Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry
Renzo Rosso, the president and founder of Diesel SpA, the innovative Italian casual wear company famous for its controversial 'For Successful Living' advertising campaign, is pondering how to brand its new upscale line of clothing: StyleLab. The objectives set for StyleLab are: (1) to enter the new and attractive high casual wear market; (2) to create an aura of prestige for the core D-Diesel line; and (3) to provide Diesel's designers with the opportunity to experiment with new cuts and fabrics, which may eventually trickle down to the main D-Diesel brand. Please visit the http://cases.insead.edu/diesel/ (copy and paste the url into a browser) to access Diesel's television commercials and PowerPoint presentations of all case exhibits and print advertising campaigns.
Swot Analysis of "Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry" written by Vadim Grigorian, Pierre Chandon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Diesel Diesel's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Diesel Diesel's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Diesel Diesel's 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 Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Diesel Diesel's
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 Diesel Diesel's
Strengths Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Diesel Diesel's in Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Diesel Diesel's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Diesel Diesel's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Diesel Diesel's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Diesel Diesel's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Diesel Diesel's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Diesel Diesel's 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 Diesel Diesel's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Diesel Diesel's in the sector have low bargaining power. Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Diesel Diesel's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Diesel Diesel's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Diesel Diesel's 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.
Analytics focus
– Diesel Diesel's 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 Vadim Grigorian, Pierre Chandon 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Diesel Diesel's 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Diesel Diesel's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Diesel Diesel's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Diesel Diesel's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Diesel Diesel's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Diesel Diesel's 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Diesel Diesel's 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Diesel Diesel's has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Diesel Diesel's even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry HBR case study mentions - Diesel Diesel's takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Diesel Diesel's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Diesel Diesel's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Diesel Diesel's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Diesel Diesel's 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Diesel Diesel's 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Diesel Diesel's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry, in the dynamic environment Diesel Diesel's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Diesel Diesel's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry, 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Diesel Diesel's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry | 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 Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Diesel Diesel's 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Diesel Diesel's 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.
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 Diesel Diesel's 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Diesel Diesel's 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, Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Diesel Diesel's 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Diesel Diesel's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Diesel Diesel's 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Diesel Diesel's 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Diesel Diesel's to increase its market reach. Diesel Diesel's 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Diesel Diesel's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Diesel Diesel's 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 Diesel Diesel's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Diesel Diesel's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Diesel Diesel's in the consumer business. Now Diesel Diesel's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry are -
Regulatory challenges
– Diesel Diesel's needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Diesel Diesel's
– 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 Diesel Diesel's.
Environmental challenges
– Diesel Diesel's 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. Diesel Diesel's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Diesel Diesel's in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Diesel Diesel's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Diesel Diesel's is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Diesel Diesel's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Diesel Diesel's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Diesel Diesel's.
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. Diesel Diesel's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Diesel Diesel's 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry 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 Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry 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 Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry 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 Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry 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 Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry 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 Diesel Diesel's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
Feel free to connect with us if you need business research.
You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry
