Swot Analysis of "Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store" written by Richard S. Tedlow includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nineteenth Retailing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nineteenth Retailing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nineteenth Retailing 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 Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nineteenth Retailing
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Nineteenth Retailing
Strengths Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nineteenth Retailing in Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Nineteenth Retailing digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Nineteenth Retailing 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.
Organizational Resilience of Nineteenth Retailing
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Nineteenth Retailing does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Nineteenth Retailing has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Nineteenth Retailing to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Nineteenth Retailing is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nineteenth Retailing is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Nineteenth Retailing 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 Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Nineteenth Retailing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Nineteenth Retailing 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 Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Nineteenth Retailing 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 S. Tedlow 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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Nineteenth Retailing 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 Nineteenth Retailing in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nineteenth Retailing to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nineteenth Retailing to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nineteenth Retailing in the sector have low bargaining power. Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nineteenth Retailing to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store are -
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 Nineteenth Retailing supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Nineteenth Retailing vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store HBR case study mentions - Nineteenth Retailing 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store 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 Nineteenth Retailing 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Nineteenth Retailing is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store 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 Nineteenth Retailing has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Nineteenth Retailing 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Nineteenth Retailing 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Nineteenth Retailing 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. Nineteenth Retailing 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Nineteenth Retailing, firm in the HBR case study Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store, in the dynamic environment Nineteenth Retailing has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nineteenth Retailing has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Nineteenth Retailing 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.
Opportunities Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store | 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 Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nineteenth Retailing 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, Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Nineteenth Retailing can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store 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, Nineteenth Retailing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nineteenth Retailing 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 Nineteenth Retailing 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nineteenth Retailing to increase its market reach. Nineteenth Retailing 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Nineteenth Retailing has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Nineteenth Retailing 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. Nineteenth Retailing 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.
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 Nineteenth Retailing 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nineteenth Retailing has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nineteenth Retailing to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store case study. Nineteenth Retailing can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Nineteenth Retailing 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 Global Business segment.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Nineteenth Retailing can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Nineteenth Retailing in the consumer business. Now Nineteenth Retailing can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store are -
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Nineteenth Retailing 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.
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
– Nineteenth Retailing 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 Global Business industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nineteenth Retailing 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 Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store .
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 Nineteenth Retailing.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Nineteenth Retailing can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Nineteenth Retailing in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.
Increasing wage structure of Nineteenth Retailing
– 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 Nineteenth Retailing.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nineteenth Retailing 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Nineteenth Retailing 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nineteenth Retailing is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Nineteenth Retailing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Nineteenth Retailing needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business 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.
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 Nineteenth Retailing business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store 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 Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store 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 Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store 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 Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store 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 Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store 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 Nineteenth Retailing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.