Case Study Description of NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING
Peter looked out of his window. His window. He liked the sound of that. It had taken him 15 years of discipline and hard work to reach this point. And 2007 was going to be the year of Noir/Illuminati II. So far, after nine months, it looked very promising. Peter Ingwersen founded the companies in February 2005. The two entities were like Siamese twins; Noir designed and produced luxury clothing for women, while Illuminati II was set up to produce high quality cotton fabrics both for Noir and other leading fashion brands. Together, they provided the basis for a totally new concept in fashion. Over the years, Peter had attended many fashion shows all over world and had become both aware and very concerned by the total lack of "social substance" of many of the major fashion companies. Was fashion just the ultimate personalization of some of the worst aspects of human behavior? Was it all about egocentrism and showing off? Could something be done to bring back meaning and substance to the world of fashion? Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was making its way into most other industries: why could it not infiltrate fashion? Was there any way to improve the "feel good" factor of beautiful clothes with a clear social responsibility message? Could egocentrism rhyme with eco-friendliness? Conceptually it was very clear: Noir/Illuminati II would define socially responsible affordable luxury clothing. Putting the concept into operation was the real challenge. Building a brand on social awareness, or the guilt of conspicuous consumption, could clearly be a two-edged sword. Would customers buy the story? Even more pressing, would investors follow him in this venture? Learning objectives: Developing a brand, building CSR into an offering, fair-trade concepts, certified organic productions, managing growth in the fashion business, corporate communication, financing fast growth, product positioning.
Swot Analysis of "NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING" written by Benoit Leleux, Barbara Scheel includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Noir Fashion facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social responsibility and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Noir Fashion, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Noir 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 NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Noir 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 Noir Fashion
Strengths NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Noir Fashion in NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Noir Fashion 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 Benoit Leleux, Barbara Scheel 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.
Organizational Resilience of Noir Fashion
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Noir Fashion does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Noir Fashion has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Noir Fashion is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Noir 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 Noir Fashion in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Noir 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.
Learning organization
- Noir 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 Noir Fashion is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Noir Fashion has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Noir Fashion has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Noir 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 NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Noir Fashion 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 NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Noir Fashion is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Noir Fashion digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Noir Fashion 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.
Weaknesses NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING, in the dynamic environment Noir Fashion has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Noir Fashion has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Noir Fashion 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. Noir Fashion 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Noir Fashion has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING, it seems that the employees of Noir 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Noir Fashion has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Noir Fashion is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Noir 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Noir 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Noir Fashion 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING, is just above the industry average. Noir 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING HBR case study mentions - Noir Fashion 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.
Opportunities NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING | 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 NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING are -
Loyalty marketing
– Noir Fashion 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.
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 Noir Fashion 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Noir 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Noir Fashion is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Noir Fashion to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Noir Fashion to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Noir 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 NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Noir Fashion to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Noir Fashion can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Noir Fashion operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Noir 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, NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Noir Fashion can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Noir 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Noir Fashion 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
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 Noir Fashion in the consumer business. Now Noir Fashion can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Noir Fashion to increase its market reach. Noir 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.
Threats NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING 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. Noir Fashion 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Noir Fashion high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Regulatory challenges
– Noir 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
– Noir 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. Noir Fashion can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Noir Fashion is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Noir Fashion 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Noir 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 NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING, Noir 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 .
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 Noir Fashion in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Noir Fashion 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.
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 Noir Fashion business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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. Noir Fashion needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING 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 NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING 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 NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING 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 NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING 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 NOIR/ILLUMINATI II (A): DEFINING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AFFORDABLE LUXURY CLOTHING 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 Noir Fashion needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
