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Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy


A turnaround CEO engineers a business transformation and formulates short-term and long-term strategy after assessing the business situation.

Authors :: Richard L. Nolan

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: Leadership, Reorganization, Strategy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy" written by Richard L. Nolan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Formulates Ashley facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Reorganization, Strategy and Technology & Operations.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy


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




Strengths Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Formulates Ashley in Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -

Superior customer experience

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

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry

– Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Formulates Ashley to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Formulates Ashley to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Strong track record of project management

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

Training and development

– Formulates Ashley has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Formulates Ashley is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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.

Analytics focus

– Formulates Ashley 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 Richard L. Nolan 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

– Formulates Ashley is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field

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

Organizational Resilience of Formulates Ashley

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

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Formulates Ashley 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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 Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy are -

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Richard L. Nolan suggests that, Formulates Ashley is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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 Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Formulates Ashley is planning to shift buying processes online.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy HBR case study mentions - Formulates Ashley 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Formulates Ashley is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Formulates Ashley is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Formulates Ashley needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Formulates Ashley to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy, it seems that the employees of Formulates Ashley don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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 Formulates Ashley 's lucrative customers.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy, is just above the industry average. Formulates Ashley 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Formulates Ashley 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 - Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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 Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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 Formulates Ashley has relatively successful track record of launching new products.




Opportunities Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy | 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 Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy are -

Buying journey improvements

– Formulates Ashley can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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.

Creating value in data economy

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

Reforming the budgeting process

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

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Formulates Ashley 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. Formulates Ashley 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.

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

Lowering marketing communication costs

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

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Formulates Ashley 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Formulates Ashley 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Formulates Ashley can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

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

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Formulates Ashley can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Formulates Ashley operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Formulates Ashley 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 Technology & Operations segment.

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 Formulates Ashley 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.




Threats Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy are -

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Formulates Ashley 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 Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy .

Increasing wage structure of Formulates Ashley

– 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 Formulates Ashley.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Formulates Ashley 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy, Formulates Ashley may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Formulates Ashley has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Formulates Ashley needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.

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.

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 Formulates Ashley in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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 Formulates Ashley.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Formulates Ashley 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.

Environmental challenges

– Formulates Ashley 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. Formulates Ashley can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations 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 Formulates Ashley business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Formulates Ashley in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Formulates Ashley 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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 Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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 Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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 Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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 Laura Ashley (B): Defining a Strategy 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 Formulates Ashley needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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