The name Kmart Corporation was first known as Kmart Discount Stores. One of the first stores was opened in Garden City, MI. This company was well known for great in-pocket discounts for consumers. This was the true ‘five and dime’ retailer. It was also the template for other retailers such as Walmart. “
The road from the original model to the current operation is long and broad. Kmart stores represent a dynamic example of growth and change, evolving and expanding into several retail market areas. They have gone through transformations from the original five and dime ideology, to discount retailer, and further down the line to include home product lines, using products and brands such as Martha Stewart. Attempts at gaining market share in
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The shoe and clothing industry, although not foreseen directly, there are seasonal highs and lows that come with the business. These are reflected, as such for example with the holidays. Products must be available, in stock, in order to be presented as saleable items to the customer. This is also overhead. Depending on the state of the economy, it can very well require sums of money being tied up in overhead, that could possibly lead to loss should the economy be in a downturn.
I believe, that should Kmart focus on returning to its original company development, it can regain its market share. The original five and dime philosophy worked. A successful approach that, at one time may have become somewhat outdated, but the greatest growth and expansion has in fact happened with the furtherance of the discount retailer motto. The shrinkage of excess overhead, and labor would enable the company to explore the development of a stronger base line. As stated, “At its peak, the Kmart property accommodated 5,000 employees. When it was sold in 2005, it had fewer than 1,900, many of whom were transferred to Illinois (Crain Communication, 2016).” Buying power has shown to be a very important factor in terms of profit margin. The need to increase profit margin being the number one change needed.
Kotter’s 8 Step Approach
Using Kotter’s eight step approach, the first step being a sense of urgency. As stated in the textbook, “Kotter (2008) argued that a significant change
Competition is a constant challenge for Kohl’s especially when it comes to retaining customers and the market share. Kohl’s also has a weak global presence and the profitability was declined in
This course has taught me a lot in terms of initiating and managing change, and Kotter’s eight-stage process is a very useful approach when it comes to making changes within an organization. This course has helped me strengthen my skills in overcoming barriers that tend to get and make it difficult to
The first Target store was also opened in 1962. It was started under the Dayton Hudson Corporation. As you can see the Target corporation has a decorated past as well. Target
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
In 1968, the first store was opened outside of Arkansas in Claremore, Oklahoma and Sikestone, Missouri. WalMart extended
JC Penney in the early 2000s represented a “brick & mortar” retail powerhouse known for its large diverse selection and competed well with similar retailers such as Kmart and Sears. In 2011 JC Penney was exposed by The New York Times in an internet search scandal involving the tampering with rankings on search engine results. Yet, this was not the only shortcoming in the marketing of their stores. JC Penney had also been caught dishonestly pricing their merchandise so that their sales would appear more appealing. Since then JC Penney has undergone many important shifts in focus on how they would attempt to market their products. Now, in 2016 with their new CEO Marvin Ellison they have managed to rebound their sales closer to what they were and have bolstered their stock price for the time being. To understand what had been done to kindle this new fire four key areas should be looked at. These four components are: price, product, place, and promotion. The four P’s allow a segmented view of what changes have been made and how they have been affecting the consumer market.
Kmart is a huge vintage company that had peeked at one time and now is
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).
There were also proprietary brands that were held by both Kmart and Sears, and with the merger it would be easier to get those brands out to the target demographics. Making each
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.
If Wal-Mart needed a distribution center, they would build on in Florida, they would build one in Texas, and they would build one in California. Even without the additional warehouses, Wal-Mart had the advantage of better information systems. They knew what was selling and what was not selling in the stores whereas Kmart was just staying with the same-old, same-old, and did not bother to reinvest in its infrastructure logistics and inventory control.
Best Buy, a familiar retailer in the technology world, is struggling to stay on top. Online and mass stores have cornered the market in terms of convenience, customer service and price matching. The recent closing of over two hundred stores alongside falling sales has experts predicting that the giant won’t be in business long. Using a results-only work environment (ROWE), Best Buy has removed the customer from the equation and forced many employees out. A marketing disaster, Best Buy must change its marketing strategy from sales-based to a customer-based to stay afloat.
adopt before setting out on a change initiative. Kotter identifies the ‘‘analysis-thinkchange’’ mindset as the traditional method
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
Winston encountered the disconfirming data and managed to clarify it to his team through a series of meetings where he explained specialization and the forming of KATs. This is the first step in leading change and according to John Kotter’s model of change this would fall into the “create a sense of urgency” phase. The office knew about the falling margins and saw it as a major threat to their office. The next step in Kotter’s model is to create a guiding coalition which goes along