Mahogany Western Wear Swot Analysis Paper

Harold Green

SWOT Analysis

The business plan I will be analyzing was created by the owners of Mahogany Western Wear, a retail clothing store located in Houston, Texas which will cater to the African-American cowboy community. The business plan was highly-detailed, and did a great job of explaining the purpose of starting a new business venture. “It explained the new company’s business model describing what kinds of product it will make and sell and why they will appeal to the intended customer base. It also outlined how the new venture will be able to compete successfully against their established competitors; and explained how the business owners intend to obtain, use, and organize the resources the company will need
This essay will outline my findings, identifying where the company stands based on the four key strategic areas of SWOT to determine what changes can be made to the business model to increase their strengths and reduce the weaknesses that could harm the company. Mahogany Western Wear will be the only African-American western apparel store in the entire city of Houston. The owners have chosen a central location near the residences and social activities of their targeted audience, African-American cowboys and cowgirls. The location of the store is essential to the long-term success of the business, and is definitely a strong point. In addition to location the store will also offer women’s plus sizes as well as men’s big and tall sizes. During the initial startup of the business Mahogany Western Wear will offer apparel, accessories, hats, and gifts, but will not offer cowboy boots. In an area like Houston not offering boots is a definite weakness for this business. Customers will have to go elsewhere to purchase their footwear, which could be a major deterrent. Another weakness is limiting the client base to African-Americans. This makes the store more of a specialty shop, making its success dependant on the shopping habits of the target
There is no shortage of storefronts, novelty shops, and vendors offering Cowboy apparel. These shops pose a huge threat to the success of Mahogany Western Wears since many of them will offer the most essential item to a cowboy’s wardrobe, the cowboy boot. In order to stay relevant in this market the owners are going to have to find a way to either add footwear to their inventory, or provide an incentive for customers to shop with them. The coupons, weekly specials, and store card promotions outlined in the business plan are a great start toward building customer loyalty. Selection and pricing also pose a threat to the success of this store as the bigger brand name stores will be able to offer newer merchandise at reduced prices since they have the established clientele to move the