Dressing Up Case Study

1. Kohl’s has several external areas and trends that their strategic managers have to face every day. First, and possibly the most obvious, is their existing competitors. Kohl’s has to deal with J.

C. Penny, Target, Sears, Macy’s and Wall-Mart as their competition. They’ve most recently had to keep up with Target and J.C. Penny’s trends of the “cheap chic” look when Kohl’s released their Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez product lines.

Demographic is the next external area. Kohl’s target customers are young mothers. That being said, the largest generation of young people since the boomers, Generation Y, consists of young mothers. This single external area helped determine their location since they believed their target customer didn’t have the time for a long drive to a mall location and dealing with parking hassles.

2. If I was a strategic decision maker at the headquarters of Kohl’s, I would primarily want to know the general environment sectors: Economic, Demographic, Coloratura, Political-Legal, and Technological.

These would be important to me because they are ore “big picture” areas than that of the specific environment. If I was a local store manager for Kohl’s, I would want Information from the specific environment: Consumers, Possible Competitors, and Resource Providers. This is because local management has direct contact with the customers and suppliers’ sales representatives.

3. Kohl’s is recognizing the trend of convenience and Is making Kohl’s shopping experience with technological ease. Kohl’s.

Com has let customers view their products online and even view an expanded selection of merchandise. Kohl’s have allowed for a customer to order a product online and return It In the store instead of going through the hassle of returning It through the mall. Kohl’s has also provided kiosks so that a customer may order something In the store and have It shipped to their home for free. The company Is building up the Infrastructure which will allow the stores to ship online orders from their stores, rather than their E- Commerce fulfillment centers. During the 2012 holiday season, Kohl’s shipped selected online orders from their retail distribution centers. By the 2013 holiday season, they expect to ship from 200 of their stores.

These changes will allow them to reduce their shipping times and costs.

4. The opportunities I see In this case would be their strategy on location. Kohl’s target customer, young mothers, creates an opportunity for Kohl’s due to Generation Y being the largest generation since the baby boomers. Since they considered their target customers In deciding where to place Its stores, this created an opportunity for when the women In the largest generation start becoming mothers.

The threats would be J. C. Penne’s new CEO launching new strategies. Kohl’s will have to keep up with the new strategies, and new “everyday low prices” that J. C.

Penny Is Implementing. Dressing Up Case Study By valetudinarians manager for Kohl’s, I would want information from the specific environment: representatives.

5. Kohl’s is recognizing the trend of convenience and is making Kohl’s have allowed for a customer to order a product online and return it in the store instead of going through the hassle of returning it through the mail.

Kohl’s has also provided kiosks so that a customer may order something in the store and have it shipped to their home for free. The company is building up the infrastructure which

6. The opportunities I see in this case would be their strategy on location. Kohl’s target customers in deciding where to place its stores, this created an opportunity for when the women in the largest generation start becoming mothers. The threats would be J. C.

Openers new CEO launching new strategies. Kohl’s will have to keep up with the new strategies, and new “everyday low prices” that J. C. Penny is implementing.