BUS 490 assignment 1
Strayer University Assignment 1 Preparing a Comprehensive Case Analysis, Part 1 Name and Surname Dr. Hammad Elbedour BUS 490-Business Policy February 26, 2012
1. Identify the firm 's existing objectives and strategies.
First, we shall not forget that Sears and K-Mart signed a merger agreement in 2004 which means that Sears and K-Mart are combined into a new major retail company. Sears has become the third largest retailer in the United States. Sears appears to have forgotten one of the first and basic Marketing lessons “Never forget what made you famous”. There have been three major strategic mistakes that Sears has made throughout the past decade. In 1981, Sears made their first strategic mistake, which was the “diversification outside its “core” retailing business into financial and real estate services, by purchasing the Dean Witter Reynolds securities firm and the Coldwell Banker real estate operation”. This was a big mistake, because this new business lines had little synergies with the company’s core business. In 2006, Sears’s made their second strategic mistake, which was a strategy to reorganize its operation in several departments that often run by personnel with little retailing knowledge. “It should come as no surprise that this policy was doomed to fail, as evidenced by the company’s financial results in recent years”. At this time Sears’s strategy is to sell off companies’ stores. The problem with this strategy could be that it is a sale of wrong assets at the wrong time. In brief, Sears has adopted the wrong strategies over and over again; still it is able to stay in the top 5 retail stores. Marketing is a key factor
1. Identify the firm 's existing objectives and strategies.
First, we shall not forget that Sears and K-Mart signed a merger agreement in 2004 which means that Sears and K-Mart are combined into a new major retail company. Sears has become the third largest retailer in the United States. Sears appears to have forgotten one of the first and basic Marketing lessons “Never forget what made you famous”. There have been three major strategic mistakes that Sears has made throughout the past decade. In 1981, Sears made their first strategic mistake, which was the “diversification outside its “core” retailing business into financial and real estate services, by purchasing the Dean Witter Reynolds securities firm and the Coldwell Banker real estate operation”. This was a big mistake, because this new business lines had little synergies with the company’s core business. In 2006, Sears’s made their second strategic mistake, which was a strategy to reorganize its operation in several departments that often run by personnel with little retailing knowledge. “It should come as no surprise that this policy was doomed to fail, as evidenced by the company’s financial results in recent years”. At this time Sears’s strategy is to sell off companies’ stores. The problem with this strategy could be that it is a sale of wrong assets at the wrong time. In brief, Sears has adopted the wrong strategies over and over again; still it is able to stay in the top 5 retail stores. Marketing is a key factor
References: http://www.searsholdings.com/careers/learnmore.php http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2012/05/18/sears-explains-their-success-in-content-marketing/ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303717304577275632246292326.html Ayoub, N. (2007, January 9). Case analysis target corporation. Retrieved from http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa Maxi-Pedia.com. (2012, June). EFE Matrix (External Factor Evaluation). Retrieved from http://www.maxi-pedia.com/EFEmatrixexternal Mourdoukoutas, P. (2012, February 2). Will Sears Survive Another Strategic Mistake?. Forbes Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2012/02/25/ will-sears-survive-another-strategic-mistake Sears Holdings. (2012, May 17). Sears Holdings Reports First Quarter 2012 Results. Retrieved from http://www.searsholdings.com/invest