40 SWOT Analysis Examples of Real Businesses

SWOT analysis examples help to get a jump start for those who want to conduct SWOT Analysis for any business.

Marketing managers need to segregate any business information into appropriate four quadrants of SWOT (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats).  Even for those who already knew how and what information needs to be allocated where, it is imperative to analyze and understand already existing SWOT analysis example for real businesses. I personally recommend you to read at least a minimum of five examples from the below set of 40 SWOT analysis examples. You might witness some of the points which may represent a close resemblance of the business that you are currently evaluating.

The examples of SWOT analysis will give you a kick-start to analyze your business while our free SWOT analysis templates can help you get going without any hindrance.

  1. See Also: 40 Free SWOT Analysis Templates In Word
  2. See Also: 20 SWOT Analysis Template PPT files

Select and click any of the links provided below to hop and see your favorite example of SWOT analysis:

Apple SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Strong Brand
  • Loyal Customers
  • Best software
  • Good Financials
  • Good Products
  • High R&D investment
  • Unique Advertising
  • Absense of Steve Jobs
  • Recalls of products
  • Infringement of patents by other companies (Eg. Samsung)
  • Decreasing product life cycle of Apple products makes it more depends on new product launches.
  • Apple PC market share is still low compared to competitors.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Increasing demand in developing nations (Eg. India & China)
  • New & frequent product launches.
  • Branded retail outlets
  • Increasing demand for iPads
  • Growing competition from Android & new  players
  • Economic downturn in Europe
  • Changing technology demands
  • Increase in Taxes
  • Availability of free downloads (Music) which may threaten the mere existence of iTunes.
  • Dropbox, Google drives to become competitors for Apple Cloud.

Starbucks SWOT analysis (example of a swot analysis)

Strengths Weakness
  • Most celebrated coffee brand
  • Best product quality
  • Fantastic atmosphere
  • Unmatchable number of outlets worldwide in all the main cities
  • Strategic location of stores targeting premium customers
  • Effective supply chain management
  • Structured and powerful training of employees
  • High values of ethics in business
  • Innovative products
  • Products are priced high
  • Increasing turnover of employees
  • Expansion strategy is very aggressive in few countries
  • Products are conceived as unhealthy by health conscious customers
  • Following single standard of goods irrespective of cultural differences in different countries.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Image of a strong brand in developing countries.
  • New products, expansion of product lines (pastries, music CDs, innovative coffee varieties, etc.)
  • Selling coffee products through different distribution channels (Restaurants / big retailers).
  • Increasing sales of quality coffee beans and coffee vending machines
  • Growing market presence in Asia
  • Increasing competition in Coffee Industry (Fast food chains & new coffee houses).
  • Cannibalism – More number of stores placed within a specified location.
  • Economic Downturn – decreasing purchase power of people.
  • Increasing availability of substitute products
  • Most of the European and American markets have matured with limited scope for growth.
  • The volatility of coffee prices due to supply and demand mismatch.

Mcdonalds SWOT analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Substantial resources to create innovative products
  • Children targeted aggressive marketing – increasing share of kid’s meal sales.
  • Renowned and trusted brand (brand value ~ $85 billion)
  • Worldwide recognized ‘Golden Arches’ Logo.
  • Growing daily customers (close to 62 million customers every day)
  • Standardized taste of products – the McDonald’s burgers taste the same in all their outlets.
  • The production of McDonald’s burgers uses assembly line method to improve consistency and quality.
  •  The burgers are part of fast food products – always considered as unhealthy food.
  • Confusion and cultural issues in management due to enormous size of the company
  • Less diversification of McDonald’s products – leading to less innovation in new products.
  • Increasing turnover of employees along with bad press due to low salary levels of McDonald’s.
 Opportunities Threats
  •  Growing market for eating out restaurants.
  • Internationalization – Expansion to developing countries with strong brand presence.
  • Growing Kids meals share in overall sales of McDonald’s showcases growing market among youngsters.
  • Great strategy for advertising to create emotional connectivity with a brand.
  • Ability to add new lines of food catering to health-focused customers.
  •  Continuous changes in prices of raw materials used.
  • An increasing number of rivals – new fast food chains.
  • Growing competition from KFC and Hardees.
  • Growth in investment requirements to open new outlets and create advertising campaigns.
  • Growing health conscious customer base.
  • US & UK markets have become saturated.

Disney SWOT analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • After releasing The Force Awakens movie of Star Wars, Disney becomes third entertainment largest sector in a word. They are also planned to do Star Wars movies in every year for the next five years.
  • Disney is entertainment companies in the world, and its parks are known as one of the most exciting places in the world. And it also gets &% increase in their total theme park revenue.
  • The Walt Disney Company are assets for itself. They have their multiple channels like ESPN & ABC, enjoyment parks, and stores. It receives profits from all these places.
  • The Disney Company has their various products and services like clothes, plates, toys and provides services such as cruises, movies, and enjoyment park rides.
  • The Disney Company is not perfect; it’s have weakness also. A major weakness is that the cost of Disney Products and services.
  • The Disney enjoyment parks are also very expensive and most of the cable companies do not provide ESPN and the Disney Channel have their own basic package.
  • The Disney needs to develop its targeted audience. There is a very high-risk factor in the Disney Company’s investments, because they do not know if they will release their products then it will be going to hits or not.
 Opportunities Threats
  • The Disney Company clutches a lot of possibilities for its workers and for the company to propagate.
  • Now The Disney starts to do movies also. It’s good for the young actors to grow their career and get roles because of Walt Disney’s massive network of directors, producers, and actors.
  • The Walt Disney Company can develop further through modification. It can make more cruise ships, and it could make enjoyment parks in other major cities in the world. For example, The Disney would be open an entertainment park in Dubai, because it is a speedily growing city, in the past ten years, it has become a world-renowned city.
  • There are many threats in the Disney Company, and they emerge as time goes on. The Walt Disney Company is susceptible to recessions. When recession came in the world, people have less money to occupy on vacations due to forfeiture of jobs or increased prices of essential items such as clothing and food.
  • According to Research and development of the Walt Disney Company, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, children need at least sixty minutes of physical exercise every day.
  • The Walt Disney Company has a lot of competitors in the world like Universal Studios compete with the Walt Disney Company in the entertainment industry. Universal Studios also makes movies that appeal to children.
  • The development of technology is also a threat for the Walt Disney Company.

Costco SWOT analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Authority on Pricing – The company provides the best quality products at competitive prices. The low-cost image and the pricing authority brings in customers over and over again. Though the low pricing givings lower margins, the company was able to bring in customers to buy high priced / high margin goods by keeping prices low for other products.
  • Unmatched Brand Loyalty – By consistently providing high-quality products with reduced prices – the Costco stores provides the best value to its customers. This has helped the company to build its brand loyalty slowly but steadily over decades.
  • The company consistently enjoys high revenues supported by growth in the volume of sales and high turnover of inventory.
  • The large volume of sales brings in economies of scale which in turn contributes to operating efficiency – thus increased profits.
  • Ample presence in 600+ places
  • The Club membership chain is the largest in the USA
  • Ability to provide supplementary services to its stores (includes janitorial services, business centers, gas stations, office supplies, etc.).
  • The chain has more than 145000 employees.
  • Membership fees contribute to overall profits.
  • Low Geographical Diversity: All of the Costco stores are concentrated in North America and Canada. These two regions contribute close to 85% of Costco’s presence. Any disturbance in these two economies will have a direct impact on the overall performance of the Chain.
  • Aging Customer Base: In spite of serving discounted and value based products, the chain normally attracts aging baby boomers who might reduce their spending as they get old. There is a huge gap in terms of attracting young customers to the store.
  • Limited Options on Products : Costco believes in providing high-value products at deep discounts. This reduces the opportunity for the store to accommodate wide varieties in products. So customers had to live with limited options.
  • Membership Model: Though the membership model drives constant revenues to the store regarding membership fees, the store might turn out to be unwelcome for regular customers.
  • Increasing Competition: There is intense competition from Wal-mart (Sam’s Club) and BJ’s Club under the club retail segment. Also, Costco also faces stiff competition from other retail giants.
  • Increasing wage rates with low-profit margins might affect the profit margins of the stores.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Young Customers – Costco can concentrate on age group between 19 and 34 to expand their customer base and build on their new customers.
  • International Expansion / new market expansion – Costco can expand to new cities / new global markets by increasing their presence. This will reduce their dependency on North America and Canada.
  • Online / E-commerce – With growing e-tailing industry, Costco can make use of e-commerce to increase their overall sales and profits.
  • Increase the variety of products – The stores can improve their product range to attract more customers.
  • Horizontal Integration: While concentrating on their core products, Costco can expand their services to liquor and tech products to bring in additional revenue.
  • More visibility by advertising – Costco can increase their visibility through high publicity.
  • Competition – Sam’s Club is expanding its presence vigorously in North America. There are new entrants coming in with warehouse club concept internationally. This may increase the barrier to international expansion. Rising price war from other retailers may have a direct impact on Costco’s profit margin.
  • Internet Retailer Giants – Growth of international online retailers such as Amazon may threaten the online expansion plan of Costco.
  • Aggressive marketing of other retailers – Other retailers have started promoting their business aggressively through commercialization.
  • The labor relations is Canada is not okay with Costco. Increase in demand for labor and increasing wages will have an adverse effect on the company.

