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 - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, 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 -
Training and development
– Diesel Diesel's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Strong track record of project management
– Diesel Diesel's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Diesel Diesel's 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Diesel Diesel's 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 Diesel Diesel's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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.
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 -
Lack of clear differentiation of Diesel Diesel's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Diesel Diesel's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Diesel Diesel's 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.
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.
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 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 Diesel Diesel's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Diesel Diesel's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry 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 Diesel Diesel's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Diesel Diesel's has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
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.
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.
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 -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Diesel Diesel's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Diesel Diesel's 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 Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Diesel Diesel's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Diesel Diesel's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Diesel Diesel's 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, Diesel Diesel's 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.
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.
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.
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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Diesel Diesel's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Diesel Diesel's 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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. Diesel Diesel's 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Diesel for Successful Living: Branding Strategies for an Up-market Line Extension in the Fashion Industry, Diesel Diesel's 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 .
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.
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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Diesel Diesel's 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Diesel Diesel's 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.
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.
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 Diesel Diesel's in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Diesel Diesel's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Diesel Diesel's 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.
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.
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.
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.
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