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Management
Organizations operating in the same industry might possess extremely varied performances. Such variation in performance is essentially a result of their resources as well as their capabilities. In order for creating a sustained competitive advantage, organizations must possess internal resource capabilities that comprise of precise features like significance, uniqueness, and imitability, among others. Such internal resources and capabilities might be either financial resources or physical, organizational, and human resources.
With respect to Harlequin Enterprises, the company has been into business since the year 1964. Considering such a long history of existence, it is assumed that the company would possess a sound financial backup, be it in the form of equities, bonds, or at least in the form of retained earnings. Harlequin’s physical resources comprise of its strength in terms of having a strong and extensive reach to a number of global markets and also its channels of distribution. Extremely proficient and experienced editors who ensure consistent quality to the end-product in union with highly skilled writers are the human resource capabilities of Harlequin. In terms of organizational resource capabilities, Harlequin has complete control over the quality of its products throughout the entire value chain. This control is a result of a plethora of aspects like for instance, Harlequin’s association with the external environment, both formal as well as informal planning, and also the well-coordinated systems (IVEY).
The fundamental challenge with which Harlequin is currently facing is the "steady loss of share in a growing women's fiction market(Dolch Learning)",as a result of the increasing fame for novels having single-titles. Because of series publishing having an inherent dependence with the volume sales, the unit sales delaying that took place during the late 80’s and the early 90’s was essentially served as a kind of warning signal to the company.
A change in the company’s existing pricing strategies helped the company in earning continued revenues that were gradually growing; however, this was basically a temporary solution, and Mira is seen as the prospective long-term solution for the current challenges that Harlequin is facing. There are numerous issues associated with Mira’s launch.
As a global leader in romance fiction publishing, Harlequin has a strong international foothold in the field of series publishing with having operations in more than 100 global markets and publishing strength in approximately 23 languages. Without a doubt, Harlequin has been able to build strong and complex barriers to entry in this particular market of series publishing by developing a strong loyalty for the brand along with creating product quality excellence as well as effective supply chain management.
Brand loyalty involves a strong reader base, which Harlequin had cultivated through strong brand recognition, high levels of trust, and lasting relationships. This is demonstrated by the direct-to-reader Book Club that provides approximately 3/8thof the total US Sales at present, at considerably steep margins when compared to indirect sales. Factors like economical cost,consistency in quality, and the great packing of the product help the company in positioning itself in an ideal way, and eventually take advantage of the customer expectations, reinforced by a huge and proficient base of both editors as well as writers.
In addition, standardization is another important aspect that has enabled Harlequin to take advantage of considerable economies of scale in aspects like printing, supplies well as advertising,while also easing the positioning and marketing strategies of the retailers. While the standing order distribution adopted by Harlequin enables it to predict sales and revenues more accurately and consequently reaps advantages from foreseeable cost-based practices of accounting for gaining better margins.
The most significant threat to Mira’s success is its prospective popularity in the American market. The treaty with Simon & Schuster gained at the end of the Romance Wars might not be maintainable, in case the company launches Mira in direct competition with Simon & Schuster in the line of single-title publishing. This scenario would be particularly hard to cope with, considering the fact that Harlequin is totally reliant on Simon & Schuster for the distribution of all of its series publications within the American market, in union with its lack of experience with the various avenues of mainstream retailing. The most important risk that Harlequin would have to bear with its pursuit of Mira is the likelihood of losing highly resourceful and lucrative association with Simon & Schuster, while also required to redevelop its entire distribution channel within the American market all over again.
While this being the threat associated with the launch of Mira, there are also a couple of opportunities that this launch would offer Harlequin. One of the most important opportunities that Mira offers to authors is to develop beyond the regular series format without having to shift base to a different publisher, while continuing to stay available to the series genre of Harlequin. This additional boosts loyalty with the employee along with also boosting their job satisfaction, while permitting the company to invest in fostering individual writers and reap advantages from the cross-segment marketing (IVEY). Furthermore, Mira also provides the company with an opportunity to generate economies of scale by way of centralizing the acquisition rights that would have been already gained by global subsidiaries.
Remarkable market positioning and the repute that Harlequin possess globally as a romance series publisher might dominate the company’s endeavors in creating Mira – a completely new brand in itself. However, Harlequin has extended to the point where the company needs to grow beyond its popular romance genre. The direct-to-reader Book Club, various mechanisms it uses for the purpose of marketing and distribution might need a few alterations or revisions, and might offer the company with a perfect test market from which it can take a leap into the conventional mechanisms of marketing and distribution. The existing production and distribution proficiency that the company currently has would withstand expansion of Mira, while the company continues to spend its time setting its mainstream distribution mechanisms, as well as publicity expertise in place.
It is recommended that Harlequin chooses to make a limited launch of Mira by renovating their numerous titles that are in the back-list, while also generating direct sales with the help of the direct-to-reader Book Club that it has in place. While doing all this, it is also suggested that the company continues to explore various global associations for the purpose of marketing and distribution. A sustained effort must be made to move consciously from the Romance genre brand to a much larger variety offering brand. While moving away from Simon & Schuster, it must make immediate efforts to gain access to the American distribution channels which stand to lose.
Works Cited
Dolch Learning. Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decisions Case. 18 March 2003. 29 October 2014.
IVEY. Romancing the case: Harlequin gets a strategy makeover. 10 May 2014. 28 October 2014. <http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/news/news-ivey/2014/3/romancing-the-case-harlequin-gets-a-strategy-makeover/>.