Netflix SWOT analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Technology – Great streaming technology backed with cutting edge technology. The company continually strives to make advancements in technology. Netflix can stream videos on any device (ios, Android, Smart TV, Laptop, etc.)
  • Great User Experience – With countless TV shows and movies, Netflix provides great content and user experience to its customers.
  • A large number of subscribers – Netflix has over 53 million subscribers, and it is steadily growing.
  • Brand name & Popularity – Netflix brand name is widely recognized across the world for its excellent services. With increasing interest in consuming online entertainment, the popularity of Netflix is bound to increase.
  • International Expansion- Netflix is steadily expanding its operating regions. With its recent expansion to Portugal, Italy & Spain in Europe and Taiwan, HongKong, Singapore, and Korea in Southeast Asian countries, the company is expected to increase its profits.
  • Licensed premium / original content – Netflix originals have added to the company’s success.
  • Netflix’s DVD segment is facing a continuous decline starting 2011. Though the customers are shifting towards online streaming, loss in DVD business is contributing to revenue decrease.
  • Increasing competition from strong competitors such as Amazon’s Prime Instant, Redbox Instant prevents Netflix to increase the prices for its services.
  • The increasing cost to keep the content new reduces the number of opportunities for Netflix to update the content frequently. Thus, outdated and older movies may reduce interest among subscribers and eventually might move away from subscription.
  • Vigorous international expansion resulted in increasing operating costs. Most of these markets are not yet profitable.
  • Increasing the cost of content: Though Netflix produces its original content, it heavily relies on licensed content from other creators / production companies. The content cost has been increasing significantly while Netflix keeps their prices low.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Opportunity to grow subscriber base
  • Expansion to new markets
  • Local Content
  • Original Content
  • Advertising
  • Increasing Technology awareness
  • Competition – HBO Go, Amazon’s Prime, Hulu, Redbox
  • Youtube competition
  • Content Prices
  • Black market
  • Original Content from Amazon Prime and YouTube

Walmart SWOT analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Higher economy scales: Walmart has the largest retail presence with more than 10,000 stores across the globe. With such a large scale of operation, Walmart enjoys lower price value from suppliers and thus, maintain the product cost less than its competitors.
  • Cost cutting strategy: Walmart cost reduction strategy to provide the commodity at the lowest possible price for the customer is the key to its massive success. The company focuses on offering the wide range of products to cater its customers without bifurcating them with additional services.
  • In-line with advanced technology: Company firmly believes in going on and competing with latest information tools. Walmart achieved significant cost benefits by incorporating digital systems to track orders, sales and inventory along with latest technological tools to maintain supply chain and logistics. This is one of the prime factors of Walmart success.
  • Availability of wide range of products to meet most of the customer demands and attract them to stores frequently.
  • Internationally recognizable and having positive brand value among the customers.
  • Investment capability with more than $400 billion of revenue.
  • Lower Profit Margin: Walmart products are sold with a small price tag, and that is the primary reason for huge customer base. But at the same time, this limit the company to offer bigger price and make more profit.
  • No focused competition: Since Walmart is active across many sectors it loses the flexibility of competing in any particular niche. Thus, it has to face a range of competition from more focused competitors.
  • Simple business model: The business model of Walmart is easily understood and much uncomplicated in nature. This creates a loophole to enter any company with the exact model in the market.
  • Lesser market control in some areas due to its massive business empire.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Global Expansion: Walmart is yet to knock the doors of many developing nations. The company doesn’t have the reach to many high standard living places of the world where customers will welcome Walmart hand in hand. Availing this opportunity will increase the profit and revenue of the company in future.
  • Quality Improvement: In today’s economy under the presence of internet people are more aware of brands and concerned about quality nowadays. So, there will always be the areas of improvement in offering the quality products and attracting the customers.
  • Amalgamation: Walmart has a strong financial base and marketing network. Therefore, they can merge or take over the competing or well-performing global retailers. This expands its business horizon while taking the advantage of competitors brand value.
  • Local Competition: With the increase in local retailer’s shops of the same business model the competition in home-ground is growing. The locally owned company can provide much lower rate and thereby giving hard nail competition to Walmart stores.
  • Political Issues: To step into the new market or country the global retailer have to go through the political screening. So being a world leader, Walmart is exposed to many political problems throughout the places where it operates.
  • Maintaining healthy trend: People nowadays are more health conscious with their brand and products. Trend is shifting towards healthy and organic products. This being a threat for Walmart because it has very old supplier base that doesn’t prioritize healthy products in retail shop.

Amazon SWOT analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Renowned in the field of online shopping worldwide: Amazon is one of the oldest and time tested portal providing multi branded quality products worldwide. Amazon has products in every possible segment, ranging from white goods, books, brown goods, electronics, toys, kitchen ware and many more. The last two decades has seen a phenomenal growth for the global e-commerce giant, Amazon.
  • Costing: Amazon has been efficiently tying up with several companies to reduce cost due to economies of scale. Thus amazon gets the edge over other e-commerce companies with regards to pricing. Amazon offers the best possible prices and offers to its end users.
  • Customer friendly approach: Amazon is extremely customer friendly when it comes to acquiring new customers and continuing with on-going customers. As per data 55% of its customers are repeat buyers, thus this data talks a lot about the trust that the buyers have on Amazon.  The added advantage being, amazon has to spend less money in acquiring new customers. Amazon’s robust CRM helps capture all the details, especially for new buyers.
  • Global company with a local flavour – Its global presence with a local essence is one of the major factors for success in various nations
  • Depleting margins – With its huge array of products and several competition with a similar platform it is getting difficult for amazon to build profits. It has been running in huge losses in several countries.
  • Tax avoidance – Amazon has gained a bad repute in the US and the UK for avoiding taxes.
  • High debts – Amazon has been running in losses especially in the developing nations, as it is yet to make a mark in the developing nation, thus a major loss in aggregate.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Expansion plans – Though Amazon has spread wings across the world, but there are a lot of opportunities in several Asian countries where the competition is still low in the ecommerce domain.
  • Acquisition – By acquiring other competition companies, Amazon can win hands down with its product range
  • Physical presence – By having a physical amazon stores in a few locations, amazon can increase its brand association and familiarity with the consumers for increasing reliability and repeat purchase.
  • In-house brands – Amazon has a scope to come up with its own branded products, which would offer attractive and exciting discounts and offers, thus attracting more consumers and increase stickability.
  • Competition – Amazon has to hurdle over severe competition in most of the developed nations and also a few developing countries. Companies like Flipkart and Snapdeal gives a tough competition to amazon.
  • Government policies – Several countries are yet to have a structured FDA policy designed specifically for multi branded ecommerce organization. Amazon is facing a huge issue with the current Government processes and policies.
  • Low entry barriers – With the entry costs being very low, there has been a rising trend in the ecommerce companies thus an increase in competition and a decrease in profit margins.

Chipotle SWOT analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Financial strength – Chipotle is very strong financially as it has no debts in its record. Company has a very strong daily cash flow and has very good relationship with its vendors. Chipotle’s strong financial strength is showing them the path to buy back their shares from the investors, which will keep them in good stead and show an even healthier balance sheet.
  • Quality conscious – Chipotle has been extremely sensitive about the quality of the products used. It has a very complex supply chain management instead for just a handful of vendors on whom to depend on the raw materials. Chipotle procures its raw materials from local small time farmers and ensures proper DNA testing to assure good quality products delivered to the consumer.
  • Massive growth – Chipotle which is mainly present in the US has undergone a sea change since its inception. It has been growing in leaps and bounds from the time it was launched. In the year 2006 Chipotle had 510 retail outlets. Even after the E.coli break out in 2015, Chipotle managed to post a positive growth in the tune of 7%.
  • Chipotle was in the limelight recently because of the sudden E.coli break out found in a few of their food products. There was a drastic reduction in the regular customers who rather changed paths to competition.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Global expansion – Chipotle has a huge opportunity left to tread the global market. Chipotle has majority of it’s food outlets in the US and just a handful in Europe and Canada. As compared to competition, it has a long way to go to tap the international market which will contribute majorly in to the revenues. Chipotle could look at Asia, which is one of the leading emerging markets which lies untapped by many.
  • Expansion in product range – Chipotle has a bouquet of just 4 products, Burritos, burrito bowls, tacos and salad. Just a limited menu has given phenomenal growth and fame to chipotle. It should consider increasing the list of their menu card by addressing the local market by including a few more food in to the non-Mexican section. It could consider including Asian, Italian and French cuisine to offer variety to the customer.
  • Food safety – Chipotle has once been through the gruelling times during the E.coli break out. Another bout of food-illness might get Chipotle in to big trouble. Customers especially, loyal customers have re-considered Chipotle because of it trust and time tested quality. Thus Chipotle has to be extremely cautious about their food quality in future and ensure that only healthy and safe food is served to the customers walking in at Chipotle.
  • Competition – Chipotle had stiff competition since its inception. The fast food industry has grown manifold and has an array of brands offering their products. With smart pricing, strategic location and customer friendly approach the industry has more scope to grow. There are both national as well as international players offering more or less the products with similar service and business strategies.

