nt terms are cash, COD or on-account; corporate customers are eligible for a five percent discount.
The company has a large customer base with approximately 250 small businesses who order regularly (defined by Bluebird as at least three times per year) as well as a much larger customer base of occasional (once per year) customers. These customers use the catalog to place their order and have items delivered, although most catalog customers also have in-store sales on occasion as demand dictates.
Bluebird competes with a number of other office supply stores in the immediate area, including nationwide chains such as Office Depot and Staples. These office supply stores offer a wide selection of products, good prices, but are not known for offering quality service. Customers of these companies can have products delivered to their facilities, generally at little or no charge to the customer. Because of the warehouse style layout of these competitors, there can be some resistance among smaller consumers to purchase from these companies.
The nationwide presence of Staples and Office Depot makes them formidable competitors, however. These companies can bring considerable financial resources to bear with regard to marketing in the local area, including inserts in newspapers and television advertising. As a result, there is a high degree of name recognition associated with these retailers, and it is difficult to compete directly against them in the retail sector. In addition, these retailers have multiple locations in a given region which heightens awareness among consumers.
In addition to the large nationwide chains, Bluebird also competes against a number of local office supply stores. These competitors are similar in size to Bluebird and offer many of the same products at comparable prices. In most situations, these competitors have pursued the local small business market where personal relationships and high levels of ser...