Swot Analysis

Strengths

Atomic Company, established since 1946, has had an excellent and experienced management team to support its functions. The CEO made the company shift its production units to Taiwan and then to China from U.S. that provided Atomic Company with several labor and technological cost advantages. Similarly the financial vice president Ramon also took care of the exchange rates benefits for the company and other cost lowering advantages. Atomic has access to almost all parts of U.S. for sales and the company has been growing constantly since past few years.  The sales figure for Atomic Company has been skyrocketing with sales of $5.6 million only in first quarter of 2002.   

Weaknesses

Atomic Company has various issues regarding its marketing strategies that are needed to be resolved. Firstly, the company has not established any brand name for its clothing and is selling it under various retail stores without focusing on building its own brand name. This has put Atomic Company under difficulty of capitalizing on the consumer market based on its popular lines like Tiger Pants. The company should change its goals along according to its growth pattern and need to brand itself.

Atomic Company’s sales department requires proper and practical setup with hiring of sales personnel and designing a well-thought compensation and benefits package for them. The company has no marketing and sales plan since the random or by luck increase in sales do not cater to the professional requirements of a firm. The company needs trained sales personnel that need not to be pushed by too high compensations and can still achieve targets.

The National sales manager, Roger Post, has adopted various strategies of providing free merchandize to celebrities that cost around $35000 in 2001 and bonus clothing to retailers that cost around $75000. However, the bonus shirts and free merchandize to celebrities was not justified in the board meeting since the increase in sales for Tiger Pants was due to the random decision taken by Roger to give away free pants to a band “Punk Rock Academy”, which turned out to pay off. The management needs to look deep into the strategy and demand accountability from Roger since the strategy is wrecking the cost structure of company and can be utilized in other marketing plans like direct-to customer advertising.

The sales figure of $5.6 million, only in first quarter of 2002, has created an uncertainty for the management of logistics and dealers in China since the sales department is not certain regarding the required batches of Tiger pants after its unexpected success. The short-lived revenues can cost company huge costs in case the sales level does not rise up to expected level. The management should come up with a reasonable target for time-being and the Sales head should be accountable for achieving that target through an effective sales force.

Opportunities

Atomic Company can capitalize on the opportunities provided by the popularity of Tiger Pants and go for direct-to customer advertising. The unaccounted expenses on free merchandize to retailers and celebrities can be redirected towards new marketing strategies. This way Atomic company can sustain the level of sales since marketing at this time would be bought by the customers, already interested in tiger pants and therefore, can associated with Atomic Company as a brand.

Threats

There is an expected decrease in demand of Tiger pants since the popularity of a bank is like a fluke that can go away with time. The decrease in demand can lead to loss on inventory for Atomic Company and can thus, seriously damage the revenues along with increasing costs. The company needs to change its sales and marketing strategies in order to cope with such threat.

The Gap Inc was founded in 1969 by Doris Fisher and Donald Fisher. Gap Inc is the largest outlet for clothing and other accessories in America. This store was started in San Francisco California. Fishers decided to open their shop due to frustrations they encountered from poor services and styles of clothing from other retailers. Initially, Gap was not only selling its own brands of clothing but it also incorporated other popular brands, such as Levi, but stopped later due to increased costs of transaction and to minimize the supply threats which were brought about by Levis.

Internal Analysis

This internal analysis seeks to establish the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Gap Inc. this analysis is done to access the situation which US current at Global communication.

Strengths

Gap . Inc commands a very large market in America. It has a brand that is unmatched. It has also attracted a very large number of customers since they sell their products at very affordable prices. Coupled with that, they are the leading clothing stores in America. Strengths are those factors which impact positively on an organization.

They are advantages that a company uses to overcome threats and challenges. For example, Gap is located in a very strategic place and hence easier accessibility; it has highly qualified staff, and has embraced modern technology in all its areas of operation. It also produces a variety and thus gives its customers a variety to choose from. Diversification of its business portfolio keeps it ahead of its competitors.

Weaknesses

These refer to the internal challenges within an organization that can be changed. The company has control over them.

If these weaknesses are not overcome, they impact negatively on the organization. Gap Inc has the following weaknesses that it should work on. For example, it has experienced a fifty per cent depreciation of its stock. This is down from around $29 to $10. There is a poor training program which does not equip its employees and hence they are usually unprepared when hit by market challenges.

Opportunities

These are external factors that influence the internal workings or operations of a business. These factors are usually beyond the control of a company and the organization cannot do anything to avoid them.

These are competition, technological advancement, growing needs for different products and services. Gap Inc has diversified its market to cater for other countries; it has been able to meet the different needs of its clientele. This boosts its growth since there are more sales and as a result higher profits. Given its location, it is easier for it to access modern technology cheaply. This promotes massive manufacture of its clothing and styles. (Marie, 2002)

Threats

Threats refer to those external factors which are negative for the business operations.

These factors must be overcome if the business must operate and reap high returns. These include, stiff competition, manufacture of counterfeit products and government regulations. In Gap Inc, there are factors threatening its survival. These are as follows; increased competition. This is evident from long distance, local and international markets. It has also affected cable companies which have diversified. There is also the risk of manufacturing fake products by their rival companies. These are ‘AT&T’, ‘continental communications Inc’ and ‘Verizon communications’.

