Case Scenario 3: Barracuda Inc

question 9

Essay

Case Scenario 3: Barracuda Inc.
Barracuda Inc. is a lamp-fixture manufacturer that is considering an entry strategy into the U.S. home-furnishings manufacturing industry. The existing landscape consists of many players but none with a controlling share. There are currently 2,500 home furnishings firms, and only 600 of those have more than 15 employees. Average net profit after tax is between 4 and 5 percent. While the industry still primarily comprises single-business, family-run firms that manufacture furniture domestically, imports are increasing at a fairly rapid rate. Some of the European imports are leaders in contemporary design. Relatively large established firms are also diversifying into the home- furnishings industry via acquisition. Supplier firms to the home-furnishings industry are in relatively concentrated industries (such as lumber, steel, and textiles). Retailers, the intermediate customer of the home-furnishings
industry, have been traditionally very fragmented. Customers have many products to choose from, at many different price points, and few home-furnishing products have strong brands. Also, customers can switch easily among high- and low-priced furniture and other discretionary expenditures (spanning big-screen TVs to the choice of postponing any furniture purchase entirely).
-(Refer to Case Scenario 3). Is the furniture industry described above attractive?

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Definitions:

Neurons

Neurons are the basic working units of the brain and nervous system, responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, sending motor commands to our muscles, and transforming and relaying the electrical signals at every step in between.

Hormones

Chemical messengers produced by the endocrine glands that regulate various bodily functions and behaviors.

Sympathetic Nervous System

A part of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for physical activity by accelerating the heart rate, constricting blood vessels, and raising blood pressure.

Bodily Arousal

A state of physiological activation or readiness, often associated with emotions, stress, or excitement, involving changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration.