Introduction
Business entities both in the contemporary society as well as in the past have different approaches in undertaking their business activities and such approaches focus on increasing the returns. The other objective of the majority of the companies is seeking to obtain stable markets as well as a clear expansion strategy that enables them to approach new markets and establish operations in new markets successfully. The clothing industry is a major industry across the globe with varying organizations operating in the industry. The majority of the companies have not developed specialized products based on the demographic segmentation of the target consumers. As such, the paper addresses the stratagems that can be followed by the children’s' clothing company to expand into the American as well as the Asian market through the utilization of a SWOT analysis.
A SWOT analysis is an assessment of a firm's aspects that can cause its growth or failure based on analysis of its strengths and weaknesses. Further, it provides information on the external factors that play a significant role in influencing its performance in the market. Additionally, it includes an insight into the opportunities available for the business entity as well as the imminent and long-term threats that may hinder the actualization of the objectives of the business venture.
However, for the evaluation of factors that are likely to have an impact on the Retail Children clothing firm, we as the mid-level managers chose to conduct a SWOT analysis on our primary competitors with respect to Carter business entity. The reason for the choice of the firm stem from the fact that Carter business entity also conducts its manufacturing activities in Asian regions then sells its products to the United States and other nations of in the European Union.
Carter conglomerate is a firm that deals with the marketing of baby-oriented types of clothing, especially in the United States. It is also vital for one to fathom that the firm has two major brands concerning Oshkosh and Carter's. The company is also dynamic as it provides different categories of the baby clothing and associated accessories. The firm is quite significant as compared to our company since it has more than eighteen thousand commercial centers as well as more than eight hundred stores. As such, this makes the firm ideal to make the basis of benchmarking based on its SWOT evaluation.
SWOT Analysis of Carter Retail Children Clothing
Strengths
The strengths of the conglomerate involve an analysis of the internal factors such as the well-established organizational structure. The core strength of the business entity is its associations to major players in outsourcing. Such associations with big league supply companies provides a forum in which it has ease of meeting deadlines associated with specific orders and necessitates ease of expansion. Such a strategy can be integrated into our business through establishment of relationships with big league partners who will facilitate the ease of doing business and primarily promote our goal for international expansion. Besides, the conglomerate also has a large number of workers who are competent, experienced and skilled in their fields. These workers are intrinsically motivated, and as such, we found it imperative that our company needs to adopt a similar strategy. An increased motivation in staff results in efficiency and high productivity.
Weaknesses
The company's structure is such that the production process is typically carried out in Asian countries. As such, there are high costs incurred in the process of distribution of its products from Asian countries into the European market. In addition, the company is bound to face losses upon the occurrence of inflation in such regions, which will lead to declined returns and hence drop in profits or manifestation of losses. The firm is also faced with challenges associated with price variations in the raw material in the Asian countries. The fluctuation in prices of raw materials such as pieces of cotton may lead to unpredictability of the company's success. On the same, note, the availability of cotton has also been fluctuating, which is identified as a major challenge and a weaknesses to the business because it is a major component of its products. As such, it is imperative for our retail baby clothing enterprise to ensure that we diversify the suppliers of the inputs. The other action involves setting up manufacturing centers in different regions around the globe to mitigate and minimize risks associated with the supply chain management.
Opportunities
One of the main opportunities for the firm includes its trusted member's outsourcing partners as well as the sale of its licensing agreements to various wholesalers, retailers, and distributors. The overall aim is the utilization of these retailers in the marketing of its baby clothes products. Our firm can also integrate such a strategy, which involves extensive commercialization of our products through retailers.
Threats
The main threat facing Carter Inc. is the presence of competition from other business entities selling similar products. The competition is based on the variety of the products produced, the selling prices, and the quality of the goods. The other feature is the threat of new players into the market who might lead to the increment in prices associated with shipping thus heavily influencing the profitability of the business. As such, our firm ought to ensure that it offers the best quality of products at favorable prices to minimize the threat of competition.
In conclusion, our business entity can emulate the suggested strategies establishment after undertaking a SWOT analysis on Carter Corporation. The evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses, the opportunities, and potential risks may lead to the prevention of losses and sustainability of our company.
Reference:
Panagiotou, G. (2003). Bringing SWOT into focus. Business strategy review, 14(2), 8-10.
