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Case Study
What happens when a company reaches a mid-life crisis? People often hear about the problems of a mid-life crisis declining health, too much stress, changing physical appearance, or withdrawal from social relationships. As you probably know, an entire industry has emerged to help people through their mid-life crises. But what about companies? Do they experience mid-life crises also? The answer is yes, and researchers have begun to analyze the mid-life doldrums that many of Americas top companies are experiencing. Of particular interest is how mid-life companies deal with disappointing growth. Wal-Mart experienced exceptional growth during the last three decades. Over the past two years, however, Wal-Marts performance has started to show signs of stress and fatigue. Growth averaging only 2% does not send out positive signals to the people who watch this retailing giant. This small growth percentage is especially troubling since major competitors, such as Costco, Target, Kroger, CVS, and Best Buy, have enjoyed increases averaging five times WalMarts meager rate. The economic and competitive environment Wal-Mart faces has become increasingly difficult. Also, mismanagement, increasing inventories, loss of market share, and distribution difficulties have begun to plague the industrys cost and price leader. New turnaround strategies that management will try include increased advertising, a more holistic approach to marketing strategies, a specific focus on upscale and affluent consumers, store refurbishment and redesign, a renewed commitment to everyday low pricing and cost control, and an aggressive global expansion strategy. A mid-life crisis can be a difficult challenge. It will be interesting to see how Wal-Mart ages and how the company handles the difficulties that come with its increased years. Adapted from Wal-Marts Midlife Crisis, by Anthony Bianco, Business Week, April 30, 2007, pp. 46-56. Case study developed by Dr. John R. Brooks, Jr., Houston Baptist University.

Case Summary

Is Wal-Mart in a mid-life crisis? Wal-Mart experienced exceptional growth during the last three decades. Over the past two years, however, Wal-Marts performance has started to show signs of stress and fatigue. Growth averaging only 2% does not send out positive signals to the people who watch this retailing giant. This small growth percentage is especially troubling since major competitors such as Costco, Target, Kroger, CVS, and Best Buy have enjoyed increases averaging five times WalMarts meager rate.

case Study
How does a company known for being conservative attract a non-conservative target market? As the companys ad says, Youre in good hands with Allstate! Allstate Insurance has used this famous phrase to attract customers for some time. This mainstream market approach has served the company well. But even though the company is one of the industrys leaders, observers began to notice an erosion of market share in some non-traditional sectors. Lifestyle strategies had not received much attention at Allstate. Motorcycle riders, for example, chose competitors Progressive and Geico over Allstate and other conservatively oriented companies. Why would Allstate be interested in targeting motorcycle riders? The motorcycle market is growing thanks to increased interest from baby boomers and Generation Y consumers. In 2006, 1.2 million motorcycles were sold according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, and sales have been steadily climbing for the last five years. Allstate decided it was time to conduct targeted marketing research or risk losing this growing market. In addition to learning some interesting facts about todays motorcycle riders, the companys market research also found that over 600 of its 14,800 agents were devout motorcycle riders themselves. This interesting fact led the company to completely revamp some of its advertising and marketing strategies. To target motorcycle riders, Allstate has begun featuring some of their bike-riding agents in their ads. The ads indicate that Allstate knows the needs of motorcycle riders better than competitors because the good hands are on handle bars. And who knows the needs of bikers better than other bikers? Acting on additional research information, the company has also begun sponsoring motorcycle rallies and music downloads via Rolling Stone magazine for those people who love the feel of the open road. Follow-up research will determine the success of Allstates attempt to bond with this market segment. Adapted from Lets RideThe Wild Ones at Allstate, by Burt Helm, Business Week, October 1, 2007, p. 16. Case study developed by Dr. John R. Brooks, Jr., Houston Baptist University.

Case Summary
How does a company known for being conservative attract a non-conservative target market? Youre in good hands with Allstate! This mainstream market approach has served Allstate Insurance well. But even though the company remains one of the industrys leaders, observers have begun to notice an erosion of market share in some non-traditional sectors such as motorcycles and ATVs. Lifestyle strategies had not received much attention at Allstate. Motorcycle riders, for example, were moving from Allstate and other conservatively oriented companies to competitors like Progressive and Geico. Why would Allstate be interested in targeting motorcycle riders?