The Situation: Marsha Hill is the store manager at a clothing store located three miles from a large university. She has saved $100,000 and wants to open her own clothing store.
Your task: Using the principles presented in Chapter 3, devise an overall strategy for Marsha. Be sure to include controllable and uncontrollable variables in your strategy. In addition, address the following items:
Why is it important for Marsha to develop a strategy? Wouldn't her experience and knowledge from managing someone elses store be adequate? Why or why not?
How would the situation analysis differ if Marsha was opening an online store rather than a brick-and-morter store?
What impact could future trends in retailing have on Marsha's success? How should she address this in her strategic plan?
Use principles from the text and individual research to justify your responses. (Suggested sources to reference include: Appendix 1 and Bricks, Clicks, and the Future of Shopping podcast.)