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CRS 231: Introduction to Apparel & Consumer Retailing

1. Research Assignment
2. Nature of Company Research
3. History, Competition, & Trends Sources
4. APA Citations

CARS Librarian: Steve Cramer
smcramer@uncg.edu
336-256-0346
AIM & Google Talk: stevebizlib
Windows Messenger: smcramer@uncg.edu

1. Research Assignment:

Answer the company questions using these tools:

Learning Objectives for today:

• Learn basic concepts of company research (private v. public; parent v. subsidiary);
• Know how to determine if a corporate entity is public, private, or a subsidiary, or maybe a brand or label;
• Gain experience using company research databases.

2. Nature of Company Research:

1. Is the company private or public?

Public companies have stock traded on an open market.

• These companies are required to file financial information with the government.
• Therefore, if a company is publicly owned, financial information is easy to find.

A private company has few (or no) shareholders.

• Privately-owned stock is not available for market trade.
• Detailed financial information about a private company is proprietary and therefore not available to the public.
• Articles (ex. from Ebsco Business Source Premier) can be great sources for researching private companies.

2. Is it a subsidiary?

• Subsidiaries are companies owned by other companies (ex. Old Navy is owned by The Gap Inc.).
• If you want financial information on a subsidiary, you need to look up the parent company's info.
• Example of a corporate family tree with subsidiaries:

3. Is it a U.S.-based or international company?

• Many company research sources focus on either U.S. companies or international companies.
• Some non-U.S. companies (ex. Sony) offer stock on U.S. stock exchanges.

4. Is it a U.S.-based or international company?

• Many company research sources focus on either U.S. companies or international companies.
• Some non-U.S. companies (ex. Sony) offer stock on U.S. stock exchanges.

5. Finally, could it be a brand, trademark, or label?

• For example, White House | Black Market (WHBM) is a trademark of Chico's.
• You may be able to find some sales and marketing information about a brand/trademark/label, but don't count on it.

3. History, Competition, & Trends Sources

History

MarketLine, Hoovers (via LexisNexis), and the company's homepage usually provide a history

Business & Company Resource Center (2 concurrent UNCG users)

• Provides histories for over 8,900 companies, as well as corporate chronologies for 1,800 companies.
• Includes the International Directory of Company Histories and Notable Corporate Chronologies.

Competition

Company databases like MarketLine, Hoovers, and ReferenceUSA provide this for larger companies

IBIS Industry Market Research

• Lists the major competition for 9 different types of clothing retailing
• Look in the "Key Competitors" chapter in each report.

Trends

Business Source Premier (articles)

• Articles from trade magazines like WWD are excellent sources for trends in apparel retailing and designers.
• This database provides the full text of 1000's of business and trade magazines.

Mintel Market Research Reports

• Requires free registration
• Provides fulltext market & consumer research reports, with a focus on consumer sectors.
• International in focus.

IBIS Industry Market Research

• Lists the major competition for 9 different types of clothing retailing
• Look in the Segmention, Market Characteristics, and Key Factors chapters in each report.

 

4. APA Citations

• Citing Business Databases in APA Style
• General APA Citation Guide