Classify Some Recent Strategies
Purpose
This exercise can improve your understanding of various strategies by giving you experience in classifying strategies. This skill will help you use the strategy-formulation tools presented in Chapter 6. Consider the following recent strategies by various firms:
Amazon started producing and selling its own line of diapers.
MillerCoors offers free delivery of Miller Lite in four U.S. cities for customers who order through its online store.
Sears is closing about 235 stores annually.
The largest toymaker in the United States, Mattel, is struggling; therefore, it is introducing flashier and more educative toys.
German power utility E.ON SE sold its Spanish assets to Australia’s Macquarie Group and Kuwait’s sovereign-wealth fund for $3.1 billion.
Target Corporation is closing all of its 133 stores in Canada and China.
Coca-Cola recently axed 1,600 white-collar jobs globally as part of a cost-cutting move.
Nissan has totally revamped its Titan full-size pickup truck with new features and options and style.
General Motors just introduced a sports car version of its electric car, the Chevrolet Volt, and is introducing an all-electric vehicle in 2017 called the Chevrolet Bolt, capable of driving 200 miles without recharging.
SolarWinds acquired Pingdom, Confio, and N-Able Technologies to obtain different products and services since the solar business has slowed as oil prices have dropped.
Amazon Studios is branching out from television series to movies, with plans to begin producing and acquiring original movies for theatrical release and video streaming.
ZF Friedrichshafen AG of Germany recently acquired TRW Automotive Holdings in the United States to create the world’s second-largest auto-parts supplier behind Germany’s Robert Bosch GmbH and ahead of Japan’s Denso Corp.
Southwest Airlines recently began flying outside the United States, with flights to various Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico destinations.
Instructions
What type of strategy best describes the 13 actions cited? Choose from among the following: forward integration, backward integration, horizontal integration, market penetration, market development, product development, related diversification, unrelated diversification, retrenchment, divestiture, and liquidation.