SWOT analysis illustrates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that a company experience in an industry. Through this analysis, it is possible to establish the competitiveness of a company in the industry. Giordano is one of the most influential companies in the clothing industry in the Asian market.
The company begun its business in Hong Kong, and has expanded gradually to cover most regions of Asia. Initially, the company ventured into the men’s casual wears business, which made it one of the most reputable firms in the industry. This is attributed to the fact that its rivals were not competitive in terms of service provision and marketing. Over time, it diversified its products and services to meet the needs of its clients.
Giordano has gained its strengths in the course of operation. The management culture and style of leadership contribute significantly to its strengths. In this case, the company has instilled flexibility amongst its employees since new ideas are highly appreciated. The culture has made the company venture into new markets, and incorporates new production techniques based on customers’ taste and preference.
Meanwhile, the services offered by the company are targeted at satisfying the needs of the customers. Effective service delivery has been one of the ways has been to enhance customers’ relationships. Some of the ways adopted include hospitality of the employees, marketing behaviors and practices of the company. As a result, the company has been able to win the loyalty of customers since they are treated appropriately.
The nature of services delivered by the company has contributed to its strengths. In this regard, the company offers varied kinds of products in its retail stores. Since the retail stores are distributed across most markets in the regions, it implies that customers can easily access the products at their own convenience.
In addition, the company enjoyed the benefits of being the first company to explore the clothing business, which enabled it to establish its stores at convenient locations in the region. Consequently, the company can invest in any form of customer service campaign easily. Through this process, the company has gained a reputation in the region, which makes it earn substantial profits.
The adoption of the up-to-date technology has been critical to Giordano success in the industry. One of the main roles played by the technological facilities is inventory control. For this reason, the company has efficiently monitored the demand of its products and the production process.
As a result, the management deals appropriately with the needs of the customers at the retail store level. Furthermore, technological facilities have been critical towards the management of service delivery, and improvement of customer relation with management.
Giordano’s practices of product differentiation and market reposition contribute to its strengths. In this case, the company invests significant resources in ensuring that its products and services are differentiated from those of its rivals. For this reason, the company provides consumers with unique and quality products. In addition, the company creates value in its products, which changes its market position in the minds of consumers. Consequently, the company is rated as one of the leading companies in terms of clothing production for both men and women.
Regardless of the above strengths portrayed by the company in the industry, it experiences multiple weaknesses. The rapid expansion undertaken by the company contributes to one of its weaknesses. In this case, the company is faced with difficulties in monitoring the operations undertaken in its retail stores in the international stores.
Another factor that contributes to its weakness is the decentralized form of management. Through this initiative, the company is not able to scrutinize effectively the operations of the stores. This is attributed to variation in regional cultures and practices. Consequently, it affects the overall performance of the company in terms of sales and customer-oriented services.
Another weakness experienced by the company is the selection of its workforce. Through a tight scrutiny process of the candidates, the company identifies the ideal employees. After this process, the company trains and develops them before they are taken to the field.
However, the fact that knowledge and skills acquired during the training and development process may not be effectively employed in the service delivery stage, affects service provision. This notion is attributed to variation in personalities of individuals selected for employment. Consequently, it affects the general performance of the company in the industry.
The decision to restrict the number of brands offered within the stores contributes to its weaknesses. In this regard, the company has experienced stiff competition from its rivals. Consequently, this practice will minimize the variety of consumers’ needs addressed by the company. This is because the consumers will view the company as an option rather than the ultimate products’ supplier.
Following the strengths and weaknesses experience of the company, there are immense opportunities that it can exploit. In this case, the company is endowed with a substantial capital base, which enables it to invest in diversified investments.
Over time, the company has been specializing in production of casual clothes for both men and women. As a result, the company has potential to segment the needs of the consumers based on demographic factors. This implies that consumers’ needs based on one’s age vary, which offers the company humble opportunity to exploit.
Another opportunity attributable to the company is its ideal location of retail stores. In this regard, the company has to offer varied kinds of products and services based on customers’ tastes and preference. Through this process, it can exploit the market segmentation of consumers based on their social status.
This will create variation in the margins from the sales made by the company. Notably, the exploitation of technological advancement in service delivery improves the rating of the company in the industry. Consequently, the company can restructure its corporate strategy to suit the dynamism of the market. When all these opportunities are fully harnessed, the rating of the company in the industry will be impressive.
Despite Giordano’s impressive performance in the industry over the previous periods, it will face substantial threats in the future. Initially, it is critical for the company to reposition itself against the emerging new rivals. This element is vital for the company since it influences its performance and customers’ loyalty.
Another critical element is the sustenance of its previous performance and level of service delivery. Since this element is an output of various efforts, the issue must be consistently monitored to move in relation with customers’ needs. Consequently, it can improve its competitive advantage against its rivals. Lastly, the expansion and diversification of the company contributes to one of the threats.
In this case, the company must consider multiple factors, which could hinder its performance in the international market. This involves issues such as marketing mix, corporate strategies and the nature of products and services offered. Through an efficient analysis of the critical factors exposed to the company based on SWOT analysis, it is possible to identify measures that can be adopted to improve the competitive nature of Giordano.