Costco Wholesale Corporation
EXTERNAL ANALYSIS FOR COSTCO WHOLESALE
CORPORATION
Introduction
Costco or Costco Wholesale Corporation (CWC) is an Fortune company based in America. It operates various membership warehouses in the country with an aim to offer low prices on the selective and speciality brands in the wide range of products. It is one of the largest of its kind.
Stores Org in 2010 ranked it among the top three largest retailers in the United States and it is th currently the 9 largest retailer in the world (Stores media, 2009). It was also listed as the largest
retailer of wine in the world (WBI, 2007). It has direct network of merchandize through which the company buys its products directly from the manufacturers and then send them to its warehouse facilities directly. Its warehouses are of average size over hundred and forty thousand square feet and works seven days a week on sixty nine hour per week basis. The stocks of the
company are traded in the NASDAQ under the symbol COST.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT Matrix
The SWOT analysis of Costco Warehouse Corporation is as follows:
Strengths
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Strong management
Marketing strategies
Diverse offerings
Company policies
Opportunities
Expansion
Ecommerce
Governmental stability
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Weaknesses Huge business setup
Meticulous decision making
Weak advertising
Threats
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Economic conditions
Not enough diversification
Fierce competition
Strengths
Costco Warehouse Corporation has very strong managerial grounds. The Majority of its top management officials are “home grown” which means they started and excelled their carriers through the company Warehouses and learned how to do business at Costco (Costco, 2011). The employee turnover rate is very low as compared to the other retailers in the industry,
CORPORATION
Introduction
Costco or Costco Wholesale Corporation (CWC) is an Fortune company based in America. It operates various membership warehouses in the country with an aim to offer low prices on the selective and speciality brands in the wide range of products. It is one of the largest of its kind.
Stores Org in 2010 ranked it among the top three largest retailers in the United States and it is th currently the 9 largest retailer in the world (Stores media, 2009). It was also listed as the largest
retailer of wine in the world (WBI, 2007). It has direct network of merchandize through which the company buys its products directly from the manufacturers and then send them to its warehouse facilities directly. Its warehouses are of average size over hundred and forty thousand square feet and works seven days a week on sixty nine hour per week basis. The stocks of the
company are traded in the NASDAQ under the symbol COST.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT Matrix
The SWOT analysis of Costco Warehouse Corporation is as follows:
Strengths
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Strong management
Marketing strategies
Diverse offerings
Company policies
Opportunities
Expansion
Ecommerce
Governmental stability
●
●
●
Weaknesses Huge business setup
Meticulous decision making
Weak advertising
Threats
●
●
●
Economic conditions
Not enough diversification
Fierce competition
Strengths
Costco Warehouse Corporation has very strong managerial grounds. The Majority of its top management officials are “home grown” which means they started and excelled their carriers through the company Warehouses and learned how to do business at Costco (Costco, 2011). The employee turnover rate is very low as compared to the other retailers in the industry,
References: Chidrawar, A., Hatch, A. & Kramer. C. (2009, February 28). 5 Success Factors in Mastering the Retail Balancing Act. Retrieved June 22, 2011 from Act/4%249436+Key+Success+factors+for+Retail+Industry&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd =2&gl=in Costco, 2011. Regional and Home offices, Retrieved on June 22, 2011 from http://shop.costco.com/About/CostcoEmployment Costco Uses Virtualization to Save Space, Reduce Costs, and Increase IT Agility (2008). Retrieved June 22, 2011, from http://blogs.technet.com/mapblog/archive/2008/10/09/casestudycostcouses virtualizationtosavespacereducecostsandincreaseitagility.aspx Costco Wholesale Corporation, 2011. Wright Investors Research Services, Retrieved on June 22, 2011 from http://www.docstoc.com/docs/36138382/CostcoWholesale CompanyProfileMay282011 Herbst, M. (2005). 22, 2011, from http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/view/1422/1/107/ Hirji, N.K. 1999. Business Awareness for Optometrists Elsevier Health Sciences. Kristen, M.B. 2004. A legal win for Costco: It can challenge rules on selling wine and beer. Retrieved June 22, 2011, from http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/201985_costco02.html Norton, P.M. & Myers, M. (2004, November). The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: A Minefield for US Companies in China. Retrieved June 15, 2009 from Pagell, R. A. &Halperin, M. 2000. (2nd Edition). Lessons Professional Publishing. PBS, 2007. Store Wars: When WalMart Comes to Town, Retrieved on June 22, 2011 Staff, P.G. 2009. FEATURE: Current Events: Retail newsmakers . Retrieved on June 22, 2011, from http://www.progressivegrocer.com/progressivegrocer/content_display/in print/currentissue/e3if75f39c71ceea082832f58ed630bdf63 Stores Org, 2010. Top 100 retailers of US, Retrieved on June 22, 2011 from http://www.stores.org/pdf/09Top100chart.pdf Stores Media, 2009.Top 250 global retailers, p 67, retrieved on June 22, 2011 from http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nrfe/stores_globalpowers0109/ The high quality, mass market retailer, 2007. 22, 2011 from http://www.winebusiness