How to Develop Effective Business Strategies of Kohls Corporation - Assignment Example

?Business Strategies Table of Contents A Brief Overview of the Case The perception of a business strategy is fundamentally described as an action plan which is designed to accomplish predetermined set of business objectives. One of the core functions of the management team of any organisation is to develop a successful business strategy. The management team of the organisations should implement business strategies in an effective manner for the purpose of improving their productivity as well as for achieving superior competitive position over the chief business market competitors. The organisations strongly believe that by introducing and developing effective business strategies, their new business market opportunities can be augmented by a considerable level (Oxford University Press). Kohl’s Corporation is regarded to be a rapidly growing department store chain in the United States which offers apparel, valuable accessories for women, men and children, footwear and home furnishing products to its customers. It has been apparent that the corporation generated an amount of revenue in excess of US$13 billion in the year 2006. It performs its business and operational functions in several states of the US. The objective of the corporation is to achieve leadership position in the business market in the US (The New York Times Company). Thesis Statement This paper intends to identify the external trends in order to deal with the changing lifestyle and shopping experience of the consumers. Moreover, the kinds of external information which is required for the corporation to make effective decisions will be taken into consideration. Finally, the significant opportunities as well as the threats of Kohl which can be drawn from the case will also be addressed in the discussion. Discussion Question 1 According to the case, it has been viewed that Kohl adopted significant business strategies due to changing lifestyle, fashion and shopping experience of the customers. The customers were somewhat inconvenienced in their shopping due to certain crucial factors such as vague product information, incorrect price tagging, out-of stock products, long queues at checkout and facing ignorant sales staff while buying products. (Coulter 103-104). In relation to the case, the strategic manager of Kohl has to deal with the changing lifestyle and the shopping experience of the customers with the motive of improving its profitability along with accomplishing superior competitive position over its chief business market competitors. In this context, the strategic managers of the corporation would have to identify the target market in order to deal with the aforementioned aspects. It can be pointed out that the primary target market of the corporation were mostly the women aged in between 25 years to 54 years. The other external trends which are important for the strategic managers of Kohl to consider include the price as well as the quality of the products and convenient location of the stores (Coulter 103-104). To keep track of the changing lifestyle and shopping experience of the customers, the business managers of Kohl may visit the location of its different retail outlets that are situated in different states of the US. This particular activity would support the corporation to analyze the business trends and preferences of the consumers. Moreover, it is necessary for the strategic managers of Kohl to conduct marketing research within its business market segment in order to maintain the track of the changes. By conducting the market research, the strategic managers of Kohl would be able to obtain frequent feedback from regular customers about their overall shopping experience. By conducting such research, the corporation would be able to analyze the purchasing behavior along with the shopping experiences of the customers at large (Kohl's Illinois, Inc). Discussion Question 2 There are several types of valuable external information which can assist a strategic business manager of an organisation to make significant business decisions. From the perspective of a strategic decision maker of Kohl, gathering valuable external information such as the costs of the products offered by the corporation as well as its chief competitors and the income of the consumers is of much essence. Moreover, the managers should also require the external information relating to the business strategies of the rivals, existing discounting policies and cost structure of the products. By analysing the aforesaid significant external information, the corporation would be able to adopt and implement effective business strategies for the purpose of improving its productivity and most significantly accomplishing superior competitive position over the competitors (Coulter 103-104). From the perspective of Kohl’s store manager, the other external information which is required to enhance its profitability includes sales promotional approach of the competitors’ and their identification of the target customers. In addition, the store manager of Kohl should also require adequate knowledge about the desires, lifestyle and preferences of the local customers (Coulter 103-104). Discussion Question 3 According to the case, it can be stated that the strategic decision makers of Kohl have performed quite well regarding scanning and assessing the environment. This is due to the fact that Kohl successfully identified its target market aligning with the changing lifestyle as well as the shopping experiences of the customers. With regard to scanning and assessing the business market environment, the corporation i.e. Kohl remained very conscious about prices on their products and locating its store outlets conveniently. By taking into consideration the changing lifestyle and shopping experience of the customers, the corporation introduced varieties of inclusive home furnishing collection in its respective store locations (Coulter 103-104). The corporation strongly believed that by successfully scanning as well as assessing its business market environment, it can enhance its productivity along with profitability to a great extent. Additionally, the corporation can attain superior competitive position over its chief business market competitors by scanning and evaluating its business market environment (Coulter 103-104). Discussion Question 4 According to the case, it can be concluded that Kohl might secure significant business opportunities by effectively implementing its vital business strategies, recognising the external environmental factors and analysing the altering lifestyle and shopping experience of the customers. By performing the aforesaid major activities, the corporation might avail of the opportunity to expand its business markets in several geographical regions other than the US along with product offerings by establishing more brands. Furthermore, the corporation might avail of the opportunity to prevent brand switching of the customers to a certain extent in terms of identifying its target market as well as recognising the requirement of gathering external information about the competitors (Kohl's Illinois, Inc). Apart from availing of significant business opportunities, it has been viewed that Kohl faced significant challenges while performing its business operations. One of the major challenges faced by Kohl is the immense competition in its business segment. The major competitors of Kohl which include J. C. Penny, Old Navy and Sears have substantially enhanced the quality of their products and added several inclusive brands. Moreover, the competitors have also made their retail stores easier to navigate for the customers and lowered the prices on their products in order to counter the benefits availed of by Kohl relating to their stores’ convenient location and layout. A retail analyst affirmed in the case that one of the chief competitors of Kohl i.e. J. C. Penny possesses a distinct advantage over Kohl in certain business areas which include the presence of a strong website and large private-label brands. These business areas would ultimately support the company to boost revenues by a significant level (Kohl's Illinois, Inc). Works Cited Coulter, Mary K. Strategic Management in Action. United States: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Print. Kohl's Illinois, Inc. About Kohls, 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. Oxford University Press. Business Strategy, 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012 The New York Times Company. Kohl's Corporation: Company Information, 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. Read More