The challenge is to remain profitable despite the stiff competition. (Morris, 2006) Conclusion After completing the SWOT analysis, the end result is to boost the performance of the company by increasing its profits. The secret is usually one, that is, to take advantage of the strengths to overcome weaknesses and use opportunities available to overcome threats.

References

Morris, N (2006) Understand Your Business Better, Greenwood Press, Westport, Canada.

Marie, M, (2002) Global Business Analysis, Braeburn University Press, USA.

Describe sources of internal and external finance for a selected business

Company overview

According to the Anytime Fitness

Fitness is a fitness club which darted in Minneapolis,USA in 2000. The 2115 clubs around the world make it the biggest fitness chain in the world. Len year Justinian McDonnell and Jamaican McDonnell- Jimenez open the first Anytime Fitness club in Australia. The next 6 years witnesses the rapid expansion of the Anytime Fitness with 344 clubs. On the contrary,as can be seen from the website Jests Fitness Australia(bethel Jests is a local fitness company which started in 2007 in the Gold Coast by the couple Brandon and Crispy Eleven’s.

Soon,the expansion to the whole country and the New Zealand makes the Jests a fitness company with over 200 clubs. SOOT analysts Anytime Fitness Strengths

Weaknesses

1. Leadership in the global market gives the company the advantage of its brand name and supply chain(Anytime Fitness AU 2014) .
2. Having the most clubs in Australia allows most Australians to come to the club within 10 minutes(Anytime Fitness AU 2014) .
3. Investment from the US capital market is available. For example,the capital injection from the Roars Capital Group would help expediting the growth(Roars Capital Group 2014).Also, the company had partnerships with TTL Credit Opportunities,L. P. And the Partnership Capital Growth so as to achieve a rationalization in 2010 . An online medical center called Anytime Health is offered ,which can bring health information to the customers.
4. The business model which is convenient for franchiser as flexibility and profit can be got at the same time helps the rapid expansion of the company (Anytime Fitness AU 2014) . The 2014 Top Franchise from Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 List(2014) claims that the company gets NO.I in this list.
5. The company has comparatively low price with acceptable environment and 2417 access .
6. Private restroom and bath room can give people more privacy.
7. Low culture insistence do the clubs have, due to the distance from the US. For example,the price of each club in Australia is different(Anytime Fitness AU 2014) .
8. .Lock-in contract makes customs uncomfortable.
9. Bad fame of one club such as low quality of customer service and cleanliness may influence other clubs although the franchisers are different.
10. No staff during nights may cause security concern (Anytime Fitness AU 2014) .
11. Facilities are lacked during peak times.

Opportunities Threats

1.  The 12 million overweight people in Australia according to the Overweight and Obesity(Allah)(2013)are the potential customs.
2. More sessions and classes can be offered.
3. Introduce new facilities to the clubs may provide differentiation from the Jests.
4. The company should promote more about the facilities and services. 1 . Competitions from Jests and other fitness clubs are growing.

Nakedness

1. The Jests has enough clubs to serve most Australians. Meanwhile, with the projected 250 clubs,80% of Australian can go to Jests within 8 minutes(Sunshine Coast Daily 2010).
2. It’s a domestic fitness company,which means that it can provide a suitable environment for local people. Also,the staff can get more education and feedbacks from the headquarter so the company culture will be consistent.
3. No contract rule which gives the customers freedom of choice makes them comfortable(Sunshine Coast Daily 2010). The price is quite low as people only need to pay $1 1. 95 per week and are free to stop at any stage. But people can still get 2417 access and ‘clean, convenient workout facilities providing the equipment that members use on a regular basis'(Utility, Alex 2011).
4. The Jests has an experienced team to help new clubs get started (Davies Adam 2012). T helps the growing of the Jests together with the efficient franchiser system. 6. The Jests has a good fame of high customer satisfactory. Let got No.

In the Canasta Blue Most Satisfied Customer Award in Australia in 2012 and 2013 Tests Fitness Australia 2014).

1. The clubs lack advanced equipments due to the low price strategy.
2. No staff during nights may cause security concretes Fitness Australia 2014).
3. Facilities are lacked during peak times.
4. The percentage of overweight people in Australia is high.
5. The oversea market is still waiting to be exploited.
6. The Jests should promote more about its low price and simplicity.

This paper will analyse Toulouse Coffee Table sold by Mark & Spenser. Although the store stocks a variety of coffee table, I choose to discuss this particular table due to its uniqueness. The paper will analyse the coffee table using SWOT analysis and recommend how the organisation may use marketing mix to improve the sales of this particular table.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Besides the table being unique, it is of high quality; hence it stands out among the other entire tables. The table is very popular in the market due to it durability and most of the customers who buys it, recommends their friends and relative to buy the same due to it high quality.

Toulouse Coffee Table has a very strong structure according to the way it has been made. The structure of the table is very stable and cannot easily break as a result of being unable to withstand a lot of pressure.

The table on the other hand has a very unique feature of drawers. There are two drawers where one can store something in it unlike other table that do not have this particular feature. Many customers like it since they do not have to buy something like book shelve in order to keep their books or magazines. They just use the drawer to keeps their magazines in them where they can remove them easily by pulling the drawers as they take their coffee. This particular strength has made the table to stand out among the other tables due to it conveniences of the storage facility.

The capacity of the table is another feature that makes the table to be very popular among Mark & Spenser’s coffee table. One can utilise the table to handle or to store a number of items since it has two drawers. This is unlike other table which have no drawers at all and the only capacity that can be utilised in these tables is the top part of the table where we place our coffee and snacks.

