The economy has had a significant impact on many companies in the United States. Naturally, there are a few large companies that can survive the effects of a volatile economy. AutoZone is not immune to economic downturns because the industry they operate it was con Last year, AutoZone felt the effects of the economy massively by underperforming based off of their expectations. Unfortunately, their share per price fell along with their in-store sales. Naturally, there are a few factors that have caused AutoZone’s recent economic downfall. One factor is the recent natural disasters that forced AutoZone to close over 600 stores nationwide temporarily. Another factor is the rise of competitors and their unique business strategies. Naturally, not only does AutoZone have to compete with brick and mortar competitors, the e-commerce aspect of auto part distribution is rising quickly. …show more content…
Apparently, as gas prices rise, customers are not driving as much which decreases the chance for the need of a car repair. Economically, AutoZone has many factors that can hurt the company as a whole. In conclusion, AutoZone may not be immune to economic downfall; however, their functional strategies have assisted the company in re-grouping to take advantage of the rising DIY needs of their customers. Also, AutoZone has millions of customers that would instead fix their mechanical problem themselves rather than take their car to a mechanic. The DIY market is consistently rising in the auto part industry. AutoZone changed their strategy to revitalize the company with DIY sales (Odland’s DIY, 2001). AutoZone utilizes their in-store and online professional help to attract the DIY
Internally the strategy moving forward was unclear. The chance to address 25,000 dealers demanded the new leadership had a clear picture of their mission moving forward. With a very narrow scope of product offerings and the slowing sales of their high-end speakers, the decision to expand into additional products, or stay focused on their main revenue source would determine the future of the company. Offering their product in the large retailer market and pulling away from the independent installers had already damaged their brand equity. Furthermore, engaging with the production home builders, while generating the necessary revenues for survival, alienated the custom installer and their referral clients. (Kerin & Peterson, 2013). Considering the relatively small size of the company combined with the dangers associated with brand extension could overstress the resources necessary to launch and maintain a new line. One of the keys to a successful concentric diversification is close coordination with existing customers and distributors. Unfortunately, the dealers that had made them successful were not pleased with their recent brand dilution. (Gordon,
In the early 2000’s Lowe’s was rapidly intensifying its presence nationwide. The company carried a varied assortment of home improvement products and catered to the needs of retail as well as commercial business customers. Lowe’s expanded their reach by acquiring a 41-store chain, Eagle Hardware and Garden, and engaging in a strategic alliance with HGTV to obtain a more profound existence in their market (Rouse, 2005). By 2004, Lowe’s operated almost 1,000 stores with plans to continue expansion across the nation (Rouse, 2005). The company has a core competency in helping customers meet their home improvement needs at a low price. In order to use this core competency to gain a competitive advantage, the company has focused on key functional strategies. To continue their success, Lowe’s must specifically focus on marketing, logistics, and human resource management strategies.
"Is the Auto Industry's Recovery a 'Success Story?'." Internet Wire 24 Nov. 2010. General OneFile. Web. 25 Nov. 2011.
Auto Zone is immune to threats associated with economic downturns. According to AutoZone Incorporation, it has already overcome intense competitions from other auto part businesses. And the company also goes through goods that has a recall that will drop revenues (AutoZone Incorporation, p. 1).
Unemployment is rising and the entire global economy is falling. The story has become all too common. If there is a negative direction available to follow, we're definitely taking advantage of the opportunity. Americans became too accustomed to the period of inflation through the 1990s, and the ongoing recession is affecting most everyone. The Big Three automakers (GM, Ford and Chrysler) have made massive cuts to their workforces, and the entire national job market has been upended. My personal life has been greatly distorted due to these events, after Delphi (contracted by GM) outsourced most of their jobs and shut down 21 of their 29 plants in the US. In previous years, anyone would be capable of earning a comfortable wage by working for GM right out of high school. Now that these jobs have disappeared, union wages are no longer available. Unemployed individuals are desperate and working for minimum wage, and are therefore required to drastically change their standards of living. My dad is working seventy hours a week, and we're still barely able to pay rent. The so-called “American dream” has been transformed for many. It was once a goal to obtain what you need to be happy, but it is now just being able to manage to find a job capable of supporting your family. The downfall of the American economy could be accredited to many crises facing our country, such as the subprime mortgage crisis. A few years ago, we experienced an energy crisis in which oil prices soared, and this directly led to the current automotive industry crisis. One could argue that the automotive crisis and the downfall of the Big Three automakers has been solely responsible for bringing our...
