SWOT Analysis of High-End Consignment Clothing Store - Case Study Example

? SWOT ANALYSIS OF HIGH-END CONSIGNMENT CLOTHING STORE Table of Contents: SWOT ANALYSIS OF HIGH-END CONSIGNMENT CLOTHING STORE Table of Contents: 2 Introduction 3 SWOT Analysis of Clothes Circuit: 4 a)Strength: 4 b)Weakness: 4 c)Opportunity: 4 d)Threat: 4 Internal factors: 5 i)Strategy: 5 ii)Structures: 5 iii)Resources: 5 iv)Goals: 5 v)Strategic capabilities: 6 vi)Leadership: 6 External factors: 6 i)Legal & Regulatory: 6 ii)Global: 6 iii)Economic: 6 iv)Technological: 7 v)Innovation: 7 vi)Social: 7 Bibliography: 11 Introduction High-end consignment store or the second-hand store is a place which offers used branded clothes at reasonable or inexpensive prices to its customers. These stores are most preferable for customers who want to primp their wardrobe without spending that extra penny but having the privilege of wearing the brands which are ineffable otherwise. Consignment store are very popular amongst astute shopaholics who rather believe in being frugal than being a spendthrift. Consignment stores are managed in a way that both the consignee and the consignor are in the queue to make some money. As per the rule book a consignor has the right to scrap the partnership if it feels the business is moving at a tortoise pace and can take its goods back from the consignee as the deal is for a limited period of time between the two (Andre, 2004, p. 218-219). When consignment stores become part of any discussion then USA is surely to be highlighted as the country which has some popular high-end consignment stores which over the years have been a prime destination for many abstemious shoppers. Some of these big names are Her Friend’s Closet, Frugal Boutique, The closet, Clothes Circuit: Dallas Upscale Retail, etc. These stores offer brand with style at affordable price and are a big hit amongst consumers (Downtownbend.org, 2012). Consignment stores are popular hangout for a large segment of people and these stores are no less attractive than the branded stores down the street and have a friendly ambience for the customers who love to shop in these stores. To analyze such stores what better than to take a popular store as an example. Clothes Circuit: Dallas Upscale Retail is one such high-end consignment store for women and who are into this business for nearly 30 years. It would be interesting to know why this store is popular amongst women. What makes the store a strong competitor? What are its strengths and weaknesses? To analyze these queries a SWOT analysis can be a handy tool and provide a gist of Clothes Circuits business plan (Clothes Circuit, 2012) SWOT Analysis of Clothes Circuit: a) Strength: The biggest strength of the store lies in its low price for branded clothing range though used but in great shape to even confuse customers for first-hand product. b) Weakness: Weakness can be many but the major being that it doesn’t create hype through large section of the population which may affect the business. c) Opportunity: The weakness of the store can be turned into favorable opportunity by targeting a particular segment of customers through various promotional activities to create a better communication plan using promotional mix to its best use. d) Threat: The biggest threat for the store is limited deal between the consignee & consignor. Secondly if the clothes are not in proper shape then selling them becomes a problem. Also proper fitting becomes a problem with limited availability. But threat can be converted into opportunity if the store can provide a tailor for cloth fitting as per customers body shape & size and make sure that clothes available are in good condition (Dingell, 2009). Apart from SWOT analysis there are other factors also which plays a significant role in analyzing the credibility of Clothes Circuit store. The elements of analysis to get a picture perfect view of the business strategies implemented by the store can be divided into internal & external factors. Internal factors: i) Strategy: A proper strategy to attain higher market share in consignment clothing store sector can only be implemented if the resources is not a problem and the store can perform to the best of its capabilities. ii) Structures: A consignment store like Clothes Circuit store should have a structured business plan to attract target consumers rather than vouching for everyone. iii) Resources: The most important aspect of this or any high-end consignment store is resources as it not only allows developing a strong strategy but also helps increase market share. iv) Goals: Every firm has a goal in mind so does Clothes Circuit store, but, it is possible to accomplish the goals if the store has strong core competencies. v) Strategic capabilities: The willingness or rather the capacity of the store to survive through planned action of its objectives and a good strategy in developing future value for the store is what can make the store more sought after by the consumers. vi) Leadership: A leader can do wonders by leading from the front and a good leadership attributes of a person to understand the basics of the high-end consignment store and to evaluate its strength and weakness and work accordingly can help the store to create a future value for its business. External factors: i) Legal & Regulatory: Legally following and abiding