Staples Case Study

Because of this rapid growth several challenges can present themselves. A primary challenge that can present itself is the lost of the boutique feel because of the hundreds of locations. Even though each boutique is different and personalized, opening too many locations may cause the retailer to lose its niche in the market. Another challenge is the many changes the company has gone through in upper level management. Because of the changes investors have been discouraged, as mentioned before, and shares were down 16% after the changes.

The workers believed that the firing of Arthur T. Demoulas would lead to the destruction of Market Basket. The belief that Arthur T. Demoulas’s firing would be the end of Market Basket was due to his replacements, James Gooch and Felicia Thornton. Gooch and Felicia Thornton were hired simply to ‘because they were experts at taking apart companies’. (QUOTE???) If Market Basket went down, employees would not only lose their jobs but they would be losing a great job that had benefits like scholarships and stock shares. Many of Market Basket’s employees that had been working there a long time had made it their careers and didn’t have experience elsewhere. Without outside experience, and a general reluctance or refusal to work for other grocery chains, those employees were filled with fear and anxiety because Market

Positioning is where a firm fits in the minds of their target markets. It is also where a firm stands against their competitors and what sets the firm apart from their competitors. Staples, Inc. is one of the top competitors in the office supply industry, with competitors such as Office Depot and Wal-Mart. The company has positioned itself to be a more convenient solution to office supplies shopping for consumers with the Easy Button. The easy button accentuates the ease of purchasing for office supplies at Staples at the click of the button. To ensure their consumers received an experience that was stress free, Staples equipped their employees with the knowledge on products and services to be helpful towards the consumers and provide a hassle free shopping experience. Staples have also positioned the company to be the office supply retailer for the corporate industry and to do so Staples removed unneeded products such as cartoon character backpacks. Staples provide their consumers everyday office supply products such as ink and toner, packing and shipping supplies, and coffee and snacks. The technology Staples offer is laptops and computers, printers and scanners, computer software, and so on. Staples also offer to their consumers design services, tech support services, textbook rentals, and shipping services.

Develop an activity-base cost system for Dakota Office Products based on Year 200 data. Calculate the activity cost-driver rate for each DOP activity in 2000.

Another level of weakness that exists currently at Macy’s end is the number of legal issues and proceedings associated with the company. These legal issues can impose serious trouble on the company’s goodwill and profitability (USSEC, 2010).

In 1883 Bernard (Barney) Kroger invested 372 dollars that consisted of his life savings to open the first ‘Kroger’ grocery. That first store, located at 66 Pearl Street in downtown Cincinnati, would soon turn into the giant retail chain that consists of nearly 2,500 stores all over the country and most recently produced sales of over 76 billion dollars. Barney Kroger was revolutionary in the formation of the modern grocery, in that he was the first grocer to have his own bakery, as well as selling meat and other groceries all under one roof. Kroger was also the first to manufacture the products that he in turn sold in his own store. This was the beginning of what is today one of the largest food manufacturing companies in America.

JC Penney had to undergo and withstand several competitive issues to include changing of brand image, selling strategy and marketing strategy. JC Penney also had to account for Environmental Factors to include: a population that continued to age and also unemployment rates. JC Penney tried to influence customers by portraying an everlasting sale. No matter how hard JC Penney tried to market their products, if people didn’t

Sub-par performance of any kind may cause damage to their reputation or loss of shelf space, which would be disastrous. Other smaller competitors have already started nicking market share and space in big retailers by focusing on low costs rather than quality. In a saturated market, strategic acquisitions could mean continuing on or harvesting. Opportunities: One of the biggest opportunities Newell has is globalization. As Wal-Mart and other big retail chains begin to go global, Newell has become somewhat of a global supplier.

It lacks thorough understanding of its target market (the needs of the present and future customers).

doing a combined $40 million in business. Oliver’s was completing the remodel of its original store when

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.

The Dollar General is an American wholesale company that was first initiated in Scottsville, Tennessee by Turner and Cal Turner. Its headquarters are located in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. The mission statement of the Dollar General is "Serving Others." This mission statement helps to bring out the innate requests and intentions of the company in the United States of America and other countries in the world. The company has a vision that describes how it manages to cater for four different types of people. These four groups of people include the customers, the community, employees, and shareholders. Within these categories of people, Dollar General aspires to serve others through deliver of price quality and terrific prices for customers, opportunity, and respect for employees, a superior return for shareholders and a better life for the communities.

Staples, Inc. is the world’s leading office supplies company. The firm is committed to making it easy for customers to buy a wide range of office products and services. “[Staples’] mission is to bring easy to

Intensity of rivalry among competitive firms. In the past, Staples has been successful in fighting against its competitors with its low prices and brand loyalty, but recently against Amazon there are bigger obstacles to overcome. The rivalry with Amazon, Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs is intense as they have more resources to use against Staples, such as the range of its customers and a thriving business line. Therefore, seeing that the rivalry is intense, it presents a threat to their profitability (Hill et al., 2015, p. 51). From this perspective, the competitive rivalry will be considered as high for Staples.

* Lack of flexibility. This means that they lack flexibility to start a new business or try a new store format compared to their main competitors.