segments...
Words: 2689 - Pages: 11
...Home Depot: Research and Development Improvement Recommendations This paper is submitted in partial fulfillment for Business Marketing (EMBA) - March 24, 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...
Words: 3892 - Pages: 16
