Hobby Lobby

Current Events

Hallie Mikesell

CBAD 301

03/23/14

Hobby Lobby Still Battling

Hobby Lobby, founded in 1970, is a leader in the arts and crafts industry. They offer over 67,000 different arts and crafts products, home décor, and much more. Hobby Lobby has 602 locations across the nation, with over 23,000 employees. Hobby Lobby brings in close to $3.3 billion dollars in sales annually. Their key target markets would be mainly females that enjoy arts and crafts and also those that enjoy shopping for home décor. Hobby Lobby’s trends closely follow the industry trends, relating to products, price, and marketing. They keep up with the industries price drops and sales, giving out 40% off coupons weekly on their website, similar to what their top competitors do.

Hobby Lobby is currently in a dilemma, dealing with the clash of their religious beliefs and the new health care act that is taking place. Hobby Lobby’s owners are Southern Baptists and have strong religious beliefs against the use of certain contraceptives that could result in the demolition of a human embryo. The 2010 Affordable Care Act requires that businesses above a certain amount of employees provide the given health insurance to their employees. Hobby Lobby did not agree because the insurance covers the contraception mentioned above. “The government cannot “substantially burden” the exercise of a person’s sincerely held religious beliefs unless there is a compelling government interest” (Nelson). Although Hobby Lobby’s attorneys say they cannot be forced to pay for this contraception, it is yet to be settled in court. Hobby Lobby stated they would close all of their store locations if they were forced to provide this type of health care to their employees.

This issue that Hobby Lobby is dealing with relates to chapter 4 in our textbook where it discusses managing in the global environment-- political and legal forces. This is a change in law, made by the president, that significantly affects...