Question

Imagine that you are part of the marketing management team at Home Plus, a regional discount big-box retailer who competes with Wal-Mart and Target. Home Plus currently focuses on offering a broad range of discount consumer goods, from small home furnishings and clothing to packaged goods and kitchenware. In addition to the discount lines, Home Plus carries some higher end clothes, shoes, and bedding. Some members of management believe that the best way to improve the company's competitive positioning is to concentrate more of its energies on the higher-end product lines. They have proposed that Home Plus double the number of luxury products it carries and halve the number of discount consumer packaged goods. Explain why you would agree or disagree with the proposed change in marketing strategy. Be sure to discuss both the proposal's advantages and its disadvantages.

Answer 1

answer-

I would disagree with the proposed decision of the management of home plus because The main strength of the Home plus is In its offerings or products given at discounted rates. Consumers are attracting to its products because it has many products from small home furnishings and clothing to packaged goods and kitchenware at discounted prices which gives its edge to compete with Target and Walmart. Company also provide  some higher end clothes, shoes, and bedding which is not its core competency and customers not necessarily comes in the store for these luxury product lines.This could be a weakness but if Management want to half its discounted product line and focus on Luxurious and expensive products then it would halving its strength which is not a good decision.

There are more disadvantages of this approach than advantages. the advantages of this approach may be high profit made out of sales of This new luxurious product line but the many disadvantages are profit can diminish in long term because demand can decrease because customers base of Home plus is more of customers who likes discounted products.Another disadvantage could be losing customer loyalty and customer base.

So, i would say that it is not a good approach to change the main strength of the company and cutting it into half.

*hope above answer would help you.