Preview

LP 1 The External Environment

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
961 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
LP 1 The External Environment
Complete an analysis of the traditional department store industry and of Macy’s as of 2005. Which factors in the external environment could (positively or negatively) affect the success of Macy’s new strategy?
I think the following external environment factors could affect the success of Macy’s new strategy. The general economic environment as the country was entering a significant recession affected the company negatively. Another negative effect is the industry life cycle model in which the traditional department store industry was in the “mature” phase or even “decline” phase. Also, the intense competition between the existing companies and the rise of online shopping is also a negative.
Here are some of the internal factors I believe that could affect the success of the company’s strategy. Macy’s is recognized as a national brand with national advertising. They also have a sound customer base with new stores in prime location. The management teams are skilled and experienced. In 2005, Macy’s consolidation and repositioning strategy strengthened the consolidation and the image as “America’s department store”. The begin to remodel the stores in hopes to promote a pleasant shopping experience, affordable luxury, and changing the brand to focus on attracting customers interested in fashion.
Some of the weaknesses I see are the fact that the quality of merchandise and service has deteriorated the attempt to standardize the merchandise and pricing across all the stores.
Porter argues that the goal of strategy, and a key to achieving a sustainable competitive advantage, is finding a unique and valuable position. In my opinion, Macy’s has attempted to place their stores in a unique position as a “mid-level” store which is a good positioning for its new strategy. However, the decision to consolidation is not unique.
As far as I am concerned, Macy’s cannot success with the strategy outlines in the case. Although Macy’s has launched a bold strategy, the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    Macy's Financial Analysis

    • 1715 Words
    • 7 Pages

    This paper is the final case study of Macy’s Incorporated and it is designed to provide a financial analysis of the company. Financial data will be spread over a three year time period using real numbers from financial statements that will be used to analyze Macy’s performance. Analysis will include stock data, financial ratios, common size analysis, cost of capital, and various calculations…

    • 1715 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    The purpose of this paper is to present an in depth analysis of the luxury retail industry. This report will examine all pertinent aspects of Nordstrom Inc. and the highly competitive retail industry by focusing on the fashion specialty department stores.…

    • 15399 Words
    • 62 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nordstrom a promising and upcoming departmental store in U.S has shown phenomenal growth in the business of retail chain business. The credit for this would go to the founder and promoter’s philosophy of inverting the pyramid and putting the customer on the top, followed by employees and it was the share holders who were accorded the last place in the priority list of company. Nordstrom working as departmental store in the retail industry would be effected by all the forces in the marketing environment.…

    • 1651 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Target Strategic Audit

    • 15483 Words
    • 83 Pages

    Porter’s five forces suggest that overall the discount-variety store is not a very attractive industry for newcomers, due to prohibitive forces like access to distribution channels, threat of substitutes and rivalry…

    • 15483 Words
    • 83 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I think that because Macy’s caters to many different people of races, income brackets and even social standings the way in which they communicate is above and beyond excellence. Because of this diverse culture you have to be able to interact with everyone and have great people skills to get your ideas and products out in the public’s eye.…

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Macy’s has various strengths and weaknesses to its brand name, along with the fact that the entire department store industry is subject to different opportunities and threats. Strengths that Macy’s has include its strong brand recognition, purchasing power and a mixture of new and old marketing channels. The fact that Macy’s is one of the best…

    • 6813 Words
    • 28 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Whsmith's Strategy

    • 2975 Words
    • 12 Pages

    The focus of this study is specifically on the high street retail stores which can presently be divided into 4 strategic business units, books, magazines and newspapers, stationary (including greetings cards) and entertainment. They are all served through the same channel but there is considerable variety in the competitors which they face albeit there is some cross over.…

    • 2975 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Swot Analysis Of Nordstrom

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages

    First, product, where retailers decide what to sell on the basis of what their target market wants to buy. Eric Nordstrom says, “Every day, you’ve got to open your doors and sell something. Even if it’s just one shoe”. Next, is place, geography remains the most important factor in choosing a location. Eric Nordstrom, the company’s president, visits each potential location himself before signing off on it. Place is an important commitment of resources that can reduce a business future flexibility (Lamb 2010). Then, there is promotion, where the goal is to help position the store in consumer’s minds; satisfied customers are much more persuasive. Furthermore, price is the key element in a retail store’s positioning strategy. The higher the price, often indicate a higher level of quality, which shows a significant level of reliability. Price also reinforces the prominent image of retailers. The next P in the retailing mix is presentation, the goal is to use all of the store’s space effectively. Finally, personnel, where a salesperson’s job is to persuade shoppers to buy. In my opinion personnel has been most important to Nordstrom’s success. Robert Spector, coauthor of the Nordstrom Way, says his favorite story is of a woman with one leg who jokingly bet a Nordstrom salesperson that he wouldn’t sell her just one shoe. The employee was more than happy to split up the…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macy's Swot Analysis

    • 1373 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Companiesandmarket Online Journal (2009). Macys, Inc. (M)- Financial and Strategic Analysis Review. Retrieved on September 22, 2010 from: http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/Summary-Company-Profile/macys,-inc.-(m)-financial-and-strategic-analysis-review-319263.asp…

    • 1373 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Compensation Plan

    • 4019 Words
    • 17 Pages

    “Our goal is to be a retailer with the ability to see opportunity on the horizon and have a clear path for capitalizing on it. To do so, we are moving faster than ever before, employing more technology and concentrating our resources on those elements most important to our core customers” ( http://www.Macys.com)…

    • 4019 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    JCPenney's repositioning

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages

    J.C. Penney’s new strategy—which some deem visionary while others question its wisdom—challenges many of the assumptions behind the modus operandi of many fashion retailers. And whereas most media and analyst attention has been focused on jcpenney’s new pricing, another more fundamental aspect of J.C. Penney’s strategy has been largely overlooked. This issue is the retailer’s desire to be “a store for all Americans—rich and poor, young and old, rural and suburban.”[i] While this goal cannot be faulted for lack of ambition, it goes against the conventional wisdom that it is difficult to succeed by trying to be everything to everybody. In fact, many companies have failed because of their unwillingness to “give up” serving some customers in order to better fulfill the needs of others. The question then is: Will J.C. Penney be able to succeed where others have failed, or will it soon…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macy's Marketing Plan

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page

    Strategically, Macy’s is one of the most competitive and sustainable retail companies in the world. It is a…

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jcpenney Swot Analysis

    • 2542 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The principal objective of this paper will look at how JCPenney 's competitors have taken advantage of the retail giant’s failure to make a comeback. Based on the information obtained from the companies 10-K reports JCPenney’s has had a decline in customer satisfaction since the 1990s customers have been leaving and spending their money elsewhere. It looks as though JCPenney…

    • 2542 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The case study on Nine West Retail Stores presents the typical story of a firm that has achieved tremendous growth over a short period of time and now stands at a cross roads. The industry it has traditionally been operating in, i.e. the foot wear industry has been stagnating over the past few years and in a bid to move to the next level, NWRS has to expand its core business through diversifying into unchartered territory and portfolios while trying to balance its existing structures, processes and heritage intact. At the same time, the firm also needs to analyze the existing footwear industry as the annextures attached with the case reveal an interesting trend which might require NWRS to reposition some of its brands to improve its profitability. In our analysis, we will start of by outlining the main facts about Nine West Retail Stores and then move on to focus on the three core problems it faces and the proposed solution that we as a group feel can help NWRS move on to brighter pastures.…

    • 1652 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Specifically, the scope of this thesis is the retail industry. We will focus on the strategies,…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays