At one time, the Pop Shoppe was a leading player in the Canadian soda pop market, however, changing market conditions and corporate mismanagement drove the company into bankruptcy in the early 1980s. In 2003, an entrepreneur purchased the rights to the brand, and was considering reintroducing it into the market. The entrepreneur had a hunch that many Canadians would be as fond of the Pop Shoppe as he was, and excited to see it back on the market, however, he had little experience in the beverage industry and consumer habits had changed in the many years since the brand had died. Looking at the market, the entrepreneur wondered if there was an attractive space for Pop Shoppe. His gut instincts told him that older consumers would embrace the reintroduction of the old brand, but it was difficult to know if they were a sustainable market segment. Would older consumers be able to turn their children onto the brand? With little experience and limited funds, he knew that if he proceeded with the idea, he could not afford to make many mistakes. If he chose to reintroduce the Pop Shoppe, he questioned how true he should stay to the original concept. Could a new Pop Shoppe compete in the current market? Despite the entrepreneur's love for the old brand, he wondered how he could raise enough consumer and retailer interest to make the brand succeed.
Swot Analysis of "Pop Shoppe (A)" written by Matthew Thomson, Kendra Hart includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Shoppe Pop facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Pop Shoppe (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Pop Shoppe (A) casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Pop Shoppe (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shoppe Pop, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shoppe Pop operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Pop Shoppe (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Pop Shoppe (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shoppe Pop
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shoppe Pop
Strengths Pop Shoppe (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shoppe Pop in Pop Shoppe (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Shoppe Pop has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Shoppe Pop has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Analytics focus
– Shoppe Pop is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Matthew Thomson, Kendra Hart can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Shoppe Pop are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Shoppe Pop is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Shoppe Pop is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Pop Shoppe (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Shoppe Pop in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Shoppe Pop is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Shoppe Pop
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Shoppe Pop does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Shoppe Pop has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Shoppe Pop has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Pop Shoppe (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Shoppe Pop has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Shoppe Pop to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Pop Shoppe (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Shoppe Pop to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Shoppe Pop to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Shoppe Pop has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Pop Shoppe (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Pop Shoppe (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Pop Shoppe (A) are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Pop Shoppe (A), is just above the industry average. Shoppe Pop needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Matthew Thomson, Kendra Hart suggests that, Shoppe Pop is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Shoppe Pop supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Pop Shoppe (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Shoppe Pop vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Shoppe Pop has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Pop Shoppe (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Shoppe Pop is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Shoppe Pop needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Shoppe Pop to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Shoppe Pop products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Shoppe Pop needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Shoppe Pop has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Pop Shoppe (A) HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Shoppe Pop has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Pop Shoppe (A), in the dynamic environment Shoppe Pop has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Shoppe Pop has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Pop Shoppe (A), it seems that the employees of Shoppe Pop don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Shoppe Pop is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Pop Shoppe (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Pop Shoppe (A) | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Pop Shoppe (A) are -
Loyalty marketing
– Shoppe Pop has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Shoppe Pop can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Shoppe Pop can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Shoppe Pop can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Pop Shoppe (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Shoppe Pop has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Shoppe Pop to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Pop Shoppe (A) case study. Shoppe Pop can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Shoppe Pop to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Shoppe Pop can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Shoppe Pop can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Shoppe Pop can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Shoppe Pop can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Shoppe Pop operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Shoppe Pop in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Shoppe Pop has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Pop Shoppe (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Shoppe Pop to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Shoppe Pop to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Shoppe Pop to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Shoppe Pop can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Threats Pop Shoppe (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Pop Shoppe (A) are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Pop Shoppe (A), Shoppe Pop may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Shoppe Pop has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shoppe Pop needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shoppe Pop can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Pop Shoppe (A) .
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Shoppe Pop in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Shoppe Pop
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Shoppe Pop.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Shoppe Pop will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Shoppe Pop high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Shoppe Pop business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Shoppe Pop demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Shoppe Pop.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Shoppe Pop can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Pop Shoppe (A) Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Pop Shoppe (A) needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Pop Shoppe (A) is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Pop Shoppe (A) is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Pop Shoppe (A) is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Shoppe Pop needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.