1. Conduct a SWOT analysis for HHI's proposed electronic commerce Web site. You can use the information in the case narrative, your personal knowledge of the retail hardware industry, and information you obtain by following links in the Online Companion or doing independent searches of the Web as you conduct your analysis. You should create a diagram similar to Figure 1-12 to summarize your SWOT analysis results.
2. Based on your SWOT analysis, write a report of about 400 words that includes a summary of your assumptions and a list of recommendations for HHI. The recommendations should be specific and should address the content that HHI's Web site should include, the features that HHI should make available on the site, and how HHI might overcome any of the weaknesses or threats you identified in the SWOT analysis.
Hal Donovan is the president of Hal’s Hardware, Inc. (HHI), a regional chain of 14 hardware stores located in Michigan, Ohio, and western Pennsylvania. HHI currently has a Web site that includes information about the company and some store information, such as locations and hours. Hal is thinking about expanding the HHI Web site to include online shopping. He believes that HHI customers might find the Web site to be a useful way to order items, see whether items are in stock at the nearest store, and comparison shop among different brands of a particular item.