Holey Soles Case Study
ISSUE IDENTIFICATION
The issues surrounding Holey Soles include
• The inability to have a high market share due to dominance from Crocs.
• How to reach the goal of $40 million revenue while deciding upon expansion.
But the current impending issue is how to reach the goal of $40 million by 2009.
THE INJECTION MOLDED FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
Strengths
• Fast growing company.
• Focused on innovative lifestyle products.
• Unique SoleTek and Smartcell foam technologies.
• Competitive pricing for a high quality product.
• Spend time in training and mentoring employees.
• Strong customer service
• Work with clients of all sizes
• Canadian company image.
• Joyce Groote’s management expertise.
• Low cost production in China
• Strong distributors in Denmark and mid to upper chain stores in North America.
Weaknesses
• Branding was not sufficiently strong; more effort required to developed the Holey Soles look and standard.
• No protection of their existing shoe design by either patent or industrial design in China.
• Excess unutilized production capacity during the months of November to January.
• Long transit time from China to the warehouses in North America
• Quality control issues with first few shipments of new styles of clogs.
• Inventory control issues: Keeping enough inventory was an issue because of increased number of large customers and the preference of the chain stores to select a narrow range of colors and sizes.
• Lack of specialized employees to match the increase expansion and growth.
Opportunities
• Growing fashion consciousness- Customers look for shoes that are light, comfortable, warm, durable and that look cute which varies from the traditional customer preference of cost effective and durable.
• Opportunity of offsetting seasonal fluctuations by expanding product lines to boots and closed shoes and targeting spas and gyms.
• Growing international and domestic markets.
• Use of modern technology such as
The issues surrounding Holey Soles include
• The inability to have a high market share due to dominance from Crocs.
• How to reach the goal of $40 million revenue while deciding upon expansion.
But the current impending issue is how to reach the goal of $40 million by 2009.
THE INJECTION MOLDED FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
Strengths
• Fast growing company.
• Focused on innovative lifestyle products.
• Unique SoleTek and Smartcell foam technologies.
• Competitive pricing for a high quality product.
• Spend time in training and mentoring employees.
• Strong customer service
• Work with clients of all sizes
• Canadian company image.
• Joyce Groote’s management expertise.
• Low cost production in China
• Strong distributors in Denmark and mid to upper chain stores in North America.
Weaknesses
• Branding was not sufficiently strong; more effort required to developed the Holey Soles look and standard.
• No protection of their existing shoe design by either patent or industrial design in China.
• Excess unutilized production capacity during the months of November to January.
• Long transit time from China to the warehouses in North America
• Quality control issues with first few shipments of new styles of clogs.
• Inventory control issues: Keeping enough inventory was an issue because of increased number of large customers and the preference of the chain stores to select a narrow range of colors and sizes.
• Lack of specialized employees to match the increase expansion and growth.
Opportunities
• Growing fashion consciousness- Customers look for shoes that are light, comfortable, warm, durable and that look cute which varies from the traditional customer preference of cost effective and durable.
• Opportunity of offsetting seasonal fluctuations by expanding product lines to boots and closed shoes and targeting spas and gyms.
• Growing international and domestic markets.
• Use of modern technology such as