Advantages And Disadvantages Of Specialty Stores

When examining competitive advantage, it is also important to consider the market and take into account the existing competition against larger firms.

Low product differentiation and economies of scale: There isn’t much product differentiation at play in the retail industry as there are well known manufacturers whose products are offered for sale, which leaves price to compete on. Current well established retailers with thousands of stores enjoy the economies of scale to control their cost that a new entrant might not be able to replicate after immediately entering 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

This report presents data describing the differences amongst the two department stores, their fundamental visions, and comparative statistics. Macy’s or Dillard’s: Differences amongst these competitors There are several aspects you can analyze from each department store. Major pieces do set each one apart from the other. Brand names carried by Macy’s and Dillard’s from an average shoppers point of view can go completely unnoticed unless price is involved. For trend shoppers brand names can either make or break a retail store. It can easily determine if he or she will walk to Macy’s or Dillard’s because they already know the store does or does not carry that brand. This is consistent with each department throughout both stores and

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

Department stores are not easy to manage, and take a whole team of individuals to run daily operations smoothly. Dillard’s success at the turn of the century came from balancing finances properly, incorporating a friendly atmosphere, and building its reputation as a welcoming upscale department store. In recent years, however, Dillard’s Inc. has surfaced in headlines for being listed as one of the worst companies in the nation to work for. With stiff competition and acquisition factors, the department store industry is not one to lag behind in and

In the mid-19th century, retail stores started to establish themselves within the diverse American economy. Some of these retail stores gained massive popularity, which led to chains of establishments with names that almost anyone can recognize; for example, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Barns & Noble, etc. The name, “big-box” was given to these kinds of stores. With regards to the nationwide expansion of these stores, a valuable question to ask is: are big-box stores good for North America? Evaluating the pros and cons of how they compete, I think that the existence of big-box stores is beneficial; therefore, to keep the reasons simple, I will focus primarily on Walmart (which is the largest big-box store).

Opponents of the supermarket expansion might argue that the expansion will put specialty family stores out of business. Consumers prefer traveling to one location rather than several to retrieve items. Supermarkets contain a variety of items, from fresh produce and flowers to bathroom

The stores would cater to the need of locals and tourist. To not cannibalize existing

In this segment, the retailer J.C. Penney will be analyzed against the department store retail industry, with particular emphasis placed upon their competitors, Macy’s and Kohl’s. The major components to be discussed will include the general external environment (i.e. demographics, economics, politics, legal requirements, technologies and global expansion), the industry environment, the competitive environment, the driving forces and the key factors for success within the industry. In terms of the general external environment, the retail industry is a multi-trillion dollar business in the United States alone and maintains operations primarily due to consumer spending. Such purchases rely upon the disposable income of

The retail industry is highly competitive, with few barriers to entry. Each Company competes with many other local, regional and national retailers for customers, associates, locations, merchandise, services and other important aspects of the Company’s business. Those competitors include other department stores, discounters, home furnishing stores, specialty retailers, wholesale clubs, direct-to-consumer businesses and other forms of retail commerce. Some competitors are larger than JCPenney, have greater financial resources available to them, and, as a result, may be able to devote greater resources to sourcing, promoting and selling their products.” There are many factors that characterize competition, including advertising, service,

According to Turban and King (2003), internet technology renders retailers an additional channel for branding, transactions and customer relationship management, the adaptation of which may drive down retailers’ transaction costs, and ensuring faster and higher quality of customer interactions, resulting in enlarging the existing markets and consumer base. M&S realizes this and have tried to sell clothing via high street stores as well as via internet though they have experienced cost cutting, rationalisation and management changes in order to revive their business in recent years. Internet technology might enable sustainable competitive advantage, but problems remain on how to physically organize their online retail operations.

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

The case study is Macy’s Department Store Repositioning. The key problem is that the traditional department stores sales and profits are declining. There are specialty stores, discount stores, and online stores that offer similar products at a fraction of the cost for the most part. However, in the declining market for the department store industry, Macy’s consolidated stores, established a national department store and continues to make a steady profit. It is usually the time to divest, sale,

A steady increase in the popularity of online sales has caused a major push towards e-commerce in the retail industry.