Samsung SWOT analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Research and Development – One of the strongest aspect of Samsung is its high potential R&D facilities that keeps providing competitive products to the users
  • Product Diversification – The vast choice of products that Samsung manufactures helps it to balance out its profits and loss across products categories
  • Advanced features & Technologies – The best R&D team available for the company keeps introducing novel features and advanced technologies incorporated in its products
  • Vast Geographical presence – Samsung has strongly established its presence in the Asian countries which are fast growing. This focus is one of its greatest strengths
  • Customer satisfaction – The brand has won the faith of its customers by providing superior qualities products across all product ranges it offers to its users. This has made it the preferred choice of customers over other brands
  • Cannibalism – The success tasted by Samsung in the Smart Phone arena made it release more new models. This has now become a detrimental factor for Samsung since it seems to be eating its own market share. Customers have started moving in to the new model phones introduced recently abandoning the earlier models which were actually a real success
  • Less impact on customer – Samsung could not satisfy the customer in terms of resale value and ease of use which were the strengths of Nokia brand still in the minds of people
  • Threat from China products – The Chinese model phone that come in cheap cost with similar features that Samsung have eat the market share of Samsung.
  • Dependency for Software – Though Samsung is strong in the hardware part of its business, its dependency on other sources for software support is a huge weakness which it has to overcome quickly
 Opportunities Threats
  • Customization of products – Samsung’s plans for introducing customized products for every household in the Home appliances arena will help it to capture the rural sector
  • New feature introduction – The triple protection feature Samsung plans to introduce in its air conditioners is a good move over competition
  • High scope for increased Mobile sales – The lowered call rates can help Samsung sell more mobile phones being the market leader in the Mobile phone sector
  • Exploit youth craze – Samsung has huge market potential for its mobile phones since the youth population that are interested in latest technology mobile phones are increasing in number
  • Strong strategy to tackle Chinese products – Samsung must devise a plan to address the invasion of Chinese product that eats majority of its share failing which its sales can get affected very soon
  • Devise strategies to handle foreign players – Due to the business potentiality Indian markets exhibit for Home appliances foreign players have already started invading the home appliance sector. Unless Samsung has a strong strategy to handle the same it will face severe crisis in the period to come
  • Tackle retail chain outlets – Samsung needs to handle that is being created by Retail chains like Big Bazaar who purchase products in bulk from outside India markets and sell for lower prices. This may affect the share of Samsung sale in those product categories.
  • Focused business prudence – Samsung must have clear cur business plans for all its products and the risk of getting defocused is high due to the diversified product lines it handles
  • Ensure success of all product lines – Diversified product lines might itself become a detrimental factor to Samsung since failure of one product may affect the brand name as a whole

Coca Cola SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Geographical presence – Coco cola is such a favourite brand of drinks that it is spread across almost every country in the world. This is one of the major strengths that contributes to the sales and the brand records
  • Huge market share – Its presence in the nook and corner of the world makes Coca cola take the major share in the cool drinks market across the world
  • Number one brand – Owing to its huge market presence and fan following Coca cola is termed as the number one cool drinks brand in the World making it a strong brand equity
  • Mind boggling marketing efforts – Coca Cola’s marketing strategies are one of its kinds. It is a drink that caters to the need of people across all ages and so preferred by people of all ages.
  • Customer satisfaction – Coca Cola, through it harmless quality has gained a lot of customers who are satisfied with the taste and brand. This faith that the brand has earned from its customers is one of its major strength
  • High levels of distribution network across the world – While manufacturing a product is important, distribution of the same plays a significant role too. Coca Cola has the greatest advantage of having a strong distribution network that takes its product to the nook and corners of the world on high demands
  • No diversification – The danger of losing customers is high with the raising levels of health consciousness among people.
  • Obesity being quoted as the major problem in people today, Coca Cola is one of those major
  • Manufacturers whose cool drinks are carbonated beverages that cause obesity.
  • Stiff competition from Pepsi – Pepsi being the major competitor for Coca Cola, unless it comes out with strategies constantly to manage its fierce competitor, it can lose its market share at the slightest of the shake
  • Managing the water – There are many law suits files against Coca Cola pertaining to mixing pesticides to clear contamination in the water they use. Huge protests are against the excess consumption of water by the Coca Cola manufacturing plant. The brand needs to take care of these issues to survive in the market
 Opportunities Threats
  • Drinking water – Coca Cola decision to enter into the drinking water segment has proved to be a successful one. Kinley has established itself as a good drinking water brand. This must be thoroughly used by Coca Cola to its benefit
  • Developing nations are the main market – Developed nations in which the brand is present have become more health conscious and so drifting towards drinks that are health friendly. Developing nations offer so much of scope for Coca Cola sales that the brand must use this opportunity completely
  • Major scope for selling lesser moving products – Coca Cola has enormous scope to increase its sales by pushing hard the products the sells less as of now.
  • Clean Water – This poses to be a huge threat for the operations of Coca Cola manufacturing plant since water scarcity is on the raise in many parts of the globe. Unless Coca Cola finds a permanent solution to this problem this is one of the major threats facing the brand at all points of time
  • Increasing competitors – Many Café chain shops are being opened across India which offers healthier drinks than the carbonated beverage Coca Cola. This again is a major threat for which Coca Cola need to devise a strategy to handle

Best Buy SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • High revenues earned – The first and foremost strength Best Buy has is the high revenue potential its business has. This acts as the back bone for the brand and is the reason for its sustenance of bad market conditions
  • Marketing expertise – Best Buy possesses such high expertise in marketing activities and this helps in establishing the brand further in to the markets
  • Scope for growth – The market potential for electronics items being high, the growth potential of Best Buy is high
  • Amazing footprint – Best Buy is spread all across US and has 1731 sales outlets which sell its products which is an amazing huge presence when compared to its competitors dealing in the same line
  • High levels of customer loyalty – The very high level of faith and loyalty Best Buy has built in its customers through its quality is incomparable. This customer loyalty will take the brand to heights for a long time
  • Supplier dependency – High levels of supplier dependency business model may affect its profits on the long run where Best Buy has to pay for the unsold products to its suppliers
  • Very little profit margin – Owing to the supplier model base business, the profit margins of Best Buy gets affected
  • Risky Product profile – Product profile is risky to handle since it is more dependent on market volatility
  • Unmanageable Operating expenses – High operating expenses may increase loss margin or at least affect the profit margins on the long run
 Opportunities Threats
  • No heavy competition – Best Buy must make full use of the literally ‘no competition’ scenario in the market situation
  • Newer models of products – The introduction of new products with novel features and technologies opens a huge market for best Buy to exploit completely
  • Special Sales offers – The special offers given by the suppliers for holidays and celebrations increases the visibility of Best Buy as a brand
  • E commerce popularity – E commerce is a concept that is becoming popular every passing day. This helps Best Buy by increasing its sales without any additional expenses what so ever
  • New product introduction – More and more new products introduced by the suppliers will make Best Buy highly visible to the customers across the world. This will automatically increase it sales volumes
  • Expanding electronics market – The speed in which electronics market is growing provides scope for Best Buy to develop in a faster manner if it fully exploits the market situation to its fullest extent
  • High discounts by online competitors – The high levels of discounts given by the online players might force Best Buy to take a cut on its margins
  • Discounts by direct distributors – The absolutely high discounts given by the direct distributors may make Best Buy cut its cost which may affect its revenue generation prospects
  • Brick & Mortar Store business – Online shopping being more preferred way of shopping brick and mortar model business may suffer in a huge manner
  • Reduction in shopping – If people gradually stop purchase from brick and mortar model, the business will get affected in a huge manner
  • Public opinion – People go by the perception that electronics goods purchased online are cheaper than any other mode of purchase may pose a serious threat to the Best Buy model
  • Wavering customer loyalty – Customers today visit many shops online and do not stick to anyone shop in particular unlike the olden days. This will affect business obtained through the loyalty factor.

Google SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  •  Wise business decision – Google decision to purchase YouTube and Android has taken the market by storm consolidating its position as the market leader further
  • Ad sense Affiliate Program – The ad sense affiliate program has drawn lots of crow to the website increasing its traffic making it retain its number one position among the other sites
  • Best search engine – There can be no doubt even to the composition that Google is the best search engine of the era. Holding more than 70% of the overall market share, Google search engine is the most sought for among the other options available for the web users
  • Satisfied employees – Dedicated employees are its major strength. Anyone who joins Google for employment does not want to leave the Company at any point of time
  • Strong Research and Development Team – Google has a very strong research and development team which contributes to the creativity of its success.
  • Strong development base – World’s highest quality developers attach themselves with Google for the growth prospective Google offers both in terms of money and learning
  • Monopoly – As of today, Google earns majority of its revenue from search and this may pose a great danger when a more powerful search engine replaces it
  • Mozilla deal – With Mozilla announcing Yahoo as its search engine in Firefox Google took a hit on its share. Any repetition of such a model may again hot Google heavily in the future
  • Costly Employee Management – In order to create employee loyalty, Google heavily spends on employee welfare. This may become a downside when competitors try offering more to attract employees. After all if Google can buy employee loyalty so can other companies
 Opportunities Threats
  • Google’s power – Google can exercise the power in its hands to bring about any change in the world it want to bring in either in terms of commercial viability or can be a show stopper
  • Highly creative team – Remember the highly creative team that is loyal to Google is a huge opportunity for Google to turn around the web market in the fashion it wants to do so
  • Acquisitions – The profitable acquisitions that they make are highly strategic and this can take the web world by surprises through the offerings it plans in the near future
  • Expansion plans – Google’s strategic expansion plans in terms of mergers and acquisitions are astounding and making the competitors run from pillar to post for planning their counter strategy
  • Amazon online business – Websites like Amazon attract more crowds which may impact the revenue earned through searches in Google.
  • Apple’s Strategy – With Apple initiatives to make some other search engine an official one in iPhone replacing Google, Google may take a bit hit in the iPhone industry arena
  • Alternate search engines – Many search engines have invaded the market for quiet sometime now. They have crossed the initial hurdles and have learning from Google itself things to do and not to do. It is high time these competition search engines rise with high vigor. When they do so Google is prone to get hit at least to some extent
  • High data potential – Facebook is the highest level threat to Google with the plethora of information and data it has in its database. The Graph search feature initiated by Facebook will pose a great threat to Google since both are equally powerful in terms of money, performance as well as business capabilities. Google has to set a strategy to overcome this stiff situation

