5-1 Blue Ridge Manufacturing Essay

We are aiming at understanding how Recreational Equipment INC. (REI) achieved a competitive advantage through their strategies and how they implemented those strategies. REI differs from the other sporting goods stores in their quality product selection, complements, and excellent brand name promotion. These qualities enable REI to sell merchandise at premium price levels (Morse, 2003).

The background of this paper we need to mention is that West Coast Fashions, Inc. (WCF), a large designer and marketer of branded apparel announced a strategic reorganization calling for a divestiture of certain assets, and one of the divisions it intended to shed was Mercury Athletic, its wholly owned footwear subsidiary. John Liedtke, the head of business development for Active Gear, Inc. (AGI), a privately held athletic and casual footwear company, contemplated an acquisition opportunity of Mercury that would significantly improve his business. So, he wanted to evaluate this opportunity.

Bath & Body Works (BBW) enjoyed a successful decade after its inception in 1990. However, over time their limited offering of products was sending their customer base to other retail chains - either trading up to better brands or trading down to cheaper prices. As demand for their product seemed to dwindle, they needed a way to increase their customer base. An increase in

Analyzing the industry using Porter’s Five Forces, it can be seen that the Outdoor Apparel industry is very competitive. The threat of entry is very high, with several large conglomerates making acquisitions in the industry and established apparel companies such as Polo Ralph Lauren making expansions into sports apparel. With several brands such as North Face in the high end of the industry, as well as Columbia and several private labels dominating the middle and lower ends, a large number of substitutes are available. Buyers have large bargaining power, as end consumers could easily switch to another brand, while at the same time wholesalers are

The concept of market structures and competitive strategies are important when attempting to compete in any market. Understanding what market structure your product falls under can help companies develop better competitive strategies and identify potential for loss and gains. The athletic footwear industry in the United States is highly profitable and continuously growing. In this paper I will identify market structure of the athletic footwear industry, the major retailers, and competitive strategies that can be used to maximize profits.

Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, and Strickland (2012) found that competitive strategy depend on whether a company’s target market is narrow or broad, and whether a company is seeking competitive advantage through low-cost or product differentiation. These two factors reveal five generic competitive strategies. The five strategies are Overall Low-Cost Provider Strategy, Focused Low-Cost Strategy, Broad Differentiation Strategy, Focused Differentiation Strategy, and Best Cost

Hickory Hill is a well-established smoked foods company specializing in smoked turkeys and has been selling its products throughout the northwestern part of the continental United States since 1967. Initially owned and operated by a German immigrant family, the key to the company's success lay in a secret smoking process native to Rhineland, Germany. By 1998, the firm owned 250 retail outlets in addition to 400 franchise arrangements. Though the company sold a variety of turkey products, its competitive strength lay in one particular type of smoked turkeys: Tender Most (2010 sales: $11,475,250). The 2011 sales were forecasted to have a 12% growth over the 2010 sales level.

Companies like Under Armour, Nike and Adidas/Reebok have high threats of substitute´s products. These companies share the sport apparel industry and are vulnerable to competitive pressure from the actions of buyers whenever they view that their products can be substituted for others. The availability of substitutes invites the costumer to compare performance, features, and ease of use as well as price. Under Armour’s major competitors are Nike and Adidas/Reebok because they have a similar or competing product offerings. The top sport apparel brands offer similar products and that is why each one of them needs to keep a high standard and produce good quality products in order for customers to keep buying their product.

List the four factors auditors should consider when evaluating the results of confirmation procedures. Also, what are three of the characteristics of a reliable confirmation? (For this and other questions, you may which to refer relevant auditing standards).

In the 1990’s Black and Decker had a great position in the market for their products to appeal to the Professional Industrial segment and the Consumer segment but when it came to the Professional Tradesmen segment they were lacking. Their 9% market share vs. Makita’s 50% market share in the tradesmen segment was incomparable. Makita clearly had a better product in the eyes of the Professional Tradesmen. In the Professional Segment most of the people who buy the products are people who need these tools to make a living such as carpenters, electricians, plumbers, roofers, and general remodelers. Black and

Q1. Based on the 2004 statement of profit and loss data (Exhibits 1 and 2), do you agree with Water’s decision to keep product 103?

J.D.B.T.’s overall business strategy was competitive benchmarking on factors such as price, brands, and advertising. After noticing a decline in our profits and market demand, we added a competitive twist to our business strategy. We expanded our sales channels,

Cumberland Metal Industries (CMI), which was historically one of the largest manufacturers of curled metal products in the country, has developed a new product. This product is a metal cushion pad which is to be used with large crane-pile driving activities. The cushion is to prevent the shock of the hammer from damaging the pile. CMI’s cushion pad is a “one-of-a-kind” product as there is nothing similar on the market today making comparisons difficult. Upon successful tests conducted alongside Colerick Foundation Company (Colerick), CMI now seeks to launch this new product to the market. Not unlike many other companies that develop new products, CMI is struggling to set a market price to go along with a

The construction and forestry segment manufacturers and distributes an expansive line of machines and service parts used in a variety of industries. Although this market segment has less of an impact on their financial performance than agriculture and turf, Deere is expecting revenue to increase about 8% in 2013. This increased revenue will primarily come from improved economic conditions in the U.S. Finally, the financial services segment mainly derives its revenue from their dealer network and the finance of customer purchases is expected to see improvement. As you can see from the chart below, agriculture and turf account for nearly 77% of the companies operating profit and grew over 13.5% in 2012 as compared to 2011. While financial services experienced a decrease in overall operating profit as compared to 2011, it remained second ahead of construction and forestry contributing $712 million in operating profit to the company.

This case is about a joint venture between the American company Blue Ridge which is owned by Delta Foods and the Spanish company Terralumen in Spain. Problems arose because of disagreement concerning the future growth rates set by Delta which are considered as unrealistic by Terralumen.