Week 7 BOC | Largest Retailers

There are an abundant amount of retailers in the world, and there are many different types of retailers, but asking the simple question of “Who is the biggest retailer?” has a very complicated answer. First off, if we categorize the different retailers, our job may be a little easier. Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer in the United States and worldwide. In 2011, their retail sales amounted to $316,083,000 in the United States and $452,976,000 worldwide. They are showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, the retailer is currently in the works to expanding the grocery portion of their company. They want to purchase the company, Fresh & Easy, which went up for sale recently. Fresh & Easy is a subsidiary of Tesco, the world’s third largest retailer that is based in the United Kingdom. Wal-Mart is at the very top of the list. The second spot belongs to Kroger, another American retailer. Kroger’s retail sales are $85,491,000 in the United States and $85,491,000 worldwide. If you could not tell already, there is a significant difference between the top spot and the second spot. Also, Wal-Mart employs the most people. They have a total for 2.2 million employees: “Like large retailers, fast-food chains also require plenty of low-skilled labor in order to operate their stores and expand” (Hess). 

In the fashion retailing, the GAP, from the United States, was the largest fashion retailer in the world for quick some time; however, Zara, a clothing and accessories retailer based in Spain, has surpassed the GAP and taken the title of “The Largest Fashion Retailer”. Zara is a subsidiary of Inditex, which happens to be the  “something of a supply chain marvel: clothes move from concept to design to the Zara stores in a matter of days” (Carlyle). The popularity of Zara has caused Zara to rapidly become the largest.

Sources:

1.     http://www.stores.org/2012/Top-100-Retailers

2.     http://retailindustry.about.com/od/topusretailcompanies/a/us_2013_worlds-largest_retail_companies_chains_retailers_biggest_American_globalpower.htm

3.     http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/63236-battle-royal-how-the-top-us-retail-brands-compare-on-social

4.     http://247wallst.com/special-report/2013/08/21/the-10-largest-employers-in-america/

5.     http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/magazine/how-zara-grew-into-the-worlds-largest-fashion-retailer.html?pagewanted=all

6.     http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2013/03/04/the-years-biggest-winner-zara-billionaire-amancio-ortega/

Week 6 BOC | Tylenol Scare 1982

 

In 1982, the Tylenol brand was put to the test. Because of a terrorist-like attack, unknown criminals tampered with certain Tylenol bottles and filled them with poisonous capsules that can easily kill a human being. As a result, seven people died in the Chicago area. The way Tylenol handled this crisis was very impressive and possibly saved the brand that people know and trust. People, who work for the Tylenol brand, took many steps in order to save their company: “Once the connection was made between the Tylenol capsules and the reported deaths, public announcements were made warning people about the consumption of the product” (Susi). They not only used the media to warn the public, they also took action and recalled as many bottles of Tylenol from stores to take precaution: “It placed consumers first by recalling 31 million bottles of Tylenol capsules from store shelves and offering replacement product in the safer tablet form free of charge” (Rehak). This was a very noble and humbling thing to do for a brand because it was very costly: "Johnson & Johnson spent more than $100 million for the 1982 recall and relaunch of Tylenol” (Rehak). Tylenol proved to the public that they are a company that will put the consumers’ health and safety before their own financial stability;“By withdrawing all Tylenol, even though there was little chance of discovering more cyanide laced tablets; Johnson & Johnson showed that they were not willing to take a risk with the public's safety, even if it cost the company millions of dollars. The end result was the public viewing Tylenol as the unfortunate victim of a malicious crime” (Broom, 1994). The public viewed Tylenol as a trusted company that did whatever it took to help and serve the public, even though the Tylenol brand was the victim of a horrible crime. Nevertheless, the brand had to simply do the right thing in order to stay alive and, of course, Tylenol’s actions did not go unnoticed: “Johnson & Johnson’s responsibility to its public first proved to be its most efficient public relations tool. It was the key to the brand’s survival” (Susi). I have the up-most respect for the Tylenol brand for taking the correct actions and for being the epitome of a great brand. They have proven that even when facing a life-threatening crisis, they are a trusting brand. At the time, they were highly-praised and respected for protecting their brand and the people.

Sources: 

1.     "Case Study: The Johnson & Johnson Tylenol Crisis." Crisis Communication Strategies. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2013. <http://www.ou.edu/deptcomm/dodjcc/groups/02C2/Johnson%20&%20Johnson.htm>.

2.      Rehak, Judith. "Tylenol Made a Hero of Johnson & Johnson." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 23 Mar. 2002. Web. 14 Aug. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/23/your-money/23iht-mjj_ed3_.html>.

3.       Susi, Reyna. "Tylenol Scandal and Crisis Management." Tylenol Scandal and Crisis Management. N.p., 2002. Web. 14 Aug. 2013. <http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall02/susi/tylenol.htm>.