Jodie Fox - Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Shoes of Prey E-Commerce Startup - Case Study Example

JODIE FOX: CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER AT SHOES OF PREY (Name) (Lecturer) (Course Number) (Date) Jodie Fox: Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Shoes of Prey Most entrepreneurs are said to have tried numerous business ideas and failed multiple times before they finally have their big break [Ald01]. Others will hit a speed bump or a snarl along the way that could bring the business to its knees before it breaks even [She05]. But it is the quality of self-resilience and a willingness to learn from mistakes made and to adapt to the current trends that puts many an entrepreneur ahead of the rest, two traits which have helped Jodie Fox, co-founder of Shoes of Prey, to get to where she is. Known by her words, “Do everything before you’re ready”, Jodie has proven to be a commendable force to reckon with in the shoe retail business, and has gone on to win several awards and accolades, among them the Top 30 most influential women in Australian retail award in 2014 and the 2011 Telstra Business Women’s Awards. 33-year-old Jodie was born in a very close-knit family, with a mom of Sicilian background. Her parents were from poor backgrounds and were never able finish their education but put a lot of emphasis on education. Being the first family member to go to university, Jodie Fox, felt a sense of obligation to her parents, prompting her to study banking and finance law at the university in Brisbane in the early 2000s. It was during this period that she met Michael Fox and Mike Knapp, who would later become her business partners. The three quickly became friends, maintaining ties even after they had graduated and moved on into their careers. Jodie and Michael would later wed in 2006 and divorce in 2011, two years after the formation of their online business. While Fox and Knapp eventually got jobs at Google, Jodie practiced law for three years before moving to advertising, and later finding that her true passion lay in fashion, specifically in owning an online retail business that allowed women can design their own shoes. While maintaining their full-time careers, the trio would set up an online dating site and later an online travel agency, in which they would invest their time in the evenings, weekends, and holidays, largely drawing their inspiration from the book The Purple Cow by Seth Godin. These two ideas did not quite pick up though, but that did little to dampen their entrepreneurial inclinations, and so in December 2008, the idea of an online retail shop that sold customized shoes for women was born. In a way, Jodie admits that her venturing into the business was driven by her desire to make her own shoes – shoes that she actually liked. Like most, if not all, women, Jodie could never quite find exactly what she wanted, be it in terms of the right shoe colour or right heel height. Other times it would be that the shoe would have details that she did not like, like a particular embellishment or ribbon. During holiday travels to Europe, she would make a stopover in Asia, and here she found someone with whom she could commission shoe designs. Soon friends would make requests for her to create shoes for them too, and out of this the idea was born. Having to leave the safety of a steady paycheck to plunge into the unknown world of business can be quite daunting for any entrepreneur [Bau94]. This was the case for Jodie and her two co-founders, but Jodie drew strength from her bond with her close-knit family and the friends she had made in Sydney, where she had moved to work. Also, if the business failed, she felt that she was young and at the start of her career, meaning she still had good time to find another job. The online retail business requires a well-rounded team with relevant skills such as branding, marketing and IT skills in order to be successful. The trio, whose combination of skills was a good match and balance for the online retail business, therefore set their idea into motion, quit their respective jobs, pooled whatever resources they had, and put in months of intense research and talking to potential suppliers and potential customers to build their start-up, Shoes of Prey, which was officially launched in April 2009. Shoes of Prey is an e-commerce site on which women globally get to design their own shoes, starting with basic styles, a feature that has aided the company in standing out from other online shoe retail businesses. Through the website, women are able to creatively customize and design their shoes without having to compromise either style or their comfort. Using the design tool available on the site, they select their details of choice, from fabric, to decorative embellishments, heel height, and toe shape, something that they continue to maintain even after striking a deal with upmarket department chain store Nordstrom in 2014 [Mit14]. Once the design has been made and ordered, the shoe is delivered to the customer within four weeks. Now, with customers wanting to see what the shoes look like in reality, to touch, feel and fit them, Shoes of Prey has made a bold move to go offline, establishing physical stores and shops in Australia, and much recently securing a partnership with US department store giant Nordstrom [Smi16]. Shoes of Prey was started out of the need to create comfortable and stylish shoes of the right colour, toe shape and heel height for any woman. Being able to manufacture customized shoes for different customers is, therefore, a major competitive advantage of the business. Few suppliers would agree to custom make shoes, especially few orders of the same, with many preferring to mass produce them. Shoes of Prey, has however got a good working relation with two suppliers. This part of the business was outsourced for years, but the company finally opened its own manufacturing factory in China, consequently increasing the number of employment opportunities. Another competitive advantage that stands out for the company is its passionate customer base and its excellent relationship with its customers. It has had millions of visits to its website since its launch in 2009, which could be accredited to strategic use of online platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, a move that has seen a great increase in traffic to their website by millions of women. That escalated considering the fact that the company strives to have a connection with its audience by being available, responsive and relative in its communication with customers has helped to grow and maintain its customer base. To aid in this, the company has also adapted the use of Assistly in its communication with its customers, which has proven to be both efficient and scalable with features such as the FAQs and prioritization of customers’ queries. The third competitive advantage of the company over its competitors is its website and online shoe designer. The interactive design tool has made it possible for millions of women to design and customize their own shoes from wherever they are, globally. Adapting to changing technological trends would place them way ahead of their competition [Luf93]. An example of one such trend is the 3-D printing. So far, the company seems to be doing very well in terms of profit margins. It being slightly over seven years old and possibly not financially capable to launch a second business, it would be best to focus on the company as it is, and maximize on their competitive advantage [Por89]. Shoes of Prey’s competitive advantage lies in their customer base and their relationship with them. Besides working on improving its product, this would also mean taking time to invest in its brand, business model system and team and developing them further. When the company has exponentially grown, and this could take years, it could start considering diversifying itself [Qui92]. For instance, it could expand its products to include ladies’ handbags and men’s footwear, or any other products in the fashion industry. Another alternative would be to invest in and inject its resources, expertise and know-how and brand into start-ups by external individuals [Gra91]. This could also grow as an idea into the creation of a hub where brilliant and like-minded individuals with innovative business ideas are mentored and supported to build up their start-ups. The company could also focus more on their offline presence, by increasing the number of physical stores as already seen across Australia and the US market, and branching out to other parts of the globe as well. This value creation through face-to-face interactions with customers is sure to boost sales and improve customer experience [Ram08]. In the slightly over seven years since it was launched, Shoes of Prey has grown exponentially through the maximization of its competitive advantage over its opponents. Admittedly, there are still numerous avenues that the company could take in future, but under the leadership of Jodie Fox and her co-founders, the future of the company can only be brighter. Bibliography Ald01: , (Aldrich & Martinez, 2001), She05: , (Sheffi, 2005), Bau94: , (Baucus & Human, 1994), Mit14: , (Mitchell, 2014), Smi16: , (Smith, 2016), Luf93: , (Luftman, et al., 1993), Por89: , (Porter, 1989), Qui92: , (Quinn, 1992), Gra91: , (Grant, 1991), Ram08: , (Ramaswamy, 2008), Read More