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Impact of Environmental Factors on Marketing Decisions of Costco

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Impact of Environmental Factors on Marketing Decisions of Costco
Wholesale CorporationEnvironmental factors consist of all the factors and activities which have a considerable impact on the running of the business. Environmental factors have a powerful impact on the normal functioning of the any business, especially in the marketing decisions (Pagell & Halperin, 2000). These factors pose challenges and threats to the success of any business. In order to deal with such environmental factors a firm should enhance its core competencies and make sound strategies (Staff, 2009). There are various factors which would have deep impact on these new services offered by the firm. The firm should make a strategy after considering these factors.

David Jobber describes in his book that with the help of this analysis, the company becomes more competitive and effective to implement the various strategies (Jobber, 2001).

Costco Wholesale Corporation is one of the biggest organizations in the retail industry, which operates at the global level. The company was founded by James Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman (Costco Wholesale Corporation, 2009). On the basis of the sales volume, the company is considered among the world 's largest membership warehouses (Costco: About Company, 2009). The company has taken the position of the five largest companies in the United Sates in retail Industry. The Headquarter of the company is situated at Issaquah (Washington) in the United States (Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports January Sales Results and Comments on Earnings Outlook for Its Fiscal 2009 Second Quarter, 2009). The company runs its operations at the international level within different segments and covers about 60-70 billion US dollars as revenue (Costco: About Company, 2009).

The economic segment of the external environment has a great interaction with the scope of the company 's business prospects and business strategies of the companies to handle the marketing environment (Chidrawar, Hatch & Kramer. 2009). These factors are essential to evaluate the



References: hidrawar, A., Hatch, A. & Kramer. C. (2009, February 28). 5 Success Factors in Mastering the Retail Balancing Act. Retrieved March 4, 2009 from http://209.85.175.132/search?q=cache:s_DeYYX8IlYJ:www.sdcexec.com/web/online/In-Depth/5-Success-Factors-in-Mastering-the-Retail-Balancing-Act/4%249436+Key+Success+factors+for+Retail+Industry&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2≷=inCostco: About Company (2009). Retrieved March 3, 2009, from http://www.costco.com/Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports January Sales Results and Comments on Earnings Outlook for Its Fiscal 2009 Second Quarter (2009). Retrieved March 4, 2009, from http://newsblaze.com/story/2009020400005600001.mwir/topstory.htmlCostco Uses Virtualization to Save Space, Reduce Costs, and Increase IT Agility (2008). Retrieved March 4, 2009, from http://blogs.technet.com/mapblog/archive/2008/10/09/case-study-costco-uses-virtualization-to-save-space-reduce-costs-and-increase-it-agility.aspxCostco Wholesale Corporation (2009). Retrieved March 4, 2009, from http://www.cbronline.com/companies/costco_wholesale_corporation?section=companyViewGrant, R.M. (2005). Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Concepts, Techniques, Applications (5th Edition). Published by Blackwell Publishing. Herbst, M. (2005). The Costco Challenge: An Alternative to Wal-Martization? Retrieved March 4, 2009, from http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/view/1422/1/107/Hirji, N.K. (1999). Business Awareness for Optometrists: A Primer (eds.). Published by Elsevier Health Sciences. Jobber D. (2001). Principles and Practice of Marketing (3rd Editions). New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. Kristen, M.B. (2004). A legal win for Costco: It can challenge rules on selling wine and beer. Retrieved March 4, 2009, from http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/201985_costco02.htmlNorton, P.M. & Myers, M. (2004, November). The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: A Minefield for US Companies in China. Retrieved June 15, 2009 from http://www.chinalawandpractice.com/Article/1692636/The-Foreign-Corrupt-Practices-Act-A-Minefield-for-US-Companies-in-China.htmlPagell, R. A. & Halperin, M. (2000). International Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It (2nd Edition). Lessons Professional Publishing. Taking Stock in Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), (2008). Retrieved March 3, 2009, from http://www.gurufocus.com/news.php?id=37287Staff, P.G. (2009). FEATURE: Current Events: Retail newsmakers. Retrieved February 4, 2009, from http://www.progressivegrocer.com/progressivegrocer/content_display/in-print/current-issue/e3if75f39c71ceea082832f58ed630bdf63

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