Executing Business Strategy Report Case Study

Evaluation Of Strategic Management, Business Model And Performance

Explaining the strategy of the company

In the present case of Sneakerland, the strategy of the company is majorly focused on product leadership. The company is focusing on making Innovations and changes within the product line and trying to attract more customers. According to the strategies of the company, they are focusing on product leadership (Keiningham and et.al, 2020). This is particularly focused on the business because it will help the company differentiate itself by offering different high-quality shoes within the market. In addition to this, the innovation within the product line will attract more customers and as a result of this, the overall performance of the company will be increased. 

In addition to this, the company is majorly focused on quality and customer intimacy in promoting its products and services. This is particularly because the reason that company includes a focus on the quality of the product. The reason underneath is that the customers require effective quality and as a result of this overall focus is on the quality of the product. Along with this, growth the company is majorly focused on product development. This is particularly because of the reason that developing a new product for the existing market will help the company in attracting a large number of customers. Along with this when the existing market will be focus then automatically it will increase the brand loyalty of the company and the Goodwill as well.

Reflecting the lesson learnt

Round 1- 2023

Within the round one that is 2023 the decision taken included the factor the profit will be retained. This was particularly decided because the whole profit will be retained within the business and this in turn will help the business in improving its operation efficiency. Along with this, it was evaluated that the result assisted in improving the profitability of the company. In addition to this, it was learnt that the inventory was kept very less with the company. This was particularly seen by the balance sheet that the inventory within the year was only 35286. This assisted me in acknowledging the fact that keeping the stock at a low level is risky for the company. This is because of the reason that the company is not having proper stock and in case there is high demand then this will assist them in improving efficiency to a great extent. 

Round 2- 2024

With the evaluation of round 2 which is 2024 it was decided by the company that they will increase the inventory. As a result of this within this year the inventory was 126767. This simply implies that having a lot of stock with the companies is beneficial as it will help them to Greater the sudden needs of the consumer. In addition, this round also assisted me in learning the fact that keeping the retained profit increased the profit within the year 2024. This simply means that the performance of the companies increasing and as a result of this the consumers like the product and buy it to a great extent. This year assisted me in learning that to improve profitability effective stock must be kept with the company. This is necessary because this stock will help meet the sudden needs of the customers and as a result they will be satisfied and brand loyalty will increase.

Round 3- 2025

In addition to this the round 3, evaluated that the financial performance improvement is very necessary. But in this year the expenses of the company were higher than the gross margin. Thus, as a result of this, the company was not in a position to earn profit. Thus, it impacted the working efficiency of the company and the company started suffering losses. In addition to this, the stock of the company was also too high. This too-high stock is also not good for the company as they are not able to earn profits. Thus, as a result of this due to the high inventory, the company started facing loss. This round assisted me in analysing the fact that inventory must be kept in the optimal proportion so that the company can earn effective profit.

Explaining the choice of competitive strategy

With regards to the competitive strategy the companies majorly focused on product leadership. There are three different types of strategy which can be used by the company which include cost leadership product leadership customer intimacy or a combination of all the strategies. However, the most appropriately selected by the company includes product leadership. This is particularly necessary because the company thinks that the customers are majorly attracted to the product only (Lee and et.al, 2019). In case the product of the company will not be attractive and effective then it will result in customers not buying the product. Thus, as a result of this, it will be impacting the sales of the business. So the choice for the competitive strategy by Sneakerland is product leadership. Within this, they bring innovation in the product and as a result of this, they will provide exclusive shoes to the customers which they will buy and ultimately the sales of the company increase.

Explanation of the business model of the company

With the analysis of these strategies of the business, it is evident that the business model of the company is customer-focused. This is particularly because of the reason that for the success of the business, the total focus is led on the target customers. This is particularly because of the reason that the customers are the people for whom the business operates (Tikhonov and Zelentsova, 2021). Thus, it is very necessary to keep the customers happy and satisfied. Hence because of this, the model of the company is customer-centric. All the decisions are being taken by considering the requirements and needs of the customers. Thus, when the customer is focused then automatically it increases the level of performance of the company and consequently, the profitability is increased.

Balanced scorecard for assessing the overall performance of the company

The balanced scorecard is a tool which is assistive to the company in measuring the performance of the company in a better and more effective manner. This balanced scorecard is assistive to the company in improving its performance and setting some targets to a great extent. The perspective of the balanced scorecard includes the following-

• Financial- for the financial part it is evident that the company has set the standards and they are performing the work according to it. This includes setting up the retained profit and return on equity and solvency as the KPI. This will assist the company in comparing the performance in a better and more effective manner. 
• Customer- another aspect of the balanced scorecard is the customer which needs to be effectively managed. This is essential for the reason that when the consumer is not happy and satisfied then it will be impacting the work to a great extent (Prastika and Fachira, 2023). Thus, for this, it is necessary for Sneakerland that they effectively make strategies which are focused on the lowest price, highest quality and market leader in quality and price segments. 
• Internal process- for effective working it is necessary that the internal process is very necessary to be implemented by Sneakerlands. Hence, for this, the company’s internal process is much more focused towards the optimisation of the operational process so that the objectives can be attained well. 
• Learning and growth- the company must provide a better base for the learning and growth of the company. This is very necessary for the company because human capital is essential for a company to be successful (Krylova and et.al, 2020). Thus, for this, proper training and motivational sessions must be organised so that the work can be managed properly and effectively.

