Homework answers / question archive / Roebuck used to be the largest retailer in in stores well ahead of competitors Walmary the United States, with sales representing | to 2 2007 and Target Corp

Roebuck used to be the largest retailer in in stores well ahead of competitors Walmary the United States, with sales representing | to 2 2007 and Target Corp

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Roebuck used to be the largest retailer in in stores well ahead of competitors Walmary
the United States, with sales representing | to 2 2007 and Target Corp. In 2013. Sears has also be
percent of the U.S. gross national product for almost out front with the introduction in 2011 of g Senin
40 vears after World War I. Since then, Sears has that lets shoppers reserve goods online and pa Ce
steadily lost ground to discounters such as Walmart for them in store: 1n 2012, 1 launched Online \, “ash
and Target and to competitively priced specialty Despite these improvements, Sears has laveeq
retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe's. Even the reducing operating costs. keeping pace with cure

merger with Kmart in 2005 to create Sears Holding merchandising trends. and remodeling its 2499 a

Company failed to stop the downward spiral in sales | many of which are run down and in undesirable "rey,

and market share. locations. It is sull struggling to find pastadeledts

Over the years. Sears had invested heavily in ness strategy that will pull it. quem

information technology. At one (me, it spent more company continued to use

on information technology and networking than revive flagging sales: onling

all other noncomputer firms in the United States and an Amazon.com-lik y iy.
except the Boeing Corporation. The company was vendors for 18 million pg n peyin
noted for its extensive customer databases of 60 store promotions. SO fag We not paid
million past and present Sears credit card holders. off, and sales have declf => merger
which it used to target groups such as tool buyers. with Kmart. The comp mes of nearly
appliance buyers, and gardening enthusiasts with S1.4 billion for 2013. Tq ween early 0)
special promotions. For example. Sears would mal and November 2014 ag menOst $7 billion
customers who purchased a washer and dryer an Sears continued to @ ; or technology.
offer for a maintenance contract and follow up with aiming for even more] = of technology
annual contract renewal forms. These efforts did not — and mining of custon™ pe expectation was
translate into competitive advantage because Sears’s that deeper knowledg mer preferences and
cost structure was one of the highest in its industry. buying patterns Wo ymotions, merchan-

In 1993. under the leadership of Arthur Martinez, —_ dising. and selligg mective. Customers
Sears embarked on a $4 billion five-year store would flock tag muse they would be
renovation program to make stores more efficient, CUrry ING eX = want.
attractive. and convenient by bringing all transac- A custo alled Shop Your Wi:
tions closer to the sales Moor and centraliziny every Rewardg Bie nus free deals
store’s general offices. cashiers. Casters sens ees, for cos maeed to share their
and credit functions. New pout cts 89) leg —_ me company. Sears
minals allowed sales staff to istics > cid. tg megetomers signed up
accept charge card payments, sous gillogg a ou "foyalty-marketing
and report account information lo vag muoguy es TE eee ere and 50 million people
The POS devices provided informgé mbers. J
status of orders and availabiligy Wats Scars ts collecting are changing how ts
associates to order out-ofg ‘floors are arranged and how promotions are

the sales floor. Sopgg nel mee Go attract shoppers. For example. work
lo give custome AY Sears wear has been moved closer to where tools are
credit cards. ¥ Mop. -rstaan oi After data analysis showed that many jewelry
electronic og R eingitycomputer- 61° eg. men who bought touls, the compan}
sears bl r ay - . " uf exch supplier, ec Peal -. . val Valentine's Day offer for Shop you
proce Bi ih Le | " , | ier ine order Way Rewards members that offered $100 credit for
. Prong ths uu ne dsm . " ‘forex R4Q0 spent on jewelry. | | _
suld based es shifting ccecatttee en anee Sevamed to personalize marketing campalen
xamp'e. 11 200), 3 are he Kan testune: | ory - coupons a offers down to the individual cus-
al lets shoppers buv enlin: ond rick up their rows ae but its legacy systems were incapable of sup:
goods — porting that level of activity. To use complex analy tc

According to Don Ingham. a portfolio manager personalized promotions a Bvorking?
at Tenth Avenue Holdings, Sears Holdings is poised What is the business impag re the number,
to benefit from its moves to cut its physical space to show that Sears s big O : EvORy Is Making
and increase its e-commerce operations. Sear’s poor — the company more profi 4 ee r’s technolog;.
financial position prompted it to startembracinge- cal forays be able to halt eo spiral?
commerce much earlier than other retailers to reduce — Sources “How Sears Holding Gall peline Fulfitimens ~
its physical storefront presence. Sears’ efforts should en outa mae 7 | BF con.) ee ina
pay off in a few years. wis sears com, accessed ERapwer, “Sears bes 8,
Other experts disagree. Despite bold attempts to on Technology.” Wall § Bee 2014; Kate Kaye hoy
innovate with technology. execution is where Sears 5°" Got into the ee pend Mizu
ustillo, "The Plag sae tae © ournal. March 12, 29))
has stumbled. according to Credit Suisse analyst y pe .
Gary Balter. Balter believes the company didnt i
invest enough in systems to make sure all its ideas Case Stugynguestions
worked properly, and it has not attracted younger, 3-13 Analyze Sears, using the competitive forces and
tech-savvy customers who want to shop that way. By value chain models.
all accounts, Sears remains a fading brand saddled 3-14 What was the problem facing Sears? What peo-
with too many nonperforming physical stores in ple, organization, and technology factors con.
undesirable locations. tributed to this problem?
Even with better data analytics, knowledge of cus-
tomers, loyalty programs, and e-commerce innova- 3-15 What solution did Sears select? What was the
tions. the question still linggsaimaiedut whether Sears role of technology in this solution?
is using technology e solve itsenormous 3-96 How effective was the solution Sears selected?
business problems. | able to offer customers Fyplaim vour answer.