Case Study Description of Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail
TCNS Clothing Company Limited (TCNS), the owner of women's fusion-wear brands W, Weve, Aurelia, and Wishful, had built up a strong retail brand presence in India since its founding in 2002. By 2017, its product innovation, proactive customer need fulfillment, and extensive retail reach had enabled it to grow into a 11.5 billion company. The W brand had been building its online presence, but this was still contributing only single-digit shares to sales. Faced with issues of declining loyalty and increasing expectations of digitally influenced consumers, retailers in India were moving toward omni-channel strategies. In early 2018, this seemed to have become an imperative for W as well. Was it now time for W to pursue an omni-channel retail strategy to offer its customers an unbeatable experience? An infusion of funds from two major investors had given the company significant financial muscle to pursue aggressive marketing. Yet, the challenges of going omni-channel were considerable. How should W proceed? Jones Mathew is affiliated with Great Lakes Institute of Management. Banasree Dey is affiliated with Jaipuria Institute of Management. Sandeep Puri is affiliated with Asian Institute of Management.
Authors :: Jones Mathew, Banasree Dey, Sandeep Puri
Swot Analysis of "Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail" written by Jones Mathew, Banasree Dey, Sandeep Puri includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Omni Tcns facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Omni Tcns, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Omni Tcns 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 Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Omni Tcns
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Omni Tcns
Strengths Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Omni Tcns in Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Omni Tcns is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Omni Tcns in the sector have low bargaining power. Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Omni Tcns to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Omni Tcns
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Omni Tcns does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Omni Tcns 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 Omni Tcns in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Omni Tcns in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Omni Tcns 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 Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Omni Tcns 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 Omni Tcns is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Omni Tcns 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 Jones Mathew, Banasree Dey, Sandeep Puri 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Omni Tcns digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Omni Tcns 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
– Omni Tcns 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 Omni Tcns 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Omni Tcns 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 Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Omni Tcns 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail 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 Omni Tcns has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Omni Tcns 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Omni Tcns 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail 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 Omni Tcns 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail, is just above the industry average. Omni Tcns 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Omni Tcns is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential 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 Omni Tcns supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Omni Tcns vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Omni Tcns 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail HBR case study mentions - Omni Tcns 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 Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail 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 Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Omni Tcns is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail | 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 Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail 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, Omni Tcns can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Omni Tcns operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Omni Tcns is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Omni Tcns 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, Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail, 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 Omni Tcns in the consumer business. Now Omni Tcns can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Omni Tcns 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. Omni Tcns 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Omni Tcns 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Omni Tcns can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Omni Tcns 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Omni Tcns to increase its market reach. Omni Tcns 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Omni Tcns can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Buying journey improvements
– Omni Tcns can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Omni Tcns 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Omni Tcns in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail are -
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.
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. Omni Tcns 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Omni Tcns 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 Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail .
Environmental challenges
– Omni Tcns 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. Omni Tcns can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Omni Tcns 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Omni Tcns 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail, Omni Tcns may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Omni Tcns with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Omni Tcns needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Omni Tcns is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Omni Tcns can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Omni Tcns 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail 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 Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail 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 Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail 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 Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail 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 Brand W: Strategizing for Omni-Channel Retail 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 Omni Tcns needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.