This company was the first to establish the concept of a membership warehouse. In 1999, the name was changed to Costco Wholesale Corporation and operated in Washington. Costco is an international chain of membership warehouses, well known for their quality, and brand name merchandise that is available for lower prices as compared to other retails stores. It is open only for the members and offers three types of memberships: Business, Gold Star and the Executive membership. There is a huge variety of products in the Costco warehouses which include: groceries, appliances, candy, television and media, office equipment, toys, hardware, health and beauty aids, jewelry, watches, cameras, books and much more stuff, counting for almost 4000 products.
The company opened its 200th warehouse in Wenatchee, Washington in 1995. In the same year,Costco launched its first private label brand, Kirkland signature. During the same period, Costco started its first gas station in Tucson, Arizona. In 1997, the company spun-off most of its non-warehouse assets to Price Enterprises and officially changed its name to Costco Companies. In the same year, the company started its operations in Taiwan.
October of 1993 is when Costco and Price Club merged to form the biggest and the most recognized wholesale club and membership warehouse. The name was PriceCostco, Inc. The company changed its name to Costco Wholesale in 1997. Founded by James Sinegal, current President and CEO, and Jeffrey Brotman, Chairman of the Board of Directors; Costco Wholesale Corporation functions as an international chain of membership warehouses, mainly under the “Costco Wholesale” name. They carry quality brand name merchandise at considerably economical prices than are typically found at traditional wholesale or retail authority.
While Sam’s club does have 183 more stores, Costco leads Sam’s Club in the number of member of members at their stores. Costco has 58.8 million members, and Sam’s Club only has 47 million (Thompson, 2011, p. 244). As far as Costco’s and Sam’s Club’s strategies are quite similar. They are both focused on providing quality products at the lowest possible price. BJ’s takes a different direction and offers products in lower quantities.
The company initially focused on Asia and central Europe. Most recently it has made its entry into the US market. In 1997 Tesco first decided to diversify and according to the company itself this was the basis of its recent success. As a result of this strategy several new businesses have been created by Tesco for the last 12 years and most of these businesses are profitable and competitive (Tesco plc, n.d.). Tesco has developed its strategies which are primarily focusing on five important factors, 1) its core UK business, 2) community, 3) non-food, 4) retailing services and 5) international market.
MGT504 INDIVIDUAL CASE SUMMERARY #1: LAURA ASHLEY AND FEDERAL EXPRESS STRATEGIC ALLIANCE 1. Please briefly summarize highlight and key issues of the case. Laura Ashley is a British fashion and lifestyle retail company, the principal activities of the groups are the design, manufacture, sourcing, distribution and sale of garments, accessories and home furnishings; operating companies are situated in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe. In 1991, James Maxmin became the CEO of Laura Ashley. He led a series of changes, for example, he entered into a strategic alliance with FedEx, forming a sort of proto-federation, aimed at improving distribution for close to 500 Laura Ashley stores.
Case Study in Marketing Positioning & Differentiation Ralphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 in Downtown Los Angeles by George A. Ralphs (1850–1914). The original store was located at Sixth and Spring Streets. They are the oldest such chain west of the Mississippi River. During the mid-1990s, Ralphs expanded as it merged with many Southern California supermarkets including The Boys, Alpha Beta, Viva, and ABC Markets. Ralphs Grocery Company merged with Fred Meyer, Inc., in 1997.
(Wal-Mart Corporate Website) Huge turnover, large customer base and returning customers show that Wal-Mart has been able to achieve this goal in its 50 years of existence. Wal-Mart sources material from third world countries at low price. Very efficient supply chain management and bargaining power has enabled Wal-Mart to sell goods at low price. Company is also pursuing vertical integration strategy to lower cost. Answer-2) Wal-Mart Stores had turnover of $446.95 billion and net income of $15.77 billion in financial year ending
7-Eleven — Doing More With Less Through Dynamic IT CASE STUDY #AP721000P Ng Buck-Seng SITUATION OVERVIEW 7-Eleven Inc. is a United States-based organization operating a chain of franchise convenience stores in over 20 countries. 7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd. Australia (7-Eleven) is the master licensee in Australia, and has more than 360 outlets operating along the east coast of Australia. Its head office is located in Melbourne, with state offices in New South Wales and Queensland. Currently, most of its stores carry approximately 2,000 to 2,500 stock-keeping units that include fuel, confectionaries, hot and cold food, including the company's wellknown product, Slurpee. All stores are centrally supported by its head office, which assumes comprehensive functions, including finance, construction, marketing, training, property, operations, and IT.
The 2012 net income of $44.88B reported showed a 9.30% growth of $3.82B compared to the $41.06B in net income reported in 2011 (ExxonMobil Corporation, 2013). While the amount of growth is substantial when standing alone, it was modest when comparing the 2010 and 2011 reporting periods. That time frame saw a 34.80% growth which equaled $10.60B (ExxonMobil Corporation, 2012). When considering ExxonMobil’s cash flow, one finds that cash flow for 2012 was a negative $3.08B. The company’s cash and cash equivalents started the year with $12.66B and ended with $9.58B, a 24.83% drop during the year.