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Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy


The founder/owner of Sunripe Marketplace (Sunripe) is thinking about the stores' product offerings. He has two fresh produce-focused stores and a unique set of distribution and store-level systems that differentiate Sunripe from other supermarkets. Being a small retailer allows the owner to only choose the best and freshest products for his two stores. His stores have several private labels that customers like. Sunripe's owner must now consider how to improve the marketing of these private labels.

Authors :: Kyle Murray, Ken Mark

Topics :: Sales & Marketing

Tags :: Sales, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy" written by Kyle Murray, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sunripe Stores facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Sales and Sales & Marketing.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sunripe Stores, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sunripe Stores 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 Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sunripe Stores
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 Sunripe Stores




Strengths Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Sunripe Stores in Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry

– Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sunripe Stores to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sunripe Stores to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Strong track record of project management

– Sunripe Stores is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Sunripe Stores in the sector have low bargaining power. Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sunripe Stores to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Sunripe Stores 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 Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Sunripe Stores is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Diverse revenue streams

– Sunripe Stores is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Sunripe Stores 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.

Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sunripe Stores digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sunripe Stores has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Sunripe Stores 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.

Analytics focus

– Sunripe Stores 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 Kyle Murray, Ken Mark 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.

Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field

– Sunripe Stores is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Sunripe Stores in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Learning organization

- Sunripe Stores 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 Sunripe Stores is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.






Weaknesses Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy are -

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Sunripe Stores, firm in the HBR case study Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Sunripe Stores 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Sunripe Stores has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Sunripe Stores has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy, in the dynamic environment Sunripe Stores has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sunripe Stores has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sunripe Stores needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

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 Sunripe Stores supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sunripe Stores vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sunripe Stores has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Sunripe Stores is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Sunripe Stores needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sunripe Stores to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Lack of clear differentiation of Sunripe Stores products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sunripe Stores needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.




Opportunities Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy | 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 Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy are -

Developing new processes and practices

– Sunripe Stores 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sunripe Stores to increase its market reach. Sunripe Stores will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sunripe Stores can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Sunripe Stores has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sunripe Stores to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy case study. Sunripe Stores can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sunripe Stores 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, Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Reconfiguring business model

– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Sunripe Stores to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sunripe Stores is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Sunripe Stores 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 Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sunripe Stores to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

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. Sunripe Stores 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. Sunripe Stores 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Sunripe Stores can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Sunripe Stores 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sunripe Stores can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sunripe Stores operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sunripe Stores 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.




Threats Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy are -

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Sunripe Stores can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Sunripe Stores needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sunripe Stores with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Increasing wage structure of Sunripe Stores

– 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 Sunripe Stores.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Sunripe Stores 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.

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. Sunripe Stores can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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 Sunripe Stores in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy, Sunripe Stores 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 .

Consumer confidence and its impact on Sunripe Stores 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.

Environmental challenges

– Sunripe Stores needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Sunripe Stores can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Sunripe Stores has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sunripe Stores 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, Sunripe Stores 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 Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy .

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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy 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 Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy 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 Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy 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 Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy 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 Sunripe Marketplace: A Private Label Strategy 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 Sunripe Stores needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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