by the norms & regulations set by the government bodies can help the high-end store to function smoothly. ii) Global: A good high-end store with high credibility factor towards the consumers can think of going global which will eventually make it a global player and also will have more opportunity in exploring new territory. Already been in business for 3 decades, Clothes Circuit should now plan to explore different horizons. iii) Economic: Economic factors like inflation, recession can affect the business of the store but on the contrary it can also emerge as a winner if strategy is well phased out as people would prefer buying inexpensive clothes and if brands are available at such prices then income will be no problem for the clothing store but it has to work according to its reputation to ensure better service for its customers. iv) Technological: Technologically a high-end consignment clothing store is not at par but with latest technology it can be technologically upgraded and can make full use of the technology available in ensuring that the used clothes are made to look new and more appealing to the customers. v) Innovation: Be it a big firm or a consignment clothing store all have to be innovative in their approach to survive in the cut throat business environment and be unique and different from other competitors. vi) Social: Like any firm a high-end consignment clothing store also have to be socially active and try to contribute towards socio-cultural factors so as to have a clean and reputed image in the market. ( Marketinganalysis.org, 2011) Clothes Circuit over the years has been catering to the needs of the customers in clothing segment especially women who always love to be stylish. Clothes Circuit for 30 years has been standing tall as a high-end consignment store and a popular destination for women who want to dress in the best brands available in the store. Furthers the analysis of the store has given a better understanding of its business process. If we economically analyze, the store has been doing good business over the years because even during financial crisis people can afford to pay reasonable price for brands like Prada, Gucci, etc available at the store in superb condition. (Clothes Circuit, 2012) It can also be seen that the Clothes Circuit has well adapted to the change over the years in the consignment store market and because of this adaptability factor it has survived for 3 decades and still going strong. It has adhered to latest technology, has given the customers privilege of online shopping as well. Supply chain management has been another important factor contributing towards the stores success as it has consignor’s who adhere to the deals between each other. Also without a proper supply chain management the store would not have survived for so long and become a landmark for frugal shopaholics. With more and more people becoming brand crazy the store has umpteen number of opportunity to grab the chance and expand to different territories to increase its market share. But to do that it has to face certain issues which if dealt properly can create lots of opportunity for the store. The issues like availability of clothes, competition from other such stores, limited number of consignor, these issues can cause major problem for the company but if handled competently issues can be changed in ample amount of opportunity prospects for the company. The issues like availability of used branded clothes, consignor for the supply of clothes are the issues which are generated because in consignment stores the goods sold are second-hand so acquiring these goods in proper condition and avoiding any faux of designer brands is a difficult task. Such issues or the circumstances can be classified as tangible & intangible elements. Components like goods, location of the store, technology, man power are tangible factors whereas the service, store image are the intangible factors. Both these factors are of utmost importance in knowing the true nature of the organization, its growth graph over the years and store like Clothes Circuit has to keep playing an important role in understanding the issues and finding ways to overcome them and create an opportunity and finally making it a strength for the organization to prosper smoothly in the years to come and delivering the best to the consumers by becoming the best in its own field. Reference Andre, M. L. (2004). Ready to Wear: An Expert's Guide to Choosing and Using Your Wardrobe. New York: Penguin Downtown Bend. (2012. Clothing & Accessories. Retrieved on February 28, 2012 from http://www.downtownbend.org/downtown-bend-oregon-shopping/clothing-accessories/ Clothes Circuit. (2012). About us. Retrieved on February 28, 2012 from http://www.clothescircuit.com/about.php Bibliography: DeAngelo. K (2009). Campus Consignment: Consume, Conserve, Consign. Retrieved on February 28, 2012 from http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1155&context=srhonorsprog&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.in%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%. Ireland, R. D, Hoskisson, R. E, Hitt, M. A (2008). Understanding Business Strategy: Concepts & Cases. USA: Cengage Learning. Marketing Analysis. (2011). SWOT Analysis. Retrieved on February 28, 2012 from http://www.marketinganalysis.org/SWOT-Analysis.html Read More