Preview

Strategic Management and Costco Company

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1454 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Strategic Management and Costco Company
Costco Wholesale Corporation Part III Costco Wholesale Corporation is in an industry where there are several of dynamic competition from huge chains such as Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club and Target, and yet it could maintain a competitive and profitable stance. Effective strategic planning is essential part in operating any business in relation toward adapting to organizational and operational adaptation to changing markets. Through inquiries, the influence in the recent economic trends, provide strategies that have use or could use in the adaptation to changes in the market related to issues of economic trends, such as recession and economic downturn. Costco Company’s research paper will further discuss the tactics that has implemented or could implemented to achieve strategic goals and the role of human resources management in helping the company achieve its business goals. Assuming the role of a Mutual Fund Manager, using the three parts of business analysis gathered enhance my understanding the reason it is an extraordinary idea to invest in Costco Wholesale Corporation. In today’s economy, even most successful businesses, including Costco Company also suffers from the recent economic trends. Despite from the economic crisis, it is imperative for Costco Company to focus on the strategy in providing items in bulk and at low prices to give assistance in sustaining growth during the slow economic times. The successful pursuit of a low-cost strategy lets Costco charge less than its competitors and still make profits. The pricing tactic that Costco has executed focuses on the price-sensitivity of its consumers. The company has shined in keeping its prices low by capping the markup on its merchandise. Costco is precise at organizing for example, using floor space, and producing high revenues from its products within its stores. Besides a wholesale club, Costco delivered more value to customers by, including ancillary services for


References: Costco, (2010). Retrived from http://www.benchmarketproducts.com Costco Wholesale Corporation, (2012). Retrived from ateneonline.it/Thompson/docen/casi Costco Wholesale Corporation, (2012). Retrived from Costco.com Costco Wholesale, (2012). SWOT Analysis. Retrieved from http://yousigma.com/comparativeanalysis/costcowholesale.html O’Tootle, J., (2005) The Ethics of Human Capital. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/conference/presentations/human-capital.html Retail Industry (2012). Retrived from retailindustry.about.com

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Palmers Limited Case Study

    • 1312 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When you ask an average American about a wholesale dealer, one name stands out, Costco Wholessale Corp. They are one of the biggest wholesale corporation in US. That is very impressive considering they have only been in the industry for about 30 years. They are member based and provide quality goods and services to member only. Their members not just every day people but people who run small business so not only customers buy their product but sell them to others in their own stores as well. While their competitor, Wal-Mart, looks to provide lowest price but inlike Costco’s they overlook the quality. While BJ tries to look pretty to their customer, Costco pay less attention to their look and more to provide the lowest prices for their members. From 1997 to 2001, Wal-Mart store numbers were increased by 53, BJ 's stores went up by 50, but Costco went up by 91.…

    • 1312 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Costco is the greatest wholesale mega store in today’s market opening its first store in 1983 in Seattle, Washington. Its mission statement is "Costco 's mission is to continually provide our members with quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices. In order to achieve our mission we will conduct our business with the following Code of Ethics in mind: Obey the law, Take care of our members, Take care of our employees, and Respect our vendors. If we do these four things throughout our organization, then we will realize our ultimate goal, which is to reward our shareholders."…

    • 2316 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Costco Memo

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Affordability: Because Costco only as a 15% markup, their items are cheap. In recent slow economic times, money is…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    cotsco case

    • 2187 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Costco’s business model is focused on producing high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover by offering members low prices on a limited selection of national name brands and select private-label products in a wide range variety. Costco is focused in low-cost strategy is concentrated on a narrow buy segment and out competing rivals by having lower costs, therefore being able serve a niche consumers at a lower price. (Gamble, John and Thompson, Arthur (2009).…

    • 2187 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Costco mini case study

    • 1265 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Pricing, product selection, treasure hunt merchandising, low cost emphasis, and growth are the chief elements of Costco’s strategy. It is a very good strategy because they offer the lowest prices no matter what.…

    • 1265 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Corporate Strategy

    • 3375 Words
    • 14 Pages

    28. A taxpayer is considering three alternative investments of $10,000. Assume the taxpayer is in the 28% marginal tax bracket for ordinary income and 15% for qualifying capital gains and dividends in all tax years. The selected investment will be liquidated at the end of five years. The alternatives are:…

    • 3375 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    This objective of this paper is to analyze Costco's competitive advantage and business strategy. As part of this analysis, we will compare Costco's business model to its closest publicly traded competitor, BJ's Wholesale, to understand the competitive dynamics of their interactions with customers. Furthermore, we will analyze whether Costco's competitive advantages are sustainable in the long run.…

