Williams-Sonoma Company, Essay Example

If the Williams-Sonoma continues with its present strategies and objectives, where will it be in five years?

The William Sonoma strategies are among the best and most lucrative in the market. Their strategy majorly revolves around expanding its widths and meeting the needs of many people around the globe. With a continuation of this strategy, the company will gain a worldwide status whereby it will be receiving orders from countries all over the world. The company wings such as direct to customer channel and the retail channels both help it reach and meet the needs of many customers (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010). As indicated, in the financial year 2003/2004 the company recorded a net revenue increase of 16.7% over the previous year. Also at the end of first quarter, the company realized another revenue increase of 19%, a figure that is higher than the previous one. This trend is very good and if the company maintains it, then there is a possibility of attaining a higher growth rate (Warren & Reeve, 2007).

In terms of competition, the William Sonoma tends to have a larger market share as compared to their competitors. Their marketing and development strategies appear stronger than the competitors do a factor that makes it the key player in the market. Considering all these factors, there is a possibility of the William Sonoma Company increasing its market share and becoming the greatest economic giants in five years time.

If you were the CEO of William-Sonoma, what strategies would you recommend, and why?

As a CEO of the William Sonoma Company, I would come up with a unique marketing brand that will distinguish our company from the rest. Normally in the midst of stiff competition, there is a likelihood of other companies imitating your products. The unique brand will ensure that customers can identify our company products amidst the counterfeit ones.

Secondly, as the CEO, I will incorporate most lucrative online business marketing tips. Such include use of search engine optimization to help our websites gain the first page ranking on the various search engines. This will in turn increase the traffic to our website, hence making us compete fairly among our competitors (Boudreau & Jesuthasan, 2011).

On the same note, as the CEO, I will assess the capability of our competitors in terms of strengths and weaknesses and then create techniques for combating their strategies. For instance, the crate and barrel company came up with household products that were unique and not easy to copy. As a CEO, I will introduce a product of similar magnitude, and then use it to compete in the market (Warren & Reeve, 2007).

The aim of marketing is to get a large market share; therefore as a CEO, I will invent new programs that will help in reaching out to many people worldwide. One such tactic is to expand and open business centers in place like Africa and India. These countries have great potential in terms of purchasing power (Michman & Mazze, 2001).

Describe the competitive strategies used by each of Williams-Sonoma’s competitors. Which of these strategies are the most effective? Support your answer.

The competitors had various strategies put in place. For instance, Crate and Barrel came up with beautiful store displays that could not be easily copied by their competitors. The products were of low value that many low-income customers could afford. Their only weakness was that they had a small market grasp (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010).

The restoration hardware is known for its fast growth between 1997 and 2001; it then sank. The cost of their shares went down to as low as $ 0.50 per share. Restoration hardware had a competitive advantage of selling old vintage styled furniture. This made them only target 10% of Americas wealthiest to achieve their goals. Their old vintage materials earned them fame since such were popular among the local shoppers

The pier 1 imports had a set of three retail stores that operated beneath it. Their major strategy was offering a variety of furniture, bath and bedding, decorative home furnishings and dining and kitchen goods among others. They also operated many stores in the United States, Canada and further supported eight franchised stores in the US. It has further stores in the United Kingdom operating under their name plus more cargo kids in the US. This strategy makes them meet a wider market demand hence increasing their level of competitiveness (Boudreau & Jesuthasan, 2011). The Bombay Company came up with their unique strategy. This included putting in stock classic traditional furniture, accessories, and wall decors. Their furniture was both wooden and metallic ready to assemble. Their decors included frames, scents, candles, jewelry, and baskets among others (Warren & Reeve, 2007).

Door store’s strategy included bringing traditional and contemporary case goods alongside upholstered furniture. Their objective was to fetch current trends and come up with furniture that customers need. Rolling pin kitchen emporium’s strategy involved concentrating on kitchen and house wares. They had retail sales and advertised through catalogs. Of all the above competitors, the Pier 1 imports had the best strategy. This is because they concentrated on various items and covered a large market radius through many branches and affiliates (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010).

How is Williams-Sonoma using the Internet as a distribution channel now, and how would you recommend that they use the Internet in the future?

The William Sonoma Company currently uses the internet for advertising purposes. Delivery is made after customers place their orders. In the future, the company should open its branches worldwide and then advertise through the internet to provide efficient services worldwide. In such instances, when customers place their orders, delivery is made by the closest branch. In addition, the company needs to incorporate internet-marketing strategies that involve SEO to ensure they get good ranking in the various search engines (Michman & Mazze, 2001).

References

Boudreau, J. & Jesuthasan, R. (2011). Transformative HR: How Great Companies Use Evidence-Based Change for Sustainable Advantage. Upper Saddle River, NJ: John Wiley & Sons

Michman, R. D. & Mazze, E. M. (2001). Specialty Retailers: Marketing Triumphs and Blunders. London: Greenwood Publishing Group

Warren, C. S. & Reeve, J. M. (2007). Financial and Managerial Accounting. New York, NY: Cengage Learning

Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, D. J. (2010). Concepts in strategic management and business policy (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.