Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries
WGSN is the world's largest fashion trend forecasting agency, supplying services to 95% of the Fortune 500 fashion brands. The case examines the global strategy of WGSN, which strives to enrich its robust online platform while adding more physical presence in the markets where it is growing, particularly in North America and Asia. The case examines the role of style in fashion by focusing of the content it provides to fashion designers, buyers, merchandizers and executives. The flagship market for WGSN, the fashion industry, is divided into 14 product categories each of which require a high level of expertise on the part of the firm's trend analysts. WGSN covers all aspects of the fashion calendar from the collections to the catwalks, from ads to in-store displays. Clients use WGSN's curated platform to design, buy and price products in line with market trends. The case also examines a gap in WGSN's global presence, the French market, where local competitors defend their market share with a combination of trend books and online data. A pure player like WGSN faces strong headwinds in this key location.
Authors :: Frederic Godart, David Dubois, Brian Henry
Swot Analysis of "Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries" written by Frederic Godart, David Dubois, Brian Henry includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wgsn Fashion facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Sales and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wgsn Fashion, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wgsn Fashion 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 Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wgsn Fashion
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Wgsn Fashion
Strengths Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wgsn Fashion in Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Wgsn Fashion in the sector have low bargaining power. Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Wgsn Fashion to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Wgsn Fashion are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Wgsn Fashion to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Wgsn Fashion to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Wgsn Fashion 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 brand equity
– Wgsn Fashion has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wgsn Fashion to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Wgsn Fashion 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 Wgsn Fashion is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Wgsn Fashion has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Wgsn Fashion in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Wgsn Fashion 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 Wgsn Fashion in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Wgsn Fashion is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Wgsn Fashion 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 Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries, is just above the industry average. Wgsn Fashion 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Wgsn Fashion 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Wgsn Fashion 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries 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 Wgsn Fashion has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries, it seems that the employees of Wgsn Fashion 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Wgsn Fashion 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 - Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Wgsn Fashion products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Wgsn Fashion needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries 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 Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Wgsn Fashion is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Wgsn Fashion supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Wgsn Fashion vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Wgsn Fashion, firm in the HBR case study Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries | 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 Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Wgsn Fashion is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wgsn Fashion can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wgsn Fashion operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Wgsn Fashion can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Wgsn Fashion 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, Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries, 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 Wgsn Fashion to increase its market reach. Wgsn Fashion 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
– Wgsn Fashion can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wgsn Fashion 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.
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. Wgsn Fashion can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Wgsn Fashion 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 Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Wgsn Fashion to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Wgsn Fashion 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 Wgsn Fashion in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Wgsn Fashion can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wgsn Fashion can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Wgsn Fashion 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 Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries .
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. Wgsn Fashion needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Wgsn Fashion has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Wgsn Fashion needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Wgsn Fashion in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Wgsn Fashion in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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
– Wgsn Fashion 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Wgsn Fashion 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. Wgsn Fashion can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Wgsn Fashion with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries, Wgsn Fashion may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Wgsn Fashion is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Wgsn Fashion.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Wgsn Fashion can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries 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 Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries 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 Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries 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 Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries 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 Re-Defining WSGN's Value Proposition and Positioning: Insight Generation for Fashion and Lifestyle Industries 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 Wgsn Fashion needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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