Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York
November 29, 2010 was "Cyber Monday," one of the busiest online shopping days of the year, with the potential to approach $1 billion in online sales in North America. The chief designer of fashion company Donna Karan New York (DKNY) was facing a difficult situation. On this particular Cyber Monday, activists for the animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) had posted simultaneous messages on DKNY's Facebook page. Anyone viewing the page could not fail to discern the message, "DK Bunny Butcher." This action by PETA was the culmination of several years, beginning in 2005, of attempting to convince DKNY to stop using fur in its collections. This November 29 message was a sharp reminder to both DKNY and its Cyber Monday customers that, to this point, the company had refused to stop including fur. This message was available to be viewed by DKNY's over 200,000 fans as well as the millions of online Cyber Monday shoppers. The chief designer was unsure how to respond: on one hand was the desire to clearly explain the use of fur, on the other was to avoid escalating the publicity surrounding the matter. She needed an immediate strategy that would retain her brand's image and protect future sales.
Authors :: Michael Sider, Paul Bigus
Topics :: Strategy & Execution
Tags :: International business, Leadership, Organizational culture, Social platforms, Strategy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York" written by Michael Sider, Paul Bigus includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cyber Dkny facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Leadership, Organizational culture, Social platforms, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cyber Dkny, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cyber Dkny 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 Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cyber Dkny
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 Cyber Dkny
Strengths Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cyber Dkny in Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Cyber Dkny
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cyber Dkny does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Cyber Dkny 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 Cyber Dkny is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Cyber Dkny has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cyber Dkny to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cyber Dkny to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cyber Dkny to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cyber Dkny in the sector have low bargaining power. Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cyber Dkny to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cyber Dkny 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
– Cyber Dkny 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 Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cyber Dkny digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cyber Dkny 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
– Cyber Dkny is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cyber Dkny 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
– Cyber Dkny is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York 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.
Weaknesses Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cyber Dkny 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cyber Dkny 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Cyber Dkny has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Need for greater diversity
– Cyber Dkny 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York, it seems that the employees of Cyber Dkny 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, Cyber Dkny 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. Cyber Dkny 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 Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York, 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York 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 Cyber Dkny has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York 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 Cyber Dkny 's lucrative customers.
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 Cyber Dkny supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cyber Dkny vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cyber Dkny products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cyber Dkny needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York | 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 Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cyber Dkny can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cyber Dkny operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Cyber Dkny can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
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 Cyber Dkny in the consumer business. Now Cyber Dkny can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cyber Dkny 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 Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cyber Dkny to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Cyber Dkny to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cyber Dkny 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 Cyber Dkny has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cyber Dkny to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York case study. Cyber Dkny can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Cyber Dkny can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cyber Dkny is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cyber Dkny 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cyber Dkny to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Cyber Dkny to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cyber Dkny to increase its market reach. Cyber Dkny 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cyber Dkny 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.
Threats Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York are -
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 Cyber Dkny in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cyber Dkny 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 Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York .
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cyber Dkny has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cyber Dkny 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.
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 Cyber Dkny.
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. Cyber Dkny 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
– Cyber Dkny 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. Cyber Dkny can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York, Cyber Dkny 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cyber Dkny is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cyber Dkny 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Cyber Dkny 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.
Increasing wage structure of Cyber Dkny
– 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 Cyber Dkny.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York 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 Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York 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 Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York 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 Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York 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 Bunny Butcher: PETA Protests Donna Karan New York 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 Cyber Dkny needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
