Global Leadership and Management - Essay Example

Global Leadership and Management- Speaker s of the Management of the Concerned January 22, Global Leadership and Management- Speaker Notes Slide II In the light of one salient threat to the Kids Retail, mentioned in its SWOT analysis, which is the competition posed by the kid’s shops of the big chains like Wall-Mart and Limited Corporation, our company could exploit this threat as a pivotal opportunity for international expansion. It is a pragmatic fact that the emerging kids’ apparel companies simply cannot contend with the retail and logistics potential of the established big chains.

Considering the fact that apparel retailing is a capital and investment intensive business, our company could opt to emerge as a leading kids ‘apparel brand by striking pan-global alliances with leading apparel retail stores like Wal-Mart, Sears and JC Penny’s. Kids’ apparel business is required to contend with a complex market, considering the fact that a large segment of the consumers tend to fall without the typical consumer profile. Hence the resources saved on establishing new stores and supply and logistics operations, courtesy the alliances forged with the big global chains could be better spent on coming out with large lines during the main selling seasons that are spring, summer, back to school and holidays.

At an international level, kids’ fashion happens to be one of the fast growing categories of clothing (Reddy, 2011). So the time and resources saved by leaving retailing to the big clothing chains like Wal-Mart and JC Penny’s, our company could focus on its core competencies like monitoring the international trends in kids’ clothing and fast adapting the products to the emerging trends. Slide III & IV In the SWOT analysis of the Pumpkin, the threat posed by established retail brands like Gap, Gymboree, Next, Billabong, and Mango do have a marked reference.

However, going by the recent recessionary trends, the competition in the children’s clothing business is more likely to turn on prices, going by the fact that children tend to outgrow their clothes at a fast pace. The fast augmenting competition is already pressurizing many of the established children’s clothing companies to lower their prices in high income companies (The Birmingham Post, 2009). Here in lies the opportunity for international growth for our company. Going by the fact that our company already has manufacturing facilities in Southeast Asia, it can take advantage of the low labor costs in Asia, to produce a line of children’s clothing that is stylish and affordable.

Doing so, our company could pose a head on competition to the already established children’s clothing companies having their manufacturing operations concentrated in North America, Western Europe and Australia. Slide V One weakness of Kids Retail mentioned in its SWOT analysis is that it is new in business as compared to its established rivals. In that context, our company could also be attributed to be an upstart in the international context. Manufacturing facilities in the Southeast Asia do bolster our brand with a competitive edge.

However, our company could incorporate new technology in varied aspects of our business to match the established rivals, to reduce costs and to accrue profits. The children’s’ clothing business by its very nature requires the companies to register a prompt response to the altering consumer preferences. Exploiting communication technologies like bar codes, electronic data interchange and point of sale terminals, our company could streamline its response to markets, to compete with the already established companies (Quinn, 2002, p. 170). Our company could also reduce the cost of manufacturing in our Asian manufacturing facilities by using computer aided equipment and machinery for designing, marking and cutting.

References Pressure on Retailers will Only get Worse. (2009, January 2). The Birmingham Post, pp. 7. Quinn, Bradley. (2002). Techno Fashion. New York: Berg. Reddy, Sameer. (2011, June 18). Branding the Baby. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303714704576383652840003090.html