Nordstrom Swot Analysis

Second is place, the locations of the stores, and the hours in which the stores are open. This is where selective distribution comes into play. “Nordstrom has 157 stores in 27 states, but they plan to open 19 more by 2010, expanding into Boston, Ohio, and other untapped U.S. markets.” By limiting where Nordstrom’s are located, this allows them to maintain a superior product image, and charge a premium price for the products.

By 1895, Sears’s mail order business was gaining market acceptance and the Sears catalog expanded to 532 items consisting of ‘soup to nuts’ products for their customers (Sears Archive, 2012), supporting the theory that early innovators do not have a restriction on what they bring to market (Innovation Zen, 2006). Sears’s core competencies are innovation, selling, advertising, and merchandising (Sears Archive, 2012).

Assessing Culture Higher education institutions must continually change to adapt to environmental trends, and the SWOT analysis can help administrators to plan and act quickly to stop potential problems (Pucciarelli & Kaplan, 2016). The SWOT analysis is based on strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats of the internal and external environment (Addams & Allred, 2013). By conducting a SWOT analysis, the institution can design strategies and policies for the institution (Verboncu & Condurache, 2016). SWOT analysis provides information that is effective and efficient at the time for the institution and identifies areas for improvement (Verboncu & Condurache, 2016). This paper discusses the SWOT analysis for Florida State University, identifies

Threat: Forces shaping the Nordstrom’s strategy is that it is operating in highly competitive environment, where apparel sold by it is not only competing with large organized departmental chains but, also from small independent boutiques in the U.S. As a result competition has become very stiff in retail

Nordstrom faces the same challenges that other retailers are facing in the current retail climate. Their number one challenge would be the downturn in the economy. Especially since Nordstrom sells high end products. However, Nordstrom meets this challenge head on by making

The North Face was founded in 1966. In 2000, after facing serious financial and distribution problems,

The primary challenge Nordstrom faces in the current retail climate would have to be the ability to keep a high level of quality service and products. They also must be able to change with the times keeping their merchandise current. The way that other big name retailers of their type such as Macy’s advertise can also be a challenge too.

One of the industries main weaknesses is the fact that they have a low industry ratio. Furthermore, one of their issues in past years was being geographically impotent in their retail locations, but as mentioned before, this issue is declining due to the fact that more locations are being opened worldwide.

Through the 70’s the company continued to grow. In 1974 annual sales hit $130 million. By 1980 Nordstrom was the third largest specialty retailer in the country. Sales hit $407 million and in the next few years, sales continued to rise. Nordstrom’s success was due to many factors. Shoes accounted for about 18 percent of total sales. In addition Nordstrom consistently maintained huge inventories and selection, which were usually twice the size of other department stores. Anchor malls seek the company, as a cornerstone of downtown renovation projects or as an added jewel for high end shopping customers. By being able to expand not only by adding locations, but also by expanding merchandise sold, Nordstrom became a dominant force in the industry and strengthened their market share position.

Weaknesses - Although Nordstrom has substantial strength, the organization is not without weaknesses. First, although Nordstrom’s has a superior selection in comparison to the majority of other retail clothing companies, their quality also comes at a cost that many consumers are not willing to pay. In a period of economic instability and uncertainty, consumers are turning to online retailers such as Amazon in order to fulfill their clothing needs. Moreover, consumers are looking for more convenient ways of purchasing products and clothing is typically something where overnight shipping is acceptable versus an immediate need. Additionally, another weakness of Nordstrom is the geographic dispersion of their retail locations which are most commonly associated with shopping malls. Coincidentally, shopping malls are also struggling to compete with online retailers, thus Nordstrom experiences less opportunistic walk-in customers. On the same token, the opportunity costs for underserved

Macy's is one of the premier retailer franchises within the United States. To begin, Macy's Inc. is one of the nation's largest and well known department store chains. Started over 150 years ago, Macy's has continually generated excellent returns for its shareholders and employees. Currently, in the midst of a global recession, Macy's has generated huge profits with same store sales increasing 5.3% year to date. In 2012 same store sales increased 4.6% in the month of February alone (Macy's Inc., 2012). In fact, throughout the duration of 2012, Macy's is projecting even larger profits for its underlying business operations. Even though Macy's has experienced success with both its assortments and brand, its competitors haven't faired so well. Sears, due in part to part to a lackluster holiday season, has been forced to close nearly 120 locations to generate excess liquidity in an effort to shore up its balance sheet (Isadora, 2011).Other competitors who cater specifically to the middle class consumer have also lost significant amounts of market share as consumers trade down due to the economy. Macy's, with its ride array of assortments and products continues to grow as it attempts to capture market share from failing competitors. Macy's is also unique as it operates in a unique market demographic. It is upscale, but not to the extent of Saks Fifth Avenue or a Nordstrom. It is also not as low scale as a JC Penny

The competitive advantage of Nordstrom is that they have extraordinary services, high wages, promotion possibilities, product availability, their image, customer loyalty, and patronizing sales in which source is superior customer service. Their current competitive strategy is broad differentiation strategy where Nordstrom seeks to differentiate their product or offering from competitor in ways that will appeal to a broad range of

"Even strong names, like Nordstrom and Macy's, which carry the brand Ralph Lauren got hurt," said Gattuso. "Macy has recently announced the destruction of the store and the majority of retail segment growth comes from the new stores, while similar comparables have been in their downturn - with the last three months down by 5 percent." (7)

Due to the economy downturn period, Macy’s and many other retailers were suffering. Fortunately, Macy’s has chosen the beneficial marketing strategy to fit the objective of business. This paper will analyze the company’s situation from its financial aspect, industry aspect, the competitive part and Macy’s marketing strategies to conclude that Macy’s could have stable profit in the next three to five years.

According to What is SWOT Anlysis (2011), SWOT analysis is an analysis used to identify the internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) of the company as well as external factors (opportunities and threats) of the company.