Department Store Industry
Department Stores: Big Lots and The Retail Industry
Michael Martinez
Business
Department Stores: Big Lots and The Retail Industry
I. Problem Identification
This paper seeks some of the major developments in the strategies of Big Lots Inc. in order to improve their market share. The main problem that this paper would like to investigate is the kinds of marketing strategies that the company employs in order to achieve greater market share. This paper would also assess the kind of competition and market structure that exists in the retail industry and how this is addressed through the strategies of the company. In addition to this, this would also try to probe on some of the financial strategies that the company used in order to improve their cost structure and manage their cash flows.
II. Retail Industry Analysis
Industry Overview
Department stores are under the retail industry. They provide various products, which they market for retail. The outlook of the retail industry is currently not that promising. The main reason for this negative outlook for the retail industry is the current level of oil prices, which would inflate the level of cost of inventory associated with the increase in the level of prices of goods that retailers are selling. In fact, the August 30, 2005 surge of oil price per barrel, which reached 70 dollars per barrel, affected the retail industry a lot. The Standard and Poor 's stock price index has shown that the retail industry suffered a lot from the increase in the price of oil (Hovanesian, 2005).
The industry is also having problems in terms of their accessibility. Consumers are becoming more and more busy thus relying more on online purchases rather than visiting retail stores. It is estimates that department stores would depend on old shoppers for their profit and sales. Department stores would become more dependent on old shoppers that new and young shoppers on the next five years and this is according to Verdict Research.
Michael Martinez
Business
Department Stores: Big Lots and The Retail Industry
I. Problem Identification
This paper seeks some of the major developments in the strategies of Big Lots Inc. in order to improve their market share. The main problem that this paper would like to investigate is the kinds of marketing strategies that the company employs in order to achieve greater market share. This paper would also assess the kind of competition and market structure that exists in the retail industry and how this is addressed through the strategies of the company. In addition to this, this would also try to probe on some of the financial strategies that the company used in order to improve their cost structure and manage their cash flows.
II. Retail Industry Analysis
Industry Overview
Department stores are under the retail industry. They provide various products, which they market for retail. The outlook of the retail industry is currently not that promising. The main reason for this negative outlook for the retail industry is the current level of oil prices, which would inflate the level of cost of inventory associated with the increase in the level of prices of goods that retailers are selling. In fact, the August 30, 2005 surge of oil price per barrel, which reached 70 dollars per barrel, affected the retail industry a lot. The Standard and Poor 's stock price index has shown that the retail industry suffered a lot from the increase in the price of oil (Hovanesian, 2005).
The industry is also having problems in terms of their accessibility. Consumers are becoming more and more busy thus relying more on online purchases rather than visiting retail stores. It is estimates that department stores would depend on old shoppers for their profit and sales. Department stores would become more dependent on old shoppers that new and young shoppers on the next five years and this is according to Verdict Research.
References: 2004 Annual Report. Retrieved April 15, 2006, from Big Lots Web Site: http://www.biglots.com/elements/2004Annual/Big_Lots_AR2004.pdf. About Us, Distribution Center Big Lots Big Push in $50 M Effort. Retrieved April 15, 2006, from http://www.brandweek.com/brandweek/search_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1853559. Big Lots Reports June Retail Sales of $408.2 Million as comparable Store Sales Increase 1.1% Big Lots Inc. Retrieved April 17, 2006, from Yahoo Finance on the Web Site: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=bli. Company History Overview Hovanesian, M.D. (2005). Taking aim at target. Business Week, 3950, 104. Retrieved April 18, 2006, from Infotrac Academic ASAP database. Luxury department Macy 's working hard for miracle. Advertising Age, 76(47), 14. Retrieved April 18, 2006, from Infotrac Academic ASAP database. Newscenter, Company Overview Tsiantar, D. (2006). Department store superstar: Federated is erasing fabled retail names. Can it turn Macy 's into a national power and revive a fading industry?" Time, 167(7), A1. Retrieved April 17, 2006, from Infotrac Academic ASAP database.