Under Armour SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Innovation – Under Armour sports products are manufactured with such high levels of innovation that it has remained the choice of many sports person across the world. This preference given to its products by the sports person over other similar brands is the main strength that the brand must leverage on
  • Business acquisitions – The business acquisitions made by Under Armour are highly strategic and focuses in helping the brand to diversify its risks across verticals
  • Good performance of the shares – This has instilled enormous faith of the share holders in the brand which will help it to invest prudently in many more successful avenues
  • Expansion – The expansion plans of the company across many sports will help it increase its revenues and profits while helping it to strengthen its base
  • High prices – The very high prices it sells its products for be one of its weaknesses since the market it targets to sell its product is highly niche. This is highly risky on the long run
  • Limited presence – The very limited market segment it caters to makes its presence only in very few areas. This restricted market presence is one of its biggest weaknesses
  • Negative recall – The laceration danger that still remains in the minds of people poses a he danger to its image at all points of time
  • Safety issues with it products – The US Government safety council has announced its product may break out causing injury to the body parts. This is a huge detrimental issue to the brand image
 Opportunities Threats
  • Innovation – With the high levels of innovative capabilities it possesses, Under Armour has scope for improving its product lines constantly expanding its customer base
  • New entrant –  Relatively a Company that is formed recently, it has huge scope to establish its presence in more markets like Europe, Australia and Asia
  • Kids will value add – The brand visibility will be more since the fan following for NBA matches are kids. Kids may increase the sales through their interest in the game and desire to go in for the accessories pertaining to the same
  • More markets – While the brand’s competitors are struggling with their business strategies across the various regions of the world, Under Armour may use their experience to penetrate into these markets with more comfort level learning lessons from the competitors
  • Big brands are competitors – Huge brands like Puma, Nike and Adidas are the major competitors of Under Armour which is he threat for the brand to establish its name in a more emphatic manner. Under Armour needs to be constantly pulling up its socks to compete with such established brands in a consistent manner
  • Low brand awareness – Under Armour is relatively a young company and so the brand awareness in the society is very low. This acts as a detrimental point to the brand since its sales and revenue from the same may get affected. Under Armor must work hard towards investing in branding activities to overcome this threat
  • Government’s notice – US Government’s notice issued about the durability of the brand and the high probability levels for its product giving up while usage is a detrimental problem to the brand. This may cause ambiguity in the user’s mind regarding the safety levels Under Armour brand products offer. This is expected to have a huge negative impact on the brand pulling down its credibility levels as well as revenue and profit margins

Ford SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Global supply chain: Ford has a very strong distribution network across the world. This has happened mainly due to their high quality supplier management program where brainstorming and discussion on quality assurance takes place. Ford makes 6 million cars a year and manages 1400 tier 1 suppliers and 4400 manufacturing sites. The company works with a large number of companies to ensure that the dealers follow the standards which are told to them. Also good risk planning and tracking of the logistics on a continuous basis have helped the company to find out the exact situation of their products position. Based on this decision-making is done ad as a result after the government bailout of $25 billion in 2006 they have been constantly improving their financial position as well as the market share.
  • Innovation:Ford has been focusing on innovation of their products to improve the uniqueness of the brand. This will help them in positioning themselves as a pioneer in the global market. The company has started a project on human machine interaction with F-150 (truck) and have also developed a durable EV powered battery technology for lighting. Communication with robots in the international space station is also another important concept that Ford is working on with NASA so that the interruption in talking can be reduced. So through these initiatives Ford has been able to improve their branding.
  • Slowdown in the automobile sector: The car sales for the last three years have been reducing consistently due to the Eurozone crisis and a very slow growth in the developed economies. As Ford depends heavily on its sales from the US and Europe hence this has impacted their finances very badly. Also in the emerging markets they have not been able to penetrate much as the regional players are quite strong there.
  • Decrease in customer base: Ford has not been able to hold on to their customer base as in the mid-car segment Suzuki, Volkswagen and Honda have been the most popular choice for people. In the luxury car segment BMW, Mercedes and Audi have more than 90 percent control of the market. This has happened mainly due to their traditional methods of advertising which lacked visibility. The young generation consider it as a car of the older generation and this perception had a negative impact on the company.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Technology: Ford is working on new age technology in different fields which in future can provide them the necessary mileage for faster development. Hybrid cars and electric cars are finding an increasing demand among the consumers and as Ford has taken part in the “Go Green” initiative hence they would find it easier in building up a new market.
  • Emission issues: After the Volkswagen diesel scandal most countries are investigating the cars of different brands to estimate the level of emission. Ford does not have diesel cars and hence in future has an opportunity to get those customers and develop their customer base.
  • Competition: The growing threat of European and Japanese automakers have made the road for Ford more difficult. Mercedes and Nissan are competing with Ford on the commercial van market and Toyota in the pickup truck category. So the company will have to create new areas like defense and medical vehicles to increase their presence outside US.

JCPenney SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Vast presence – Spread over 1100 locations, it vast presence across the world is one of the major strengths of J.C.Penney
  • Free shipments – The free shipment offer it gives to its customer is a point of attraction that can make it win more customers to buy its products.
  • Free Haircut for kids – The free haircut for kids of its customers also can be leverage to increase its customer base over a period of time
  • Diversified product range – J.C. Penney offers wide range of products right from jewelry, furniture, beauty products, electronics and footwear
  • Strong financials – J.C.Penney has a strong financial background through its high revenue earning business model is one of its strengths
  • Brand name – The brand is such an established one that this acts as one of the main selling point for its products
  • Weak global presence – Though an established brand, J.C. Penney is yet to put its foot down in growing countries which is one of its major weaknesses. Prudent geographical expansion on priority is the urgent need J.C.Penney must focus on
  • Heavy competition – J.C. Penney competition also sells the same products and so there is very little market share for the company. J.C.Penney must devise intelligent strategies to win over competition on priority so it does not lose to the pressure given by the same
  • Monthly sales and revenue – Due to the competition and limited global presence, its monthly sales and revenue is highly affected and this reflects on the company’s performance and profit margins
 Opportunities Threats
  • Scope for expansion – J.C.Penney has not established itself in emerging markets and it has high scope to spread across developing nations. J.C.Penney must exploit this opportunity so it can put its foot down strong on various geographies
  • Improve its network – J.C.Penney must enhance its contact with small sized retail operators. This will help increase its network increasing its sales and revenue at all points of time
  • Advertising – The brand needs to focus more on advertising activities so it can gain through its image to earn profits. If branding and advertising is done then there is huge scope for J.C.Penney to expand its business in a significant manner
  • Online business – J.C.Penney is yet to venture into online business and this gives them a high scope for business expansion and increased revenue earning. J.C.Penney must understand the high scope for online business researching its competitor information in a thorough manner
  • High Prices – J.C.Penney needs to cut down on its prices suiting the market it operates in. If this is not done strategically, this will become a huge threat for J.C.Penney
  • High operational cost – The uncontrollable high operational costs act as a huge threat to J.C.Penney. Unless this is brought under control operational cost can eat over all the profits earned by the company on the long run
  • High labour cost – Labor cost is high in US and this may pose a great threat to J.C.Penney operations over a period of time
  • Weak financial situation – The restricted operations limits the revenue earning capabilities of J.C.Penney making its financial position a weaker one
  • Competition – The penetration of strong competitors in the similar market segment J.C.Penney is in poses a huge threat to revenue earnings and profit margins of the company
  • Restricted operational space – The limited global space J.C.Penney operates from is a huge constraint to its success and it has to overcome this aspect on priority basis to avoid any serious damage

