Amazon.com, from a strategic approach, is dominating the world-wide-web. They have become the world leader in online sales of books, music, videos, movies and other products and services. Amazon knew that the Internet could be used as a distribution channel, thus reducing their supply chain relations. By making these strategic advances, Amazon was able to achieve and sustain their competitive advantage. After researching and reading the 2009 and 1997 Annual Reports, it was determined, that in order to achieve this recognition, they needed to acquire the United Kingdom and German online booksellers. By these acquisitions, they increased book sales in the European markets. They have also formed the following strategic partnerships: 1) …show more content…
(1999, Annual Report) In order to develop a strong supply chain, Mattel has outsourced their manufacturing to Asian and Mexican partners and also uses company-owned facilities. By outsourcing, Mattel aim was to prevent disruption in distribution and provide sufficient inventory for future seasons. Competition is increasing due to increasing technology, shorter toy life cycles of, and co-branding is becoming prominent. Mattel is currently researching and developing and forming new alliances with partners all over the world to expand product development in the technology field. Mattel spends millions of dollars in legal fees to operate as an international toy company in protecting trademarks, copyrights and patents. This must be done in order to protect the company from infringement of products developed exclusively by Mattel. They must also license third-party suppliers that “…allow Mattel to utilize the trademarks, characters or other inventions of the licensor in products that Mattel sells” (2009 Annual Report). Supplier agreement must be drawn up for purchases and goods and services for future manufacturing needs. These agreements ensure guaranteed
Amazon.com operates in the Online Retail Industry. The sector is one of the fastest growing globally and is outperforming the ordinary retail marketplace. It was created after 1995 and it was only the Internet that made it possible for such an industry not only to be established but to become one of the most flourishing sectors in the business environment. What is interesting is that Amazon.com, together with eBay is the pioneer in the field. Both companies were launched in 1995 and are still extremely successful. The creation of e-mail in 1996 had a huge impact on the development of online retail by introducing a fast and easy way to communicate with customers. For this two-year period Internet usage
Sales in Asia could help combat Mattel’s plateauing market in the United States. The company seemed like it was in a strong position.
The bookstore chain has been decreasing in profit in the US over the past 20 years. Most of the books retailers are shutting down their operations and only a few are still operating in the country. Barnes and Noble has become the largest bookseller in the book retailers industry. The firm has integrated its business philosophy into web presence though eBook marketplace. This business strategy assisted the firm to be able to reach a large scale customers and remain as a strongest competitor in the book retailing market.
An alternative strategy is for Mattel to expand into the technology market and add-on/re-innovate their existing product lines. Mattel has made many of the same products since it was established, with the exception of picture frames and doll furniture, which were short lived products. Barbie has changed a little bit, but other than that, the products have remained unaltered. In order to have a competitive advantage, Mattel needs to grow with the market. As of
Mattel, Inc has the vision of being the world’s premier toy brand, for the present and the future. It currently sells products in over 150 nations. The company was founded in 1945 by Harold Matson and Elliot Handler. It has gone to be 30,000 employees strong working in 43 countries. Mattel, Inc includes a number of toy brands such as Barbie, Fisher Price, Hot Wheels, American Girl, Tyco, and others. In 2008, the company was recognized by FORTUNE magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For”.
Also, Amazon has emphasized on building “several distribution centers around the world to hasten deliveries”(Hof and Himelstein, 1999). Coupled with its software it provides a “laser-like focus on the buying experience”(IT Business Edge, 2012). Such a system and service is what draws customers towards Amazon and subsequently retains them.
Lego is known for having small little colorful interlocking pieces that can be potential choking hazard. However when Lego came out with its new movie “The Lego Movie” in February 2014 the Lego profits have gone up drastically. Lego is estimated to make 4.5 Billion annually Finaly at number one we have Mattel.Mattel, was founded in 1945, and since then has produced brands such as Fisher-Price, Barbie, Monster High, Hot Wheels, Masters of the Universe, Little People, Power Wheels and WWE Toys. However despite the recent dispute with Jakks Pacific Mattel is still estimated to makeover 6.3 billion dollars in
This will include further investment in hiring skilled engineering personnel. Because SAI Toys creates unique products which may exclusively dominate a small segment of the market from which all of its revenue is derived, the introduction into the market of a competitor’s similar product with enhanced features and lower retail pricing may severely impact SAI Toys ability to generate sales and revenue (Butcher, 2011).
The ultimate responsibility for the product quality rests with the company that owns the brand9. Contracts between the corporations and the suppliers clearly stipulate the materials to be used and not to be used. For instance, lead-based paint for toys or azo-dyes for garments are forbidden10. The problem it seems is not with the contract but with the implementation. It is essential for Mattel to enforce stringent quality controls to catch any vendor who tries to trick them again. At the same time it is also essential for Mattel to ensure
LEGO, like most companies in the toy industry are fighting to stay profitable in this
The competitive rivalry in the toy industry is intense. Organizations try to sell through their own retailers and online instead of solely through other retailers. Flexibility and responsiveness to the market are
In the past, the toy business was just an annex of the publishing industry. Little effort was invested in toys which were not even mentioned strategic plans. Now the toy industry is the second-highest profit maker in Marvel, generating over $20 billion in sales in 2003. The toy business is very promising in the future. However its percentage in revenue will still remain stable or slightly decrease, just as publishing will do, because licensing has such a strong possibility for growth. In addition, while the toy industry competition is too fierce to permit further achievements.
Mattel’s three largest customers are responsible for more than one third of the company’s revenue. With such a large portion of the company’s sales dependent on the these three customers any changes such as purchase reduction, favoring competitors or private label expansion, will have a significant impact on Mattel’s revenue. Also, with this limited customer base Mattel is hindered in with its ability to change prices.
In the company’s initial stage, to compete with other company, he took a year to build website and databases. At the same time, Amazon faced many challenges, the most powerful competitors Barnes and Noble bookstore, and this is a struggle between tradition and modernity.
With the proliferation of communication and information technology, particularly the Internet, most business organizations have been at the forefront to join the e-commerce platform. Amazon is considered as one of the existing and largest e-business platform in the world. This report outlines Amazon’s strategic intent and key resources and capabilities. In addition, the report will also include an analysis of the company 's assets and capabilities that have provided it a sustainable competitive edge as well as, the recommended future strategy of the giant online organization. Amazon defines its line of business operations based on product and service sales, fulfillment, digital content subscriptions, publishing, and co-branded cards. The company 's line of business is defined as an online store, Internet service provision, and the Kindle ecosystem. This project will explore the truth that has made the online company to be considered as the top online retailer, which mainly focuses on strategy. This report also outlines how inventories play a fundamental role in the organization 's business or corporate strategy. The other issues covered in the report include the approach used by the online company deal with the supply chain and the reason behind fast shipping fast. The paper will outline the finance statute of the company and whether the finance effect will bar the organization from developing in future. In order to achieve the answer to the questions