Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand
In 1982, Saab opened his first atelier in Beirut and began designing luxurious evening gowns and exquisite wedding dresses. His talent for design fuelled his career throughout the 1980s. In the 1990s, Saab continued to expand his business by moving to a larger atelier in Beirut and organizing exclusive fashion shows in Europe. In 2000, he opened a salon and showroom in Paris to increase his cosmopolitan and international clientele. A flagship store in Paris opened in March 2007. In June 2010, Elie Saab (ES) opened its first flagship store in the Gulf region in Dubai's prestigious Dubai Mall. This new flagship store reinforced the brand's presence in the United Arab Emirates, making its products more accessible to the region's local and international shoppers. The store showcased day and evening wear dresses, shoes, bags and accessories from the latest ready-to-wear (RTW) collections. In July 2008, ES opened its first U.K. boutique at Harrods. The company planned to increase its worldwide retail presence through opening additional stores in major cities around the world, including the United States and Asia. While the company was witnessing impressive growth, management was dealing with the challenge of selecting the right partners, identifying new markets with the greatest growth potential and, most importantly, protecting the brand from dilution. From the start, its goal was to "attract, select and maintain customers who place significance on high-end, one-of-a-kind designs made from the finest fabrics and materials." The case covers the challenges and opportunities of the company as it expands internationally.
Swot Analysis of "Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand" written by Nadia Shuayto includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Saab Atelier facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Saab Atelier, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Saab Atelier 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 Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Saab Atelier
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 Saab Atelier
Strengths Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Saab Atelier in Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Saab Atelier 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 Saab Atelier is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Saab Atelier has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand 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 Saab Atelier 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand 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.
Analytics focus
– Saab Atelier 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 Nadia Shuayto 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Saab Atelier is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Saab Atelier is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Saab Atelier is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Saab Atelier digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Saab Atelier has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High brand equity
– Saab Atelier has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Saab Atelier to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Saab Atelier
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Saab Atelier does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Saab Atelier 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 Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand are -
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 Saab Atelier supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Saab Atelier vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand 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 Saab Atelier 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Saab Atelier 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand HBR case study mentions - Saab Atelier 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Saab Atelier 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand, 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand, it seems that the employees of Saab Atelier 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Saab Atelier is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Saab Atelier needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Saab Atelier to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Saab Atelier 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Saab Atelier 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 - Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Saab Atelier is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand | 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 Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand are -
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. Saab Atelier 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. Saab Atelier 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.
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. Saab Atelier can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Saab Atelier 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 Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Saab Atelier 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, Saab Atelier can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Saab Atelier operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Saab Atelier 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 Saab Atelier in the consumer business. Now Saab Atelier can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Saab Atelier can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Saab Atelier can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Saab Atelier 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Saab Atelier 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Saab Atelier has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Saab Atelier to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand case study. Saab Atelier can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Saab Atelier 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Saab Atelier 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.
Threats Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand are -
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 Saab Atelier business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Saab Atelier has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Saab Atelier 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Saab Atelier 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Saab Atelier with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Saab Atelier 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Saab Atelier is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Saab Atelier 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.
Environmental challenges
– Saab Atelier 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. Saab Atelier can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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 Saab Atelier.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Saab Atelier 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 Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand, Saab Atelier 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 .
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. Saab Atelier 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand 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 Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand 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 Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand 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 Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand 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 Elie Saab: Growth of a Global Luxury Brand 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 Saab Atelier needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