The price the table is being charged in the market is very competitive since the table is going only for £319. This is a very reasonable price taking into consideration that it’s a two in one facility since one can use it as a table and also as a drawer to keep his or her personal effects. The table can be sold at any part of the world since it is marketed online and one may order from any part of the world. For this case, the location of Mark & Spenser store will not affect its sale at all cost.

Weaknesses

Toulouse Coffee Table has some weaknesses that continue to draw back its sales in the market. For one, the table is too short as most of the customer although they like it due to its unique features, they may complain that the table is too short.

The customers may want to buy this particular table if it has another unique colour. Most customers prefer products that have variety of colours in order for them to choose a coffee table according to their tastes and preferences. They may also want to choose a table that will match with other furniture in the house.

Opportunities

The table although it unique and can be very popular in the market, there is still room for improvement to increase its market share. On the other hand, since the table is advertised on the internet, they welcome everyone from any part in the world to purchase it if they are interest with it. The other opportunity available to Toulouse Coffee Table is that, since it is marketed by a large marketing store like Mark & Spenser, its stands a good chance of vigorous marketing since the organisation has enough funds to sponsor advertising costs.

Marketing of Toulouse Coffee Table can be easy as Mark & Spenser can merge or have a joint business venture with another company in order to improve their sales. This opportunity can be taken if the marketing and selling of Toulouse Coffee Table becomes hard and this calls for them to look for better market. In such circumstances, the company may merge with another company that have better marketing facilities or have a number of distribution outlets scattered all over the world.

Threat

Although Toulouse Coffee Table is unique, it is under threat from other stores that stock tables. There are so many businesses in the world today that stock tables that are similar to Toulouse Coffee Table and this gives Mark & Spenser a hard time trying to compete with them. Like any other business, Mark and Spenser have to keep on adjusting the price of this particular table so that it stands out among the competitor’s coffee tables. Majority of the customers are likely to go for cheap products hence Mark and Spenser must adjust their price as their competitors adjust theirs so that Toulouse Coffee Table can prevail in the market.

Some competitors are capable of developing even a more decent coffee table than Toulouse Coffee Table, hence Mark & Spenser should be on the look out so that they may also develop a more unique coffee table and this will ensure that their products will continue prevailing in the market.

There may be competitors who have better channels of distribution of Coffee tables than Mark & Spenser. Some competitors may have branches in all the countries in the world where they may be distributing their products. In such circumstances, it is very difficult for the Toulouse Coffee Table to prevail in the market since most customers normally like purchasing something they can see on the spot unlike when they order online. [6]

Taxation issues would also be a threat to the marketing of Toulouse Coffee Table since it might be too high and this would in turn increase the price of the coffee table. Sine the coffee tables are marketed online, taxation in some countries might be too high forcing the table to be sold at a very high cost. This will affect the sales of the coffee table which will reduce drastically.

On the other hand, some countries may impose total ban on importation on coffee table in order to promote local manufacturers of coffee tables. In such circumstance, the sales of Toulouse Coffee Table will be affected greatly. For this case, Mark & Spenser should always be on the look out so that total ban on importation and taxation will not affect the sale of Toulouse Coffee Tables and if it happens, they can always shift the coffee table to another market where such regulations have not been imposed.

How Marketing Mix Can Enable Mark & Spenser Improve Toulouse Coffee Table Sales

Product Mix

The product itself when it comes to marketing is very important. For this case, Toulouse Coffee Table must be very unique for it to stand out among all other coffee tables in the market. In such circumstance, the coffee table must be of high quality, have unique and a variety of colour and the table should be durable among other qualities that might attract customers. This will enable Toulouse Coffee Table to prevail in the market as far as popularity in concerned since there are many more similar coffee tables in the market.

Mark & Spenser can also improve the sale of Toulouse Coffee Table if their offer post-sale services to their customers. These services may include warranties, better customer services and transport facilities. If Toulouse Coffee Table sale include post-sale services, it means that the coffee table will stand out among all other tables in the market thereby increasing their sales.

Price Mix

Price is another important marketing mix Mark & Spenser should consider as far as marketing Toulouse Coffee Table is concerned. They must ensure that the price they will charge for the coffee table in the market is very competitive in order for them to attract more customers. The price charged should be reasonable so that it might even include delivery cost and eventually the coffee table will be very popular in the market.

Place Mix

Place mix is another important marketing mix as far as marketing of Toulouse Coffee Table is concerned. For this case, the distribution outlets for Toulouse Coffee table should be accessible to their customers so as to increase sales. Most of the customers do not like travelling for long distance to buy the products they might need to buy. For this case, Mark & Spenser should stock Toulouse Coffee Table at many outlets as possible for easy access by their customers.

Promotion Mix

Promotion mix on the other hand is a very important marketing mix that should be considered by any product in order for it to prevail in the market. For this case, Toulouse Coffee Table should be advertised in as many advertising media as possible that may include: bill boards, television sets, internet, direct mail, coupons, newspapers and magazines. This will ensure many people are aware of the existence of Toulouse Coffee Table and this will ensure that the coffee table will prevail in the market.  If Mark & Spenser implement these recommendations as far as Toulouse Coffee Table is concerned, they will increase their sales and the organisation at large will achieve it organisational goals and objectives.

