Things to Consider in an Environmental Analysis of the Retail/specialty Retail Industry

Things to consider in an environmental analysis of the retail/specialty retail industry:

� Culture trends have shifted with the introduction of the Internet.

� Economically, it has been harsh the past couple of years with the threat of terrorism and whatnot. Yet, economist expected a pickup in the first half of 2004 since tax refunds and cuts in capital gains as well as dividend taxes is putting more money into the hands of consumers.

� Legally, this industry must keep in mind different government regulations as companies start to go global. Fair wages and factories is also a large concern. With the improvement of technology, people are able to order their products off the Internet at any location and time. This is one of the ways companies are adapting to the lives of their occupied customers.

� In the industry, the retail industry can be split up into for sections: Distributors, Internet and Catalogue Retail, Multiline Retail and Specialty Retailers.

� Competitors shift as the actual product line of a company is viewed.

� This industry is in the mature stage of the industry lifecycle and is very saturated. With industry trends of value driven consumers, competition is high for this industry

(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/167396/gap_inc_analysis_of_the_retailspecialty.html?page=10).

From another source: (excerpt)

Retail

Retail is one industry we all have a part in-after all, it is the sale of products to individual consumers (as opposed to businesses). Aside from all the consumers, though, more than 15 million people in the United States are employed by retailers-that's 12% of the workforce. With U.S. annual retail revenues close to $4 trillion and over a million retail businesses in operation, there's no question that this is a huge industry. We all know that Wal-Mart is the world's biggest retailer, but add to that all those other big box stores, your favorite record store, the grocery store down the road, those catalogs in your mailbox, all the other jewelry, book, electronics and clothing stores and-well, you get the picture. Retail is big.

Retail goods are traditionally divided into durable goods, such as furniture and large appliances, which are expected to last at least 5 years, and nondurable goods, which include food, clothing, and other categories far too numerous to mention but which eventually form the bulk of the stuff you see on makeshift tables at garage sales.

The retail landscape has seen drastic changes in the last decade or two. In the old days, retail was dominated by small, local mom-and-pop stores (like the tiny neighborhood record store and the corner