I've read and revised your paragraphs accordingly;
1. There have been many challenges HBC faced in the 1980’s prior to being sold to Zucker which resulted in a change in how the company operated and implement new strategies to suit its objectives. At the time, like other organizations, HBC had decided to go back to its core business values. These values were assets that were no longer needed in their new strategy and were sold and included natural resource holdings. When HBC wasn’t doing well and showed signs of trouble and experienced problems due to bad economy and extensive diversifications, HBC tried to implement a restructuring strategy. The goal was to restructure or reverse an approach that wasn’t working, and reorganize for better output and efficiency. This strategy can also be called restructuring by divestiture in which parts of the business and assets get sold to better focus on core business areas. HBC also tried to stay competitive through growth and diversification. Although this approach was unsuccessful, they had opened a designer depot and style depot to stay competitive with low cost retailers. This was an attempt to expand within the same business also known as growth through concentration which only lasted from 2004 to 2008. Another strategy that helped improve sells was improving their online shopping experience. One to mention was the E –business strategy which increased competitive advantage through the use of internet. The HBC company used their website to offer various numbers of products and services that enhanced their customer shopping experience and later resulted in higher number of sales.
2. HBC was bought by Jerry Zucker from the United States of America in 2006 after being a Canadian company for 330 years. The company focus was to revive the company through customer satisfaction and improved operations. After Zucker's death in 2008, HBC was bought again by private equity firm called NRDC equity partners. NRDC’s focus was to revive the company through better products and improved customer service. Under this new leadership, Bay quickly dropped 60% of its brands to reattract its customer base and also the launch of its new store the “Room” at one of its Toronto locations. The "Room" is a high end retail store that carries brands such as Armani, chanel and ungaro. The next strategy Bay approached was by sponsoring 2010 Olympics that took place in Vancouver. After being labelled as the official Canadian Olympic outfitter offering exclusive items and merchandise for Olympic enthusiasts, it attracted new customers who never shopped at HBC stores prior to this event. An important fact was that businesses pursued focus strategies to focus in special marketing segments. In the case of HBC opening its new store called the “Room” concentrated on only high end designer brands. The objective was to better aid the needs and services of the segment and outperform its competitors. Competitive advantage can be achieved through focused differentiation strategy; the business sells a unique product to a specific market segment. HBC adopted this strategy in both occasions by opening a high end designer store focused on high price and exclusive products and by taking part in 2010 Olympics by provided unique items focusing on Olympic fans all over the country.
3. In Corporate Strategy, the goal is to direct the whole organization towards sustainable competitive advantage. It tries to answer the following question, “In what industries and markets should we compete?”. One purpose of corporate strategy is to direct its resource distribution correctly and set direction for the entire organization. Corporate strategy was in effect when HBC tried to implement restructuring strategy. The goal was to restructure or reverse an approach that wasn’t working, and reorganize for better output and efficiency and its assets were sold or relocated to better suit new objectives or goals.
Business level strategy focuses on a smaller scale of the corporation and tries to identify how the services or products will compete in a business or division. The business level strategy tries to answer, “How are we going to compete for customers in this industry and market?”. Most decisions are based on products and services, locations and technology. In the 1980’s, HBC tried to stay competitive through growth and diversification. Although this approach was unsuccessful, they had opened Designer Depot and Style Depot to stay competitive with low cost retailers. Another business strategy was in place when HBC improved their online shopping attracting more customers as a result. After the sale of HBC in 2008 they reduced 60% of its brand names and launch a new VIP suite called the “Room”. This fancy designer store focused on high end brand names with a high price tag to attract a different segment of the market. Lastly, another business level strategy was used when HBC sponsored the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. The sponsorship offered something different from its competitors by focusing on tourists and Olympic fans with a unique Olympic product line.
Now take the time to compare and review my comments and the changes made in your original paper to this new revised one.
My comments:
*One thing to mention, you should identify who "Bay" is in your second paragraph. The reader is unclear as to who this is. Assume the reader is a somewhat novice.
*Be careful of your tenses and singular/plural words in your sentences.