Walmart Case

After having a very successful performance and getting second place on the first Littlefield simulation game we knew what we needed to do to win the second simulation game. We were very eager to outperform our competition and we almost did so, but ended up in second place again with a cash balance of $2,660,393.

The case is about Loblaw companies Inc., a highly successful grocery chain in Canada. Loblaw is Canada’s largest food distributor. The major issue is the emergence of Wal-Mart, who is looking to pursue expanding their grocery line chain in the Canadian market. According to Yunna (2014), porter’s five forces model has been widely applied to analyze industry competition in various markets. Using Porter’s 5 Forces to analysis the issues of the case can be a useful tool in summarizing the attractiveness of the market or industry. According to Dobbs (2012), the five forces are the threats posed by competitive rivalry, powerful buyers, powerful suppliers, potential new entrants, and substitute products. The analysis of Porter’s five forces framework can be viewed in figure 1. The case describes the retailer-supplier relationships as power plays. As the scale would tilt in favor of the one wielding the most clout at a point in time. There are numerous manufacturers with various substitutions among the grocery store. However, a supermarket would lease out shelf space for rent. The manufacturers would pay the grocery store a combination of different allowance to obtain secure shelf and warehouse positions for its products. Ultimately the category manager had the final word, which left the manufacturers with little to no bargaining power.

By paying out excess cash and issuing debt, BBBY could improve return to equity holders and raise earnings per share (by a share repurchase).

Whole Foods is a retailer that specializes in organic foods and it has done an excellent job of determining its target market and how to position itself. Instead of going head to head with large food retailers such as Wal-Mart, Whole Foods has found a niche market that works perfectly for itself. This niche market is one that prides itself on being health conscious and environmentally responsible and Whole Foods has done a great job of positioning itself in the same way through its environmentally safe actions and its use of the local community to stock its stores. However, as Whole Foods grows and expands, a person has to wonder if the company will be able to maintain this same position or will have to make

Urban Outfitters Inc. is one of the leading lifestyle retail companies. Urban Outfitters operates in over 500 retail stores worldwide, with plans to open over 35 new locations by the end of the next fiscal year. The company also has a website, mobile app and catalogs used to assist with sales. Urban Outfitters has goals of expansion and growth for their numerous brands.

This factor in the Porter Five Forces Model refers to the power that those companies supplying products to Target have. In the retail industry, suppliers are often very powerful, as they often provide products to direct competitors of each other. An example of a supplier with a high degree of power is Procter and Gamble (P&G), who sells to many retailers including Target, WalMart, Costco, Safeway and many others. As P&G is a leader in personal care products that are more often sold on price and availability than intensive shopping comparisons (like how plasma TVs are purchased for example) this supplier has major influence over Target and their profitability. This is the reason why this specific aspect of the five forces model is first. Target Corporation

In the Dealey plaza, on Friday, November 22, 1963, Kennedy had been shot in the head by a sniper, named Lee Harvey Oswald, while he had been traveling with his wife for unknown reasons, all the while he was with the Texas Governor Jacqueline, John Connally, and Connelly's wife, Nellie, in a presidential motorcade. A ten-month investigation from November 1963 to September 1964 by the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald acted alone in shooting Kennedy for unknown reasons, while Jack Ruby also acted alone in what would be believed was a pursuit of vengeance when he killed Oswald before he could stand trial. The Dallas Trade Mart had been preliminary selected for the formal usually midday meal appointment that secretary Kenneth O'Donnell. It was selected that the final destination of the Trade Mart would be the end of the motorcade journey, leaving from Dallas' Love Field; 45 minutes had been allotted for the motorcade to reach the Dallas Trade Mart at a planned arrival time of 12:15 p.m. The actual route was chosen to be a meandering 10-mile (16-km) route from Love Field to the Trade Mart, which could be driven slowly in the allotted time.

Porter’s Five Forces is defined as threats of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, power of buyers, the threat of substitutes and rivalry among existing competitors. New entrants into the industry aim to gain market share from rivals, so the intensity of competition may require to make changes on current strategy of marketing to maintain existing market share. The bargaining

Bed, Bath and Beyond (BBBY) currently has $400 million more in cash than they need for ongoing growth and operations requirements. While the company is financially sound analysts and investors worry about the company’s capital structure decisions. Investors do not want to see that much cash on the books and worry that the current capital structure is not the most effective for the future. They prefer that BBBY change their capital structure by paying out excess cash and issuing debt. This could allow BBBY to improve their return on equity and raise earnings per share. Given the low interest rates available it seems like the perfect time for BBBY to add debt to its capital structure. Until now they

« Mattel regards the thoughtful management of the environment and the health and safety of its employees, customers, and neighbors as among its highest priorities and as key elements of its responsability to be a sustainable company »

Additionally, as expressed by Rebecca Ratner, Hsieh’s commitment to merging the workplace with social lives could present risk to the company in the form of unprofessional or inappropriate conduct that is not addressed properly.

Founded by J.W. Nordstrom in 1880 as a small shoe store, by 1995 Nordstrom had become a giant retailer with net earnings of $203 million and over 35,000 employees. Nordstrom remains a family operation to date. The idea of the ‘Nordstrom Way’ - with strong commitment to the firm, emphasis on proactive service, no external hiring, and a decentralized management structure (e.g., Nordstrom has no CEO) - is central to their employee relations, and is seen as central to their success. Average compensation within the company is above industry average.

Porter 's Five Forces Model is a critical instrument to break down an outer aggressive environment of the business. The model incorporates threat of entry, the threat of rivalry, the threat of suppliers, the threat of purchasers and threat of substitutes.

The Porter`s five forces are threats of new entrants, the bargaining power of buyers ,product substitution and intensity of rival of rival among competitors .These forces measure the competitiveness of the market and also helps the company to identify strategies to use to penetrate such and gain market share.

Porter’s five forces are used to determine the competitive intensity and attractiveness of a market. These are close forces that affect a company’s ability to make a profit and serve customers. If any of these forces change, a company must reassess its marketplace. The five forces include: the threat of substitute products, the threat of the entry of new competitors, the intensity of competitive rivalry, the bargaining power of customers and the bargaining power of suppliers.