Discussion 1 Week 1 Staples - Admission/Application Essay Example

Discussion Week Staples” al Affiliation Discussion Week Staples From the case study, determine Staples competitive advantage and its current business model. Next, use a brief SWOT analysis to analyze the primary way in which the company executes a strategy for growth based on its SWOT analysis.Using the case scenario, the competitive advantage of Staples is their pioneering efforts in the office supplies market having opened its first store in 1986 to expand as the top office supplies retailer in the U.S. in 2010 with revenues of $24.

5 billion (Hill, Case 5: Staples, 2012). As such, it is equipped with the resources (capital, leadership, strategies (products, prices, places, and promotions)) to support and sustain market leadership. As such, Staples defined itself as a low cost of office supplies’ retailer that evolved to respond to the changing demands of its external environment and the needs of the clientele. At present, Staples promoted the customer centric philosophy through applying a merchandising strategy that ensures items never go out of stock and addresses customers satisfaction through superior in-store service (Hill, Case 5: Staples, 2012).

Using a SWOT analysis, the strengths of Staples include: extensive resources (funds, expertise, and strategies) for sustaining market leadership, as well as strong managerial skills for strategic discernment on cutting back on expansion plans and reducing capital spending in response to an economic slowdown. There is evident weakness in terms of lack of presence in strategic markets in identified States. As for the opportunities, there are growth potentials through re-focusing on direct delivery business; as well as in tapping international markets, especially in Europe.

Finally, there is threat manifested through increased competition in the domestic market as well as in the overseas markets through continued encountering of strategic challenges (SWOT Analysis: How to perform one for your organization, 2008; Hill & Jones, 2012).2. From the case study, recommend one (1) future strategy for Staples geared toward delivering better customer service. Next, demonstrate the fundamental manner in which the strategy you recommended could successfully change the shopping experience for the customer. One (1) future strategy for Staples which is geared toward delivering better customer service is to tap major markets in strategic locations where Staples has not explored.

Likewise, the opportunities in the direct delivery business are also seen as potentially rewarding. Staples should therefore integrate efforts of tapping opportunities in the domestic market through conducting a market research on evolving and emerging markets that exhibit growth. By conducting a market research, Staples would identify the clientele’s preferences, purchasing power, as well as needs and drives. As such, it would enable Staples to design effective marketing strategies pertinent to the product, price, place, and promotions when they decide to offer services in markets exhibiting greater growth potentials.

ReferencesSWOT Analysis: How to perform one for your organization. (2008, July 28). Retrieved January 8, 2015, from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNXYI10Po6AHill, C. (2012). Case 5: Staples. In C. Hills, & G. Jones, Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach (pp. C59-C72). Southwestern, Cengage Learning.Hill, C., & Jones, G. (2012). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. South-Western, Cengage Learning.