Guillerno Furniture Store Concept Paper

Guillermo Furniture Store Concepts Paper

Pamela Koffa

May 14, 2012

John Dellinger

Guillermo Furniture Store is a large furniture store located in North America. The area was a good source for lumber and the company was able to hire inexpensive workers. The owner, Guillermo Navallez had a slight premium price for his handcrafted products. The Guillermo furniture store began getting hit with some issues that would hurt the business.

Overseas competitors entered the furniture market with high tech approaches to exact specifications for furniture. They were also able to keep the cost down to a minimum. Guillermo furniture store’s profit margin began to shrink because the prices fell and the costs rose. The community which was a good place for Guillermo to run a business now had one of the largest retailers in the nation’s headquarters a few miles away.

The competition was merging with larger organizations to handle the changes. However Guillermo was not really happy about this option. He wanted to remain independent. Guillermo realized if he went with the high tech solution he could reduce dramatically in production cost. It would be expensive and there will be less of need for labor. Guillermo also check into partnering with a competitor in Norway that did not specialize in furniture outlets and used chain distributors. Guillermo could be a representative for other manufacturers, retain some of the high end customers and move the company form primarily manufacturing to primarily distribution.

While making the decision to partner, or merge with a larger company or remain an independent company Guillermo has to also look at the ethical behavior of not only his company but any he may decide to partner with. Ethical behavior can be a necessity for firms to operate profitably and to survive. Many firms have formal codes of conduct that are a prominent part of their corporate cultures. Managers are often very careful to explore the ethical...