Question

1. Has JCPenney ever pursued a horizontal integration strategy? What was the strategic reason for pursuing this strategy?

2. How vertically integrated is jcpenney? in what stages of the industry value chain does it operate?

Answer 1

1.J.C Penny was an enterpreneur of united States,who started J.C Penny stores in 1902. He began working for a small chain of stores in the western United States called the Golden Rule stores.He used the horizontal Integration strategy for operating the bussiness.

Horizontal integration is a competitive strategy that can create economies of scale, increase market power over distributors and suppliers, increase product differentiation and help businesses expand their market or enter new markets. ... If one company ends up with a dominant market share, it has a monopoly.

He expand the bussiness in a chain process thatsy he pursuing mainly this strategy.It is the acquisition of a business .

2. vertical integration is an arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is owned by that company. Usually each member of the supply chain produces a different product or (market-specific) service, and the products combine to satisfy a common need.After the chain of stores started JC penny now uses the vertical integration strategy for producing the products.