Analysis Of The Business Environment

Evaluating main trends within the external and internal environment

With the evaluation of the strategy, it is evident that the analysis of the internal and external environment is very necessary. This is because of the reason that when the business operates it is necessary to evaluate the internal and external environment to a great extent. For this, the external analysis the use of PESTLE analysis and SWOT will be evaluated for effective working. 

PESTLE

Elements	Description
Political	Currently, the tax rates are lower and this will help the company in saving the money as now they will have to pay less of the taxes.
Economic	In the economic environment, the interest is reducing and this is an opportunity for the business as now the company can borrow the money from external sources at lower interest rates.
Social	The taste and preferences of the consumer are increasing towards the use of sneakers and other sports shoes. Thus, this will assist the company in increasing its sales and profitability of the company.
Technological	There are many new and advanced technology prevailing within the market (Kutsyk, 2022). Hence, it is the responsibility of the company that they effectively comply with the latest technology so that the working can be improved.
Legal	With regards to the legal working, the company is operating well as it complies with every law governing the business. These varieties of law include the Employment Act, Health and Safety, Contract Act, Equality Act and many other different acts which are necessary for effective working.
Environmental	For the effective management of the working, it is ensured that the company must protect the environment as well. This is very necessary because it will help the company in managing the work effectively so that work is managed. For this company does not harm the external environment by taking the raw materials.

SWOT analysis 

Strength  Providing exceptional consumer service is the major strength A wide range of products is another strength which assists the company in attracting consumers.	Weakness  High price in comparison to the competitors is the major weakness of the company.  Another weakness is that the company is dependent on manufacturing overseas which includes a lot of time.
Opportunities  Major opportunity includes developing sports-related products more as a consumer are focused towards them.  Another opportunity includes promoting the business at the international level.	Threat  The major threat faced by the company includes the intense competition present in the external environment.

Evaluating the strength of five forces

Along with the internal and external forces, it is also very necessary for the company they effectively analyse the competitive position as well. This is about the fact that the competition is very high and to improve the position appropriate competitive decisions must be taken effectively (Franco, 2021). Hence, for this compliance with the Porter five forces is very necessary and it is discussed as follows-

Elements	Description
Bargaining power of buyers	Currently, the working of the company is much customer-centric and as a result of this the bargaining power is very high and the company has to follow it effectively meet the requirement of customers of Snearkerland. .
Bargaining power of suppliers	The suppliers within the market are many and because of this, the bargaining power is low for the suppliers and this is good for the company because they do not have to rely on any one of the suppliers. This in turn, will not result in getting any kind of delay within the
Threat of new entrant	It is low because the market entry barriers are many and this makes it difficult for new entrants to enter the industry. Thus, the new competitors will not be entering within the market which will assist the company in improving the working well.
Threat of substitute	The substitutes present within the environment are less and as a result of this, the overall working for the company is beneficial as the company will buy the product from it only (Fei, Zhang and Deng, 2021).
Competitive rivalry	It is very high within the market because there are many different companies present in the footwear industry and it makes it difficult to work effectively.

Use of external and competitive forces within simulation

Effective compliance with the external and competitive forces is essential for the company. This is pertaining to the fact that the effective use of these tools and techniques is very helpful for the company in analysing the current position of the company. These tools are helpful for the company in improving the efficiency of the business and as a result of this the overall working is improved and the company analyses its current position (Lee, Kang and Kim, 2022). All these tools are very assistive to the company for helping in know the current position and as a result of this they will make effective decisions for the development and growth of the business. All these tools and techniques are assistive to the companies in selecting the best alternative course of decisions and as a result of this, the overall working of the company is improved. This is about the fact that when the effective decisions are taken automatically the performance of the company will be improved and it will help in developing the business position within the highly competitive market. 

Internal resources and capabilities of the company 

Along with these external and internal working models it is also very necessary that the resources and capabilities are also used by the company. This is necessary because, without the effective use of the resources, the company cannot operate effectively. Hence, for this the effective analysis of the resources is necessary which is implemented with the help of VRIO analysis as follows-

Resources	Valuable	Rarity	Imitable	Organized
Financial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Employees	No	Yes	No	No
Cost structure	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
IT	Yes	No	No	No
Patents	No	No	Yes	No
Technical	No	No	Yes	No
Research and development	No	No	Yes	Yes

With the evaluation of the above VRIO analysis, it is evident that the use of resources is implemented in a better and more effective manner. This is about the fact that when the resources will not be optimally used then it will be impacting the overall working of the company (Tsai, Lin and Cheng, 2022). With the help of the VRIO table, it is clear that financial and cost structure are the two major resources which are assistive the company in improving its position. The reason underlying the fact is that when the effective use of resources is implemented it will increase the efficiency of the work and as a result of this the overall work will be improved. 

