CPI's decision to expand involves a number of issues that must be addressed, as well as some hurdles that could cause problems if not planned for. One issue that CPI needs to tackle is the fact that expansion will change the way it does business. Operating a multi-site business, for example, will be vastly different from operating a single-site business. CPI will have further decisions to make, such as whether to bring in new personnel to run the new sites or move existing personnel and what sites to choose ("The Art of Geographic Expansion in Business," 2008).
In addition to these considerations, CPI will face a number of hurdles. As Sharon Nelton indicates in Nation's Business, "Expanding a company doesn't just mean grappling with the same problems on a larger scale...It means understanding, adjusting to, and managing a whole new set of challenges-in essence, a very different business" ("Business Expansion," 2008). A major hurdle is the recessionary economy. CPI's planned expansion comes "at the crossroads of expansion and recession," when consumer spending is down and large chains are going out of business (Appraisal Journal, 2007). Other hurdles that CPI might face include obtaining expansion capital, changing its corporate culture, the risk of growing too rapidly, changes in recordkeeping, maintaining good customer service, and personnel issues ("Business Expansion," 2008).
Even if CPI determines to go ahead with the expansion, it will need to find retail companies that could sell its products. Major drugstore chains such as Walgreen's, CVS, and Rite Aid are an excellent starting place, since they cater to baby boomers and also sell similar products already.
CPI needs to find novel places to sell its products given the recession, however. It might consider selling its products via baby-boomer-targeted catalogs such as the Vermont Country Store catalog and advertising in boomer-
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