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 - – increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, 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 -
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.
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.
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.
Innovation driven organization
– Vines Vineyard is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Vines Vineyard 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 Meghan Murray, Matthew Loftus, I.S. Dunklin 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.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Vines Vineyard to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Vines Vineyard to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Vines Vineyard 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Vines Vineyard is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Vines Vineyard 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 Vines Vineyard in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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 -
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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Vines Vineyard 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.
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.
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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Vines Vineyard 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. Vines Vineyard 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants, it seems that the employees of Vines Vineyard don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
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.
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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants 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 Vines Vineyard has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Vines Vineyard products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Vines Vineyard needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Vines Vineyard 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Vines Vineyard can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Vines Vineyard operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Vines Vineyard 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.
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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Vines Vineyard to increase its market reach. Vines Vineyard 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Vines Vineyard can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
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. Vines Vineyard 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. Vines Vineyard 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. Vines Vineyard can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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. Vines Vineyard needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Vines Vineyard 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.
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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Vines Vineyard 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 vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants .
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 Vines Vineyard business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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.
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.
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.