Home Depot SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Segment it is in
  • The home improvement segment Home Depot is in is its major strength since this is a segment which never sees the low ebb.
  • Target customers
  • The middle and upper middle class customers form the majority of the society and this is precisely the target segment needs that Home Depot targets to address. This is a huge advantage since this stream of customers always has home improvement requirements.
  • Huge operations
  • Home Depot operated from approximately 2250 locations and this gives it strength to balance out the business revenue and financial ups and downs at all points of time
  • Employee strength
  • Home Depot has more than 3,20,000 employees working for its development. This huge employee is one of its major strength since it is directly related to the productivity of the company
  • Financial backup
  • Home Depot has a very high financial background which can save it from any financial crisis that happens all of a sudden
  • Established Brand
  • Being one of the leading players in the home improvement segment, the brand name itself acts as an image and point of sales for Home Depot
  • Limited market presence
  • Home Depot is established only in the US market and so if anything happens to the US economy it would be a huge threat for Home Depot
  • No geographical coverage
  • Apart from US, Home Depot has not established itself as a brand in any other parts of the world which is highly detrimental for Home Depot as a brand
  • Brand equity and value
  • Home Depot gives discounts to its customers throughout the year which dilutes the image of the brand pulling down its value in the market place among the competitors
 Opportunities Threats
  •  Geographical expansion
  • Home Depot has huge opportunities to expand its geography to many locations across the globe. It is yet to venture into many areas and if utilized properly, Home Depot can exploit this opportunity available
  • Improve product range
  • Home Depot has a lot of product ranges to venture into. If this venturing is done in a strategically planned manner, sky is the limit for Home Depot to earn higher revenues and profit margins in a continuous manner
  • Brand image
  • Home Depot is such a famous brand that it has by its own many brands to its credit. If properly utilized, these brands will speak for themselves acting as a selling point for its products
  • Financial position
  • Home Depot must make use of its strong financials, leveraging it to expand business and product portfolio. Home Depot must also try to retain its finance position intact to create more opportunities for itself
  • Customers’ bargaining power
  • Due to the high discounts the brand gives through the year, the faith of customers on the quality of its products becomes a question most of the times. Due to this the bargaining power of customers are high at all points of time. This upper hand of the customers makes the brand lie low to retain sales
  • High levels of competition
  • Home Depot must find out new strategies to handle the high levels of tight competition it faces since otherwise, despite the strong finance position, Home Depot business may start rolling down the spiral
  • Limited geographical presence
  • This is a huge threat to Home Depot since anything adverse happening to the single market it is dependent on may forcefully affect the brand’s business revenue and profits in a direct manner

Facebook SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Integration with other websites: Facebook has been able to tie-up with a large number of apps and websites which has helped them in improving the customer experience. From a social media behemoth the company have managed to acquire WhatsApp (free messaging app), Pebbles (augmented reality firm), and Wit.ai (speech recognition) that has helped them to work in various fields. The number of services that Facebook is providing is quite large and has helped them to generate more revenues as well.
  • Huge pool of active users: Facebook has a billion active users on their platform and they have become the strongest platform in connecting with people across the world. There are a large number of discussion forums, celebrity pages, corporate reviews and other important activities that helps a user to find information on a particular topic and give feedbacks. Recently the organization has also started a video-sharing concept which has become widely popular. The different applications cater to the needs of various segments of people.
  • Brand name: Facebook is the most popular social media platform both in US and the rest of the world. The value that it has given to the users in terms of experience, user-friendly interface has made it an undisputed leader continuously for more than ten years at a stretch. The advertising campaigns generate tremendous buzz on any new entrants into the market. Also the corporates rely heavily to assess the viability of their product through assessment of the discussion forums in Facebook.
  • Hacking:The frequency of hacking incidents in Facebook accounts and fake profiles have been a blot on the reputation of the organization. Cyber bullying has been on an all-time high due to morphed images, false information, data leak and several other security issues which the company has not been able to stop. Also terror campaigning as well as honey traps have been happening through Facebook and as a result a large number of innocent people have become victims of coordinated attacks.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Business opportunities in emerging markets: As the developing countries are growing fast hence the advent of social media is growing rapidly over there. Facebook will be able to bring in a large number of business advertisements which will be crucial for their international expansion.
  • Diversify: Facebook apart from their current business will have enough scope to move to automation, robotics, and virtual reality which are driving the growth in the IOT (Internet of things) application. Also data analytics is a big area and their competitors like Google, Amazon and Microsoft have set up data centers in US and India.
  • Stagnant growth of online advertising: As customers are getting annoyed with a large number of advertisements the ad-block extensions that prevents advertising in their homepage. This is a big problem because advertising is their main source of revenue.
  • Increase in mobile users: Presently more than 60 percent of the users are using mobile for Facebook and this is forcing them to restructure their strategy. Differentiating themselves with the mobile only apps like WhatsApp and Instagram is posing an identification threat to their PC and mobile model.

Adidas SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Recognized Brand
  • Adidas possesses a legacy of more than 90 years. The brand is well known to one and all for their high quality products. The youth has high acceptance of various brand products. Company has a world wide presence through its retail stores and e marketing.
  •  Innovation
  •  The research and development department of the brand develops around 60 foot friendly designs every year to compete in the market. The brand has the ability to develop efficient ergonomic designs, be it sports or lifestyle shoes.
  •  Diversification
  •  The company has developed many fashionable designs in lifestyle products like clothes, jackets, handbags etc. The company aims to present a unified image to attract the customers interested in sports and fashion together.
  •  Human Resource Capabilities
  •  The brand has a global presence. To meet the high demands all over the world and provide the best portfolio to customers, company has  more than 45,000 skilled employees.
  •  Community Presence
  •  Adidas has many celebrities endorsing the brand. The brand sponsors several sport organizations like FIFA, NBA and UEFA. By sponsoring many games like football, tennis, cricket etc. the company has made an association with the game followers, and thus got increase in customers too.
  • Distribution Network
  • The company has an unparallel network for distribution of brand products range. The company has its own website to sell online. Also the wide spread retail stores and supermarkets have led the brand accessible to almost every country.

 

 

  • Supplier Dependency
  • The production of the brand is highly dependent on third party manufacturers. Approximately, 93 percent of production is outsourced from many Asian countries like China due to low cost labor and easy available resources.
  • Pricing Policy
  • The differences in custom duties and taxation policies cause major price differences across the sea or between retail and online market. The price difference in All Blacks Jersey in New Zealand (2011) created customer dissatisfaction and hampered the brand image.
  • Labor Issues
  • The company believes to maintain employees’ rights by following the International Labor Policies. The large number of employees in various factories world wide suggests a more concerned approach. The case of PT Kizone factory, shut down, and violation of Indonesian labor rights (2011) has been largely criticized globally. The cold response from Adidas further ruined the brand image world wide.
 Opportunities Threats
  • “All in” Approach
  • The brand Adidas is now associated with Reebok and has made a way to capture both high range and mid range brand conscious customers. With “All in” approach brand can capture the market by diversified portfolio including sports and lifestyle products with designer range.
  • Advance Designing
  • The association with fashion designers has opened a new dimension to rejuvenate the female product line. Moreover, the ergonomic design strategy will make the brand more acceptable to customer.
  • E-market expansion
  • With the globalization and internet more brands are reaching people internationally. This opportunity of e market has lead many local brands to be accessible nationally.
  • Competitive Brands
  • Many competitive brands are providing a range of products at lower price point. The brand needs to look into the fact to develop a reasonable range too, to penetrate the market more.
  • Brand Imitation
  • Adidas is one popular brand and has been imitated a lot as the original products are quite expensive. These imitated products have low cost and quality as well. These products in market may affect the brand image adversely.

South West Airlines SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
 

  • Brand name
  • South West airlines is one of the best airline services in the US as it has to its credit several awards and service excellence awards for various aviation related specifications.
  • Financial strength
  • South west airlines are one of those organisations which has reported a record profit consequently for the 5th year. Even during the slowdown of 2008 and 2009, South West airlines has shown profits, this talks volume about the robust financial strength and the deep pockets of the organisation.
  • Strong domestic network
  • The south west airlines are renowned especially amongst the US citizens because of its robust domestic network of flights. This second largest airline of the US is most acclaimed and is known for its customer centric service.
  • Refusal of the bundling offer
  • Most of the airlines in the US offer customized or tailor made air services to their flyers. The top brass of South West Airlines have refused the Unbundling offer, thus minimizing their scope for more revenue. This decision has given an advantage to other competitor brands.
  • Low ancillary revenue
  • Most of the aviation companies worldwide have used various strategic and innovative ways to hike their margins. For example extended leg space, optional meal services and various other inflight services which can be pre-booked. South west airlines is pretty conservative in offering these marketing strategies and have remained a silent player.
 Opportunities Threats
  • International expansion
  • South west airlines has a huge scope for growth by expanding their current network from the US to its neighbouring countries. This strategic move can offer higher visibility and therefore more profits to the parent company.
  • Mergers
  • Most of the organisations have grown at a rapid pace with a smart decision to merge with other local brands. Thus strategic tie-ups and intelligent acquisitions can help the company with a speedy growth in the aviation sector.
  • Wright amendment appeal
  • With the Wright amendment appeal in place, south west airline can go directly to destinations which were previously interconnected. With the new amendment in place long haul destinations needn’t be connected and can thus fly directly, which will reduce the overhead costs of the organisation.
  • Shifting ranks
  • South West airlines used to be known as the best low fare carrier amongst the passengers and the aviation industry. With the limitation in certain strategic decisions and marketing strategies, South west airlines, is no more the number one low fare air carrier. It has huge list of competition which offers competitive price to its flyers.
  • Culture erosion
  • South west airlines was known as an employee friendly organisation, which rewarded its employees generously. But due to certain unavoidable circumstances and with the rise in the employee union activities the management has reduced the number of rewards program, which has further infuriated and demotivated the employees.
  • Inflation
  • The aviation industry is undergoing certain difficult times in terms of inflation in certain aviation costs which includes licenses, newer reforms, ground regulations and employees. With rising overheads, the profit margins are shrinking. With times, the shrinkage will only grow as inflation is here to stay.

