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IMBA 501: Markets, Industry Analysis & Business Strategy
IMBA 502: Financial & Accounting Tools

General Household Merchandising

General household merchandising includes such categories of merchandise as home and office furniture, home appliances, home electronics, carpets and other floor coverings, bathroom linens and accessories, kitchenware, tableware, window treatments, and glassware. These categories of items are sold in specialty shops and general merchandise stores.

Industry Definitions: Code-Sector

  • 442 - Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores (see also industry groups that are organized under NAICS Code 442)
  • 443 -  Electronics and Appliance Stores
  • 452 -  General Merchandise Stores

Databases for Industry Research

IBISWorld

  • Over 700 full-text industry reports, organized by NAICS codes (see NAICS suggestions, above)
  • Over 700 US industry risk rating reports
  • Information on over 8000 Publicly Traded Companies 
  • Hundreds of economic and demographic profile
Mintel (Requires you to create a personal profile. Only your Penn State Email will be accepted)
  • Market research reports for the U.S. and European consumer markets
  • Analysis of market drivers, trends, market forecasts, market segmentations, demographics, and consumer attitudes and purchasing behaviors
  • Over 600 reports published each year
Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage

  • Industry Surveys, including:
    • Household Durables
    • Retailing-General
    • Retailing-Specialty
  • Bond Ratings
  • Company profiles and Corporation Records
  • Stock, bond and fund research
Plunkett Research Online (Industry Information)
  • Industry sector analysis and research: Retailing, and possibly others
  • Industry trends and statistics: Retailing, and possibly others
  • Market research and trends
  • Company profiles

Reuters Research On-Demand
Real-time full-text investment research

  • Reports cover companies and industries
  • Over 750 contributing firms
ValueLine
  • Aggregate data and analysis on industries
  • Reports, articles, and company highlights

For additional database choices, see:

Industry Data

U.S.Data

ABI/Inform via ProQuest

  • Articles from retail industry publications, newspapers and other trade journals.
  • Some examples include:
    • Chain Store Age (trade magazine) available from 1992, new issues embargoed for 7 days
    • Furniture Today (trade magazine) available from 2002.
    • Home Furnishings Business (trade magazine) available from August 2007.
    • Home Textiles Today (trade magazine) available from 1996.
    • Retailing Today (trade magazine) available from 1994, new issues embargoed for 7 days

Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers

  • See Business Data for statistics on imports/exports, shipments to U.S. markets, etc.
American Home Furnishings Alliance
  • Furniture market news and consumer trends.
Home Furnishings Business Association
  • Reports and statistics
  • Additional venues for HFBA information include ABI/Inform (articles)
National Retail Federation
  • Articles and data on a wide variety of issues relating to retailing.

World Data

Eurostat (European Union)

  • General statistics
  • Economy and finance
  • Industry, trade and services
  • External trade

UN Comtrade, United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database / United Nations

Companies

Category 1:

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST)

Target (TGT)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT)

Category 2:

Big Lots (BIG)

Dollar Tree (DLTR)

Family Dollar (FDO)

Annual Reports (ARS & 10-K)

EDGAR (U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission)

Mergent Online (select "EDGAR Search")

Resources for Identifying Companies in the Industry

Hoover’s Online
  • Proprietary company overviews
  • Industry breakdowns and explanations
  • Competitor listings
  • Financial synopses

Lexis/Nexis Corporate Affiliations
Business Library, Reference: HG4057.A219

  • U.S. corporate directory
  • Holding company directory

Mergent Online

  • Information on 11,000 U.S. public companies and 17,000 non-U.S. Public companies
  • Detailed, standardized financial statements
  • Searchable by company name, industry codes, revenue levels, and other characteristics
  • Comparative analysis among companies
  • Access to SEC reports

Ward’s Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies
Business Library, Reference: HG4057.A56

  • Listings organized by NAICS code
  • Ranks public and private companies by revenues/sales

Search


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