Diversification Strategies

Diversification IBM a Fortune 500 company celebrated its 100th birthday this past June. IBM employs over 400,000 employees and is considered to be a $100 billion dollar or more giant in e-business global marketing technology. With the inception of the computer, IBM’s core business was mainframe computers, which almost bought the company to its knees in bankruptcy. IBM looked at the PC as just a gadget and with any gadget over time would fade into oblivion. IBM would find out the hard way that the PC would rapidly transform the world into the Information Age in the business arena and in that of our personal lives. IBM quickly moved into software, hardware and other services. IBM has been a Fortune 500 company since the 1970’s, and has survived, whereas over a-third of those in the Fortune 500 during that era have either merged, been acquired, sold in pieces, or just completely disappeared off the face of the earth. IBM launched an extensive e-business marketing campaign using its own initials Internet Business Machines during the 1990’s. IBM informed businesses that the Internet would be the new way to conduct business. By 1997 IBM had well over 10,000 e-business customers. IBM’s global e-business has expanded to Russia, China, Brazil and India. (Savov, 2011) Abercrombie and Fitch were incorporated in 1904; has an employee base of 9,500 personnel and has a sales estimate of over $1 billion in year 2000. Abercrombie & Fitch was calling itself "The Greatest Sporting Goods Store in the World." It boasted the world's largest and most valuable collection of firearms and the widest assortment of fishing flies obtainable anywhere (15,000 in all) to accompany its array of rods, reels, and other fishing tackle. Riders, dog fanciers, skiers, and archers all found every conceivable type of gear. ("Abercrombie & Fitch Co.”) Not willing to adapt and change with the ever changing times,
Diversification
Abercrombie &Fitch filed for Chapter