Ikea SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Innovative products
  • Ikea is renowned worldwide for its creative and out of the box product line. Ikea is one of those brands which has come out with the concept of DIY furniture which can be assembled at the comfort of your home without any external help.
  • Pioneer
  • Ikea has pioneered in this segment of furniture, thus has the first movers advantage. Ikea took a few years to establish itself in market where ready to use goods were abundantly available. Now with growing acceptance amongst the consumers, Ikea is a highly accepted and appreciated brand worldwide.
  • Financial strength
  • Ike is an extremely strong organisation in terms of finances. With its deep pockets, Ikea has the ability to spend a lot of money in R&D and further improvement of their product line. In the year 2014, it has notched a sale of EUR 29 billion.
  • Focussed line of products
  • Ikea has to its credit around 9500 products ranging from furniture to home appliances. Their product features are easy to assemble, ease of use, low cost and practical approach towards the product design.
  • Less or no presence in Asia
  • Asia is an emerging market in almost all the industries. Unfortunately Ikea has a very low presence in Asia and has a major presence and dependence on the European market. Thus Ikea loses on the Asian market which could have been otherwise a profitable market for them.
  • Competition
  • With more and more acceptance being built in and around the Ikea product line, the competition is building higher for Ikea to cope up. There are companies which has lesser overhead costs and are offering products at a much lesser price than Ikea as they do not have much expenses on R&D.
  • Negative publicity
  • Due to certain environmental conditions, certain Ikea products might behave a little differently than others in a few regions. This fact has drawn unnecessary attention among the Ikea users which have built a huge negative publicity for the organisation for promise made and service not kept.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Global expansion
  • Global expansion for Ikea is a long due strategy which they need to implement right away. With operations in China and India on the anvil, Ikea plans for more ambitious markets for a larger share in the already growing market.
  • Strategic tie ups
  • With more strategic tie ups and mergers it can gain mileage in major emerging markets and make a name and brand for itself very soon with the help of local brands.
  • Going green
  • In a world where people are more conscious about their environment and health are leaning more towards environment friendly products for daily use. Thus as the market evolves so will the demand for Ikea’s range of products.
  • Global economic condition
  • With the rise in the economic condition, people have shifted their preferences towards other brands which speaks more of one’s status. Thus there has been a shift in customer loyalty especially in the European market.
  • Competition
  • With growing competition in every channel of marketing, Ikea is facing enormous competition. Its major threat is from the online shopping portals which offers similar products at a much cheaper rate as it saves on distribution and employee costs.
  • Rise in consumer economy

Toyota SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Production abilities
  • Toyota has been manufacturing approximately 10 Million cars per year since the year 2012 and it high capabilities of production is one of its major strengths
  • Innovation
  • Innovative minds that contribute to the improvement in the models is one of major strengths that Toyota exhibits
  • Diversification
  • Toyota is not dependent on one model of cars to contribute to its success. It has introduced variety of cars like hybrid cars, electric cars and fully automatic cars to cater to the needs of different customer segments
  • Highly established Brand
  • Toyota through its quality offerings has established itself so strongly in the market that its brand image itself acts as the major selling point over marketing and advertising
  • Human resource capabilities
  • Toyota, to support its clear business objectives has invested in appointing and training more than 3 Lakhs 50 thousand plus staff. This is a huge strength for any brand since its production capabilities will not get limited due to non-availability of human resources
  • South Asian Market
  • Toyota has introduced only low end cars in South Asia regions due to which its presence is very low. This has given a competitive edge to its competition brands
  • Mode being withdrawn
  • Toyota has been withdrawing many of its models over the past decade which makes the dependability factor low. This will create a feeling of instability about the brand’s cars in the minds of the customers
  • High dependency on Suppliers
  • Toyota depends highly on its suppliers for its spare components and so it is always risky even if some spare parts get held back by the suppliers affecting its production levels
 Opportunities Threats
  • Fuel efficiency
  • The world is moving towards fuel efficient cars owing to the increase in fuel prices. Toyota is a brand known for its high fuel efficiency mechanism in its cars and so has a huge market for selling its fuel efficient cars
  • Environment consciousness
  • The growing consciousness about a pollution free environment is another Toyota must make good use of. The brand has introduced many vehicles that are environment friendly. Toyota must leverage this to its advantage to increase the sale of environment friendly cars
  • Developing countries
  • Developing countries have huge requirement for fuel efficient cars and Toyota is preferred over other cars since it offers the maximum advantage when it comes to fuel consumption. This advantage must be fully utilized by the brand to increase its business revenues
  • South Asian Market
  • The South Asian Market is yet to be tapped with its high end model cars and so there is huge scope for increasing its sales and profit margins by selling these cars in the region
  • Raw material cost
  • Toyota must work out strong strategies to handle the rapidly increasing raw material cost since failing to do so may make it lose a portion of its profit
  • Strong competition
  • All big names in the car arena are direct competition to Toyota. Unless Toyota has unique strategies to handle the same, it may lost out to competition heavily
  • Standards of carbon emission
  • Any new carbon emission standards announcement from the Government may hit its business since the changes need to be incorporated will make the brand incur huge expenses
  • Demand for low cost cars
  • Toyota is known for its high end cars which are costly. However, the market scenario is demand for low cost vehicles which are affordable. Toyota needs to devise a strategy to handle this.

Whole Foods SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Quality
  • One of the greatest strengths of wholefood is its quality control. The quality of products that whole foods offers is by far better than food offered by other super markets.
  • Customer centric
  • Whole foods sells products which are healthy and safe for its customers. It is very difficult for the customer to buy stuff post assessment of each and every ingredient used. Whole food makes the entire process simpler by staying away from such food. Thus it relies on eggs from cage free birds, products with hydrogenated fats, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavours or colours are strictly prohibited.
  • Trends
  • Whole food moves along with the industry trend of thriving on organic and natural food. With the world getting more health conscious and choosyabout healthy food, Whole food is here at the right time to capture the emerging trend.
 

  • High price
  • The products offered by Whole Foods are pretty expensive and on the higher side as compared to competition due to the sheer fact that it is procured from the best natural sources.Keeping in mind their aim to serve healthy and safe products to their customers, the products are sourced from the best of the best, which of course come at a premium price.
  • Dependence on the US market
  • Because of its dependence exclusively on the US market. The profit of whole foods too depends on the economic growth of the country. With the recent recession in the US, the profit margins of whole foods too have dipped.
 Opportunities Threats
  • 365 by Whole foods
  • This new strategy of expansion of whole foods by getting a chain of 365 by whole foods aims at bringing the best possible healthy and fresh food for its customers at more locations. This small format chain of supermarket have products which are priced a little lesser as compared to the mother brand.
  • International expansion
  • Though whole foods has 97% of its presence in the US, it has recently come up with a few chains in Canada, which has shown phenomenal success. This trend shows the path for international expansion in future which would be very promising and profit making.
  • Competition
  • Though every brand has competition, whole foods have a bevy of competition ranging from other supermarket brands, to farmer’s market, online grocers, direct sellers and many more modes of selling. With the rise in the trend for healthy and natural food, the list of competition has been growing by the day. Both direct and indirect competition has been a cause of threat to whole foods. Only a smart strategy and intelligent execution will help whole foods succeed in this market.
  • Negative word of mouth
  • Whole foods has gained a lot of attention from the public and the media more because of its price points. Whole Foods it seems have been found to overcharge customers for its exclusive products which have garnered huge negative publicity.

At & T SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Widely Known brand name from years
  • AT&T is one of the most renowned name in the field of telecom. It is the second largest telephone company providing mobile telephony and fixed line services in the US. It has also spread wings as an I-phone provider and various other telephony products and services.
  • Deep pockets
  • AT&T has a robust financial support which has been helping the organisation sail through several crisis especially the economic slowdown in 2009.
  • Employee friendly
  • Organization receives the positive feedback from employees regarding its work culture and career growth opportunities.
  • Customer base
  • AT&T has a huge customer base with around 100 million subscribers in around 200 countries. It has a global presence in most of the countries and has improvised its services and solutions every year with the advancement of technology and needs of its customers.
  • Acquisition
  • AT&T has acquired quite a few organisation in several geographic locations, thus making it even stronger and robust with a greater global presence.
  • Network security
  • In several countries there were major issues with the network security solutions and several other rules and regulations and amendments with regard to telephony. The strict regulations have restricted the spread and growth of AT&T as an organisation.
  • Competition
  • AT&T runs into the competitive telecom segment which attracts a huge number of competition amongst the other players and it also translates into a limited market share.
  • Lack of flexibility
  • AT&T has been known to be a pretty conservative organisation with little scope for innovation and renovation because of its complex and cumbersome structures and system especially in the wireless telephony sector. Small players which are faster, flexible and innovative have taken mileage of this and have eaten away to AT&T’s profits.
 Opportunities Threats
  • International expansion
  • AT&T has scope for further growth if it spreads its wings further towards the goal for international expansion. It would have a higher market share along with higher profit margins.
  • Mergers
  • One smart and quick way to gain market share and increase visibility is to have smart and intelligent business acquisitions and mergers which will take AT&T to a newer height. AT&T has recently forayed into the video market which is already growing by acquiring DirecTv which has further enhanced the market share and product range for AT&T.
  • Product range
  • With the increase in sales of I-phones and I-pads, AT&T can foresee further growth and expansion of its products and services.
  • Leveraging 4G network
  • With the increase in the number of smart phones by the day, AT&T can look at tapping the 4G services and leveraging the benefits.
  • Saturated market
  • AT&T has been facing an extremely slow growth in the US market. Another aspect for saturation of AT&T is the economic slowdown which has not only affected AT&T as an organisation but also the entire telecom sector.
  • Competition
  • With several players in the telecom sector, AT&T has been facing huge competition especially in the last decade. With cut throat competition, AT&T has to either give way to competition or bend it’s strategies to fit into competition and reduce the profit margins.

