Write an eight to ten (8-10) page paper on William Sonoma in which you: Choose t

Question

Write an eight to ten (8-10) page paper on William Sonoma in which you:

Choose the two (2) segments of the general environment that would rank highest in their influence on William Sonoma. Assess how these segments affect the corporation you chose and the industry in which it operates.

Considering the five (5) forces of competition, choose the two (2) that you estimate are the most significant for William Sonoma. Evaluate how well the company has addressed these two (2) forces in the recent past.

With the same two (2) forces in mind, predict what the company might do to improve its ability to address these forces in the near future.

Assess the external threats affecting this corporation and the opportunities available to the corporation. Give your opinions on how the corporation should deal with the most serious threat and the greatest opportunity. Justify your answer.

Give your opinion on the corporation's greatest strengths and most significant weaknesses. Choose the strategy or tactic the corporation should select to take maximum advantage of its strengths, and the strategy or tactic the corporation should select to fix its most significant weakness. Justify your choices.

Determine the company’s resources, capabilities, and core competencies.

Analyze the company’s value chain to determine where they can create value using the resources, capabilities, and core competencies discussed above.

Explanation / Answer

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a multi-channel specialty retailer of products for the home. The Company operates retail stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia and the United Kingdom. It operates through two segments: e-commerce and retail. The e-commerce segment has various merchandising strategies, such as Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm, PBteen, Williams-Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham, which sell its products through the Company's e-commerce Websites and direct-mail catalogs. The retail segment has various merchandising strategies, such as Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm and Rejuvenation, which sell its products through the Company's retail stores. The Company franchises its brands to third parties in a number of countries in the Middle East, the Philippines and Mexico. The Company's products are also available to customers through its catalogs and online across the world.

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Charles E. Williams established the first Williams-Sonoma store in Sonoma, California in 1956. The company began its direct-to-customer (DTC) business in 1972 by launching its flagship catalog, under Williams-Sonoma brand. They acquired Pottery Barn, a retailer of casual home furnishings, in 1986, from The Gap. The first Pottery Barns Kids store was opened in 2000, and its website followed a year after. Williams-Sonoma is a US-based multi-channel retailer of lifestyle products that focuses on home furnishing and accessories. The company offers home products ranging from culinary, and serving equipment such as cookware, cookbooks, cutlery, informal dinnerware, glassware, table linens, specialty foods, cooking ingredients to home furnishings. Williams-Sonoma markets these products through retail stores, catalogs and through the Internet.

Mr. Williams procures the merchandise for the company from foreign and domestic manufacturers and importers located in about 43 countries, located primarily in Asia and Europe. The company operates through two segments: retail and direct-to-customer (DTC).

Strengths

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