Sears Case Study Advantages And Disadvantages

The use of social media marketing has become a standard way in which organizations advertise their products or services. Social media marketing allows consumers to have immediate access to other consumers reviews or to post a review about a product or service. There is engagement between the company and the consumer (Evans, Dave 2010). Social Media emerged in the late 1980’s when websites such as Prodigy, Compuserve and America Online. Prodigy was first of it’s kind and was known as a ”consumer online service”. Half of the page is devoted to advertising. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Hi5, Bebo and Orkut are all social media platforms that are utilized as platforms today.

Sears is similar to any other organization, and that they are also seeing challenges at the corporate level of their business. A challenge that they have to face is ensuring quality and variety of the products that are being sold in their stores. This is an issue that could lead to great declines in sales if not properly handled. Many individuals do not take into consideration all the different aspects that happen

One threat to SHLD is its competition with many retailers because it is not very differentiated from its competitors and lacks brand loyalty, thus nothing is stopping the customer from overlooking Sears and visiting a rival retailer. Another threat is a downturn in the economy which could wreck havoc on SHLD’s financial position.

All companies have core competencies that they use to differentiate their company, product, or service from the competition, Sears is no exception. Also, it is common for a company’s core competencies to change, as their industry progresses through phases and shifts its emphasis between product and process innovations (Regis University, 2011), Sears is no exception. Yet, when a company’s core competencies become misaligned and no longer supports their strategic intent the business is in danger of becoming obsolete (Regis University, 2011), as their customers no longer perceive the unique benefits the company has

90) As the battle to maintain leadership wages against Ralph the greed of others constantly causes hurdles in the separate battle for survival. Greed is an everyday struggle in the real world and can be seen when Sears purchased Kmart in an effort to make more money by reviving a struggling business. This attempt by Sears prompted the collapse of their entire corporation and it is still struggling today. The New York TImes explained “Five years after the merger, Sears Holdings is beleaguered, with sales markedly worse than its competitors’.” This is proof of the negative effects that greed had on a real world situation.

Lowe’s is the 14th largest retailer in the United States and is presently planning aggressive expansion, opening a new store on average every three days. Lowe's revenue growth is primarily a function of penetration of the market increase resulting from a burst of new locations instead of the same store sales. Although Lowe’s has grown tremendously, it remains half the size of Home Depot and has serious debt burden that increases its risk level drastically. Lowe’s is Home Depot’s largest competitor because both companies have the same products, services, and enormous warehouse formats. In this major retail market Lowe’s and Home Depot stores go toe

Over the last few years, it has been predominantly evident that Sears Canada has been not performing relevant to the standards present within the competitive industry. The market of retail department stores has dramatically changed since the time the corporate entity first began. To stay relevant within today’s retail industry, Sears Canada has to change their current operations. In today's market, the power of value-driven consumer products has been dominating the industry due to their affordable prices and emphasized popularity. Sears Canada has failed to distinguish themselves within the industry as either an affordable or a high quality department store. With emerging high-end retailers like Nordstrom, Holt Renfrew, the Hudson's Bay Company, and the rise of online discount retailers like Amazon and eBay, Sears can not afford to flood both market segments. This has become a major issue that Sears Canada is facing, as the company will need to differentiate themselves from their competitors by focusing their resources in the home improvement industry.

They apply both digital and non-digital approaches to best reach their customers as well as attract potential customers. With every new advancement of social media and technology, the company follows behind to stay in trend with their target

The following pages focus on providing a strategic analysis of Sears Holding Corporation. The introduction reveals the issues that the paper addresses. The Company Presentation section reveals important facts in Sears' evolution. The Strategy Debates Section discusses theoretical issues applied to the situation of Sears. This is followed by the Strategic Decisions section that provides a series of recommendations that can help Sears improve its situation. The Implementation Challenges section provides important issues that can be considered challenges of strategic implementation.

The retailer will continue to see aggressive competition from Target, Wal-Mart, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Home Depot and Lowes. These companies are some of the national retailers that Sears will have to contend with in order to survive. According to Sears Holding 2011, annual 10K Report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Home Depot and Lowes are the company’s most fierce rivals of the major appliance category in which Sears accounts for nearly “16% of its entire revenue” (p.5). This fierce market positioning battle between its competitors will be a major obstacle for Sears to overcome. Sears continues to try to move forward as the company’s efficiencies in fixed assets continued

Strength: I believe one of Sears’s holdings most important strength is that they are a solid retail association since they provide the U.S. and Canada with over 3,847 stores. Furthermore, Sears has the lead in the market position, giving them another great strength. Moreover, they have balanced products combination, which help them with their strengths as well. Consequently, I believe Sears’s expansive product offering is a strength that helps them do their tasks so

This differentiation focus would push the Kenmore appliances and the hardline segment of goods (consisting of home appliances, consumer electronics, lawn & garden, tools & hardware, automotive parts, household goods, toys, housewares and sporting goods). Sears Holdings is losing the overall cost leadership competition to its strategic group competitors. The broad scope of their business is not working for them. Walmart, Target, and Big Lots are faring better within the competition among themselves versus Kmart and their struggle to be competitive in this strategic group. Sears is losing out to its competitors as well, competitors such as Home Depot and J.C. Penney.

Sears Holdings Corporation is a company that came from two very well known organizations, Sears and Kmart. Both companies go back even farther than the 1900s and unfortunately both companies experienced financial difficulty at one point. With the merger Sears Holdings Corporation has the experience of both organizations as well as their different style of operating. Along with an improved customer base and a new outlook Sears Holdings Corporation is experiencing financial growth.

Strategic evolution is a plan of direction that is constantly changing overtime. Allstate’s strategy changed from selling auto insurance through Sears to being an independent insurance company with a variety of products and services besides auto insurance.

In 1897 Sebastian Spering Kresge opened five-dime stores in Memphis and Detroit with John McCrorey as his partner. Two years later the partnership broke up and each person kept one city. Mr. Kresge kept the Detroit store and began expanding from there onward. In 1912 the company became incorporated as S.S. Kresge and was the 2nd largest dime store chain with 85 stores and annual sales of more than $10 million. In 1918 S.S Kresge was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Throughout the decades, Kresge rapidly expanded eventually opening the first Kmart store in 1962 in Garden City, Michigan. By 1966 there were more 160 Kmart stores in the US and Canada. In 1968 Kmart began airing TV commercials. In the 1970s, Kmart continued to expand