Emerging Markets

Value-Shop™ has become a name upon which the community at large associates with being a company with the best interest of its employees and the people who are our customers. We do not feel that other department stores, including nationally recognized chains, are a competitor, for many reasons. We at Value-Shop™ feel like we are leading the 21^st century by being the type of business others will emulate.

The population of Winnebago County (of which Rockford, Illinois is the county seat) is approximately 278 thousand people with several larger department stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, Kohl's, Sears, and K-mart (www.muninetguide.com/states/illinois/Winnebago.php). The board of directors, which represents a small group of investors, carefully examined the demographics of the area and learned that the median salary of Rockford and Winnebago County is approximately $47,000 and just under $55,000 respectively (www.muninetguide.com/states/illinois/municipality/Rockford.php).

Most of the larger department stores are located no closer than two to three miles from downtown Rockford. The board of directors decided to have Value-Shop™ as close as possible to the downtown are of Rockford, making it a more desirable place to shop by families with lower income, as families with higher incomes had a tendency to live further away from downtown. Value-Shop™ wanted to be a store where people received the most value for their money. The larger chains were already targeting families with higher income and, with starting out as a business; Value-Shop™ did not want to compete with these other stores.

The population of Rockford is currently comprised of 68.4 percent white, with Winnebago County at 79.3 percent (www.muninetguide.com/index.php). It became a goal in the early planning stages to staff Value-Shop™ with a fair percent of women, and minorities at all levels of employment and management. Value-Shop™ will encourage employees at all levels to better themselves with training opportunities and opportunities to advance or promote within the business before consideration of personnel not currently with the company. This will also benefit the company as employees training and working their way up will be to the advantage in that current employees will have greater familiarity with company policies as well as how the company conducts business. It is also easier to fill positions from outside at lower levels of employment.

Value-Shop™ will include mandatory training of all employees in the area of equality of all workers and prevention of discrimination based on gender, religion, race, sexual orientation, age, and handicap status (Civil rights, n.d.). The company is willing to consider all applicants that are in rehabilitation programs and will work with outside agencies, such as Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army, and Rockford Rescue Mission. Goodwill Industries works with individuals with handicaps, while Salvation Army and Rockford Rescue Mission work primarily with individuals with alcohol and drug addictions.

Value-Shop™ will also work with any other agencies that contact the business, but the company has a strict policy that any applicant applying for employment must pass a pre-employment drug test. All employees will be subject to random tests for illicit drugs and in the event of a work related accident or if the employee appears to be under the influence of any illegal drug or alcohol while on company property.

Value-Shop™ will also consider applicants with mental health problems and with a criminal background. Employees with any health problems must remain under professional care and take all medications as directed. Applicants with a criminal background must demonstrate that they have rehabilitated themselves and that they have learned from their past mistakes. All employees must remain criminally free, meaning that an arrest for illegal activity and conviction will result in immediate termination.

Starting a business that is in compliance with federal and state equal opportunity policy will make a positive impact on the community and will be easier to maintain, rather than trying to correct errors made and repairing a tainted reputation. The company will hire professional outside auditors to track its performance in areas including equal opportunity and the company's policy regarding responsibility toward recycling and promoting green practices.

Value-Shop™ will be making a major part of their policy recycling and promoting waste responsibility. Value-Shop™ will give away canvas bags to customers, based on money spent at the check out. A direct plan of providing no or low-cost re-useable canvas bags will eventually phase out the use of plastic bags. Value-Shop™ will also try other pilot recycling practices that will encourage their customers to make greater recycling efforts as well.* * *

Five years later, Value-Shop™ has become extremely successful with business and has a well-balanced and diversified staff. Because of the company's policies in regards to fair hiring and promoting within, they have established a wide and regular customer base. People who live closer to other department stores still frequent Value-Shop™. The company has been issuing their customers special rewards cards which helped the corporate officers to better follow buying trends of their customers as well as where the customers live. Value-Shop™ has a strict policy concerning privacy of their customers. Value-Shop™ never sells or otherwise exchanges customer information with any other business.

Value-Shop™ opened another store north of Rockford, between Machesney Park and Roscoe within three years from when they opened the first store in downtown Rockford. Within four years, the company opened a store just east of Rockford, in Belvedere and the following year, another store in the Sterling and Rock Falls area, roughly 60 to 70 miles southwest of Rockford. Expansion has been possible because of company policies regarding being a business with social responsibility. Not only has there become a demand by customers for more stores, the business's stocks have performed well and there has been a steady stream of investors interested in buying more stock, which has been the mainstream of capital behind expansion in the northern Illinois area.

Value-Shop™ has enjoyed success because they have made strong policies towards being socially responsible to the communities they serve (Ebert & Griffin, 2007). With fair hiring and promoting practices their customers have remained loyal and supported the business by repeated business and referrals of the people in their circles. They have performed as well or better than other stores overall, by bringing customers in who wish to take advantage of the store's recycling program.

Value-Shop™ has had negligible crisis, as people do cut back in their spending habits when the economy is in a lull. They have remained rather stable due to the variety in items on the store shelves. Even during bad economies, there are certain wares that people continue to buy. Finding suitable substitutes for people to choose from when they have less money to spend has helped the stores to remain competitive and fluid (Ebert & Griffin, 2007).

Value-Shop™ has also encouraged all employees to donate part of their pay to The United Way™. The company has also encouraged employees to participate in community activities and volunteering their time to help with community events. Value-Shop™ has encouraged giving and sharing through example by the corporate leaders, and by having special events for participating employees. The company has sponsored picnics and raffles at different times of the year.

Moving forward, the company is now considering expansion at the rate of doubling the number of stores every three to five years, depending on numerous factors, some of which may take longer than the company has already experienced. Land acquisition for building a store or purchasing an existing store will be one of the major obstacles to overcome. Continuing to find and train reliable employees and management will be critical to their ongoing success, as being fair in hiring policy has to remain an integral part of the company's image.

With the record of accomplishment that Value-Shop™ has established with their successful opening of their first store and then with each expansion, they have already established, the company will most likely enjoy continual success in all of their expansion efforts. Communities have responded well to the company and more investment dollars are consistently available through the continual success of the company's stock.
References:

Cornell University Law School. Civil rights: an overview. Retrieved December 23, 2008 from http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/civil_rights

Ebert, R. & Griffin, R. (2007). Business Essentials (6th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Muni Net Guide. Your hub for municipal related research. Retrieved December 23, 2008 from http://www.muninetguide.com/states/illinois/municipality/Rockford.php

Muni Net Guide. Your hub for municipal related research. Retrieved December 23, 2008 from http://www.muninetguide.com/states/illinois/Winnebago.php