A Recent Change Within Staples Inc.

There has been an overall loss in Market Share throughout departments stores. JCPenney is one department store in particular that has a very hard time dealing with this issue and has struggled to retain its market value. JCPenney CEO’s of the past and present have taken very different approaches to solving this problem and that will be discussed throughout this paper. We will start off by introducing you to former CEO, Mike Ullman who managed JCPenney before and after the recession as well as his presence after next CEO Ron Johnson was fired. We will walk through the problems that occurred after Johnson enforced his new turnaround strategies for JCPenney and how it cause disastrous results in sales and in the further decrease of market share. We will then focus on the current CEO, Marvin Ellison, and his plans for JC Penney and if his strategies can fix the overall problem JCPenney is facing.

Unlike Starbucks, Macy’s is not doing very well, as evidenced by the fact they announced last month the impeding closure of 68 stores (Peterson, 2017). The company has been struggling for a few years with the growth of the internet and online businesses such as Amazon making their brick and mortar stores impractical in modern times. While the number of stores may not seem like as much of a problem as it is, as other companies have had to close down more in recent years or go out of business in general, this is a symptom of larger problems in both the company and the industry.

The industry we have chosen is the department store-retail industry. Within this industry, we have chosen the department stores of JCPenney and Macy’s. We find this industry, as well as these two companies, interesting from a strategic perspective. JCPenney has recently undergone a massive strategic restructuring in regards to its pricing, brand offerings, and store layout, pushing it away from the typical department store strategy of discounts and coupons. Its new strategy has become much closer to Wal-Mart’s strategy of every day low prices. Macy’s, on the other hand, has restructured with a push from the economic

Macy's is one of the premier retailer franchises within the United States. To begin, Macy's Inc. is one of the nation's largest and well known department store chains. Started over 150 years ago, Macy's has continually generated excellent returns for its shareholders and employees. Currently, in the midst of a global recession, Macy's has generated huge profits with same store sales increasing 5.3% year to date. In 2012 same store sales increased 4.6% in the month of February alone (Macy's Inc., 2012). In fact, throughout the duration of 2012, Macy's is projecting even larger profits for its underlying business operations. Even though Macy's has experienced success with both its assortments and brand, its competitors haven't faired so well. Sears, due in part to part to a lackluster holiday season, has been forced to close nearly 120 locations to generate excess liquidity in an effort to shore up its balance sheet (Isadora, 2011).Other competitors who cater specifically to the middle class consumer have also lost significant amounts of market share as consumers trade down due to the economy. Macy's, with its ride array of assortments and products continues to grow as it attempts to capture market share from failing competitors. Macy's is also unique as it operates in a unique market

As one of the largest American retailers, The Target Corporation offers home goods, clothing, electronics, food, and other household necessities at competitive discount rates. Founded in 1902 originally as a department store in the midwest, it has since branched off and grown to offer more to the common people. The company in its long run of upscale discount retailing has proved to be a worthy investment, but has since fallen in it stature. The mass amounts of goods and services generates a high-net of profit, but its recent spike in prices on some of their products. a security breach, and the state of the economy have attributed to a loss in clientele. Therefore. the Target Corporation is not worth investing it, based on the current shape of the economy and its continuous errors towards its once loyal customers.

This paper will discuss the kroger company’s strategy and competitive advantage. It will also discuss competition and strategy from rival company Walmart. Research will show whether Kroger uses an offensive or defensive strategic approach to business practices. It will discuss mergers and acquisitions of The Kroger Company (Bethel University, 2017).

FreshDirect is an online grocer that delivers to offices and residencies in the Northeast Corridor. The company’s mission statement is “to deliver quality beyond question and convenience that adds something great to your day.” Business case analysis of FreshDirect will help to determine whether or not the company lives up to its mission statement to deliver high-quality goods and convenience to its customers, what is the company’s internal and external environment, what are the company’s core competencies and what it should do to stay competitive, and provide recommendations for its further success.

