Question Read the case study below carefully and answer the following questions

How do Blue Nile, Zales, and Tiffany compare on the Business model and critical success factors dimensions? Support it with appropriate justifications.

What advice would you give to each of the three companies with regard to its competitive strategy, supply chain strategy and supply chain structure?

Blue Nile

Blue Nile, Inc. is an online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry. The company provides consumers with a superior way to buy engagement rings, wedding rings and fine jewelry. The company offers more than 60,000 diamonds on its website. It offers in-depth educational materials and unique online tools that place consumers in control of the jewelry shopping process. The firm specializes in the customization of diamond jewelry, which offers customers the ability to customize diamond rings, pendants and earrings. The company through its websites features an interactive search functionality that allows the customers to quickly find the products that meet their needs from the broad selection of diamonds and fine jewelry. It was founded by Mark Christopher Vadon and Ben Elowitz on March 18, 1999 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA. Blue Nile has many competitors such as Tiffany and Co, Diamonds.com, and Zale Jewelers Stores.

Zales

The first Zales Jewelers store was established by Morris (M.B.) Zale, William Zale, and Ben Lipshy in 1924. This companys marketing strategy was to offer a credit plan of a penny down and a dollar a week. Their success allowed them to expand to twelve stores in Oklahoma and Texas by 1941. Over the next four decades, the company grew to hundreds of stores by buying up other stores and smaller chains. In 1986 the company was purchased in a leveraged buyout by Peoples Jewelers of Canada and Swarovski International. In 2005 the company operated nearly 2,400 stores. The companys divisions included Piercing Pagoda, which ran mall-based kiosks selling jewelry to teenagers, Zales Jewelers, which sold diamond jewelry to working- class mall shoppers, Gordons, which sold higher-quality jewelry in upscale malls, and Bailey Banks & Biddle Fine Jewelers, which sold even pricier products out of fancier malls. In August 2006, under a new CEO, Zales started the transition to return to its role as a promotional retailer focused on diamond fashion jewelry and diamond rings. The transition involved selling nearly $50 million in discontinued inventory from its upscale strategy and an expenditure of

$120 million on new inventory. As a result of the inventory write-down, Zales lost $26.4 million in its quarter ending July 31, 2006. The company had some success with its new strategy but was hurt by rising fuel prices and falling home prices that made middle-class customers feel less secure.

Tiffany

Tiffany opened in 1837 as a stationary and fancy-goods emporium in New York City. It published its first catalog in 1845. The company enjoyed tremendous success, with its silver designs in particular becoming popular all over the world. In 1886 Tiffany introduced its now famous Tiffany setting for solitaire engagement rings. The Tiffany brand was so strong that it helped set diamond and platinum purity standards all over the world. In 1950 Truman Capote immortalized Tiffany as a symbol of a glamorous and elegant lifestyle in his bestseller breakfast at Tiffanys, which went on to become a very successful film in 1961. After more than a century of tremendous success with its jewelry and other products, the company went public in 1987. Tiffanys high-end products included diamond rings, wedding bands, gemstone jewelry, and gemstone bands with diamonds as the primary gemstone. The company also sold non- gemstone gold, platinum, and sterling silver jewelry.

By 2008 Tiffany had more than 180 stores and boutiques all over the world, with about 70 in the United States. Tiffany maintained its own manufacturing facilities in Rhode Island and New York but also continued to source from third parties. In 2007 it sourced almost 60 percent of its jewelry from internal manufacturing facilities. It had a separate customer fulfillment center for processing direct-to-customer orders. The Tiffany brands association with quality, luxury, and exclusivity was an important part of its success.