Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand
To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.In its third year of existence and poised to double its workforce, Warby Parker attributed its success to an innovative approach in the eyewear industry and to the company culture that supported it. With a mission combining social and business goals, the company had articulated a stakeholder-centric model that benefited consumers through high-quality, fashionable, and affordable eyewear: the global community by donating, through sustainable channels, one pair of glasses per every pair sold; employees through a fun culture and inspiring work; and the environment, by becoming carbon neutral. The case covers the decisions that Warby Parker must make at the beginning of its third year of existence as a consequence of growth and in order to avoid losing momentum. Some of the challenges that Warby Parker faced were maintaining the company culture, finding adequate partners to preserve the quality of the "Buy a Pair, Give a Pair" program, and devising an integrated online and offline marketing strategy that fit the brand personality.
Swot Analysis of "Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand" written by Christopher Marquis, Laura Velez Villa includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Warby Pair facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Growth strategy, Health, Innovation, Organizational culture, Social responsibility and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Warby Pair, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Warby Pair 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 Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Warby Pair
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Warby Pair
Strengths Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Warby Pair in Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Warby Pair is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand 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 Warby Pair in the sector have low bargaining power. Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Warby Pair to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Warby Pair 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 Warby Pair is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Warby Pair is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Warby Pair 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 Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Warby Pair
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Warby Pair does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Warby Pair digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Warby Pair 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
– Warby Pair 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 Warby Pair 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.
Training and development
– Warby Pair has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High brand equity
– Warby Pair has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Warby Pair to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Warby Pair 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 Christopher Marquis, Laura Velez Villa 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.
Weaknesses Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand, it seems that the employees of Warby Pair 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Warby Pair is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Warby Pair needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Warby Pair to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand 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 Warby Pair 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand 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 Warby Pair has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Warby Pair 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand, in the dynamic environment Warby Pair has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Warby Pair has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Warby Pair, firm in the HBR case study Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Warby Pair is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand 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 Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Warby Pair is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Warby Pair 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand, is just above the industry average. Warby Pair 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.
Opportunities Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand | 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 Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand are -
Buying journey improvements
– Warby Pair can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand 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, Warby Pair 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.
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 Warby Pair in the consumer business. Now Warby Pair can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Warby Pair 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Warby Pair 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. Warby Pair 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Warby Pair 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Warby Pair 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 Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Warby Pair 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 Warby Pair 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Warby Pair 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, Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Warby Pair to increase its market reach. Warby Pair 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
– Warby Pair can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Warby Pair can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Warby Pair can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Threats Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Warby Pair with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Warby Pair is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Warby Pair
– 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 Warby Pair.
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 Warby Pair in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline 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. Warby Pair 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Warby Pair 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
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
– Warby Pair has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Warby Pair needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand, Warby Pair may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Warby Pair can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Warby Pair 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.
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. Warby Pair needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand 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 Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand 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 Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand 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 Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand 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 Warby Parker: Vision of a "Good" Fashion Brand 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 Warby Pair needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.