In her essay, “In Praise of Chain Stores”, Virginia Postrel hails the progressiveness of chain stores and counters arguments made against them. As a frequent shopper in my city, I have experienced the benefits of chain stores and how they affect the locals that shop in them. I believe that chain stores have not turned Augusta into a boring city because they are familiar even to those new to the area, they have a high standard of quality and service, and provide fair fixed prices. First, Postrel quotes Thomas Friedman in her essay, stating that “…America is mind numbingly monotonous- the most boring country to tour; because ‘everywhere looks like everwhere else…’ the familiarity of a Walmart to someone new to Augusta may be a relief,
Costco Wholesale Corporation strives to grow and expand through their competitive retail and pricing strategies in their market. As a retail firm, Costco depends on cusumer purchasing capacities (Gregory 2015). Costco offers a limited number of items that are afforadable quality services and goods to their consumers and believes it aids to their continued growing and expanding success. Costco is driven by cost leadership for their retailer store because they would rather maintain the lowest prices possible which enable customers to return. Costco largely relies on their pricing and retail strategy to continue sales and organization success.
In Costco’s macro-environment, a variety of factors could affect the company’s economic viability. External factors such as inflation, foreign currency exchange rates, levels of unemployment, reduced consumer confidence, and changes in tax policies could unfavorably affect the demand for Costco’s products and services. Prices of some goods and services including food products, are often variant and subject to fluctuations deriving from changes in domestic and foreign supply and demand, competition, taxes, labor costs, or delays in delivery which could significantly affect Costco’s sales. Therefore, the product’s costs and selling could also increase affecting financial results. Other important economic factors include the increasing international
INTRODUCTION Hypermarkets are retail outlets that offer everything under one roof. From grocery items to bath and linen items; from liquor to apparel, these stores cater to large array of products for varied customer needs by merging aspects of a supermarket and a departmental store. The items are generally in the product mix of 40% edible and 60% non-edibles, they are able to achieve a net margin of 19%. In India, retail stores that cover an area of more than 50,000 sqft. in size can be classified as hypermarkets.
The grocery store I chose was Costco Wholesale. The main objective of Costco is for regular consumers to be able to purchase food items in bulk. Costco’s set-up is very similar to a warehouse, with open aisles and the whole store in general taking up a lot of square feet. On an average day in Costco, you can see many different types and groups of people shopping in Costco. All ages, nationalities, and social classes can find something at Costco.
The last strategy is price and pricing strategy and Costco uses a market oriented pricing strategy. Market oriented happens when the company uses market conditions to help set prices. Costco’s aim to offer the lowest prices possible while for all of their items. Costco at the same time feels that promoting products needs to have value. Once when they have the proper techniques, they should share it with other private wholesalers so they wholesale industry could be the number 1 place for consumers to shop.
Key Trends – Globalisation One of the main opportunities Costco has is more global expansion to specific targeted countries. Although operating in many countries, Costco is heavily dependent on the U.S. and Canadian markets. It still has the opportunity to expand into the Asian and Australian markets where it has a limited presence. Costco has the capability to operate about 100 stores in Taiwan, Korea and Japan combined and about 20 stores in Australia. It currently has 41 stores in Taiwan, Korea and Japan combined and 6 stores in Australia.
This paper presents an overview of Kmart retail supply chain in New Zealand. Various IT systems and software used by Kmart are presented in this paper. The new IT systems and business applications are also proposed. In retail sector, IT is involved at every point right from supply chain management to POS terminals for transaction processing. Efficient use of technology and IT systems can bring innovation.
What are the two types of core competencies that drive a firm’s competitive advantage? Which firms demonstrate a clear competitive advantage because of (a) major value-creating skills/core capabilities and/or (b) superior assets or resources? Which firms have demonstrated sustainable sources of competitive advantage? The two core competencies that drive a firm’s competitive advantage are cost leadership and differentiation.
marginal compared to that of shopping first hand because people generally don't want second hand electronics. This is because as technology ages it becomes obsolete. Threat of new entry (Low): The threat of new entry is classified as low for the retailers in the electronic industry. Joining the market to compete with developed retailers takes not only a large investment, in which most people don't have the resources to obtain, but also it takes time for consumers to become devoted to your company. Bargaining Power of Suppliers (High): With having the top manufactures like Sony, Apple and Samsung providing the public with the latest and greatest invention.
Wall Street Journal article, “The Next Big Threat to Consumer Brands (Yes, Amazon’s Behind It)” written by, Saabira Chaudhuri and Sharon Terlep, talks about the disadvantages suppliers
Q. 2. Recent development in Technology has enabled huge global organizations to avail information easily in their premises for smooth functioning of various departments within an organization. Much of a company's success comes down to its Supply Chain Management and logistics. The development of Information Systems in SCM helps in cost reductions, customer satisfaction and productivity.
Pizza Hut was established by Dan and Frank Carney in Wichita, Kansas, USA in the year 1958. Pizza Hut Inc. is one of the prevalent pizza companies worldwide. It was a subsidiary of Pepsi Co Inc. from the year 1977 – 1997. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of YUM! Brands since 1997 to present.
Executive summary This report depicts the various stages of IKEA’s supply chain flow, providing an elaboration of processes that take place at each stage. It also shows the dependency of the stages and how information flows through the supply chain. After illustrating the supply chain flow process of IKEA, the report then moves on to analyze the company’s global supply chain strategies.
Burger King (BK) is an American global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in the unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953. Burger King 's menu has expanded from a basic offering of burgers, French fries, sodas, and milkshakes to a larger and more diverse set of products. In 1957, the "Whopper" became the first major addition to the menu, and it has become Burger King 's signature product since.