References

1. Conner, D. R. (1993): Managing At the Speed of Change, Random House, London
2. Donovan, G. (2006): The Corporate Culture Handbook: The Liffey Press, London
3. Gordon, I (1989): Beat the Competition: How to Use Competitive Intelligence to Develop Winning Business Strategies: Basil Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
4. Hammer, M. and Champy, J. (1993): Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, Harper Business Books, New York
5. Hiatt, J. (2006): ADKAR: a model for change in business, government and our community. Prosci Research, New York
6. Kotter, J.P. (1996): Leading Change – Harvard Business School Press. London
7. Kotler, P. and Keller, L. (2005): Marketing Management, Prentice Hall, New York
8. LaMarsh, J. (1995): Changing the Way We Change: Gaining Control of Major Operational Change, Prentice Hall: New York
9. McGahan, A. (2004): How Industries Evolve – Principles for Achieving and Sustaining Superior Performance. Harvard Business School Press, Boston
10. [1] Gordon, I (1989): Beat the Competition: How to Use Competitive Intelligence to Develop Winning Business Strategies: Basil Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
    [2] Kotter, J.P. (1996): Leading Change – Harvard Business School Press. London
11. [3] LaMarsh, J. (1995): Changing the Way We Change: Gaining Control of Major Operational Change, Prentice Hall: New York
    [4] McGahan, A. (2004): How Industries Evolve – Principles for Achieving and Sustaining Superior Performance. Harvard Business School Press, Boston
12. [5] Gordon, I (1989): Beat the Competition: How to Use Competitive Intelligence to Develop Winning Business Strategies: Basil Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
    [6] McGahan, A. (2004): How Industries Evolve – Principles for Achieving and Sustaining Superior Performance. Harvard Business School Press, Boston
13. [7] Kotler, P. and Keller, L. (2005): Marketing Management, Prentice Hall, New York
    [8] Kotler, P. and Keller, L. (2005): Marketing Management, Prentice Hall, New York
14. [9] Kotler, P. and Keller, L. (2005): Marketing Management, Prentice Hall, New York

The Gillette Company started in 1901 when King C. Gillette opened “one of the first great multinational organizations” (Hartline, 2007, p.444) that led the safety razor manufacturing industry for about 50 years.  As it provided shaving care products in Boston, it was able to open up a branch in London only four years after its founding (Hartline, 2007, p.444).  By the 1920s, the company’s products reached other more secluded areas from Norway to the Sahara Desert.  This was according to the words of King C. Gillette himself, who has set his company’s goal into “offering consumers high-quality shaving products that would satisfy basic grooming needs at a fair price” (Hartline, 2007, p.445).  By 1950s, it went through a successful investment during its first and second acquisitions of the Toni Company and the Paper Mate Company consecutively.

However, the environment became tougher when the 1960s came, and the Wilkinson Sword-Schick Company introduced the same shaving products, as the environment became more global and innovative.  Since then, business for Gillette became something that has to be wrestled and battled.

 This paper presents a SWOT analysis of Gillette Company over the past few decades.  We shall analyze its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and then see what exactly are the problems of the company.  Lastly, the writer shall present alternatives for the said case, and then recommend the best solution given the problems that the manager of the company is more likely to face. The product innovation strategy of Gillette Company, which has been a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble since June 2004.

Strengths

1. Resource and technology advantage. A strong and extensive resource and technology made way for new products since the ‘80s like the Atra-Plus, the Trac II, and the Sensor and Sensor for Women.  As Michael Hartline (2007) stated, “The Gillette laboratories helped boost sales in the razor and blades, personal care, and writing instruments segments” (p.446).  The steady sales of its products did a lot in maintaining superb company performance.
2. Creativity and strong R&D investments. Since the ‘80s, Gillette Company has been known for creative and innovative extended products in other personal care and writing instruments industries.  There are the Aapri facial products, the Dry Idea deodorant, Bare Elegance lotion, the Mink Difference hair spray, and the White Rain hair care products.  There is also the Silkience shampoo and moisturizer, Eraser Mate erasable pens, the Paper Mate pens, and the Liquid Paper correction fluids.  This led to a well-diversified portfolio.
3. Strong brand equity and market leadership. The company’s brand equity can be allocated to the success of its established brands like the Gillette and Braun, the Oral-B, and the Duracell.  Because of this, the company was able to charge higher prices and higher margins, with the advantage of having a better brand image.  As stated by Datamonitor USA (2005), The Gillette blade and razor portfolio achieved a record 72.5% share of the global market in 2003.  The Venus female shaving franchise has delivered more than $1 billion in retail sales in just three years and has a 32% share of the worldwide female shaving market.  (pp.5-6)
4. More aggressive expansion, product launches and innovation since 2003. Because of increased competition, the company expands to other hard-to-reach countries like Romania, Yugoslavia, Czech Republic, and the Soviet Union.  New product launches were made on what they called the Sensor, the Sensor Excell, and the Mach3 shaving products.  The unique five-blade design of the Fusion was introduced in 2005.
5. Strong marketing and advertising. Advertising and marketing activities are significant factors for Gillette Company.  Usually, promotions are focused on sports and newsprints.  These include, first, the New England Revolution of soccer, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship this come 2008, and other events on football, soccer, lacrosse, and car racing (Hartline, 2007, p.452).  Second, the company also extended some marketing activities on newsprints and communication, such as Gay Times and websites.

