Competitive Advantage Case Study

The Container Store's Customer Service: Recruitment and Training as Competitive Advantage

OR

Abstract:
The storage and organisation segment forms a part of the home furnishing industry and, over time, the Container Store has become synonymous with this niche retail category. The Container Store was established in 1978, and though many new players entered had the storage and organisation segment, none were as successful as the Container Store. The company's unique recruitment and training policy, corporate culture and philosophy give it an un-replicable advantage over its competitors.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand how the training and recruitment programs of the Container Store give it a competitive advantage
• To discuss the Container Store's employee-related programms and how they have become a competitive advantage for the company
• To discuss the challenges the company faces in sustaining its unique business model

Keywords : Retail industry; Home furnishing and housewares industry; Training and recruitment policies; Competitive advantage; Human resource management; Storage and organisation products; Employee empowerment; Performance appraisal; Employee turnover; Competitive Strategies Case Study; Wal-Mart target; Kip Tindell; Garrett Boone; Niche marketing; Specialty stores; Teamwork