Assignment Questions1. What is competition like in the North American wholesale club industry? Which of the fi ve competitive

forces is strongest and why? Use the information in Figures 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, and 3.8 (and the related chapter discussions on pp. 57-70) to do a complete fi ve-forces analysis of competition in the North American wholesale club industry.

2. Do all three warehouse club rivals—Costco, Sam’s, and BJ’s Wholesale—have highly similar strategies? What differences in their strategies are apparent? Does one rival have a better strategy than the others? Does one rival have a somewhat weaker strategy than the other two?

3. Which of the three warehouse club rivals has been the strongest fi nancial performer in recent years? Support your answer with calculations based on the data in case Exhibits 2, 6, and 7. Use the fi nancial ratios presented in Table 4.1 of Chapter 4 to help you with the needed number crunching.

4. Does the data in case Exhibit 5 indicate that Costco’s expansion outside North America (the U.S. and Canada) is fi nancially successful? Why or why not?

5. Five years from now, is Costco’s standing as the industry leader likely to be stronger or weaker? Are the other two rivals likely to gain or lose ground on Costco? Why or why not?

6. What recommendations would you make to Jim Sinegal regarding the actions that Costco management needs to take to sustain the company’s growth and improve its fi nancial performance?

7. What actions do you think management at Sam’s Club should take to boost revenue growth and overall fi nancial performance?

8. What actions do you think management at BJ’s Wholesale should take to boost revenue growth and overall fi nancial performance?

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Competition among the North American Warehouse Clubs: Costco Wholesale vs.Sam’s Club vs. BJ’s Wholesale