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Hal's Woodworking Hardware Case Study

Page 1 of 6

Serboya Delotta

Case Study-Hal’s Woodworking

eBusiness

Instructor Dr. Bob Goldwasser

Case Study-Hal’s Woodworking SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHS

  • Hal’s Hardware Store was a friendly neighborhood store.
  • The store managers are all active in the community.
  • Employees get skilled training in plumbing, electrical, power tools, flooring, garden and more.
  • As a result of the focus on service, Hal’s Hardware Store is a place where the community gathers.
  • Hal has a website that includes directions to the store, information about the company, and hours of operation.
  • Many customers are interested in woodworking and show up for all the classes. These customers buy most of the best and expensive tools being sold.

WEAKNESS

  • Many of the workshops taught were underwritten.
  • Hal was concerned that the business was not growing after many years.
  • The store faces competition such as Home Depot and Lowe’s
  • Hal’s Hardware had to close its lumber department because of competition.
  • Hal could not earn a profit on lumber, and that department took up a large amount of floor space in his store.
  • Sometimes Hal would run out of tools that are being sold more and have to be specially ordered.

OPPORTUNTIES

  • Hal matched his larger competitor’s prices.
  • Hal begin to look for ways to add a lot more value to the customer experience in his store that the national chains were not going to do.
  • Hal created a tool demonstration area for the customers to try the tools before they bought them.
  • Hal created a small booklet of hints to help people use the tools properly.
  • Hal also begin sailing his low-cost instructional DVDs.
  • Hal sold only the high-end specialty tools online for woodworkers and cabinetmakers.

THREATS

  • Home Depot and Lowe’s offer lower prices on many items, their store is bigger, and they have many new stores open.
  • The national chains buy lumber in large amounts, so they can offer much lower prices.
  • Hal’s decision to create a new store with sales online might hurt sales and create more competition with other online stores.

        Hal’s Hardware Store is a store that sales hardware and it is based in his home town. Many people love to shop at Hal’s Hardware Store, but recently Hal has had to face competition that could be affecting his business. Hal has many strengths that come along with his hardware store that in my opinion will keep him in business for years, such as his store is well loved in his neighborhood, the people that work for Hal is very active in the community, and the employees get a lot of training in plumbing, electrical, power tools, flooring gardening and more.

        The training that the employees obtain can help the work better in the store and it can help them at home as well. Many of the people in the community gather at Hal’s Hardware because he focuses on services for the people, when people want to go to Hal’s store they can view his website, and one other strength Hal’s Hardware Store has is that the customers that are interested in woodworking show up to all their classes for woodworking and they buy the tools provided for woodworking.  Hal’s Hardware has many weaknesses due to the new competition, and some of those weaknesses are that many of the workshops taught are underwritten, Hal has become concerned that his business is not growing after so many years, the store has faced competition with Home Depot and Lowes.

        However, due to the competition, Hal’s Hardware Store had to close his lumber department because of the competition he faces, and there have been times when Hal runs out of tools and has to order more tools to make a sale with a customer. Hals Hardware has developed opportunities that will help him build up his business and fight the competition, and this is by matching his larger competitor’s prices, Hal has started to look for ways to add more value to his customer experience, Hal has created a tool demonstration area for people who would like to buy a tool, but wants to try it out first, Hal has created a small booklet of hints that will help his customers learn how to properly use the tools they purchase, and with the online store Sarah mentioned Hal is considering sailing the high-end tools online for people who love to wood work and build cabinets.

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