BUS/475v11
SWOT Analysis
BUS/475 v11
Page 2 of 2
SWOT Analysis
Selected organization: NIKE INC
Complete a SWOT analysis for your chosen company. Each analysis should be 75-100 words.
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Strengths |
Weaknesses |
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· |
· High dependency on the U.S. market for sales and revenue. · Poor labor conditions such as child labor and low wages for its workers in foreign countries this has made them a subject of scrutiny (Xu & Leibold, 2020). · Nike's retail sector weakens its market grip since it is sensitive to pricing. Since they serve as Nike's core customers, the company does not fight their pricing strategies. · Lack of diversification since Nike greatly depends on sporting apparel and in low-sports seasons such as during the pandemic, it suffered huge losses. |
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Opportunities |
Threats |
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· Innovation - new products such as wearable technology can prove beneficial for Nike since they will contribute toward product diversification. · Emerging markets – Nike has an opportunity to tap into new markets such as China and India. · Reducing its association with big retailers – This will ensure better positioning of its products and thus enhance customer experience. · Shifting to digital business and closing physical stores- This strategy will enhance its consumer-direct strategy and accelerate its sales. |
· Increased competition from new emerging brands. This forces Nike to spend more money on advertising and marketing. · Numerous counterfeit products can significantly tarnish its brand image. · Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. It reports its financial earnings in the U.S. dollar which is volatile against other financial currencies. · Economic uncertainty and trade tensions especially since it depends on different markets across the world. This may negatively affect its sales and revenue. · Patent disputes can tarnish the company’s brand reputation. |
[ You have an effective starting point. To effectively refine this starting point, recall from our Week Two class discussion (in particular, note the message I posted, “Understanding how we can use the SWOTT as a strategic planning tool in real life” on 4/1/2022), the SWOTT category findings are not intended to be a list of isolated skill sets. Here are some key points:
· Present a contrast between your organization and its competitors as they relate to the implications to strategy.
· Your identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats should focus on how your organization is purposefully and genuinely different from a set of identified competitors supported with cited research.
· As only one example, listing “a strong customer base…” in the strength category seems to suggest your organization will be the only one with that capability. How realistic is that? Is it not likely competing companies will be able to achieve that same advantage? Remember, this is only one example. What research can you find?
· Consider all the findings you have listed. What criteria are you using to measure and classify each of the attributes you mention? What are the standards you are following? You need to conduct research to validate your findings for each category in relation to competitors.
Let me know what questions you have.]
Analysis
Write a 525- to 700-word summary of your findings. Use information from the SWOT analysis as well as what you have learned about your business’s structure, culture, and interrelationships to write the summary. Your summary should:
· Explain how you would match the business’s strengths to its opportunities.
· Analyze how you would convert the business’s weaknesses into strengths.
· Explain the actions the business needs to take to advance its goals and/or expand its competitive advantage.
· Analyze interrelationships among distinct functional areas of the organization and how it may affect your SWOT analysis.
Cite all sources according to APA guidelines. Access the Reference & Citation Generator in the Center for Writing Excellence for citation assistance.
Submit your assignment.
By matching the business's strengths to its opportunities, the business can realize a competitive advantage. Nike can leverage its strengths to exploit its opportunities to effectively sell its products. Nike can use its strong brand value and awareness to penetrate emerging markets that are currently flourishing in terms of their demand for sportswear apparel. It can also use its strong customer base to limit its association with retailers who currently weaken its market grip. By using this strength, the company can better position its products and further enhance customer experience. This strength will also help it to attain customer loyalty. It can also use its superior marketing capability and extensive utilization of social media platforms to reach target customers to shift to digital business. The pandemic opened Nike's eyes to the need to enhance its customer direct strategy and accelerate sales and thus it can use its media presence to realize it.
To convert the business weaknesses into strengths, there is a need to critically analyze the weaknesses and any opportunities that Nike has to address them. For instance, the weakness of high dependency on the U.S. markets for sales and revenue can be remedied by exploiting emerging markets such as China which offer good business prospects. Through this, the company can generate more sales and revenue by depending on other markets other than the U.S. It can convert its reducing market grip due to its retail sector by stopping its association with big retailers that are sensitive to pricing. It can address its lack of diversification through mergers with other companies that specialize in other products. To address the weakness of poor labor relations in foreign countries, Nike should conduct due diligence and social audits to ensure that the company is not complicit in forced labor (Xu & Lebold, 2020). This will ensure that it seeks remedial actions, a strategy that will further ensure a competitive edge.
Nike currently has an edge over its competitors due to several factors such as product and process innovation and marketing strategies. It can advance its goals and expand this competitive advantage by improving the uniqueness of its designs. By improving its designs, the company will consequently enhance its brand image which is a strong contributor to its competitive advantage. It also needs to emphasize brand equity which is a major strength of its brand (Rezaei & Sharifian, 2021). To realize this, Nike should work toward enhancing customer trust, experience, and engagement. Thanks to its strong social media presence, it can sufficiently engage its customers and identify ways of improving their trust and experience. Through this, it will manage to stay ahead of its competitors and advance its goal of making innovative products for its customers (Ramswamy, 2008). Another action that Nike needs to take to advance its goals and competitive advantage is innovation so that it can meet the fast-changing preferences of its customers. As a result, it should invest more in research and development so that it can diversify and increase its market share.
Some of the distinct functional areas of the organization include brand category, retail, tax and trade customs, and logistics and distribution. The brand category is concerned with aspects of marketing, retailers sell Nike’s products at various outlets, tax and trade customs focus on finances and how the company can grow while distribution ensures that Nike’s products are sold all over the world. These functional areas impact the SWOT analysis because they determine the internal and external environments within which Nike operates. They are also interrelated since internal strategies such as marketing determine external factors such as the rate of distribution and economic growth.
[You identified some key findings using relevant research. That is the right idea for a SWOT analysis. In summary and for continued progress, consider how you can use a broader base of research to test and validate the ideas and recommendations you are presenting that goes beyond the company’s own perspective and your individual observations. Focus on the company’s market position in relation to its competitors. What research can you find regarding how functional relationships within the company could change your SWOT analysis? You made mention of this; details are needed about the connection between specific functional relationships and your SWOT findings.]
References
Cara, S. (2021, Nov 4). Nike is on track to make $50 billion this year. How much is that, really? Retail Dive.
Foong, L. S., & Yazdanifard, R. (2014). Celebrity endorsement as a marketing tool. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 14(4), 1-4.
Ramaswamy, V. (2008). Co‐creating value through customers' experiences: the Nike case. Strategy & leadership.
Xu, V. X., & Leibold, J.A (2020, March 17). Your favorite Nikes might be made from forced labor. Here’s why. The Washington Post.
Copyright 2020 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2020 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