Evaluation Of Strategic Priorities

Actions taken in strategy simulation to strengthen the innovation mindset of the company

There are certain sets of actions and decisions being taken by the company for effective management of the business. it is very necessary for Sneakerland to effectively manage the different decisions so that the work can be managed effectively. The different actions and decisions taken by the business are as follows-

• The major action taken by Sneakerland was to build an effective management team. This is particularly for the reason that when an effective team is present, the work will be improved (Bocken and et.al, 2019). The management team included 2 managers and their work profile included managing the operational efficiency by framing effective strategy and increasing the client base.
• Along with this another decision taken by Sneakerland includes increasing the warehouse. This includes the decision which ensures that the company must effectively increase their warehouse so that more of the stock can be present within the company. This will assist the company in meeting the sudden requirement of sales and as a result of this, the overall performance of the company will increase. 
• Furthermore, another decision taken by Sneakerland includes complying with sustainability in case of production of the goods (Norris and Ciesielska, 2019). This is particularly because of the reason that when the production will include sustainability then it will attract the consumers to a great extent. Thus, as a result of this, the overall working will be improved. 
• Another decision is taken with regards to promotion. The promotion of the goods is very necessary and in the present case of sneakers and the focus is lead over e marketing. This includes different type of channels that is Search Engine Optimisation, price per click. It also includes promoting the product with help of newspaper, billboards, Trade Fair and much other different kind of offline marketing techniques as well.

All these decisions were helpful to the company in improving its working efficiency. In addition to this decisions assisted the company in evaluating the fact that the effective use of these decisions will improve the performance of the company. Ultimately it will increase the overall efficiency and the profitability will be increased.

Impact of innovation on the future of business 

With the above areas it is evident that bringing innovation within the business is very necessary for the future. This is particularly necessary because when the effective innovation will be brought within the company and its products then automatically it will attract large number of customers (What is innovation? 2023). The two different areas which needs to be focused for innovation for the customers are as follows-

• The first area is to focus on innovating within the sports shoes. This is particularly necessary because currently the customers are much conscious relating to their health. The participate majorly within the activities involving physical movement. Thus, it will help the company to attract the customers who are health conscious and the innovation within the sports shoes will definitely attract more of the customers.
• In addition to this another major innovation area for the Sneakerland is to focus over the effective research and development. This is particularly necessary because the competition is intense and to face it, it is necessary for the company to have an effective research and development. This is necessary because it works on analysing these strategies of the competitors and making changes within the present company’s strategies. In addition to this, the research and development department will also help in evaluating the changes in need and preferences of the customers. Hence, these changes will be implemented into the working and ultimately it will result in attracting more of the customers.

References

Books and Journals 

Fei, W., Zhang, Z. and Deng, Q., 2021, October. Universal pictures’ SWOT analysis and 4Ps & 4Cs marketing strategies in the post-COVID-19 era. In 2021 International Conference on Public Relations and Social Sciences (ICPRSS 2021) (pp. 494-500). Atlantis Press.

Franco, S., 2021. The influence of the external and internal environments of multinational enterprises on the sustainability commitment of their subsidiaries: A cluster analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 297, p.126654.

Keiningham, T., Aksoy, L., Bruce, H.L., Cadet, F., Clennell, N., Hodgkinson, I.R. and Kearney, T., 2020. Customer experience driven business model innovation. Journal of Business Research, 116, pp.431-440.

Krylova, O., Litvinova, T., Babaskina, L., Babaskin, D. and Savinova, O., 2020. Analysis of the Internal Environment of the Pharmaceutical Distributor Operation in Russia Using SWOT Analysis. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 8(E), pp.382-388.

Kutsyk, P., 2022. Cognitive approach to the formation of company strategy based on Data Mining and SWOT analysis. Ekonomichnyy analiz, 32(2), pp.243-251.

Lee, I.B., Kang, M.J. and Kim, J.W., 2022. The Effects of Internal and External Factors of the Founders' on Startup Success: Focusing on the Mediating Effect of Self-efficacy and Trust in the Business Model. The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology, 8(1), pp.361-370.

Lee, J., Suh, T., Roy, D. and Baucus, M., 2019. Emerging technology and business model innovation: the case of artificial intelligence. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 5(3), p.44.

Prastika, D. and Fachira, I., 2023. Unlocking the Competitive Advantage: An Internal and External Analyses of PTIDM as a Small Enterprise in Indonesia. European Journal of Business and Management Research, 8(3), pp.96-100.

Tikhonov, A. and Zelentsova, L., 2021. Analysis of External and Internal Factors of Business Competitiveness. Quality-Access to Success, 22(182).

Tsai, M.C., Lin, S.P. and Cheng, C.C., 2022. A comprehensive quality improvement model: integrating internal and external information. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 33(5-6), pp.548-565.

Bocken, N., Strupeit, L., Whalen, K. and Nußholz, J., 2019. A review and evaluation of circular business model innovation tools. Sustainability, 11(8), p.2210.

Norris, D. and Ciesielska, M., 2019. Towards a framework for innovation orientation within business and management studies: A systematic review and paths for future research. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 32(1), pp.123-144.

Online

What is innovation? 2023. Online. Available through: < https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-innovation>