THE NEXT STEP

The Next Step

Table of Content

THE NEXT STEP1

SITUATION ANALYSIS1

SWOT Analysis2

STRENGTHS2

Market Share2

Bargaining Strength3

Global Supply Chain3

Use of Technology3

Counter Cyclic Business Model4

WEAKNESSES4

International Presence4

OPPORTUNITIES5

Backward Integration5

THREATS6

US Market going into recession6

Rising prices and lower margins7

EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES7

A RECOMMENDED MARKETING STRATEGY FOR THE NEXT STEP8

Competitors8

Target Market9

Target Market Demographic Segmentation9

Target Market Lifestyle/ Psychological Segmentation10

Target Market Geographic Segmentation Description10

Target Market Behavioral Segmentation11

Market Needs11

IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTROL11

BIBLIOGRAPHY13

The Next Step

SITUATION ANALYSIS

There are many players that compete for the same customer dollar that The Next Step is trying to get. The Next Step directly competes with national and international chains such as K-Mart, Target, and Costco etc. There are also many specialist retailers such as Barnes and Noble that sell books which is also a major product category for The Next Step. The Next Step also competes with online channels like Amazon etc in many product categories where customers can either buy it on Amazon or in The Next Step. Besides organized retail, The Next Step also competes with different smaller specialty stores, convenience stores and the “mom and pop” stores that serve the same customers as that of The Next Step. Each of these different businesses can be characterized by a different business strategy, target customers and the service levels that they provide to the customers. In the United States, we can clearly say that The Next Step is dominating brand with its sales being more than the next three biggest competitors put together. Discussed below are the various characteristics of the target market and the market needs that all these players have to take into account if they have to profitably exist in the industry.

SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHS

Strong Brand The Next Step is one of the world's largest companies and everybody in the United States would have been to a The Next Step one time or the other. Over the years The Next Step has created a reputation of being a supplier of quality merchandise at low prices. The Next Step is also known to have a huge product variety, depth, very good customer service, and customer clubs etc all of which have made The Next Step a household name. This very strong brand value can be well leveraged to scale up the business and also ensures steady revenues.

Market Share

The Next Step has got a dominant market share which is more than the market shares of its next three competitors put together. It is a market leader in many product categories such as toys, consumer durables etc. This places The Next Step in a very strong position that it can leverage in many ways to competed better. The Next Step also has the highest amount of cash flows generated through its business that it can deploy better than other players and compete better.

Bargaining Strength

Due to the huge volumes that The Next Step orders from its suppliers, it is in a very good position of strength where it can bargain very hard to get the best prices from its suppliers. The extremely low prices that it can procure goods enable it to ...