There are many responses that a company can have to troubling economic times. They can first weather the storm and survive. They can back up and get driven out of business, or they can grow. The economy has been in recession for many months. It is the job of our company to identify things that can help businesses to make it through these times and hopefully prosper.
Achieving world class business performance is a major challenge in today’s society. Manufacturing companies continue to face increased competition and globalization from its competitors. (1, p. 148). The automotive industry is one of the most volatile manufacturing industries that we have, which was evident in the 2008 – 2010 automotive industry crisis. (2) This global financial downturn served notice to the American automotive manufactures to raise the bar, in order to achieve word class business performance. General Motors, one of the country’s largest automotive manufactures, had to receive a government bailout to survive. During this time many with the corporation asked themselves, if we were a world class business, would we be facing this pending crisis. The answer was a resounding “NO”. General Motors has come out of bankruptcy and is focused on being a world-class business organization.
Conclusion: Given the current economic status the home improvement industry is in a low spot with sales. With the decrease in building new homes we have to focus mainly on home improvements. The three strong points we have against existing rivalries are our great locations, quantity of quality products, and convenient customer service. With these great qualities we can move ahead and stay ahead of our competitors during these times.
The American auto industry is in a crisis, their vehicles are not in demand and they need government bailouts to keep their businesses afloat. American vehicles are not on demand because people want fuel-efficient, the car companies that are not at the point of bankruptcy, longer lasting vehicles, and hybrid cars. The American car companies are at a point of bankruptcy and people don’t want to buy cars from a company that may not be there in a couple of months. The foreign car companies are doing well and they much more dependable now that we are in an economic crisis. American cars are not fuel-efficient, not as long lasting, and don’t make many hybrids, so this affects their business negatively. I got some ideas that will make American car companies be on top of the industry again.
During economically difficult times the average person is not seeking to make major purchases such as new automobiles and homes. Financially, they may need to make repairs to what they currently have. In this case, some customers had to take responsibility for their own car repairs or pay an unlicensed technician to do it at minimal costs. With that said, that was the market area that Autozone focused on and it paid off. With that came, do-it-yourself, options (Arnold, 2014). This opened doors for customers to learn to take care
The automotive industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy for every country in the world. It involves a large number of corporations and institutions engaged in the manufacturing process of motor vehicles including designing, developing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling. It contributes to the global economic growth by generating a significant return and creating a ripple effect on supporting the supply chain as well as providing job opportunities for the skilled workers (ACEA, 2016).
The automobile industry is a pillar of global economy. Globally automotive contributes roughly 3 % of all GDP output. It historically has contributed 3.0 – 3.5 % to the overall GDP in the US. The share is even higher in the emerging markets, with the rates in china and India at 7 % and rising. China produces the highest number of automobiles followed by US and Japan (oica.net, 2015). The industry supports direct employment of 9 million people to build 60 million vehicles and parts that go into them (oica.net, 2015). Many other industries such as steel, iron, glass, aluminium, textiles etc. are associated with the automotive industry and resulting in more than 50 million jobs owed to the auto
As a result of the increased demand of cars, the competition among car companies is becoming intense. Although the market of car is the biggest growing market in the world, there are still some companies who make cars failing year after year. However, there are some outstanding car companies such as The BMW Group performing distinctly.
A service I think may be able to sell in my area is a Self Serve Garage. The company would provide a self serve garage that is fully equipped with tools, equipment and other resources needed to complete simple and advanced automotive maintenance, repair and upgrade work. The company accommodates "Do-It-Yourselfers" who need a work location, Small Business Mechanics who need a work location and administrative tools, and some guidance and, Car Enthusiasts who want an environment to both work and hang out with like minded enthusiasts.
AutoEdge is facing crisis since millions of its automobiles has had to be recalled due to product quality issues. Many things should be considered in order to implement a proactive response to rectify the situation. As the research analysis, I have been tasked will helping to rebuild AutoEdge’s reputation as well as to reduce and control operating costs. When making any decision on implementing change within the organization market analysis must look at the market structure of the organization. Market structure is made up of the relationship that exists between buyers, sellers, competition, product differentiation, and ease of entry into and exit from the market. The article “Review of Market Structure” (n.d.) defines market structure as the “microeconomic characteristics of different markets” and include such elements as competition level, high versus low entry barriers, and scale (Review of Market Structure, n.d.) To make the decision the decision to relocate, AutoEdge must analysis and evaluate of market structure. This report will discuss the four different types of market structures: monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition, and pure competition. Additionally, it will outline the type of market structure AutoEdge fits into, how that market structure impacts the level of competition, elasticity of demand, price, and position in the industry.