Threat of New Entry
There are many companies manufacturing and selling office products at an international level. New entrants can find it easy to enter and establish their position in the market by basing their strategy on low cost. The market offers growth opportunities to new entrants as well indicating low entry barriers for the firms wanting to enter into the area of office products. Therefore it can be stated that Staples Inc is operating in an industry where the threat of new entry is high.
Buyer Power
The bargaining power of buyers is determined in an industry on the basis of the influence that they can have on the price structure of the products of a firm. In case of organizations manufacturing office related products the issue they are facing is that few of the products that they are manufacturing are easily available in the market, such as stationery items. Staples Inc is dealing with medium organizations and fortune 1000 companies as customers of their products. They need to provide these organizations with a competitive price structure or the customers can shift to another company for the supply of office items. But the company also has an advantage that it provides them with products that have unique designs and packaging. Therefore it can be stated that Staples Inc is operating in an industry where the customers have moderate bargaining power.
Supplier Power
There are many suppliers operating in the industry of office supplies and office related products. The large number of suppliers has resulted in low level of bargaining power of suppliers. The companies that are manufacturing the office related products can select the suppliers that offer them the most suitable package. In case of Staples Inc they have strong ties with their suppliers and are taking advantage from a network of supply parties that maintain the effective flow of raw materials being supplied to the company.
Threat of Substitutes
There