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Fabric Super-Store (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Fabric Super-Store (B)


The two entrepreneurs met with Fabric Super-Store's executive management team to present an offer to purchase the Kitchener store and a right of first refusal (ROR) on a second, nearby location in Cambridge. Upon consideration and rejection of the ROR, management responded with an intriguing counter-offer in terms of a "vendor take-back" offer (VTB). Fabric Super-Store offered vendor financing terms over three years provided the entrepreneurs purchased both locations. Somewhat complicating their decision to buy was discovering that the Cambridge location had machinery much newer and larger than that in the Kitchener store. Should Cambridge be sold to another party, it could threaten the success of the Kitchener store. The entrepreneurs concluded that they would either need to buy both locations, or pass on the opportunity completely. What to do?

Authors :: David Simpson, Colin McDougall

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Financial management, Negotiations, Risk management, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Fabric Super-Store (B)" written by David Simpson, Colin McDougall includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kitchener Fabric facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Fabric Super-Store (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Negotiations, Risk management and Strategy & Execution.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Fabric Super-Store (B) casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Fabric Super-Store (B)


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Fabric Super-Store (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kitchener Fabric, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kitchener Fabric 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 Fabric Super-Store (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Fabric Super-Store (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kitchener Fabric
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Kitchener Fabric




Strengths Fabric Super-Store (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Kitchener Fabric in Fabric Super-Store (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Fabric Super-Store (B) 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 Strategy & Execution industry

– Fabric Super-Store (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kitchener Fabric to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kitchener Fabric to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

High brand equity

– Kitchener Fabric has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kitchener Fabric to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Kitchener Fabric 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 Fabric Super-Store (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Kitchener Fabric 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.

Analytics focus

– Kitchener Fabric 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 David Simpson, Colin McDougall 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Kitchener Fabric is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Fabric Super-Store (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Kitchener Fabric has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kitchener Fabric 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.

Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kitchener Fabric digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kitchener Fabric 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Kitchener Fabric 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

– Kitchener Fabric is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Fabric Super-Store (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Organizational Resilience of Kitchener Fabric

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Kitchener Fabric does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.






Weaknesses Fabric Super-Store (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Fabric Super-Store (B) are -

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Kitchener Fabric, firm in the HBR case study Fabric Super-Store (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Fabric Super-Store (B), is just above the industry average. Kitchener Fabric 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Fabric Super-Store (B) HBR case study mentions - Kitchener Fabric 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Fabric Super-Store (B) 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 Fabric Super-Store (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kitchener Fabric is planning to shift buying processes online.

Lack of clear differentiation of Kitchener Fabric products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Kitchener Fabric needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Fabric Super-Store (B) 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 Kitchener Fabric has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Fabric Super-Store (B), in the dynamic environment Kitchener Fabric has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Kitchener Fabric has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Kitchener Fabric 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Fabric Super-Store (B), it seems that the employees of Kitchener Fabric 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Kitchener Fabric 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. Kitchener Fabric 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 Fabric Super-Store (B), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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 Fabric Super-Store (B) | 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 Fabric Super-Store (B) are -

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kitchener Fabric 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, Fabric Super-Store (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

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 Kitchener Fabric 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Kitchener Fabric 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 Strategy & Execution segment.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kitchener Fabric 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Kitchener Fabric can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Fabric Super-Store (B) 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Kitchener Fabric can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Kitchener Fabric 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Kitchener Fabric can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Kitchener Fabric can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Kitchener Fabric 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Kitchener Fabric in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Kitchener Fabric has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kitchener Fabric to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Fabric Super-Store (B) case study. Kitchener Fabric can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Kitchener Fabric 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 Fabric Super-Store (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kitchener Fabric to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.




Threats Fabric Super-Store (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Fabric Super-Store (B) 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. Kitchener Fabric 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kitchener Fabric with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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 Kitchener Fabric in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kitchener Fabric 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 Fabric Super-Store (B) .

Regulatory challenges

– Kitchener Fabric needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Strategy & Execution industry regulations.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Kitchener Fabric has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kitchener Fabric needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Fabric Super-Store (B), Kitchener Fabric may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .

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 Kitchener Fabric.

Increasing wage structure of Kitchener Fabric

– 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 Kitchener Fabric.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Kitchener Fabric 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 Kitchener Fabric is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Kitchener Fabric demand

– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Fabric Super-Store (B) 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 Fabric Super-Store (B) 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 Fabric Super-Store (B) 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 Fabric Super-Store (B) 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 Fabric Super-Store (B) 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 Kitchener Fabric needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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