Microsoft SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • A strong capital
  • Microsoft has a very strong and sound capital making it the 5th largest company in the world. Because of its deep pocket, Microsoft has the ability to diverse in various products and invest in innovative marketing strategies which require enormous funds.
  • A worldwide reach
  • Microsoft is in the IT business for as long as 40 years. Thus its worldwide reach has made it a brand of choice with a lot of years to its credit. Customers vouch for its trust worthiness and products which is evident by its reach in almost every household, especially in the west.
  • A proven track record
  • Microsoft is renowned worldwide for its promise made, promise kept concept. Microsoft doesn’t have many free software’s, but has exceptional support system with the post sales customer service. This fact builds more loyalty and customer stickiness towards the brand.
  • High entry revenue
  • Microsoft is known more for its high priced products. Desktop publishing suites like Open office or Linux which are available absolutely free, is being charged exorbitantly by Microsoft.
  • Competition
  • There is a plenty of competition that Microsoft faces from companies which are ranked above Microsoft and also from companies ranked below. Companies like Google and apple which are stated above Microsoft have equally strong technology to challenge Microsoft. On the other hand, several companies are offering software’s which are free and more user friendly thus offering a stiff competition to Microsoft.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Best employees
  • Microsoft has some great talents within the organization which can be further utilised to bring out the best. The talent pool can be utilized to its best to formulate strategies and products with the current scenario and technology in mind.
  • Customer centric
  • Microsoft offers products which are far more expensive than competition, thus its customers tend to spend or invest only after a certain period or after a certain break. Thus to keep its customers spend more, Microsoft can device certain strategies for a continuous customer engagement, which will further help in building revenue.
  • Acquisition
  • Over the past few years, Microsoft has acquired a bevy of companies like, CRM software, Green Button, Datazenand many more services which have increased their base in cloud services. With a few more strategic acquisition Microsoft could grow manifolds especially in the cloud services.
  • Price point
  • Every product of Microsoft is priced at a premium, thus it has a fewer customer base as compared to competition. Certain products which are offered free of cost to the customers are highly priced by Microsoft which derails the customer away from Microsoft. A little more flexible pricing can help build a higher customer base.
  • Losing on emerging products
  • Unlike other technology companies which have come out with mobile devices, Microsoft was a late entrant in to the market, thus losing on precious time.
  • Loss in Cloud services
  • Companies like Google, amazon and IBM have reduced their cloud based services, whereas Microsoft has stuck to its premium pricing. This strategy of Microsoft has led to a phenomenal loss in the cloud service business.

Boeing SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Financially strong
  • The Boeing is a very renowned name in the defence, space and security industry and has efficiently maintained a very healthy balance sheet throughout. It has shown a phenomenal growth quarter by quarter and is one of the leading employers.
  • Share holder friendly
  • The Boeing is extremely open and transparent with its shareholders and have returned most of the money from its operation to the shareholders in various forms, like quarterly dividends or stocks.
  • KC – 46 tanker program
  • It was a turnaround for Boeing with the US Air force converting from the age old KC-135 strato-tankers to the KC-46. This major transaction has helped Boeing boost their business and move ahead rapidly in this emerging field.
  • High outflow
  • Boeing being a company which has been very loyal towards its erstwhile employees, shells out a huge amount of money in the form of pensions. It spends at an average of $75 billion dollar as pension money to its ex-employees. Thus the out flow of cash is much higher as per the plan.
  • Service
  • Though Boeing takes care of most of the post sales queries and operational glitches, but there have been times when the service was not up to the mark and made it to the headlines because of their untimely or poor execution.
  • High overhead costs
  • Boeing maintaining its quality of standards and production facilities, spends a huge percentage in research and development. This huge overhead cost eats away from the profit margin thus showing lesser profits. In 2012, the R&D cost mounted up to 4% of the sales, which is a considerably a huge amount taken away from the sales profit.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Financial back up
  • The Boeing has been extremely quick in getting back to business and making profits soon after the recession and other financial debacles. This ability of Boeing being able to bounce back has been commendable in the field of space and security business.
  • New products
  • With an array of revolutionary new products lined up, Boeing has pioneered the space and security domain. With the advent of the 787 Dreamliner, it has received a bevy of orders from several national and international buyers. Though buyers are apprehensive about the long range efficient jet liner because of its lithium ion battery issue, orders are increasing by the day keeping in mind the revolutionary products that Boeing is known for.
  • Competition
  • There are several competitive companies in this field of air space and security. Companies like Airbus, Comac, and Bombardier aerospace have come up with their own set of revolutionary products, thus giving good competition to Boeing. Time and intelligent strategies devised by these companies alone would decide on the further growth of these individual companies.
  • Defence expenses
  • With the US Airforce reducing their budget on Defence, space and security, this decision has hampered the growth of Boeing and its likes. Chances of the US Airforce increasing the budget in this field are very unlikely atleast in the coming years, thus a major cause of concern for companies like Boeing.

PepsiCo SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Diversified product portfolio: As PepsiCo is present in a large number of countries hence the number of brands which the company holds has widespread recognition. Their most popular brands include mountain dew, lays, Mirinda, Aquafina and in 2015 their global sales have touched $1 billion. This has helped them to cater to the different segments of population within and outside USA and the company has mainly targeted the youth.
  • Strong distribution system: The supply chain management system of the company is very strong and have been able to reach out to the people of locations that are difficult to access to. The number of retail outlets in the developing nations like India, China, Brazil where most of the people live in the rural belt have helped PepsiCo to become a household name which people can connect to.
  • Branding:PepsiCospends a large part of their revenues on branding and advertising as they always felt that potential customers need to be made aware of their brand. Social media campaigning in YouTube, Facebook and twitter has provided them instant feedbacks regarding what the consumers feel about the product. They also have been very visible in TV, radio, transit advertising, Newspaper and created a brand awareness which gives them an edge over other competitors.
  • Health issues: There have been vigorous campaign by health professionals, NGOs, dieticians and government regulatory bodies to avoid carbonated drinks. Because it has fat and affects the cardiovascular system of human beings. Along with this liver ailment, cholesterol and triglyceride are found to be increased when these are consumed. Hence a lot of negativity regarding their products are spreading in the market and health-conscious people are avoiding these drinks.
  • Controversy: The Aquafina scandal, poisonous product found in the Indian bottling plant and several other issues have tarnished the image of the company in a long way. The reliability of the brand has been questioned by eminent personalities which is a matter of concern for the company.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Expansion outside US: PepsiCo has enormous opportunities to expand their presence overseas as the Asian market is expected to be developing much faster than any other developed economy. As per their plans they are looking to build up a plant in Brazil and Mexico and this initiative will help the company to reduce their over-dependency on the US sales.
  • Bottled water: In a time when their soft drinks are under attack the demand for pure bottled water is a big benefit to PepsiCo. Their Aquafina brand has made an impact globally even after such a big controversy. The company can also change their ingredients and make health-drinks instead as it is in great demand among the kids and corporate professionals.
  • Government regulations:As PepsiCo is making carbonated drinks which is a main cause of obesity and heart problems so governments of different countries have started sugar tax and are putting pressure on the company to replace these products.
  • Competition: Coca-Cola their biggest competitor has done better than PepsiCo in the last two years through advertising and diversity of products. Hence this is a big threat for PepsiCo.

Johnson And Johnson SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Brand positioning
  • Johnson and Johnson is one of the most admired companies both from the customer point of view as well as from an employee point of view. Johnson and Johnson has been in the top ranked positions for several years due to its consistent performance worldwide. It’s presence in the Healthcare and Pharmaceutical industry has made a name for itself, especially in the child care segment.
  • Employee friendly
  • It has been an extremely employee friendly organisation with high stickability and a most employees working for several years at a stretch. It is an ideal organisation for working mothers, due to its flexible working hours for the last 26 years.
  • Robust distribution
  • Johnson and Johnson has an extremely robust distribution network to an extent that it penetrates till the last village and the most remote areas of a country with the help of its strong distribution network.
  • Trustworthy
  • Johnson and Johnson has been a brand of choice especially for mothers over several generations. Its strong hold on the childcare segment and an exhaustive range of child care products have made it a household name in almost every country where it has a presence.
  • Widespread
  • Johnson and Johnson has its operation in 57 countries and the products are sold in 175 countries with its 250 subsidiary companies. Thus the organisation has a huge global presence with product range available almost everywhere in the globe.
  • Johnson and Johnson is a renowned organisation with a huge product range, thus every distributor or retailer would like to stock more of their products and make profits. Many a times, the distributors either try and sell expired products or even try and sell fake Johnson and Johnson products made locally.
  • Distribution sensitivity
  • Because of its immense presence globally a slight hitch in the distribution channel can cause a major snow ball effect in their entire distribution chain creating a ruckus in the market. Thus the distribution has to be very precise and strategic depending from one geographic location to the other.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Increasing product range
  • Johnson and Johnson has deep pockets and a robust R&D, thus a little more dive down and coming out with innovative products designed exclusively for the economy class and the rural areas will give a boost to the profits. With high rural penetration, Johnson and Johnson should consider looking at products made exclusively for the remote and rural users.
  • Acquisition and mergers
  • Johnson and Johnson is a conglomerate, with a strategic acquisition and intelligent merger with other local companies, Johnson and Johnson and increase its presence in areas where it has been lacking. Or it may create a monopoly market in the child care segment.
  • Excessive exposure
  • With excessive exposure to media and the consumers any product runs the risk of getting generic and loses its charm. A product if run or advertised for too long loses its exclusivity and loyal customers shifts brands thinking about it’s mass use.
  • Look alike brands
  • Because of the phenomenal success of Johnson and Johnson, the company runs the risk of having several fake products which are similar looking but locally made with low grade ingredients.

