BUS3030-SWOT - SWOT on Home Depot and Lowes PDF

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SWOT on Home Depot and Lowes ...

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The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. It operates many big-box format stores across the United States, all ten provinces of Canada, as well as Mexico. The Home Depot was founded in 1978 with a vision of offering one-stop shopping for the "do-it-your selfer". The first 2 stores opened in Atlanta Georgia in 1979 and the sheer size of the Home Depot stores (over 60,000 square feet) dwarfed any of the hardware retail stores at the time. The goal of the Home Depot was to bring the best customer service in the industry. Store associates were subject to rigorous training in various departments of home improvement, bringing knowledge and practical guidance for the unskilled homeowner and a knowledge base that also allowed them to interact with professionals in the home improvement industry. Many of the associates were well trained and even conducted clinics in-store showing the customer how to do the job. The Home Depot brought a new aspect to the industry by selling the consumer tools and building supplies allowing them to save money by doing the work themselves. Marketing Mix and Trends Home Depots marketing mix is made up of products and services for home improvement. Low prices, as well as sales clearance items and rentals along with financing options round out a solid marketing structure. Various sales are highlighted on the home page with savings in every department. Besides tool and truck rental, the Home Depot also offers repair and installation services. S – Marketing and Advertising Strategies, Low Costs, Well Trained Staff, Strong Brand Name, High Quality Products W – Poor Reputation, High Costs, Poor Customer Service, Poor Quality Products O – New Technology, Target New Market Demographic, Expand Product Lines based on customers needs and wants, weak competition T – Changing regulations, Change of Customers Preference away from Company, New Competitors, Development of Alternative Products and Services

Lowe's Companies, Inc. is an American company that operates a chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Lowe's started out as a small town hardware store in North Carolina, and grew starting with the housing boom after WWII. Lowe's went Public in 1961, and began trading on the New York Stock exchange in 1979. Early on Lowe's was set on giving the consumer the best price possible and this was made feasible by cutting ties with wholesalers and dealing directly with the manufacturer. Lowe's strategy is to be committed to giving the consumer the best quality home improvement products at the best possible price along with superior customer service. Marketing Mix and Trends Lowe’s Marketing Mix is essentially the same as Home Depot also relying on low prices, quality service, and their brand name. Although Lowe’s does not offer repair services it does offer rentals, but only in select locations. To keep up with it’s competitors, Lowe’s now offers installations services for most aspects of home improvements. S – Efficient Marketing & Merchandising, Strong Brand Reputation, Second Largest Hardware Chain Worldwide, Financial Stability W – Loss of Market Share to competitors, Fluctuating performances, Sales lower than expected, Product availability O – Buy Expanding Internationally, Improve retail customer satisfaction, Increase online Customer Base, Develop and feature Product Lines T – Rising Costs, Global Economic Stability, Competition (Home Depot), Downturn in the Housing Market Home Depot and Lowe’s are two leading companies for home improvement. Both companies offer many off the same products and services, but by different brand. Although the visual marketing techniques are completely different, Lowes is to Home Depot what Sam’s Club is to Costco. What, I mean by this is, when you walk into a Sam’s club it is very bright, clean, and organized, when you walk into a Costco on the other hand it is very dark, gloomy, and cluttered. Granted they are two different “Brands”, but they hesitantly offer the same products and services. Home depot is cluttered while Lowe’s is usually more organized....