A 4 page paper providing a SWOT analysis of this company. As the nation's leading shoe retailer, Payless obviously has done many things right in the past. There are indications that it is planning well for the future, even if that planning and attention has been delayed in the past. The overall pall on retail in general promises to be problematic for Payless, however, as it does for all other retailers. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: CC6_KSmgmtPayles.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
is the nations leading shoe retailer. Though Payless carries shoes for the entire family, its target market consists of women ages 18 to 49 (Payless, 2005). As is
the case with many businesses in todays retail environment in the United States, Payless US sales have been flat or slightly declining. Most of its 4,646 stores are in
the US, but the company also operates stores in Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Japan (Profile, 2005). Strengths * Payless "operates its stores in a variety of
real estate formats, including shopping malls, central business districts, free-standing buildings, strip centers, and leased departments in other retailers, as well as leases its stores" (Profile, 2005). * The company
had $2.66 billion in sales during fiscal year 2004 (Payless, 2005). * "To distinguish itself from its rivals, the company is looking for a business makeover that emphasizes fashion as
much as economy" (Payless, 2005). * Payless "Corporate Governance Quotient (CGQ(r)) as of 3- is better than 75.3% of S&P 400 companies and 88.2% of Retailing companies" (Profile, 2005). *
The company offers in-store pickup of online orders, saving Internet shoppers shipping charges while also giving them reason to make a special trip to a Payless store where they may
purchase another pair of shoes. * Prices are amazingly low; $25 constitutes the upper price range regardless of style. * Payless is beginning to pay more attention to style, as
opposed to fad. "The Payless premiere at New York Fashion Week is part of the retailers plan to create awareness of the transformation underway at Payless" (Payless Takes Its
First Walk, 2005). Weaknesses * "Fiscal 2004 same-store sales dropped by 0.9 percent" (Payless, 2005). * Analyst Christopher Svezia notes that "Payless hasnt really carved out a niche for its