Harbin Churin Group Jointstock (600891) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Retail (Department & Discount)
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Harbin Churin Group Jointstock (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Harbin Churin Group Jointstock is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Harbin Churin Group Jointstock can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Harbin Churin Group Jointstock, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Harbin Churin Group Jointstock can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock
2. Improving business portfolio management of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Retail (Department & Discount) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock
Strengths of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock are -
High brand equity
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Harbin Churin Group Jointstock to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock in Retail (Department & Discount) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Retail (Department & Discount)
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock is one of the leading players in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Harbin Churin Group Jointstock in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Retail (Department & Discount) industry. The technology infrastructure of China is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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.
Learning organization
- Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Harbin Churin Group Jointstock is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Harbin Churin Group Jointstock emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Retail (Department & Discount) industry
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Harbin Churin Group Jointstock to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Harbin Churin Group Jointstock to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Retail (Department & Discount) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Harbin Churin Group Jointstock staying ahead in the Retail (Department & Discount) 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
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock is one of the leading players in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry in China. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in China. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Harbin Churin Group Jointstock has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Harbin Churin Group Jointstock to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Retail (Department & Discount) industry using digital technology.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Harbin Churin Group Jointstock to provide better information regarding Retail (Department & Discount) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ less understanding of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry over the last five years. Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 in Retail (Department & Discount) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry, but Harbin Churin Group Jointstock needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Harbin Churin Group Jointstock to focus more on services in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock has high operating costs in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Harbin Churin Group Jointstock lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Retail (Department & Discount) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Retail (Department & Discount) industry. 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Harbin Churin Group Jointstock has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Harbin Churin Group Jointstock Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock are -
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Retail (Department & Discount) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Harbin Churin Group Jointstock in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry. Now Harbin Churin Group Jointstock can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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. Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Harbin Churin Group Jointstock in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Retail (Department & Discount) industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Harbin Churin Group Jointstock to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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. Harbin Churin Group Jointstock can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Retail (Department & Discount) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Harbin Churin Group Jointstock operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Retail (Department & Discount) sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Harbin Churin Group Jointstock can utilize new technology in the field of Retail (Department & Discount) industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Retail (Department & Discount) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Harbin Churin Group Jointstock to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Harbin Churin Group Jointstock to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Harbin Churin Group Jointstock External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Retail (Department & Discount) industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Retail (Department & Discount) industry and other sectors.
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 Harbin Churin Group Jointstock.
Regulatory challenges
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Retail (Department & Discount) industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Retail (Department & Discount) 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Harbin Churin Group Jointstock prominent markets.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Retail (Department & Discount) industry are lowering. It can presents Harbin Churin Group Jointstock with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Retail (Department & Discount) sector.
Environmental challenges
– Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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. Harbin Churin Group Jointstock can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Retail (Department & Discount) industry.
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 Harbin Churin Group Jointstock in the Retail (Department & Discount) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Harbin Churin Group Jointstock is facing in Retail (Department & Discount) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Retail (Department & Discount) industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Harbin Churin Group Jointstock can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Harbin Churin Group Jointstock needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Retail (Department & Discount) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Harbin Churin Group Jointstock may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Retail (Department & Discount) sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Harbin Churin Group Jointstock Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Harbin Churin Group Jointstock 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 Harbin Churin Group Jointstock needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.