Retail - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Massive Debts Drive Sears into Bankruptcy

October 25, 2018

In today’s retail environment, the most successful companies aim to be one-stop shops where customers can purchase everything they need in a single trip. And while modern shoppers might associate this strategy with firms like Walmart and Amazon, experts agree that Sears was the first business to perfect the all-in-one retail plan. Starting out in the late 1800s as a mail-order catalog, the company eventually built thousands of department stores across the country. Consumers at the time had never before Continue reading →

Management, Retail, Product Distribution, Bankruptcy, Sears

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Toys ‘R’ Us Bankruptcy Hurts Sales at Hasbro

October 23, 2018

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Earlier this year, Toys ‘R’ Us announced that it would be closing most of its U.S. stores after filing for bankruptcy in 2017. And while this was certainly bad news for anyone who loved the store “where a kid can be a kid,” it was especially unpleasant for toy manufacturers like Hasbro and Mattel. These companies depended on large holiday orders from Toys ‘R’ Us to fund operations throughout the entire year. Without a big retailer to sell to, though, Continue reading →

Operations Management, Retail, Supply chains, Product Distribution, Bankruptcy, Toys ‘R’ Us, Hasbro

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Robots Replace 90 Percent of Staff at a Uniqlo Warehouse

October 16, 2018

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The Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo has steadily grown into an international brand known for its inexpensive but stylish designs. As you might expect, maintaining this image requires the company to strike a delicate balance between creating interesting products and keeping costs low. That’s why Uniqlo recently announced that robots have replaced 90 percent of the staff at one of its warehouses.

Along with drastically cutting costs, the company’s newly automated warehouse will also be able to operate 24 hours a Continue reading →

Operations Management, Global, Ethics, Clothing, Retail, Automation, Product Distribution, Japan, Partnerships, Uniqlo

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Amazon Will Pay Employees a $15 Minimum Wage

October 4, 2018

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Amazon’s market capitalization recently hit $1 trillion, placing the e-commerce giant on a level of success shared only with Apple. What’s more, last year the company’s revenue topped out at $178 billion, about a 40 percent increase from 2016. These factors allowed CEO Jeff Bezos to claim the title of world’s richest person as his net worth climbed past the $150 billion mark.

According to critics, though, Amazon’s workers have been largely left out of this bonanza of profit. Continue reading →

Management, Ethics, Human Resources, Unions, Labor Relations, Compensation, Retail, Amazon, E-commerce

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions

Augmented Reality Brings the Furniture Showroom to Consumers

September 18, 2018

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When someone is looking to buy a new piece of furniture, it can be a struggle to find the right item to fit their personal taste as well as their floor plan. After all, just because something looks good in the showroom doesn’t necessarily mean it will fit in their living room. That’s why a number of home goods companies are integrating augmented reality into their online stores. Using a smartphone camera, the technology allows customers to visualize how a Continue reading →

Marketing, Social Media, Product Development, Promotions, Retail, Innovation, Mobile, E-commerce, Augmented Reality, IKEA

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Amazon Loses Ground in the Smart Speaker Market

August 28, 2018

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A few years ago, many tech industry analysts predicted that the Amazon Echo would soon dominate the growing smart speaker market. After all, the voice-activated device accounted for more than 75 percent of market share as the company moved “tens of millions” of Echo products in 2017 alone. Consumers were also becoming more familiar with Alexa, the virtual assistant designed to answer questions and perform simple tasks like turning the lights on and off. Given these factors plus Amazon’s ever Continue reading →

Global, Google, Product Development, Retail, Innovation, China, Amazon, E-commerce, Smart Speakers, Alexa

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Amazon Faces Service Outages and Strikes on Prime Day

July 17, 2018

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Amazon’s Prime Day has a bit of a misleading name: the e-commerce site’s annual offering of deals actually lasts 36 hours, starting yesterday afternoon and going until midnight tonight. One matter that isn’t up for debate, however, is the promotion’s ability to bring in a lot of money. Analysts expect that this year’s Prime Day will generate about $3.4 billion in sales for Amazon, which would beat 2017’s total by more than $1 billion. But despite this upcoming windfall, so Continue reading →

Build-a-Bear Promotion Leads to Long Lines and Unhappy Customers

July 13, 2018

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Since its 1997 founding, the Build-a-Bear Workshop has made more than 160 million teddy bears for kids who play a key part in their assembly. The process starts when a child picks an un-stuffed animal from a bin before heading to the stuffing machine to transform their creation into a friend they’ll treasure forever. But customers don’t stop there: they can also purchase a variety of costumes and accessories for their bears. By the time the Build-a-Bear experience is over, Continue reading →

Marketing, Product Development, Promotions, Retail, Customer Service, Crisis management, Build-a-Bear

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

To Compete with Startups, Colgate Plans to Launch Subscription Services

July 3, 2018

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In 1873, Colgate got its start by selling toothpaste stored in glass jars. Then about 20 years later the company began using collapsible tubes for storage, making it the first oral hygiene brand to do so. Colgate didn’t change much in the century that followed this revolutionary packaging decision, even after Palmolive purchased the company in the 1950s. And while it has since introduced new products like electric toothbrushes, Colgate’s central mission remains focused on selling as much toothpaste as Continue reading →

Entrepreneurship, Product Development, Retail, Health, Product Distribution, E-commerce, Subscription Services, Colgate

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Etsy Upsets Its Sellers after Rate Hike Announcement

June 26, 2018

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The e-commerce site Etsy is almost entirely powered by millions of independent sellers who offer everything from vintage clothes to freshly made slime. A good number of these entrepreneurs make their living by selling stuff on the site, which explains the anger that many of them felt towards a recent policy change at the company. Instead of collecting a transaction fee of 3.5 percent of sales, Etsy now plans to take a 5 percent cut of both sales and Continue reading →

Ethics, Retail, Pricing, Product Distribution, Etsy, E-commerce

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media