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Nasty Gals Do It Better SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Nasty Gals Do It Better


In 2006, Sophia Amoruso started Nasty Gal, an eBay boutique selling vintage clothes. With a strong sense of style and personality, Amoruso poured herself into building the brand and developing relationships with her customers - typically the slightly edgy 18-24 year old. The company had grown since that time into a multi-category retailer, expanding into third party clothing, accessories and its own private label. Its explosive growth was one of the biggest stories in e-commerce, especially when the retailer attracted $50m in investment from Index Ventures, a top VC firm that funded other successful retailers such as Net-a-Porter and Etsy, in 2013. Yet, with a cash infusion, plans for a brick and mortar store, an ever-growing e-commerce site, and fierce competition, Amoruso wondered what opportunity to tackle next. Should she concentrate on product line expansion into lingerie, swimwear, cosmetics and fragrances? How would a brick and mortar store impact the focus of the company or its ability to develop customized web sites for overseas markets? How would she maintain the detail and attention she had put into so many aspects of the company as Nasty Gal grew? As Sophia's time was limited and management resources were already spread thin to sustain the existing site's growth, what was the best way forward?

Authors :: David J. Collis, Diane Chang, Matthew Shaffer, Ashley Hartman

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Growth strategy, Social platforms, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Nasty Gals Do It Better" written by David J. Collis, Diane Chang, Matthew Shaffer, Ashley Hartman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Amoruso Nasty facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Nasty Gals Do It Better case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Social platforms and Strategy & Execution.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Nasty Gals Do It Better casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, 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 household debt because of falling income levels, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nasty Gals Do It Better


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Nasty Gals Do It Better case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Amoruso Nasty, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Amoruso Nasty 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 Nasty Gals Do It Better can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Nasty Gals Do It Better case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Amoruso Nasty
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 Amoruso Nasty




Strengths Nasty Gals Do It Better | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Amoruso Nasty in Nasty Gals Do It Better Harvard Business Review case study are -

Training and development

– Amoruso Nasty has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Nasty Gals Do It Better 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 Amoruso Nasty 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

– Amoruso Nasty is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Nasty Gals Do It Better are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Strong track record of project management

– Amoruso Nasty is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Amoruso Nasty in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field

– Amoruso Nasty 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 Amoruso Nasty in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Organizational Resilience of Amoruso Nasty

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

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry

– Nasty Gals Do It Better firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Amoruso Nasty to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Amoruso Nasty to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Amoruso Nasty is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Nasty Gals Do It Better Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Amoruso Nasty in the sector have low bargaining power. Nasty Gals Do It Better has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Amoruso Nasty to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Diverse revenue streams

– Amoruso Nasty is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Nasty Gals Do It Better 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.

Learning organization

- Amoruso Nasty 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 Amoruso Nasty is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Nasty Gals Do It Better Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.






Weaknesses Nasty Gals Do It Better | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Nasty Gals Do It Better are -

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Nasty Gals Do It Better 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 Amoruso Nasty has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Amoruso Nasty 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Amoruso Nasty 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Amoruso Nasty 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.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Nasty Gals Do It Better, 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Nasty Gals Do It Better 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 Amoruso Nasty 's lucrative customers.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Nasty Gals Do It Better, in the dynamic environment Amoruso Nasty has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Amoruso Nasty has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Amoruso Nasty has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Nasty Gals Do It Better 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 Nasty Gals Do It Better can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Amoruso Nasty is planning to shift buying processes online.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Amoruso Nasty 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. Amoruso Nasty 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Amoruso Nasty 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.




Opportunities Nasty Gals Do It Better | 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 Nasty Gals Do It Better are -

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Amoruso Nasty has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Amoruso Nasty to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Nasty Gals Do It Better case study. Amoruso Nasty 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

– Amoruso Nasty 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 Nasty Gals Do It Better - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Amoruso Nasty to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Amoruso Nasty 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.

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. Amoruso Nasty can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Amoruso Nasty to increase its market reach. Amoruso Nasty 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Amoruso Nasty can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Nasty Gals Do It Better 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Amoruso Nasty is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Nasty Gals Do It Better 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.

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. Amoruso Nasty 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 Amoruso Nasty can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Amoruso Nasty 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, Nasty Gals Do It Better, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

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 Amoruso Nasty in the consumer business. Now Amoruso Nasty can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Amoruso Nasty 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, Amoruso Nasty can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Amoruso Nasty operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.




Threats Nasty Gals Do It Better External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Nasty Gals Do It Better are -

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. Amoruso Nasty can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Amoruso Nasty has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Amoruso Nasty 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Amoruso Nasty 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 Nasty Gals Do It Better .

Consumer confidence and its impact on Amoruso Nasty 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.

Increasing wage structure of Amoruso Nasty

– 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 Amoruso Nasty.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Amoruso Nasty 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Amoruso Nasty is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Amoruso Nasty 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Amoruso Nasty 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.

Environmental challenges

– Amoruso Nasty 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. Amoruso Nasty can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.

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 Amoruso Nasty business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nasty Gals Do It Better 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 Nasty Gals Do It Better 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 Nasty Gals Do It Better 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 Nasty Gals Do It Better 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 Nasty Gals Do It Better 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 Amoruso Nasty needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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