MBA Students Make Case for Ace

Release Date: Aug 25, 2008

Graduate students in the Bloch MBA capstone class Competitive Strategies recently completed a project that not only challenged their sense of retail competition, it forged a partnership with Westlake Hardware stores throughout the Kansas City metro area.

Each student team (six in all) worked with a Westlake store manager in the area who served as a mentor throughout the project. Students assessed strengths and weaknesses of Westlake’s current operations, from location and layout to product offerings. Using Blue Ocean Strategy* concepts learned in class, each team made a 20-minute presentation that included suggestions for improvement.


The first student team of the evening to present with their Westlake store manager mentor. Clockwise, from left: Natalie Martin, Alena Vanderwerf, Shay Weaver, Mohammed Malahifji, Nichole Shada, Chuck Svoboda and Lenexa, Kan. Westlake store manager Joe Blackshere

Teams also included in their reports a comparison analysis of a competitor (including Home Depot, Lowe’s, Menards, Tractor Supply and True Value).

The project was the brainchild of Bloch’s Marilyn Taylor, Gottleib/Missouri Chair of Strategic Management (who teaches the class) and David Patrick, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Westlake Ace Hardware, who was also a student in the class the year before. Both felt it would be a valuable case study for both the students and for Westlake.

The presentations were put before a panel of judges from Westlake, including Patrick, George Thomas, Westlake CEO, George Shadid, Westlake senior vice president and CFO, and Tom Terrell, Westlake manager.


Student Team “Home Depot” poses with the Westlake panel of judges prior to presenting. Clockwise, from left: Dmitry Shcherbinin, Laurie Gates, Jessica Lantry, Aaron Siders, John Barnes, David Patrick, George Smith, George Shadid and Tom Terrell.

“For Westlake, the most valuable component of this project was getting a different point of view - outside eyes - on our category and our company," explains Patrick. "The students were able to provide some ideas we wouldn’t have come up with on our own.”

The students themselves were challenged to put classroom learning to a real-time, real-situation test as they worked to develop growth strategies for a specialty retailer in an intensely competitive category.

“From the beginning, the class was a success,” says Taylor. “Many students noted how much they appreciated the opportunity to undertake real-time learning. In addition, we focused on how to be as much help to Westlake as possible, which is a reflection of Bloch’s ongoing commitment to marrying classroom learning with direct business and civic connections.”


Chuck Svoboda, team point person, makes recommendations to Westlake for alternative product offerings.

*for more information about Blue Ocean Strategy and what it means, visit www.blueoceanstrategy.com