Studio Alice Co Ltd (2305) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Photography
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Studio Alice Co Ltd (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Studio Alice Co Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Studio Alice Co Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Studio Alice Co Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Studio Alice Co Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Studio Alice Co Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Studio Alice Co Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Studio Alice Co Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Photography sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Studio Alice Co Ltd
Strengths of Studio Alice Co Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Studio Alice Co Ltd are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Studio Alice Co Ltd 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Studio Alice Co Ltd has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Photography industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Studio Alice Co Ltd have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Studio Alice Co Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Photography sector.
Digital Transformation in Photography industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Studio Alice Co Ltd digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Studio Alice Co Ltd 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Studio Alice Co Ltd 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Studio Alice Co Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Photography industry. This has provided Studio Alice Co Ltd 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Studio Alice Co Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Studio Alice Co Ltd 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Studio Alice Co Ltd is one of the leading players in the Photography industry in Japan. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Japan. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Photography
– Studio Alice Co Ltd is one of the leading players in the Photography industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Photography industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Studio Alice Co Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Studio Alice Co Ltd comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Photography 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Photography industry
– Studio Alice Co Ltd is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Studio Alice Co Ltd has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Studio Alice Co Ltd staying ahead in the Photography industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses of Studio Alice Co Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Studio Alice Co Ltd are -
Employees’ less understanding of Studio Alice Co Ltd strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Studio Alice Co Ltd 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.
High dependence on Studio Alice Co Ltd ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Studio Alice Co Ltd still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Photography industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Studio Alice Co Ltd has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Studio Alice Co Ltd is one of the leading players in the Photography industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Photography industry in last five years.
Need for greater diversity
– Studio Alice Co Ltd 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Studio Alice Co Ltd has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Photography industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Studio Alice Co Ltd has some of the most successful models in the Photography industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Studio Alice Co Ltd should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Studio Alice Co Ltd has high operating costs in the Photography industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Studio Alice Co Ltd lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Photography industry using digital technology.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Japan, Studio Alice Co Ltd needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Studio Alice Co Ltd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Studio Alice Co Ltd needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Studio Alice Co Ltd, in the dynamic environment of Photography industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Studio Alice Co Ltd has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Studio Alice Co Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Studio Alice Co Ltd are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Studio Alice Co Ltd to increase its market reach. Studio Alice Co Ltd 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Studio Alice Co Ltd in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Photography industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Studio Alice Co Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Photography 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. Studio Alice Co Ltd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Studio Alice Co Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Studio Alice Co Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Photography sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Studio Alice Co Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Photography industry. This can help Studio Alice Co Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Studio Alice Co Ltd products in the Photography industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Studio Alice Co Ltd 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Studio Alice Co Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Photography sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Studio Alice Co Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Studio Alice Co Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Studio Alice Co Ltd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Studio Alice Co Ltd to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Photography industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Studio Alice Co Ltd can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Photography industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Studio Alice Co Ltd in the Photography industry. Now Studio Alice Co Ltd can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Studio Alice Co Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Photography industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It 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.
Threats Studio Alice Co Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Studio Alice Co Ltd are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Photography industry and other sectors.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Studio Alice Co Ltd in Photography industry. The Photography 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Photography industry are lowering. It can presents Studio Alice Co Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Photography sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Studio Alice Co Ltd prominent markets.
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. Studio Alice Co Ltd 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
– Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Photography industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Studio Alice Co Ltd 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. Studio Alice Co Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Photography industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Photography industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Studio Alice Co Ltd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Photography industry.
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.
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.
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 Studio Alice Co Ltd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Studio Alice Co Ltd is facing in Photography sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Studio Alice Co Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Studio Alice Co Ltd 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 Studio Alice Co Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.