Picking from Zales, Walgreens, CVS, Best Buy or TargetYour project will contain the following sections: 1. Title Page 2. Strategic Analysis 3. Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising 4. Interne

Picking from Zales, Walgreens, CVS, Best Buy or Target

Your project will contain the following sections: 1. Title Page 2. Strategic Analysis 3. Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising 4. Internet Retailing 5. Works Cited With the exception of the title page, each section should begin on a new page and should be labeled with the appropriate header. For example, the header for the Strategic Analysis section would be Strategic Analysis. The questions for each section should be typed using a word-processing program. Each answer for that section should be labeled by its number/designation and question and should be answered in an essay/paragraph format. This project requires you to research your chosen retailer, and you’ll need to find, cite, and reference a minimum of three sources of information using APA format. Do not summarize information without giving credit to the source from which it was drawn. Be sure to double-space your answers with left and right margins of 1 inch, flush left and ragged right. Use a plain 12-point font, such as Times New Roman

Answer the following questions in your project: 1. Provide a brief overview of the retail sector in which the retailer operates. a. What economic factors and environmental factors (if any) are affecting the retailer? b. What are the competitive pressures, evolving and emerging technologies, effects of online selling. changing demographics and buying preferences, consumer behavior issues, and image issues affecting this retailer and how it conducts business? 2. Describe your retailer. a. What is your retailer’s primary business? b. What is its business model—how does it choose to operate? c. What is its corporate strategy? d. What are its goals? e. How has your retailer changed and evolved over time? f. What parts of the business are growing and generate the most revenue? g. How is your retailer seeking to increase revenue in the future? 3. Complete a corporate analysis. a. Has the retailer been profitable during its last fiscal year? b. What are its projections for the future? c. Is the retailer expanding or contracting its operations? d. How does this retailer compare financially to other retailers in its industry? 4. Do a financial analysis of your retailer and two to five of its top competitors. a. What is the revenue growth, return on assets, gross margin, net margin, gross margin return on investment, and inventory turnover? b. What does this analysis say about how your retailer operates and its profitability? c. What can your retailer do to improve its profitability? 5. Analyze the competition. a. Who are the retailer’s competitors, both direct and indirect? b. How does your retailer compare to these competitors in terms of its size, market dominance/share, sales, profitability, and so on? c. What is your retailer’s competitive strength? d. Are there strategies that haven’t worked for the retailer? e. What retailers have the retailer identified as competitive threats? Why? 6. Determine the retail market strategy. a. Who is the retailer’s target audience? (Describe the audience demographically and psychographically, if possible.) How does this compare to the competition? b. What image does the retailer want to convey? How does it compare to its current image in the industry and in the minds of consumers? How does it compare with competitors’ images? c. How has technology affected the way the retailer conducts business? How does it make use of the Web, e-commerce, supply chain management, information systems, and so on? d. What is the retailer’s global presence and strategy? Has it been successful? Why or why not? e. What is the retailer’s location strategy and why? f. Describe their merchandising strategy: how they buy, what they buy, breadth versus depth of merchandise, and so on. How is it reflected in their financial strategy. g. What is the retailer’s pricing strategy, and how does this affect profitability? h. What is the retailer’s approach to advertising and sales promotions? Has it been effective? i. What challenges does your retailer face in terms of the retail strategy variables just described? Do some appear to be working better than others? 7. Summarize your retailer’s primary strengths and weaknesses and support your assessment. a. What are the retailer’s largest opportunities, both now and in the future? b. What are the retailer’s biggest challenges, both now and in the future? How is it preparing to meet those challenges? 8. Describe what you think the future holds for this retailer. a. If you were hired as the CEO, what specific strategies would you pursue in the future for this retailer? b. What opportunities would you capitalize on? Why?