Retail Business Analysis
Corporate History and Summary
Originally founded in 1972 by Monroe and Henrietta Milstein with only one coat/outerwear factory and store, Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation has grown into an extremely successful discount retail outlet chain. Although it began as a family-owned and -operated business, the company went public for a time, with the Milsteins retaining a majority of share holdings (BCF, 2011). Eventually, the company was purchased in 2006 by Bain Capital Partners, LLC, and was made a private holding. Currently, Burlington Coat has more than 460 stores in 44 states nationally, as well as satellite stores in Puerto Rico and joint ventures in Mexico; employs more than 28,000 workers; and generated $3.67 billion in sales as of the closing of the final fiscal quarter ending in January 29, 2010 (BCF, 2011).
Burlington Coat is known in the retail industry as a major player, offering wide selections of well-recognized, quality brands at low prices. The company’s motto is, “We’re more than great coats,” and they aim to deliver that statement. The company does this by constantly staying on top of trends and seeking the best prices, developing innovative money-saving methods and passing those discounts to their customers. In addition to streamlining their inventory and supply-chain procedures to ensure efficiency, Burlington Coat manages to consistently register sales increases yearly.
Retail Structure and Merchandising Strategy
Its chief competitors/market rivals are Bed, Bath and Beyond, TJMaxx, and Ross stores.
Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation’s main sales platform is its large stable of warehouse-style discount retail outlets. There are also three sub-divisions, called Baby Depot, Luxury Linens, and a subsidiary chain of stand-alone high-end retail stores under the name of COHOES. Additionally, there are two free-standing Baby Depot stores, and one combination Baby Depot/Luxury Linens outlet (Bloombergs, 2011). The main retail discount stores are known as “Burlington Coat Factory” stores (Covell & Stansell, 2004).
In the Burlington Coat Factory stores, a wide array of merchandise can be found. Though originally the company’s focus was on coats and outerwear, corporate ownership quickly realized the need to expand its offerings to include other market segments. The reason was in order to gain revenues outside the restriction of the coat segment. The biggest sales areas for Burlington Coat Factory are (by order of sales shares from greatest to least in terms of percentage of total retail sales): coats and outerwear; menswear; women’s wear and accessories, including shoes; children’s furniture, clothing, accessories, and toys; and home fashions and furnishings, including bedding and other linens (Covell & Stansell, 2004).
Baby Depot is a specialty division of Burlington Coat Factory, normally a separate store located inside the larger Burlington Coat Factory outlet. Baby Depot features high-quality children’s furniture, bedding, toys, clothing, and accessories from respected brand names including Avent, Carter’s, Chicco, Evenflo, Fisher-Price, Gerber, Graco, Kolcraft, Medela, Peg Perego, and Playtex (Covell & Stansell, 2004). There are two Baby Depot stand-alone outlets.
Luxury Linens is, like Baby Depot, usually a separate department within the parent Burlington Coat Factory store, although it does share one stand-alone outlet with Baby Depot. Offering brand-name towels, sheets, bedding, home decorations and some furniture, Luxury Linens completes Burlington Coat Factory’s goal of “one-stop shopping” (Covell & Stansell, 2004).
COHOES is a separate line of retail stores which sell designer-name clothing and accessories for men and women. At this time, 5 COHOES stores are located in New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey (Covell & Stansell, 2004). The prices are higher than Burlington Coat Factory’s normal discount price point, due to the value of the items which are sold.
Pricing and Location Strategies
A key factor in Burlington Coat Factory’s success is its twin emphasis on value and selection. These two elements are integral to the company’s corporate culture and how it does business. Burlington Coat’s price point is generally lower than that of similar merchandise offered in other locations, such as in department or specialty stores, and it often has a wider selection than those types of retail venues as well (Datamonitor, 2007). The way this is accomplished is through always seeking to minimize cost and maximize results. It accomplishes this in several ways:
Leasing Locations Segment
Burlington Coat does not normally own the commercial spaces it occupies; instead, it leases spaces that are suitable to its needs (facilities are usually between 133,000 and 166,000 square feet in size) in geographical areas which have been proven to be responsive to discount retail sales (Datamonitor, 2007). Also, leasing facilities decreases overhead costs and gives the company greater flexibility to expand operations and reduce costs according to the economy and local circumstances (such as, should a certain urban area decrease in quality, it can more easily re-locate to a more promising area by not renewing its lease). Additionally, it maintains facility decoration and displays to a minimum: Burlington Coat Factory deliberately has a spare, “warehouse” feel, emphasizing the merchandise quality and volume. This enables Burlington Coat to see a 30-40% decrease in overhead, which it passes on to customers in the form of lower prices (Datamonitor, 2010).
Volume and Direct Purchasing Segment
The company purchases its items directly from manufacturers, not from middle-men, usually at discounted rates due to the
Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply
Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?
Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.
Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?
- Plagiarism free papers
- Timely delivery
- Any deadline
- Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
- Subject-relevant academic writer
- Adherence to paper instructions
- Ability to tackle bulk assignments
- Reasonable prices
- 24/7 Customer Support
- Get superb grades consistently
Online Academic Help With Different Subjects
Literature
Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.
Finance
Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.
Computer science
Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!
Psychology
While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.
Engineering
Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.
Nursing
In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.
Sociology
Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.
Business
We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!
Statistics
We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.
Law
Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.
What discipline/subjects do you deal in?
We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.
Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?
Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.
What if I don’t like the paper?
There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.
Reasons being:
- When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
- We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.
In the event that you don’t like your paper:
- The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
- We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
- Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.
Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?
Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.
What if the paper is plagiarized?
We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
When will I get my paper?
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
Will anyone find out that I used your services?
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
How our Assignment Help Service Works
1. Place an order
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
2. Pay for the order
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
3. Track the progress
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
4. Download the paper
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!