Weaknesses

1. Made reckless acquisitions. The company has a tendency to make reckless acquisitions, especially in the ‘60s during the time of CEO Vincent Ziegler, who was too aggressive and ambitious, as he believed that diversification was the answer to bigger prices and values.  Thus, four of the seven acquisitions that were made ended up to be unprofitable on the side of Gillette.  Acquisition was better in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
2. Highly dependent on core business. As stated by Datamonitor USA (2005), “Gillette’s profitability is highly reliant on the performance of its razors and blades business” (p.7).  This is because, based on its 2003 projection, approximately 68% of its profits came from this sector, while in the total sales, it covered about 42% of the total sales (Datamonitor USA, 2005, p.7).  This makes the company very vulnerable to any projection in the area of its razor blade business.
3. Inability to transform strengths to powerful opportunities. The company has been scrutinized as “a stagnant, lazy, sleeping giant, with potential far above current realizations” (Hartline, 2007, pp.446-447).  Despite the fact that it holds about 72.5% of the global market in the blade and razor industry in 2003 sales (Datamonitor USA, 2005, p.5), it had difficulty turning its core strengths into powerful opportunities.  As of now, there are about 68 million men and women who shave using a razor blade.  This is in U.S.A. alone.  There is much opportunity given this core strength that the company has.
4. Market share lower by as much as 63% in 2003. When its strong competitor, Schick, introduced the Quattro—the world’s first four-bladed razor—Gillette’s market share of the razor and blade industry weakened by as much as 63%; Schick’s market share, on the other hand, increased by 17% (Hartline, 2007, p.448).  The 21st century is marked by significantly increased competition worldwide.

Opportunities

1. Product diversion and new product launch. The environment presented alternatives for product diversion and new product launches, especially in the ‘80s and ‘90s, when the company acquired other firms in other industries, such as the Waterman Pen Company in 1987; the Parker Pen Holdings in 1993, the Duracell International in 1996, and the Newell Rubbermaid in 2000 (Hartline, 2007, p.447).  By 2005, Gillette introduced the Fusion razor blade, which is a five-blade razor product and an effect of its highly innovative strategy.  P&G made a remark that this Fusion product is about to reach $1 billion worth of sales by next year (Hartline, 2007, pp.448).
2. Strong, extensive, and promising customer environment. According to Hartline (2007), “Approximately 1.3 billion men worldwide shave with a razor blade” (Hartline, 2007, p.449).  In the United States of America alone, this constitutes about 94 million men ages 15 and up, and about 100 million women ages 13 and up (Hartline, 2007, p.449).  The Western societies, such as Canada, UK, and other European countries, also practice good grooming by shaving.  Still, there are other countries in other continents like South America, East Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, which have embraced the practice of shaving body hairs.  The customer environment is so extensive, yet it continues to increase and develop in other countries worldwide.
3. Socio-cultural trends in hair removal. The present trend insists that more and more people around the globe are starting to adopt the good grooming practices of the West.  When it comes to current people in the Western countries, however, the socio-cultural trends are bending toward the shaving of hair even in other parts of the body that were not shaved before (e.g., chest, back).  Others even prefer a full-body hair removal, and this appears to be highlighting to companies like Gillette.
4. Price increase in premium shaving systems. There were considerable price increases in the shaving systems of razor products in 2004 (Datamonitor USA, 2005, p.8).  In February of that same year, North America had price increases averaging to about 2.8%, after the new launching of the M3Power, the Venus Divine, and the Sensor3 (Datamonitor USA, 2005, p.8).  This highlighted dramatically in the annual revenues starting that year, and over the last ten years, has been increasing over the last ten years at a rate of about 4% per year (Datamonitor USA, 2005, p.8).

Threats

1. Strong competition and razor product imitations. Strong competition in the razor shave industry basically started since 1962, when the Wilkinson Sword Company introduced a new shave made of stainless steel (Hartline, 2007, p.445).  However, the real tremendous impact of strong competition was only felt about 30 years after when, sometime in 1990, Schick introduced the Quattro, which is “the world’s first four-bladed razor” (Hartline, 2007, p.448).  Somehow, it appeared that Gillette was threatened, since it filed lawsuits against the said company for using some ‘progressive geometry’ as the Mach3.  Schick, on the other hand, argued that Gillette disposed ‘misleading claims’, such as that the Mach3 was ‘the world’s best shave’.  Product imitations were more prevalent in the 21st century.
2. Heavy critics and negative reviews. Aside from the critics in the ‘80s that Gillette was “a stagnant, lazy, sleeping giant” (Hartline, 2007, p.446), there was also skepticism on the high price of Mach3, as well as those who post the question on why there is a need for a five-blade razor when, in fact, the company has stated in the ‘90s that its Mach3 three-blade razor is ‘the best a man can get’.  Lastly, it was criticized that razor manufacturers, such as Gillette Company, usually excel because of their profits in the refill industry (i.e., cartridge).
3. Cultural and religious factors that prevent people from shaving. Culture and religion continues to be a threat for razor manufacturers, especially to those countries that do not have the tendency to adopt Western practices, such as those in the Middle East, in Africa, or the developing countries in Southeast Asia.  Aside from culture and religion, economic stability and trend are also factors that prevent people from shaving.
4. Heavy legal and political issues. There were legal and political issues in the 21st century when Energizer Holdings filed some lawsuits for the mass mailing in Germany that reached 100,000 samples (Hartline, 2007, p.450).  There were also lawsuits filed in 2004, when the same Energizer pointed out that Gillette’s advertisement of doing ‘closer shave’ is too minimal to support its claim of ‘superior shaving’.  The Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN), on the other hand, objected that Gillette uses radio-frequency identification (RFID), which are claimed to be ‘spy chips’ by critics.

