Staples Incorporation states on their sit, “We’ve been helping businesses for nearly 30 years, and it’s all thanks to a broken typewriter ribbon.” (Staples Inc., 2014)
Tom Stemberg founded Staple Incorporation in 1985. Mr. Stemberg was a former supermarket chain executive. Over the Fourth of July, Mr. Stemberg was working on a business proposal when his typewriter ribbon broke. Due to it being a holiday weekend most local supplies and stationary stores were closed. So he drove from store to store looking for the correct ribbon and was not able to find it. Since Mr. Stemberg had so much trouble over the holiday weekend trying to find the right ribbon for his typewriter, it made him realized that the world was in need of a store that provided office products.
Ten months later Mr. Stemberg opened up Staples Incorporation becoming the first and only office supple store a round. Staples helped make office supplies more accessible an affordable to customers in need of them. It was a one-stop shop for office supplies.
Since than, many things have changes for Staples, they grew in number of stores, expanded their product selections and becoming a truly global company. But even though Staples increase in size and products they kept one thing strong. Their customers are always their number one priority and Staples is there to help them make more happen no mater what it is they want to accomplish.
Today the business world changes all the time and Staples has learn to grow with it.
Ever since Publix first opened, the founder George Washington Jenkins Jr., believed that if a CEO takes care of their employees then they will take care of the business. Jenkins made sure to create an above satisfactory work environment where his employees would not only be happy to come to work everyday but would also be motivated.
In 1886 Fred G. Meyer was born with the name Frederick Grubmeyer(ohs.org). In 1908 when Fred G. Meyer was 22 he moved to portland and started selling coffee to the workers of farms and lumber camps. After trying his luck in Alaska he decides to come back to Portland and he founded the Java Coffee Company which sold not only coffee, but also tea and spices. It was later renamed the Mission Tea Company, and many people in the surrounding businesses went out of business because of a hard economical time(enclyclopedia.com). When the neighboring businesses closed Fred Meyer bought their properties and was landlord or sometimes the man that ran the stores. In the early 1920s commercial activity moved to Portland Oregon and Mr. Meyer prepared for this by consolidating his store into one large store. This flagship store and the first departmentalize store had departments for meat, delicatessen, coffee, lunch, homemade mayonnaise, grocery, and tobacco(library.hbs.edu). Fred Meyers Inc. was created the next year. He was a smart man that created new concepts and ideas that revolutionized the grocery industry and shopping in general. “ Then in 1928, he opened what many regard as the world’s first self-service drugstore.”(enclyclopedia.com) It was a very prosperous time for those that could find a market and Fred G. Meyer created one for
By 1895, Sears’s mail order business was gaining market acceptance and the Sears catalog expanded to 532 items consisting of ‘soup to nuts’ products for their customers (Sears Archive, 2012), supporting the theory that early innovators do not have a restriction on what they bring to market (Innovation Zen, 2006). Sears’s core competencies are innovation, selling, advertising, and merchandising (Sears Archive, 2012).
It was founded in Winter Haven, Florida in 1930 by the inspiration of Georges W. Jenkins who was a successful manager at the “Piggly Wiggly Market.” His Dream was to make a difference among other corporations; therefore, Jenkins decided to put together associates and customers’ efforts to help him expand a single store to one of the largest employee-owned grocery chain in the United States of America. Publix’s success is due to its value proposition that makes the store unique, where shopping is always a pleasure, for customers that value high quality in every aspect of the company despite high pricing. In order for Publix to gain and sustain its competitive advantage, the founder captured his employee’s loyalty by giving shares to the early ones in the company. Also, he offered a “Bogo” program on about forty items every week (buy one and get one free). Publix differentiates itself in terms of service, quality and price. (Anders: missing cite
Industries will look different with all of these forces. The strategy will change based on how these forces look for the organization and industry. These concepts can be applied across the board, and they help organizations from getting trapped into the latest trends and technology out there selling solutions. This matrix really helps to
Fifty eight years ago Lowe’s began as North Wilkesboro Hardware Company, a neighborhood hardware store fittingly named after the small town it was located in. Owned by partners H. Carl Buchan and James Lowe, this concept was more than a living, it
As we head into the future, it important for any business organization to be prepared. The evolution of business technologically is rapid, and it’s important to
Staples is a large enough company that despite negative economic conditions staples can still thrive. The United States is facing a state of stagnation. Despite heading towards a state of stagnation staples can aggressively pursue new markets and new areas to grow.
Nordstrom was co founded 1901 by a 30 year old man named John W Nordstrom and his partner Carl Wallin. At age 16, John W of Sweden left his home and moved to Alaska where he struck gold. While in Alaska, he met a man named Carl Wallin, “who owned a shoe repair shop in downtown Seattle” (Nordstrom Employee, 2006). The two decided form a partnership and open a shoe store entitled Wallin & Nordstrom.
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.
Company Background: The company was originally started in 1853 by John Bausch in Rochester, New York. The small store excelled because Bausch discovered
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Tom Stemberg, who was a former supermarket chain executive, founded Staple Incorporation in 1985. Tom Stemberg’s typewriter ribbon has broken over the Fourth of July weekend while he was typing up a business proposal. Most local supplies and stationary stores were closed due to the holiday weekend. Since Stemberg had so much trouble trying to find the right ribbon for his typewriter, it made him realize that the world was in need of a store that provided office products.
They started selling quality furniture, bedrooms and other things made of wood but in 1930 because of the Great depression they started to look for other market and products so the company could survive this economic situation that affect all the US. Because of this they started
Staples is a comprehensive strategic management case that includes the company’s year-end 2010 financial statements, organizational chart, competitor information and more. The case time setting is the year 2011. Sufficient internal and external data are provided to enable students to evaluate current strategies and recommend a three-year strategic plan for the company. Headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, Staples’s common stock is publicly traded under the ticker symbol SPLS.