Industry Analysis: Target and its industry

1) Companies in the Strongest/Weakest Positions

Research: Identify a minimum of three individual companies in the industry. Identify a leading company, a moderately successfully company, and a company that is struggling. Base your selection primarily on each company’s relative position based on their performance in the industry. Recall that each industry measures performance in a unique way.

Report: In addition to their position based on their performance, identify how each firm has positioned, or tried to position, themselves, in their industry. Identify characteristics that differentiate the companies from each other based on quality/price, geographic coverage, vertical integration, product line breadth, distribution, or service.

2) Key Success Factors (KSFs)

Report: about the Industry, should have an answer to questions:
•What are the 3-4 key success factors that have the strongest relationship with success and profitability?
•Do these KSFs vary by segment, if there are segments in the industry?
•How are these KSFs likely to vary over time?
•What are the implications of this evolution?