Major Problem

 From the SWOT analysis conducted in the recent pages, it is obvious that Gillette Company’s basic problems usually revolve around the following: first is weak marketing foresight; second is weak management and control; third is vulnerability of core products and industry; fourth and final are the environmental and cultural hazards.  Given these things, it is clear that what the decision manager faces is an industry that strikes at both the company’s internal and external environments.  They can start by improving important management strategies, such as those that pertain to stronger forecasts and tougher system control.  Being surrounded by a largely threatening environment that is almost inflexible, what they can do is to center their alternatives on the internal environment of the company.

Alternative Solutions

Before creating some alternative solutions for Gillette Company, it is important to note, however, that its situation reflects the strengths and opportunities that are the following: first is a strong use of skills and knowledge, especially in the R&D; second is brand equity and market leadership; third is strong market penetration; fourth is an extensive customer availability and reliance; fifth are economic opportunities like price increases.

There are three specific alternatives that Gillette Company can choose from given its state in the manufacturing industry, and these are the following:

1. Improve weak marketing foresight by improving leadership and control. Usually, when a company gets entangled because of wrong decisions, values, and strategies, the wrong turns can be allotted to the upper management team.  It appears the company is too contented for all the strengths and opportunities it is high time they revitalize a strong and brave character that takes pride in whatever accomplishments and opportunities they may have.  However, the most probable disadvantage is that, by improving upper leadership and control, the execution of leadership would only reside in the upper levels instead of all levels.  The lower staffs may find it hard to learn the execution of leadership.
2. Improve weak management structure and control by outlining a systematic, more secure and up-to-the minute company strategy. Weak management structure and control cannot stay in a company too long.  It appears that Gillette is a bit far behind the other companies that already execute—not just leadership of the higher staffs—but also leadership in the lower staffs.  With Gillette, however, even the higher staffs have not yet embraced the proper method of leading and managing the company.  Therefore, creating a systematic and up-to-the-minute company strategy from the higher-level staffs would be very helpful in improving a more secure management structure for the company.  The only disadvantage, however, is that the company has been proven of not being able to execute remarkable actions from the higher staffs.  This means that, if the company strategy would have to rely on these same higher staffs, then the company may be in a worse situation years from now.
3. Improve vulnerability of core products by improving its basic products. The vulnerability of core products and industry is normal in the razor blade shaving industry.  To prove these environmental hazards, therefore, it is advisable that the company should focus more on improving its basic products (i.e., razor shave) and resources (e.g., skills, knowledge, R&D).  This act would strengthen the products and the company by reinforcing a tougher, sounder underground barrier.  However, Gillette should fine other means of developing its basic products, aside from additional number of blades that are in their manufacturing products.  There are other ways to improve the products, aside from the number of blades and the answer would have to rely on R&D.

Recommendation and Conclusion

Going over the company’s state wherein its basic problems revolve around weak marketing foresight, weak management and control, as well as the vulnerability of core products and industry, the most viable, far-reaching recommendation that the company can implement is to improve weak management structure and control by outlining a systematic, more secure and up-to-the-minute company strategy, which is the second alternative strategy.  Especially that the only threats that were available these current years have something to do with the heavy legal and political issues, Gillette has all the opportunities that are mostly required for companies to largely excel in the 21st century industries.  The company has learned, so far, on becoming more aggressive and insistent in handling the marketing industry, which means that alternative no.1, which is to improve weak marketing foresight by improving leadership and control, is not really that significant these days.

Alternative no.3, however, which is to improve vulnerability of core products by improving its basic products, can also be under the second alternative.  As for the second alternative which is to improve weak management structure and control by outlining a systematic, more secure and up-to-the-minute company strategy its higher staffs have recently been able to execute wise and even aggressive shifts and turns.  It is obvious, then, that nowadays, there is no disadvantage with executing alternative no.2, because the higher staffs have been showing signs of sensibility and great perception.  Therefore, the internal and external environments of Gillette Company reflects that it should focus itself on improving and reinforcing its company structure (i.e., division and allotment of power) as well as strengthen its utilization of control (i.e., leadership, transparency, foresight).

With Procter & Gamble’s overall mission of “providing branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the world’s consumers” (Procter & Gamble, 2007), Gillette should do something significant that would provide branded products and meaningful services by focusing on strategy, structure, and control.

References

1. Datamonitor USA.  (2005, December).  Global Gillette: company profile.  New York, NY: Datamonitor USA Publishing.
2. Hartline, M.D.  (2007).  Case 7: Gillette: the razor wars continue.  In Marketing Strategy (4th edition, pp.444-454).  Belmong, CA: Thompson-Southwestern Publishing.
3. Procter & Gamble.  (2007).  Company: who we are.  Retrieved July 31, 2007, from its official database: http://www.pg.com/company/who_we_are/ppv.jhtml.