    • 2932 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Costco Strengths

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The fierce competition is the biggest threat of Costco. As I mentioned before, Sam’s Club and other wholesaler companies are developing quickly. For instance, Sam’s Club has strong background and customer base. They are share the market with Costco. So, if Costco wants to ensure the market share, they should lower their price and produce high-quality products. But, other wholesaler companies also lower their price and invest a lot of money in innovate new and quality products. It is weakening the strength---low price of Costco. Costco should face this threats seriously.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Financial Ratios and Ratio

    • 4182 Words
    • 17 Pages

    * Costco’s business strategy is fascinating compared to other wholesale companies in the industry in how their stores are presented to the public. Costco supermarkets are made of cement floors, merchandises are laid on pallets, groceries are not handled in bags, aisles are not labeled, and lastly, they do not advertise. This business strategy save millions of dollars in operating cost every year.…

    • 4182 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    We need to take advantage of an untapped source of loyal customers. Costco has already proven that it keeps its customers through strong service policies and offering products in heavy demand. The company does not need to adopt an entirely new product policy. However, by offering an additional 500-1000 products in the stores, Costco will offer more variety than Sam’s Club, but still have the ability to pander to its customers desires.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Costco Case Study Essay

    • 1954 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman in Seattle Washington founded Costco Wholesale in 1993. Costco merged with Price Club, and doubled their market share in the wholesale industry. They became an immediate leader in the industry.…

    • 1954 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Costco Analysis

    • 1364 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Costco falls into the category of a supermerchant. Costco also differs from many of these companies by offering their consumers wholesale prices, but yet still providing the ability to shop for many different items in the same store. Costco provides its consumer with lower prices than a conventional supermerchant by charging its customers an annual membership fee. This fee gives the consumer the right to shop at the warehouse club for items found often in bulk and usually at a lower price. Wal-Mart Inc. also provides this service through their warehouse chain called Sam’s Club. Costco and Sam’s Club are the two major players in the warehouse club industry and although other supermerchants such as Target and Smith’s Marketplace are competition, Sam’s Club is the only major direct completion to Costco. Membershipping is often very popular and has great advantages however, it also has some major drawbacks and this report will provide an evaluation of this business practice.…

    • 1364 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One issue that that was evident throughout the analysis was the stagnating profitability. One aspect that is causing this issue is the above-average employee compensation (relative to industry standards) offered by Costco. Being accumulated into the selling and administrative expense line on the income statement, it places a downward pressure on profitability. Much of the manual work accomplished within the store environment (cashier, stocking clerk) is not skilled and therefore does not require a premium wage. In keeping such costs to a minimum, Costco would be able to increase the productivity of its operations and increase in profitability. This will ensure that it will achieve its strategic objective. A second aspect of the profitability issue is its impact on its shareholders. As a public company, Costco has to have the maximization of shareholder wealth as one of its objectives. However, it would appear that shareholder wealth maximization is being treated as a low priority objective. When this was brought up by a Wall Street analyst, Jim Sinegal defended his position as being long term. However, this will not hold true if profitability continues to decline. Where as sales continued to increase in the 2008-2009 year-over-year (YoY) for Sam’s Club and BJ’s, Costco saw a decline. This translated into a 3% decline in ROE. While the recession of 2008-2009 would have contributed to this decline, it raises questions about Costco’s resilience to the cyclical business environment.…

    • 2824 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Costco's Strategy

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages

    1. Do you think Jim Sinegal is an effective CEO? What grades would you give him in leading the process of crafting and executing Costco’s strategy? What support can you offer for these grades? Refer to Figure 2.1 in Chapter 2 in developing your answers.…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Costco Strategy

    • 1940 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Costco’s business model relies on high sales volume doubled with quick inventory turnover, made possible by low prices and limited product selection among a wide variety of branded and private label this chain and has many benefits. For one, by gearing the business approach to rapidly turning over inventory, the company is often able to sell new merchandise and pay suppliers before the invoice is due, even when the company pays early to benefit from early payment discounts. This frees up capital, as Costco finances most new inventory purchases with supplier payment terms. Fittingly, the company passes these savings on to consumers in the form of low prices. Another benefit of this model is that the company is not required to maintain high levels of working capital or take out loans, with interest to pay suppliers. Management believed that rapid inventory turnover, when combined with the operating efficiencies achieved by volume purchasing, efficient distribution, and reduced handling of merchandise in no-frills, self-service warehouse facilities, enabled the company to operate profitably at significantly lower gross margins than traditional wholesalers, mass merchandisers, supermarkets, and supercenters.…

    • 1940 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays