Home Stretch...

Sarah has prepared a thorough and extensive SWOT analysis...take a look and let us know what you think!

Strengths

·     More affordable means it reaches a wider audience

·     Pop-up shop grabs attention

·     Fresh-on trend offering

·     Not available in mass retailers, making it more unique for the customer

·     Knowledgeable and talented team- designer, merchandiser, and project coordinator

·     Network connections- in the process of building relationship with House of Lolo, introduced ourselves to owner of Parallel

Weaknesses

·     Lack of brand recognition/lack of loyal following

·     New designer

·     No special return policy

·     Since we are first starting out, we won’t have as great of a presence on the East coast as we do on the west coast.

·     We only serve one market segment

·     Fairly large number of competitors

Opportunities

·     As we grow and build brand recognition we can do collaborations with other well-known brands

·     May be carried in more and more boutiques

·     Sell merchandise at online retail store

·     Can expand product offering as time goes on

·     Could gain more financial backing

·     Use social media to increase sales

·     Offer gift-with-purchase or do sample sales to encourage brand loyalty

·     Could eventually open our own free-standing store

Threats

·     The sluggish economy could affect the sales of our line

·     Possible trade embargoes, or political unrest in regions where we source our materials

·     Possible increasing minimum wage

·     Customer needs could change

·     Could be criticized for not manufacturing our line in the US

·     Natural disasters/climate change could affect crops like cotton, making prices increase, or could delay crucial transportation timelines