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: 1. Amazon started producing and selling its own line of diapers. 2. MillerCoors offers free delivery of Miller Lite in four U.S. cities for customers who order through its online store. 3. Sears is closing about 235 stores annually. 4. The largest toymaker in the United States, Mattel, is struggling; therefore, it is introducing flashier and more educative toys. 5. German power utility E.ON SE sold its Spanish assets to Australias Macquarie Group and Kuwaits sovereign-wealth fund for $3.1 billion. 6. Target Corporation is closing all of its 133 stores in Canada and China. 7. Coca-Cola recently axed 1,600 white-collar jobs globally as part of a cost-cutting move. 8. Nissan has totally revamped its Titan full-size pickup truck with new features and options and style. 9. 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. 10. 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. 11. 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. 12. ZF Friedrichshafen AG of Germany recently acquired TRW Automotive Holdings in the United States to create the worlds second-largest auto-parts supplier behind Germanys Robert Bosch GmbH and ahead of Japans Denso Corp. 13. Southwest Airlines recently began flying outside the United States, with flights to various Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico destinations. 14. Amazon is pushing aggressively into the same-day grocery delivery service with its Amazon Fresh business along the west coast of the United States. 15. USPS has begun delivering groceries for Amazon.com within the Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service, especially in San Francisco and other markets. 16. USPS also recently launched Access Point, a strategy that allows customers to pick up their packages at dry cleaners, convenience stores, and pharmacies. 17. The huge food company General Mills recently acquired Anniess Inc. for $820 million, paying a 37 percent premium for the firm, in order to expand its presence in the rapidly growing organic and natural foods category. 18. Google recently entered the hotel-booking industry by acquiring the firm called Room 77 and expanding its ties with big hotel firms such as Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Radisson Hotels that now offer virtual tours on Google. Google now allows hotels to list their rooms on their site, in effect bypassing travel search sites such as Priceline Group, Expedia, and TripAdvisor. 19. Google recently partnered with the medical firm Novartis to develop high-tech contact lenses that monitor glucose levels and other body functions. 20. Amazon recently entered the mobile payments business and is now competing with PayPal, ApplePay, and all charge cards. 21. The worlds largest furniture retailer, IKEA, recently diversified into the insurance business, providing child, pregnancy, and home insurance products at its stores. 22. Office Depot closed nearly 500 stores in the last three years. 23. The drug maker, Dendreon Corporation, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Its major drug, Provenge, which treats prostate cancer, never gained traction in the market. 24. Symantec Corporation, known for its antivirus software, recently split its $4.2 billion cybersecurity business away from its $2.5 billion management information business, making them two publicly traded companies. 25. eBay recently split into two companies, with PayPal being one and the eBay Marketplace segment being the other.

Instructions

Step 1 On a separate sheet of paper, number from 1 to 25. These numbers correspond to the strategies described.

Step 2 What type of strategy best describes the 25 actions cited?

Step 3 Exchange papers with a classmate, and grade each others paper as your instructor gives the right answers.