The Home Depot Organization
Setting and Purpose
E-commerce company: HomeDepot.com
Company Name: The Home Depot
Assume that you are working as a Business Analyst with an e-commerce company, X* (Check Assigned Company List).
Your Manager asks you to conduct a SWOT analysis for the company X, and give business strategy suggestions to increase online sales of the company.
[Some General business Strategies are: Cost focus, Differentiation focus (differentiated products for Market segments, Customized product features), Niche market strategy: eg. Luxury brand market; Other strategies: Innovation focus, Price-Skimming Strategy, Customer Service Strategy , New product strategy, New Markets / Acquisition Strategy, ]
[Given the time & resource constraints of the assignment, you are only expected to provide the SWOT Analysis report on basis on publicly available (Google search) information about the assigned company.]
Please focus on the E-commerce/ online customers of the company.
* Assigned company for each Student is available in the Assigned Company List on Canvas in the Projects module.
Deliverable:
Word Document, around 5 pages. (Upload Word or pdf document on Canvas under the Project Assignment)
(Grading Rubric: (Total: 5 points)
Company Introduction: ( 0.5-1 page; 0.5 points)
Strengths: ( 0.5-1 page; 0.5 points)
Weakness: ( 0.5-1 page; 0.5 points)
Opportunities: ( 0.5-1 page; 0.5 points)
Threats: ( 0.5-1 page; 0.5 points)
SWOT Diagram (1 page- Summarized factors) : 1 point
Business Strategy Suggestions: ( 0.5-1 page; 0.5 points)
Citations/ References : At least 5 sources (Last page; 1 point)
[Expected Length of Word document: 4 to 6 pages, Single spaced, Font size 12]
The Home Depot Organization
Name
Department, Institution Affiliation
Course Code; Course Name
Instructor's Name
Date
The Home Depot Organization
Hope Depot is one of the largest home improvement shops with more than 600 locations in 43 states and five Canadian provinces. The organization started with two stores constructed in leased spaces from J. C. Penny (Bökamp, 2021). Home Depot acquired Bowater Home Center Company for about 40 million USA dollars. The move crippled Home Depot financially, increasing debts by 200 million US dollars. The organization managed to mitigate the issue by opening ten stores with three million shares. The idea helped Home Depot to restructure its debts. Besides drawing a lot of professional builders, Home Depot Organization also emphasis "do-it-yourself" home improvement. The organization came up with a supermarket to offer a wide selection of products at affordable prices. Since its establishment, the Hope Depot Organization has expanded in branches in Atlanta to about 2000 locations in North America and USA continents. Since 1989, Home Depot Company has managed to be the leading home-repair firm in the United States of America. The organization offers paint, kitchen and furniture, plumbing, and electrical products (Bökamp, 2021). By 1994, Home Depot had outperformed rival companies such as Lowe's. It has found a way of redefining its marketplace by installing quality programs and designs to improve home apparatus such as windows and carpets. Home Depot Organization is currently the second-biggest market shareholder with about 10% to 15% after Amazon Organization.
Home Depot Organization had continued to embrace digitization since 2018 when the management focused on digitization. For example, it has created One Home depot, an online program to connect with clients and transact with them. The organization has also invested in IT developer data and analytics systems to manage clients' information and protect them from malicious cybercafé issues. Though Home Depot is a leader in the retail industry, which is impressive, that does not reduce the need for SWOT analysis. Like Home Depot Organization on the globe necessities, other business organizations need continuous insights into weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and strengths (Murray, 2021). Any limited knowledge of these factors can prevent organizations from operating at optimal levels. Therefore, the paper will analyze the SWOT analysis of the Home Depot Organization and the business strategies to increase online sales.
Strengths
Home Depot Organization is the major player in home improvement. On the other hand, the organization has established a powerful brand reputation by providing everything needed by potential clients. It also provides a range of products to clients at all times. Home Depot Organization is highly profitable from sales to stock, and they sell products at a competitive profits margin. The company continues to receive many profits and provide clients with excellent products. Its net income margin has increased from 8.4% to about 10.9% (Murray, 2021). The company also delivers great value for the money. For example, its brand is perceived by clients as reliable and trustworthy.
On the other hand, its private label products are the hallmark for effective casual and professional home improvement fanatics. Home Depot offers various products from panting elements, shovels, power tools, and kitchen tools. On the other hand, the organization has invested a lot in online sales to embrace expansions growth. It connects with potential clients through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Furthermore, online sales form a major component of Home Depot's business plan. The company has loyal clients ready to support it by purchasing products repeatedly.
Weaknesses
Despite having numerous stores in Canada and Mexico, most of Home Depot's stores are based in the USA, lacking diversity. Moreover, any markets shift can affect the stability of the Home Depot Organization since that is its major marketplace (Zheng, 2017). Adopting online shopping compels the organization to change its technological structure to support the current structure. For example, Home Depot should embrace effective online support to reply quickly, solve client complaints and guide them on using certain products. The organization is also accused of depending on e-commerce instead of effective means of managing rival companies, including Walmart and Lowe's. The supply chain of Home Depot Company is limited because of competition. After sacking an employee demanding a disability emergency leave, the organization faced negative publicity, and Home Depot Company was fined about one h...