Fresh has since expanded from its namesake product Fresh’ to a broader range of food and beverage rand’s, the largest of which includes an acquisition of Topspin’s in 1998 and a merger with Leeds Oats in 2001, which added the Storage brand to its portfolio. The major product produced by Fresh Inc. Is Fresh Storage. Mission Statement Our mission is to provide consumers around the world with delicious, affordable, convenient and complementary foods and beverages from wholesome breakfast to healthy and fun daytime snacks and beverages to evening treats.

We are committed to investing in our people, our company and the communities where we operate to help position the company for long-term, sustainable growth. Our prices will be determined depending on a number of factors. We will use cost plus markup method of coming up with prices. But will also be wary of the prices charged by our competitors in the same region. Fresh will unsure that the bottles use can be returned for a refundable cost of $. 5, this will help to keep our surrounding community environmentally clean.

Fresh will employ high-quality managers and employees who will be committed to growing and producing a great brand name. Fresh bring a great tasting Storage to the sports world by using all-natural fruits to aka our product stand out above the rest of the competition. The non-alcoholic beverage industry broadly includes soft drinks and hot drinks. Soft drinks contain carbonated or non-carbonated water, a sweetener, and a flavor, and hot drinks include coffee and tea.

The soft drink category dominates the industry and includes carbonates, Juice, bottled water, ready-to-drink tea and coffee, and sports and energy drinks. Soft drinks are sometimes referred to as liquid refreshment beverages. The three reasons for this beverage: To produce a drink that will quench he thirst of all athletics; To have a more natural tasting and innovative drink; and to bring a drink that is purely non-alcoholic and full of antioxidants that can combat the onset of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and so on.

The Strategic position for your company

The strategic position for Fresh Inc. is Customer Perception Factors. This approach is based on how customers distinguish our company and our quality products and services from those of our competitors. In Fresh, we concentrate on our customer perception factors. We offer quality products to our customers at all times. In addition, our products are offered at affordable rates. We also differentiate our products and at the same time ensure they are customized.

We offer our drinks in several quantities ranging from two liters cans to two hundred millimeter containers. The product, therefore, attracts all types of customers. Provide an overview of your company’s distribution channels. Our products are brought to market through direct- store-delivery (ADDS), our bottlers and our distributors operate ADDS systems that deliver snacks and beverages directly to retail stores where the products are researchers by our employees or our bottlers. ADDS enables us to merchandise with maximum visibility and appeal.

ADDS is especially well-suited to products that are restocked often and respond to the in-store promotion and merchandising. The company also Manual Distribution Centre (MAD) model which operates within densely populated areas like around large towns and cities. The Mad’s are independent businesses with links to their local bottler who may provide technical support and credit to the Mad’s. The owners of the Mad’s generally own the bottles and crates they use. Three types of risks Firstly, there is increased focus on negative health effects of soft drinks and unhealthy foods.

The risk to our company is that persistent and continued emphasis on these effects may curtail soda and snack food consumption. Soda makers are banding together to proactively tackle the issue. In selected cities next year, they will roll out vending machines that will not only display the number of calories in a container of soda but also suggest a lower-calorie beverage option. Fast-food operators have mostly borne the brunt of the backlash against unhealthy foods. Secondly, there are legislation risks: A proposed soda tax aimed at curbing obesity could put increased pressure on PepsiCo.

Capitalization Risk: Our credit rating was lowered due to the debt we took on to fund bottler acquisitions. The acquisitions and restructuring costs will pressure bottom-line growth in the short term and have the potential to lower return on investment and increase commodity cost pressures. Strengths Product diversity Extensive distribution channel Corporate Social Responsibility (CARS) projects Competency in mergers and acquisitions 22 brands earning more than $1 billion a year.

Successful marketing and advertising campaigns Complementary product salespeople Proactive and progressive

Weaknesses

• Over-dependence on major stores
• Low pricing
• Questionable practices
• Much weaker brand awareness and market share in the world beverage market compared to Coca-Cola and other companies
• Too low net profit margin

Opportunities

• Growing beverages and snacks consumption in emerging markets
• Increasing demand for healthy food and beverages
• Further expansion through acquisitions
• Bottled water consumption growth
• Savory snacks consumption growth

Threats

• Changes in consumer tastes
• Water scarcity

QA about Coca-Cola Company

Company overview

The Coca-Cola Company is a beverage company that manufactures and distributes various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. Coca-Cola’s red and white trademark is probably the best-known brand symbol in the world. The company also operates one of the world’s most pervasive distribution systems, offering its nearly 400 beverage products in more than 200 countries worldwide.

The Coca-Cola is the #1 nonalcoholic beverage company, as well as one of the world’s most recognizable brands. The Coca-Cola Company is home to 20 billion-dollar-brands, including four of the top five soft drinks: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta, and Sprite. All told, the company owns or licenses and markets more than 500 beverage brands, mainly sparkling drinks but also waters, juice drinks, energy and sports drinks, and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. The Coca-Cola Company sells its products primarily under the Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Zero, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade, Aquarius, Dasani, Glacéau Vitaminwater, Georgia, Simply, Minute Maid Pulpy, Del Valle, Ayataka, Bonaqua/Bonaqa, and Schweppes brand names. With the world’s largest beverage distribution system, The Coca-Cola Company reaches thirsty consumers in more than 200 countries.

