Strategic Planning in the Small Business

Unit 2

HO 2-4 (continued)

outlook and trends in

social and demographic

data. Political

and technological

trends do

not seriously impact the retail

hard­

ware business.

Economic Outlook

The economy as a

whole will continue to

remain encouraging

for the next few

quarters. Growth in

real GNP is expected to

rise in both the first

and second quarters

(5.6%, up from 4.8%

for fourth quarter

of last year). Consumer

spending has been

strong

and is expected to rise

at an annual rate of

9.2% in the

current

quarter.

Retail

sales were up solidly

in January and art expected

to remain solid even

though some slow down

will occur as

consumers

reach the peak of the

recent buying trend.

Con­

sumer

confidence in the economy

reached a record

high re­

cently,

s.rengthening the

outlook for continued

economic

expansion.

The home improvement

and do-it-yourself

markets look

strong as reports of housing

starts rose to a five-year

high. Retail

sales in the local

SMSA also look strong

and are projected to

increase

through the next five

years. Residential investment

will expand with

real growth of 14.2% over

the next five years.

The

local economy in which

HAH operates has not

grown

as quickly and

strongly as the national

economy. Fortunately,

the trend

now seems to be reversing,

economic conditions

are

improving,

and are projected

to grow stronger.

Social and Demographic
Trends

The market area in

which HAH operates

covers parts of five

census tracts.

The boundaries of

these tracts were derived

by

the Census

Bureau in 1980. Each

tract has its own unique

characteristics.

The census data provides

a breakdown of each

tract

by sex, age, home ownership,

age of home, and

household

income.

Additional demographic

information on the

average do­

it-yourselfer-who

is the type

of person most likely to

purchase

Chapter One Environmental

Analysis 47

190