An external analysis looks at the general macro environment and industry attractiveness. A PESTEL analysis will be used to look at the macro environment and Porter’s Five Forces framework will follow to provide a clearer picture of industry attractiveness. PESTEL Kohl’s needs to consider political factors affecting the retail market, which usually pertain to governmental policy. The following represent current political external factors that are present in the macro retail environment in which Kohl’s competes: 1. A potentially high instability of politics (potential threat) 2. Past political support for globalization with the Obama administration, uncertainty abounds with an incoming Trump administration (potential threat or opportunity) 3. Political pressure for increased minimum wage (threat) 4. Governmental support for e-commerce (opportunity) 5. Increasing governmental support for cyber-security (opportunity) Kohl’s has benefited from political stability, which is a condition that allows firms to expand or diversify, but with an incoming change in the presidential administration, Kohl’s needs to be prepared to adjust to changes. Challenges or opportunities may come from changes in tax policies or trade agreements. Government support for e-commerce has also been an opportunity and since Kohl’s competes with a web presence alongside their brick-and-mortar stores, there are certainly opportunities for Kohl’s to exploit. Globalization is an opportunity and a challenge for
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
The intensity of rivalry, which is the most obvious of the five forces in an industry, helps determine the extent to which the value created by an industry will be dissipated through head-to-head competition. The most valuable contribution of Porter's “five forces” framework in this issue may be its suggestion that rivalry, while important, is only one of several forces that determine industry attractiveness.
Choose a specific industry (e.g., grocery retailing, the airline industry, etc.), and apply Porter 's Five Forces Model to discuss that industry 's competitive forces and their relative influence.
Kohl’s corporation operates more than a thousand department stores all around the United States. This company offers exclusive products for women, men and children that include apparel, footwear, accessories, home products and beauty products. The risk factors for this company include competition, fluctuations in the monetary system, brand recognition issues, etc.
In 2009 and forward, Loblaw Companies were up against aggressive competitive markets while still dealing with the backlash from the 2008 world economic crisis. Same store sales were on the decline and Loblaw’s was in desperate need to change their store strategies. By 2011, Loblaw’s had come up with the idea to diversify and expand their operations with new upgrades to in store departments as well as expanding upon their leading brands, President’s Choice and No Name. This case study underlines the premise of national and global strategies, which is a key subject matter and general broad topic when studying International Business. The main concerns of this case study would be to identify if Loblaw’s new strategies gave them a leading edge in the ever-expanding market, as well as seeing if these new strategies will hold up to market standards in the near future.
The launching of Kohls.com in 2001 has resulted in steady sales growth in the e-commerce portion of the company. To support the internet sales, a 940,000 square foot distribution center was opened in 2001 and a second one was opened in 2010. As internet sales continued to increase to more than 50% of its previous years sales, a third distribution plant has been acquired in Edgewood, Maryland (16). The new facility is 602,000 square feet but Kohl’s plans to expand the building to more than 1 million square feet by 2012. (15). This would indicate that Kohl’s intends to continue expanding the e-commerce portion of the corporation and is making all necessary preparations to support the growth.
The intensity of rivalry and the threat of substitutes are strong components for J.C. Penney to consider as they continue to strive for increased revenue and market share. Their two primary competitors are Macy’s and Kohl’s, both of whom have fiercely competitive strategies to be strong retail operations. For instance, while Macy’s offers a multitude of promotional deals and is working hard to choose products based upon demographics and geographic segmentation, Kohl’s is attempting to reduce their inventory levels and improve their marketing strategies in order to become a stronger competitor in the department store segment of the retail industry. In order to compete with their competitors, J.C. Penney aims to focus on their previously successful promotions and home department segmentations by bringing in new reputable designers in order to attract a larger customer base. Due to the fact that the intensity of rivalry and threat of substitutes are both moderately strong in the retail department store industry, J.C. Penney ought to be diligent in their implementation of strategies in order to achieve success in the retail business.
Threat: Forces shaping the Nordstrom’s strategy is that it is operating in highly competitive environment, where apparel sold by it is not only competing with large organized departmental chains but, also from small independent boutiques in the U.S. As a result competition has become very stiff in retail
In the ever-evolving world of manufacturing and marketing, companies are required to adapt to maintain relevancy or remain competitive. Adaptation techniques in business includes inventing a completely new product, revolutionizing an already existing product, or merging with an existing powerhouse company to extend the reach of one’s services and/or products to a larger customer based globally or domestically. Kohl’s has stood the test of time for over 70 years and has maintained relevancy with its customers by consistently reinventing itself to keep up with the needs of the consumers.
The retail industry is highly competitive, with few barriers to entry. Each Company competes with many other local, regional and national retailers for customers, associates, locations, merchandise, services and other important aspects of the Company’s business. Those competitors include other department stores, discounters, home furnishing stores, specialty retailers, wholesale clubs, direct-to-consumer businesses and other forms of retail commerce. Some competitors are larger than JCPenney, have greater financial resources available to them, and, as a result, may be able to devote greater resources to sourcing, promoting and selling their products.” There are many factors that characterize competition, including advertising, service,
Porter’s Five-Forces Model of Industry Competition is the most widely utilized tool to evaluate the competitive environment (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, & McNamara, 2014). Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner & McNamara (2014) define Porter’s model
The environment is like a double-edged sword, providing companies opportunities but threats as well. Therefore, in an increasingly hostile marketplace, a systematic and careful environmental analysis is supposed to be considered by companies (Johnson et al, 2011). The macro-environment of a company can be analysed by the framework of PESTEL, which includes six categories: political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal (Johnson et al, 2011, Appendix A ).
External environment is quite important for the any company, because it creates the conditions that the organization need to run the business in. In order to develop company strategy successfully, the external environment need to be analyzed properly. One of the best techniques to do that is Five Porter’s Forces analysis.
Porter’s Five Forces is used to assess the attractiveness of the market. The market environment forms part of the external environment. Mr Price has no control, but some influence on the market environment. Porter’s looks at: The level of rivalry in the market, the threat of new entrants that may join the market, the power of suppliers and the power of buyers.
The same applies to the external business environment where Porter’s five forces framework, SWOT analysis and PESTEL come handy.