An analysis of the structure of the Canadian retail industry

Résumé du document

A common theme of the Canadian retail industry is that it is evolving at a rapid pace. External factors, such as the growth in the relative purchasing power of the Canadian dollar; increasing competition from discount rivals such as Wal-Mart; shifting consumer trends; and the emergence of the retail industry in Western Canada provide Hudson's Bay Company with new challenges as well as opportunities for growth. The clothing industry on which The Bay depends faces stagnant demand compared to the rest of the industry, while Home Outfitters may see a decline in sales as the Canadian housing market cools off. Substitutes to the traditional shopping experience such as e-commerce and mail-order products are growing rapidly and offer advantages which HBC cannot replicate in-store. However, while the retail industry may be becoming more competitive, HBC has recently been taken private and is free from the short-term focus which can often hamper turnaround strategies. The Company has outlined six key areas of improvement which show great promise.

Extraits

[...] Accessed October Available at http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/investing/insight/article.aspx?cp- documentid=5476480. HBC Corporate Communications. “Information on HBC”. Hudson's Bay Company. June 2006. Online. Accessed October Available at http://www.hbc.com/hbc/mediacentre/displayfile.asp?intAttachmentId=120&strLa nguageVersion=hbc. HBC. Strategy”. Hudson's Bay Company Online. Accessed October Available at http://www.hbc.com/hbc/about/strategy/Hbc_Strategy.pdf. Jacobs, Karen. [...]

[...] “Home Depot Profit Slumps on Housing Weakness”. Reuters. August Online. Accessed October Available at http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSWNAS182020070814. Jacobsen, Paul. Structure of Retail in Canada”. Jacobsen Consulting Online. Accessed October Available at http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/retra- comde.nsf/vwapj/Structure%20of%20Retail%20in%20Canada.pdf/$file/Structu re%20of%20Retail%20in%20Canada.pdf. LaRosa, John. “Self-Improvement Market Grows 50% Since 2000: Personal Coaching and Informercials Soar”. Marketdata Enterprises. February Online. [...]

[...] HBC wants to capture 7 per cent of the Canadian market using its Designer Depot brand. The off-price market is considered relatively saturated in the U.S., with companies such as Marshalls, Northeast Apparel and even Target competing for market share. The luxury goods market has not been affected nearly to the extent that the discount market has been in recent years by a reduction in discretionary spending (Global Insight, 2007). Many Canadian shoppers already make the trip across the border for off-price deals (Friend, 2007), and with the dollar appreciating, Designer Depot can domestically provide them with even better prices than before. [...]

[...] An analysis of the structure of the Canadian retail industry Executive Summary A common theme of the Canadian retail industry is that it is evolving at a rapid pace. External factors, such as the growth in the relative purchasing power of the Canadian dollar; increasing competition from discount rivals such as Wal-Mart; shifting consumer trends; and the emergence of the retail industry in Western Canada provide Hudson's Bay Company with new challenges as well as opportunities for growth. The clothing industry on which The Bay depends faces stagnant demand compared to the rest of the industry, while Home Outfitters may see a decline in sales as the Canadian housing market cools off. [...]

[...] Accessed October Available at http://thomson.mobular.net/thomson/7/2291/2516/. “U.S. Market Fall in April Hurts Across the Board; Gainers are Few”. Global Insight Online. Accessed October Available at http://www.globalinsight.com/SDA/SDADetail9132.htm. “Wal-Mart 2007 Annual Report”. Wal-Mart Online. Accessed October Available at http://walmartstores.com/Files/2007_annual_report.pdf. Friend, David. “Dollar Parity Adds Challenges for Retailers, Could Start Cross-Border Price War”. The Canadian Press. September Online. [...]