S: A Case Study

CHERN'S COMPANY HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

siblings Ryan and Ann Chern founded Chern's, an upscale men's and women's department store, $20$ years ago after they graduated with their MBAs. The pair had planned to launch their jearning about the retail industry their business model after each spent a great deal of time and high$-$quality products Chern's working in different retail organizations. The product mix a loyal following. The firm quickly ells made it rapidly successful, and the company developed tions $15$ years ago. Ryan and Ann handed its product line and began opening additional locabest service, selection, quality, and vave turned their basic idea of providing customers with the of Chern's: Ryan serves as the complue into a thriving business. The two are now co$-$presidents chief operating officer.

Chern's pursues an aggressive growth strategy. Currently the company has $14028$ states on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Chern's employs average of $19,00$ stores in part$-$time employees. Providing superior customer service bas been the company's $19,000$ full$-$ and strategy and has successfully differentiated it from its competitors. Although the compes main business ucts are expensive, the high product quality and excellent customer service have made the prodsuccessful. Because customers' tastes can differ from one store to the next, the company tries to as decentralized as possible. Therefore, it gives its store managers a considerable amount of discretion in terms of how they run their stores. Likewise, each manager runs his or her own department as a small business and is rewarded according to the department's and the store's overall success.

Because customer service lies at the heart of the company's business strategy, it is a core part of the corporate culture of Chern's. Ann and Ryan believe that customer service is the essence of selling and that because the firm's sales associates are in direct contact with customers, they are the core drivers of the company's performance. Both department managers and assistant department managers support the sales associates. Besides giving the sales staff their full support, the department managers at Chern's are, in turn, supported by their store managers, assistant department managers, buyers, and merchandising managers. Figure A$-1$ illustrates these relationships.

Core values are an essential part of the Chern's brand and are the foundation of its culture. The company's family ownership contributes to its desire to make every employee and customer feel valued and cared for. The firm is known for its strong and unique culture, which it feels is due to its belief that the best approach to business is to hire good people. As such, Chern's tries to identify and select the right people, train them, and give them the tools and autonomy they need to succeed. Successful employees are rewarded with above$-$market base salaries and generous bonuses.