vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants
This case, "vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants," introduces students to a unique partnership in the social media advertising world. Preppy clothing powerhouse vineyard vines had a history of interacting with its customers by featuring user-generated content in its catalogs and on its website and decided to continue this tradition on social media by partnering with a group of fans called The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants. This successful and authentic social media marketing campaign resulted in increased sales for vineyard vines and influencer status for the members of The Brotherhood. At the end of the campaign, the vineyard vines marketing team is left debating how to grow its social media presence through partnerships. The case has been used as part of a social media marketing course and would be effective in any undergraduate- or graduate-level marketing course.
Authors :: Meghan Murray, Matthew Loftus, I.S. Dunklin
Swot Analysis of "vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants" written by Meghan Murray, Matthew Loftus, I.S. Dunklin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Vines Vineyard facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social platforms and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants casestudy better are - – technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, 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, geopolitical disruptions,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Vines Vineyard, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Vines Vineyard 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 vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Vines Vineyard
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 Vines Vineyard
Strengths vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Vines Vineyard in vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Vines Vineyard has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Vines Vineyard 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Vines Vineyard 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 vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Vines Vineyard in the sector have low bargaining power. vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Vines Vineyard to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Vines Vineyard has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Vines Vineyard in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Vines Vineyard 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 Vines Vineyard is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Vines Vineyard is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Vines Vineyard 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 vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Vines Vineyard is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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 Vines Vineyard 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.
High brand equity
– Vines Vineyard has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Vines Vineyard to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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 Vines Vineyard 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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 vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Vines Vineyard is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Vines Vineyard, firm in the HBR case study vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Vines Vineyard 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Vines Vineyard 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Vines Vineyard 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.
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 Vines Vineyard supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Vines Vineyard vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Vines Vineyard 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants, is just above the industry average. Vines Vineyard 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Vines Vineyard 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Vines Vineyard 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 - vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants | 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 vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Vines Vineyard 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
– Vines Vineyard 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Vines Vineyard 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 vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Vines Vineyard to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Vines Vineyard is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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.
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 Vines Vineyard 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Vines Vineyard 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.
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 Vines Vineyard in the consumer business. Now Vines Vineyard can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Vines Vineyard can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Vines Vineyard has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Vines Vineyard to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants case study. Vines Vineyard 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, Vines Vineyard 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, vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Vines Vineyard can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Vines Vineyard 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Vines Vineyard 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 Vines Vineyard to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants are -
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. Vines Vineyard can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Vines Vineyard 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Vines Vineyard 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.
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 Vines Vineyard in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Vines Vineyard with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Vines Vineyard 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
– Vines Vineyard 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. Vines Vineyard can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Vines Vineyard is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants, Vines Vineyard 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 .
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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Vines Vineyard has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Vines Vineyard 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Vines Vineyard 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.
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 Vines Vineyard.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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 vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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 vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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 vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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 vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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 Vines Vineyard needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