Let’s use SWOT analysis to consider the strategy of a hypothetical prominent soft drinks manufacturer called Coca-Cola. Coke is currently the market leader in the manufacture and sale of sugary carbonated drinks and has a strong brand image. Sugary carbonated drinks are currently an extremely profitable line of business. The company’s goal is to develop strategies to achieve sustained profit growth into the future.

Strengths

The most important strength of Coca-Cola is its brand image and the high brand awareness. The Coca-Cola Company is one of the most widely recognized brands across the globe. The brand is present in nearly every part of the world and enjoys a very high degree of popularity. There are two key players in this sector of the beverage business, one being Coca-Cola, while the other remains PepsiCo, Inc.

A key reason behind its impressive international presence is its robust distribution network. Coca-Cola utilizes unique marketing and advertising strategies. It has continued to make major investments in marketing and advertising as well as customer engagement. From time to time viral marketing videos to social media campaigns, Coca-Cola has used all of them to attract customers.

Coca-Cola products are distributed via large distributors and many manual distribution centers around the world. Coca-Cola manual distribution program allows independent entrepreneurs to set up distribution centers in behalf of the company.

Weaknesses

Weaknesses for any business need to be both minimized and monitored in order to effectively achieve productivity and efficiency in their business’s activities. The Coca-Cola Co faces a challenging situation, in which economic recovery is fragile in developed markets, while the major emerging markets of China, Russia and Brazil are seeing a slowdown in growth. Despite economic difficulties, consumers continue to desire diverse and healthy beverages, which is a challenge but also an opportunity. The negative publicity regarding sugared drinks and the potential introduction of sugar taxes is a further challenge. Also read about hypothetical company

Coca-Cola brand image is closely associated with high sugar carbonates and this does not resonate well with growing obesity and health concerns among increasing number of a population around the globe. Also, the company has developed low and zero calorie drinks, it may take a considerable amount of time and effort to disassociate Coca-Cola Company from high-sugar carbonated drinks. Coca-Cola, as a major carbonated drink manufacturer, can contribute to the obesity epidemic. They haven’t addressed or found a healthier solution yet.

Coca-Cola’s major competitor is Pepsi. But unlike Pepsi, which has branched away from the Soda-only model of revenue, Coca-Cola has yet to develop a food or snack. This puts them behind Pepsi in terms of competition since Pepsi has Lay’s chips and other foods under their belt.

Since the early 2000s, the criticisms over the use of Coca-Cola products as well as the company itself escalated with concerns over health effects, environmental issues, animal testing, economic business practices and employee issues. The Coca-Cola Company has been faced with multiple lawsuits concerning the various criticisms.

Opportunities

Coca-Cola has a couple of opportunities in its business. It has many successful brands that it should continue to exploit and pursue. Coca-Cola also has the opportunity to advertise its less popular products. With a large income, it has the available money to put some of these other beverages on the market. Coca-Cola can create new products and diversifies their current offerings. They have the brand identify, customers, manufacturing, and evaluation to back this up. It’s possible to find niches untouched by Pepsi to develop products, especially in the health food spaces. This way they branch out from soft drinks.

Bottled water, both still and sparkling, offers an attractive growth opportunity. Consumers across the world are becoming more aware of the health . Coca-Cola has a strong bottled water portfolio. It includes Glaceau Smartwater, Glaceau Vitamin Water, and Dasani. The company is keen on expanding its portfolio to capture the rapid growth in this category. This could be very beneficial to the company if they could start selling these other products to the same extent that they do with their main products.

Threats

Even though Coca-Cola and Pepsi control nearly 40% of the entire beverage market, the changing health-consciousness attitude of the market could have a serious effect on Coca-Cola. This definitely needs to be viewed as a dominant threat. In today’s world, people are constantly trying to change their eating and drinking habits. This could directly affect the sale of Coca-Cola’s products. Coca-Cola Company has been compared to cigarette companies in recent times for projecting an image that it is okay to consume their products when their products not only have no real nutritional value but could be hazardous to health in regards to weight, teeth and even may cause osteoporosis from the Phosphoric Acid.

Another possible issue is the legal side of things. There are always issues with a company of such supreme wealth and popularity. Somebody is always trying to find fault with the best and take them down. Coca-Cola has to be careful with lawsuits.

The threat of competition against Coca-Cola has kept rising. Apart from Pepsi, competitive pressure from other brands like Dr. Pepper Snapple Inc., Monster Beverage Corp., and Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd has also increased. The resources are getting costlier including water.

Conclusion

It is no doubt that Coca-Cola Company is a powerful, globally recognized corporation. Coca-Cola is much more than just a recognized logo or brand name. It has achieved to develop a notion about universal refreshment. Moreover, Coca-Cola’s success mainly results from its proactive management, innovative marketing and global distribution. However, the unhealthy stereotyped image of Coca-Cola is hard to reverse. In addition, the entry barriers and competitors from other brands may hinder the development of Coca-Cola. Therefore, the company is raising its awareness to create sustainable communities for social responsibility. In the next decade, the company and its partners are likely to invest in further development of manufacturing capacity, consumer marketing and brand building, expansion of distribution and innovation. Coca-Cola seems to make every effort to raise its brand image by marketing strategies.

References

• The Coca-Cola Company [http://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-labor/businesses-and-occupations/coca-cola-company]
• The Coca-Cola Company – Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on The Coca-Cola Company [http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/89/The-Coca-Cola-Company.html]
• SWOT Analysis of Coca Cola [http://pestleanalysis.com/swot-analysis-coca-cola/]