store, e-retailing, catalog etc. TESCO is now the largest retailer of UK and the third largest retailer of the world (TESCO, 2011) operating in different countries. In the recent economic downturn throughout the world, the UK economy has also suffered a drastic cut in spending by the consumers. The retailing industry suffers more than any other sectors in the times of recession in a consumer society (Hallsworth, 1995). As a result, the UK retail industry has also lost heavily the opportunities to grow in the ongoing recession.
Evaluate the distribution systems in delivering goods and services for the John Lewis Partnership John Lewis is a large business that operates nationally. “All 76,500 permanent staff are Partners who own 32 John Lewis shops across the UK (28 department stores and four John Lewis at home), 256 Waitrose supermarkets, an online and catalogue business, johnlewis.com, a production unit and a farm with a turnover of nearly £8.2 billion last year. Partners share in the benefits and profits of a business that puts them first.” Transportation There are a number of transportation methods that the John Lewis Partnership uses to transport its products to and from the department stores and Waitrose Supermarkets. The transportation methods used are based upon what the product is. Some products require extra handling care and do not need to be rushed with delivering whereas other products may not require so much care but needs to be delivered as soon as possible.
P&G's stock has lagged behind key competitors', including Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Unilever, which have beaten P&G 4 to 1 and 3 to 1, respectively, in the stock market. The recession buffeted Gillette's core business -- pricey razors and blades -- and efforts to expand the Gillette and Venus brands into adjacent categories have had mixed results, at best. But P&G executives and some former Gillette managers say much of the deal's value is like an iceberg -- it's there, just obscured under water. Gillette, they say, has transformed
Case Write-Up 1 Clarkson Lumber Company Murat ÖZTAŞ Overview Clarkson Lumber is a company that has been experiencing rapid growth in sales; thus facing a problem of cash shortage to continue its expected growth. Even though Mr. Clarkson was able to manage to have low operating expenses while running the business, the cash flow crisis is coming. Besides the urgent need for cash to recover the liquidity of the company, the owner, Mr. Clarkson has to pay back the note payable (with %11 interest) his former partner’s interest, which he bought out for $200.000 in 1994. Clarkson Company is not generating enough profit to pay off its debt in required amount of time. The financial statements and analysis ratios both indicate that the company is doing well.
The market for building-grade lumber is very price-competitive, because there are numerous mills selling a relatively undifferentiated product. The only real differentiation comes from the packaging. To encourage its clients to package their products better Westboard Co., the large marketing agency that Treetop sells ninety percent of its product through, sponsors a monthly package quality award. Treetop won Westboard’s package quality award several times over the past five years and received high ratings in the months that it didn’t win. However, the mill’s ratings have started to decline over the past year or two to the point where several clients have complained about the appearance of the finished product and switched to competitor’s brands.
The company’s proforma statements did not take into account any external factors such as a retail recession taking place. The amount of money invested in inventory is almost double what was forecasted for the nine-month period. Profit margin was only 10%, which was much lower than the forecasted 15-30%. By October of 1995 it should have been obvious to SureCut Shears that sales were not keeping up with what was forecasted causing inventory to build up. Conclusion: If Fischer wants to be able to repay his loan he needs to be more accurate
This problem was mainly due to poor transportation infrastructure or requirement for inter-distribution center movement. * High rate of products return. Distribution centers received six to eight truck loads each week of products returned from stores due to obsolescence, slow sales or quality problems. * High-in stock rate. Based on Wal-mart internal data, company’s in-stock rate was in the high 90s, which was significantly higher than the industry average of 90% in 2003.
Case Study: Steel Inc. Analysis According to the description and data offered to me, here comes out a brief analysis of this case. The very serious problem for this company is how to lower inventory. (1) From the perspective of Specialty division, we should not deny that this one has made heavy contribution to the whole business, approximately bringing in 67% of the total revenue and the largest customers bringing in 10%. But unfortunately, it also has brought a lot to the cost, especially inventory cost.
During the company’s history from 1987-2006 they experienced above industry growth compared with most of their competitors. However, 2006 was the beginning of troubling times for FoldRite Furniture Company. (Wheelwright and Bellisario, 2012) It was discovered by management that high turnover rates in the manufacturing department lead to slower production and delivery times. These mistakes opened the door for competitors to take business away from the company. In any industry reliability and consistency are key factors to attracting and maintaining repeat customers.
This led to a 4% drop in share prices. Secondly, it has reaffirmed its commitment to market research, and generating more information about its customers. (Jones, 2001) Disappointing Growth of Flagship Brands: There are two major factors that are contributing to the poor financial outlook. Firstly, the disappointing growth of the company’s flagship brands and products resulted in meagre profit growth. P&G have always been a leader in customer research, and this has helped it make small amendments adding value to these existing products.