Goals of Assignment:
• To give you insight into how companies attract and retain customers.
• To provide you with an overview of the factors business professionals use to evaluate the competitive landscape.
• To get you thinking about the factors that figure into consumer decisions.
To complete the assignment:
1. Select a category you want to study and then select two retail establishments from the following list. If you want to visit establishments that are NOT on the list, please email me. If you want to study a category that is NOT on the list, please email me.
Category:
Department Stores: Boscov's, Macy's, Sears, Bloomingdales, JC Penney
Discount Retailer: Target, Wal-Mart, TJ Maxx, Marshall's, K-Mart
Book Stores: Barnes & Noble, Borders, Zavelle's
Convenience Stores: Wawa, 7-11, A-Plus
Home Stores: Home Depot, Lowe's, True Value Hardware
Office Supply Stores: Staples, Office Depot, Office Max
Supermarkets: Wegman's, Acme, Pathmark, Giant, Genuardi's, Shop Rite
Sandwich Stores: Subway, Quiznos, Wawa, Jimmy John's
Restaurant Chains: Chili's, Qdoba, Applebee's, Bennigan's, Carrabba's, Bertucci's
Electronics Stores: Best Buy, Radio Shack, Apple Store
Specialty Apparel: Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, H&M
2. Visit EACH business establishment you are studying. Looking at a website will NOT give you the information you need to complete this assignment. You have to actually visit a location for each company you are studying. So, if you're comparing Apple to Best Buy, you have to visit an Apple store and a Best Buy store. Be observant. Look around. Plan on spending at least 15 - 30 minutes in each store.
3. Observe how each establishment does business, take notes, and finally evaluate each business using the template on next page. You do not have to "interview" anyone or purchase anything.
4. Complete the grid that follows. To complete the assignment, download this document, fill in the boxes (this is a WORD document that will expand as you type in it), then submit the assignment electronically. You will receive instructions on how to do this in class and the instructions will also be posted on Blackboard.It must be submitted as a WORD document or the grader will NOT be able to read it.
5. You must submit this assignment on time! A submission will be on time if it submitted to the system by 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8th. Submissions will be cut off completely at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 10th. Any late submission will receive a letter grade deduction.
6. If you have ANY questions, please email me.