Costco Wholesale Corporation And Macy's, Inc.

Macy Inc. (M) has a cost structure that can best be viewed using SWOT analysis, which is a way of evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the corporation. Macy’s strengths include customer loyalty, a recognizable store name, use of technology, a substantial supply chain, its comprehensive size, and the locations of its stores. In total, these strengths enable Macy Inc. to provide a unique service that offers a characteristic their competitors do not have: merchandise tailored to the customer by store and climate zone. Macy’s main weakness is its cost structure: costs are high compared to their competitors due to a complete operational transformation that includes localizing merchandise by

The purpose of this paper is to do a value chain analysis of Costco, identify their resources and capabilities, to conduct a SWOT analysis to identify the opportunities in which they are lagging and to form a strategy to move forward using the recourses and capabilities in the direction of utilizing those opportunities.

Costco’s business model is focused on producing high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover by offering members low prices on a limited selection of national name brands and select private-label products in a wide range variety. Costco is focused in low-cost strategy is concentrated on a narrow buy segment and out competing rivals by having lower costs, therefore being able serve a niche consumers at a lower price. (Gamble, John and Thompson, Arthur (2009)

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

The companies that were chosen for a company analysis include Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Burlington. Since the retail industry has been lagging behind lately, these companies will help determine the prospective financial investment in the retail industry. As Macy’s as our primary company, we chose Kohl’s and Burlington to be the two comparative companies. These companies are comparable due to the same SIC code of 5311 in the subgroup of department stores. These companies offer similar products and services with little differentiation between the three.

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

Some of the areas that get affected by global economic circumstances include investment, access to supplies, compensation of employees, hiring of employees, operations, social issues, labor practices, output, marketing, and expansion to new markets. This paper examines the impact of the current global economic and financial conditions on staffing, compensation, operations management, social issues, and labor practices of Costco. The business reality is that the current global economic and financial conditions have not led to cuts in compensation of employees and the slimming down of some of Costco’s outlets as it is the case with other stores such as Wal-Mart. Hiring has also not stalled and labor practices are now being carefully observed to minimize litigation costs. Additionally, contentious cultural and social issues are steered clear of as a way of avoiding any disturbances to an already unpredictable business climate. Costco’s operations management has assumed a leaner outlook with emphasis on quality services from smaller workforces.

In 1858, Mr. Rowland Hussey Macy (or more commonly known as R.H. Macy) established the first Macy’s department store in New York City. Today, 158 years later, Macy’s is a chain of mid-range American department stores with its flagship store here in Herald Square. This particular store is labelled as the “world’s largest store” because of its one million square feet of selling space. The products offered are clothing, footwear, accessories, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. As of April 2016, the Macy’s company operates 870 stores in 45 states, as well as Puerto Rico and Guam. Within the 870 stores, the workforce includes approximately 157, 900 employees. The company operates Macy’s, Macy’s Backstage, Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s Outlet, and their new project, Bluemercury. Macy’s is the largest U.S. department store company by retail sales (2015), and they are the 15th largest retailer in the U.S. in terms of revenue (2014). 2015 Fiscal sales totaled to an impressive $27.1 billion. In 2015, Macy’s came out strong holding a winning streak of five consecutive years of growth in earnings, return on invested capital, sales, and cash flow. However, throughout the year, the company experienced a conjunction of negative factors. Due to that, Macy’s was impacted within sales, profitability and margins. Some were caused by external issues and internal. According to Business Insider, Macy’s has blamed a variety of temporary factors for the slowdown in

This is due to the fact that customers are forced to buy in bulk. A strategy taken by Costco wholesales to increase store turnover and profitability. Additionally, to increase its market influence, Costco has added services such as automobile, gas, optometry, pharmacy, and printing at very low prices in the past decade. “What’s better than to rotate my car’s tires, fill my prescription, gas my car, all the while I am finishing my shopping”, a dad might say while shopping at Costco. Finally, unlike any other mega-retailer, Costco has included its own employees as primary target market. By respecting the employees and paying them high wages, Costco has created a positive feedback loop for itself. Highly paid employees will have high loyalty toward the company, and they will shop at Costco for their needs. At the same time, due to their high loyalty, staff will provide high quality customer service for common customers. This generates positive word-of-mouth advertisement leading to an increase in membership sig-ups translating into higher profits for the company (Ingram, 2013).

it is important to identify key strengths of the company over upcoming threats and weak points. Macy’s differentiate itself from competition with upscale “Celebrity” brand exclusivity, merchandise based on local preferences, and unique store design atmosphere. Based on analysis performed the company weighted strategy is to move towards the online and technology advances with maintaining Macy’s upscale storefront culture, integrating new product offerings with revising promotions to satisfy its target market and expanding operations to a new markets with present demand. From opportunities analysis strategy can be divided in three fragments

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.

Costco is the best cost provider in the wholesale club category and the strategy is associated with Costco’s capabilities and resources, which includes; a streamlined supply chain, good supplier relationships, purchasing power, high sales volumes, quick inventory turnover, and excellent customer service. The three vital components of the company strategy are low pricing, limited product selection and high-end products acquired in closeouts and liquidations. While Costco strives to beat the competitors pricing, it also delivers exceptional value in its high-end offerings and customer service, giving consumers more for their money. Given its customers are the most affluent of all the warehouse clubs, with average incomes around $75,000 and this strategy works well for Costco. However, these customers are conscious not only about money but also value for the product, this fact is supported by the members who choose for executive

Macy’s, Inc. is a department store company that currently operates over 800 stores under the names of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s Outlet, and their newest acquisition Bluemercury, which offers luxury beauty products and spa services. All but one of its stores are located in the United States, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Additionally, Macy’s sells its merchandise via their websites and mobile applications. According to their 2014 annual report, Macy’s had sales of $28.1 billion last year.

The company I am reviewing for this research paper is Walmart. Walmart is a global company that originated in the 1960’s by its founder Sam Walton. Mr. Walton opened his “first retail store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962” (Walmart Corporate). The current “home office is located in Bentonville, Arkansas” (Walmart Corporate). In 1991 Walmart became a “global company when it opened a Sam’s Club in Mexico City, Mexico” (Walmart Corporate). As of this year “Walmart employs 2.2 million associates worldwide and serves more than 200 million customers each week at more than 11,000 stores in 27 countries” (Walmart Corporate).