Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies
Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies
Tammie Bennett
Professor Melissa Ekberg
BUS499 Business Administration Capstone
May 15, 2013
In this paper I will discuss Macy’s Incorporated by analyzing their business level strategies to determine which I think is the most important to their long term success and if I think it is a good choice. I will analyze their corporate level strategies to determine which I think is the most important and whether or not I believe it is a good choice. I will analyze the competitive environment to determine the corporations’ most significant competitor and compare the two companies’ strategies at each level and evaluate which company I think is most likely to succeed in the long term. Once the comparison is done I will then determine whether my choice would be different in a slow cycle market or a fast cycle market. Macy’s Inc is one of the nation’s premier retailers with sales near $27B annually. There are approximately 800 Macy’s department stores and furniture galleries in 45 states as well as macys.com. They also operate the Bloomingdale’s brand that includes 37 department stores in 11 states, Bloomingdales.com, and seven Bloomingdale’s Outlet stores in five states. Macy’s Inc’s workforce is about 171,000 employees. They trade under the symbol “M” on the New York Stock Exchange. A business-level strategy is an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions the firm uses to gain competitive advantage by exploiting core competencies in specific product markets (Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, 2013). The differentiation strategy is an integrated set of actions taken to produce goods or services (at an acceptable cost) that customers perceive as being different in ways that are important to them (Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, 2013). Macy’s Inc. has been outperforming most of their competitors this year because of their differentiation strategy. They have struck a deal with Tommy Hilfiger apparel to be the
Tammie Bennett
Professor Melissa Ekberg
BUS499 Business Administration Capstone
May 15, 2013
In this paper I will discuss Macy’s Incorporated by analyzing their business level strategies to determine which I think is the most important to their long term success and if I think it is a good choice. I will analyze their corporate level strategies to determine which I think is the most important and whether or not I believe it is a good choice. I will analyze the competitive environment to determine the corporations’ most significant competitor and compare the two companies’ strategies at each level and evaluate which company I think is most likely to succeed in the long term. Once the comparison is done I will then determine whether my choice would be different in a slow cycle market or a fast cycle market. Macy’s Inc is one of the nation’s premier retailers with sales near $27B annually. There are approximately 800 Macy’s department stores and furniture galleries in 45 states as well as macys.com. They also operate the Bloomingdale’s brand that includes 37 department stores in 11 states, Bloomingdales.com, and seven Bloomingdale’s Outlet stores in five states. Macy’s Inc’s workforce is about 171,000 employees. They trade under the symbol “M” on the New York Stock Exchange. A business-level strategy is an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions the firm uses to gain competitive advantage by exploiting core competencies in specific product markets (Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, 2013). The differentiation strategy is an integrated set of actions taken to produce goods or services (at an acceptable cost) that customers perceive as being different in ways that are important to them (Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, 2013). Macy’s Inc. has been outperforming most of their competitors this year because of their differentiation strategy. They have struck a deal with Tommy Hilfiger apparel to be the
References: Hitt, Michael A., Ireland, R. Duane, Hoskisson, Robert E. (2013). Strategic Management Concepts and cases: Competitiveness and Globalization, 10th Edition. Mason, Ohio Cengage Learning Michael E. Porter. "The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy", Harvard Business Review, January 2008, p.86-104. Kiplinger (n.d.). retrieved May 17, 2013. http://www.kiplinger.com/article/investing/T052- C008-S001-a-change-in-business-strategy-proves-profitable-fo.html Macy’s (n.d), retrieved 15 May 2013. www.macys.com Dillard’s (n.d), retrieved 15 May 2013. www.dillards.com