Macy's Inc. is one of the nation's largest and well known department store chains. Started over 150 years ago, Macy's has continually generated excellent returns for its shareholders and employees. Currently, in the midst of a global recession, Macy's has generated huge profits with same store sales increasing 5.3% year to date. In 2012 same store sales increased 4.6% in the month of February alone (Macy's Inc., 2012). In fact, throughout the duration of 2012, Macy's is projecting even larger profits for its underlying business operations. Even though Macy's has experienced success with both its assortments and brand, its competitors haven't faired so well. Sears, due in part to part to a lackluster holiday season, has been forced to close nearly 120 locations to generate excess liquidity in an effort to shore up its balance sheet (Isidore, 2011).Other competitors who cater specifically to the middle class consumer have also lost significant amounts of market share as consumers trade down due to the economy. This performance is primarily due to the core functions and operations of the business. Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Macy's excels at these forms of management, which has allowed the company to perform at a higher level relative to its peers in the industry.

When it comes to the impact of the Five Forces of Competition and its effect on the performance of Staples and Office Depot, there does not appear to be a strong threat of new entrants in the big-box retail office supply segment of the industry. It seems unlikely that anyone will want to open a new office supply store. While there is a level of service differentiation between the two companies, there is little product differentiation between the two. Likewise, there would be little product differentiation from a new competitor. The threat of substitutes comes into play between Staples and Office Depot in that both companies offer basically the same products. If the customer can’t get what he wants at one store, he can go to the other. Likewise, if the customer becomes disenfranchised with one company for whatever reason, he can easily go to the other company. There doesn’t seem to be much bargaining power of customers or suppliers. There does seems to be a strong industry rivalry which, as with most industries, is the major determinant of the competitiveness of the industry.

In this paper I will discuss Macy’s Incorporated by analyzing their business level strategies to determine which I think is the most important to their long term success and if I think it is a good choice. I will analyze their corporate level strategies to determine which I think is the most important and whether or not I believe it is a good choice. I will analyze the competitive environment to determine the corporations’ most significant competitor and compare the two companies’ strategies at each level and evaluate which company I think is most likely to succeed in the long term. Once the

The company had ambitious objectives with their own retail units, having as an objective to open three hundred stores, but the company realized that retail stores were a distraction to management making harder to focus in their core business and damaging the relationship with their main retailers, making clear that the company was struggling on creating profits in products that were not part of their core business, the strategies and objectives needed to be adjusted in order to turnaround the decrease in sales and profits of the

Macy's is one of the premier retailer franchises within the United States. To begin, Macy's Inc. is one of the nation's largest and well known department store chains. Started over 150 years ago, Macy's has continually generated excellent returns for its shareholders and employees. Currently, in the midst of a global recession, Macy's has generated huge profits with same store sales increasing 5.3% year to date. In 2012 same store sales increased 4.6% in the month of February alone (Macy's Inc., 2012). In fact, throughout the duration of 2012, Macy's is projecting even larger profits for its underlying business operations. Even though Macy's has experienced success with both its assortments and brand, its competitors haven't faired so well. Sears, due in part to part to a lackluster holiday season, has been forced to close nearly 120 locations to generate excess liquidity in an effort to shore up its balance sheet (Isadora, 2011).Other competitors who cater specifically to the middle class consumer have also lost significant amounts of market share as consumers trade down due to the economy. Macy's, with its ride array of assortments and products continues to grow as it attempts to capture market share from failing competitors. Macy's is also unique as it operates in a unique market demographic. It is upscale, but not to the extent of Saks Fifth Avenue or a Nordstrom. It is also not as low scale as a JC Penny

FTC employed structural, documentary, statistical, econometrics and financial evidence to verify that the proposed merger of Staples and Office Depot will lead to increase in market concentration, market prices and stock prices, and thus support FTC’s contention that this merger will cause an anticompetitive effect on Office Superstore market. Staples and Office Depot made a plain and useless contradiction. Finally, the Court announced to agree with FTC, and granted a preliminary injunction on this merger. This paper mainly focuses on FTC’s evidence and analysis.

One of the industries main weaknesses is the fact that they have a low industry ratio. Furthermore, one of their issues in past years was being geographically impotent in their retail locations, but as mentioned before, this issue is declining due to the fact that more locations are being opened worldwide.

Staples is a comprehensive strategic management case that includes the company’s year-end 2010 financial statements, organizational chart, competitor information and more. The case time setting is the year 2011. Sufficient internal and external data are provided to enable students to evaluate current strategies and recommend a three-year strategic plan for the company. Headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, Staples’s common stock is publicly traded under the ticker symbol SPLS.