Lego SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Huge product portfolio
  • Lego brand produces huge varieties of toys which cater to the needs of children aged 3 to 15 years.
  • Vast presence
  • The brand has established its presence in more than 55 countries across the world which ensure steady flow of revenue
  • Educational toys
  • The toys prepared by the Lego brand are not just toys to be played with but also can be used as educational toys which makes this brand a value added one and preferred choice among all the other brands dealing with similar products
  • Theme parks
  • The theme parks that the Lego brand runs are strong tourist attractions and this act as a main selling point that advertises its brand automatically
  • Video games
  • Hey have strong presence in the video games market also which has high demand among the kids all over the world and so ensures market presence and individual revenue stream
  • Remote location
  • Lego factory as well as corporate office is locates in a very remote area which makes it hard to approach the brand as frequently as is required
  • Low marketing efforts
  • The very low marketing activities carried out by the management makes this brand an out of the site one though its visibility in the market is solely due to the excellent performance of its products
  • Market share loss
  • The invasion of online games has eaten a major share of Lego making it nose dive towards loss
  • Heavy competition
  • Other brands have been constantly coming out with innovative products which is actually the weak point of Lego
  • Unstable future
  • The company does not seem to have a clear cut strategy for future business making it highly vulnerable to sustain in the sinking market
 Opportunities Threats
  • Introduce new technologies
  • Lego needs to work hard in introducing innovative games and technologies in to the market to retain its current market share and win over more market share
  • Increase its customer base
  • Lego brand is yet to tap the complete customer base available for its products. This potential opportunity, if tapped in the right manner, can get the brand huge revenue from all the unexpected quarters
  • Enhance networking capabilities
  • Lego has to tap all networks it has to improve its logistics capabilities to supply more products in to the market of developing countries in particular
  • Diversification
  • The company has very high scope to diversify into many other segments of business which would safe guard it from possible monopoly and losses due to the same
  • Fresh markets
  • Lego must target getting established in new market segments they have not ventured in to so that their business revenues start rising high
  • Government policy
  • Any new legislation pertaining to toys and their features announced by Government may make a big dent in Lego’s current business revenues
  • Lack of connectivity among networks
  • The huge gap in connectivity between Lego’s networks can pose a huge threat to the brand’s business continuity and may also eat on the profit margins of the company on the long run
  • Cost of Toys
  • The prohibitive cost of Lego brand toys prohibits customers from purchasing the games and toys introduced by the brand. This decreases the sales hitting the bottom line as well the top line of their business
  • Cartoon channels
  • Cartoon channels have attracted children to a great extent that they no more play with games of any type. This may lower the sales of Lego brand toys and games.

Harley Davidson SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • High quality product
  • The high quality motor bikes sold by the brand are one of best in the world market and have their own unique place not to be replaced by any other brand motor bikes
  • Brand equity
  • The very strong brand equity and the quality of the bikes have made this the preferred brand of motorbike among the many other similar brands. The high loyalty levels of the customers is one of its greatest strengths
  • Financial backup
  • Harley Davidson is a finance rich brand and this gives it tremendous potential to sustain in the competitive markets even at times of low ebb
  • Innovation
  • The innovation it offers to its customers every now and then keeps the brand one step higher than the other competition models at all points of time
  • Vast product range
  • It has many models of motorbikes to offer to its customer and so the balancing of revenue as well as profit margins happens in a streamlined manner
  • Social Media
  • The brand uses Social media in a huge manner to continuously announce its activities. It thus makes its presence being noticed regularly which acts as a selling point by itself.
  • Business diversification
  • The brand has established itself only in the two wheeler segment and has not diversified it business in to any other product lines. This is one of the major drawbacks since business diversification is a crucial aspect for any brand for constant development
  • Prohibitive costs
  • Harley Davidson being a prestigious brand and an established brand in the market its cost is very high. Owing to the same, its cost poses a huge weakness to the brand
  • Conservative customer base
  • Due to its prohibitive cost and the high end model which does not get used by people who purchase it in normal conditions, the brand has very limited number of customer which is a huge weakness
 Opportunities Threats
  • Scope to expand
  • Harley Davidson has many regions yet to be ventured into and so scope for business expansion is huge
  • New product categories
  • The brand is into selling motor cycles only and so has many more products ranges it can introduce. With its strong finance position, introducing many more products into the market is an easy job for Harley Davidson if the brand strategizes the plan properly
  • Scope for growth
  • There is high scope of growth for Harley Davidson in growing countries and developing nations. Harley Davidson must assess the probable growth potential in these areas and take moves accordingly
  • Policy changesby Government
  • Any policy changes pertaining to Government taxes and other issues related to business may impact Harley Davidson business in a significant manner
  • Product alternatives
  • Harley Davidson is just into one segment of the product and so if the existing models fail the business revenues may get affected in a huge manner
  • Competitors
  • The huge level of competition that is faced by Harley Davidson is a big threat hanging over its head. Competitors have many models to offer to the market and so the saving the market share from the competition needs to be handled as a constant process by Harley Davidson which otherwise may pose a huge threat to its business revenues
  • Low cost models
  • The low cost lower end model cars offered by its competition may sweep away the market shifting majority of its customer base away from the brand. This may cause a dent in its profit margins

Chick-Fil-A SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Brand name
  • The well established brand name in USA is one of the major strengths of Chick-Fil-A
  • Special items
  • Unlike other competitors who sell chicken in US market, Chick-Fil-A chickens have variety and unique taste. This acts as a unique selling point for the brand by itself
  • Revenue growth
  • The brand has been witnessing continous growth in business for several years now vouching for the best quality food it presents to its customer constantly
  • Huge market share
  • The quality it offers has made it one of the favorite choices of its customers making it popular across market. This has earned the brand huge market share in the US food industry
  • Brand promotion
  • The huge investment it does in establishing itself is one of the prime strengths of the brand. This makes the brand more and more visible to new set of customers at all points of time
  • Limited choice of food items
  • It specializes only in chicken varieties which limits it scope for growth in the food industry in USA
  • Limited working days
  • Chick-Fil-A works only 6 days a week where as its competitors work 24*7 days a week. This is a major detrimental factor to the brand which also reduces it revenue earning capabilities
  • Marriage controversy
  • The marriage controversy into which Chick-Fil-A is caught ha damaged the image of the brand. This may keep away a portion of the customer base from the brand having a considerable impact on the business revenue and sales aspect
 Opportunities Threats
  • Geography
  • Chick-Fil-A has huge prospects to enter into many more geographies which will increase its business potential in a huge manner.
  • Increase menu
  • Chick-Fil-A has scope to improve his business by introducing many new items to its menu card which will improve scope for business and revenues
  • Diversification
  • Chick-Fil-A also has scope for diversification of its business into other related areas so that it can grab the market share of already existing competitors in the arena
  • Healthy foods
  • Chick-Fil-A must focus in the current attitude of people across USA and introduce many more new healthy products so its customer base gets increased. The expanded customer base will automatically increase its revenue and strengthen it in the market
  • Untapped areas
  • Chick-Fil-A has many areas to tap which may act as major sources of its revenue. If it focuses on these areas in a strategic manner it can increase its business revenue as well as profits margins
  • Heavy competition
  • The severe competition Chick-Fil-A faces from its big competitors like KFC is a huge threat to its survival in the US market. These market giants eat the major market share of Chick-Fil-A
  • Competitor menus
  • The menus of competitors of Chick-Fil-A are very rich and have many items to cater to the variety of tastes of their customers. This is the weak point of Chick-Fil-A and also a major threat to win over its competition brands
  • Raw material cost
  • Chick-Fil-A is involved only in the chicken business. Owing to this any increase in price of the raw chickens may impact its business in a huge manner. Lack of supply of raw chickens may cause its business to come to a stand still
  • Government regulations
  • If any change in regulations is implemented by the US government, because Chick-Fil-A has only one product line, it may ring a death knell to its existence. This is a constant threat faced by Chick-Fil-A and a sword hanging on its head permenantly

IBM SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Cloud computing: IBM is a world leader in building up cloud computing solutions. They are specially known for data analytics, mobile, social and security business. The company expects the annual revenue from these heads to go up to $40 billion by 2018. Also the demand of hybrid installations are growing which is a mix of the services. The integration of products and services across multiple platforms has helped the company to improve its acceptability in various sectors like manufacturing, services and allied sectors.
  • Diversified business: IBM as a company have been transforming itself into various categories. It was a hardware company in the beginning, from that its core business changed to software and now the company is focusing on artificial intelligence and automation. These are used by healthcare, automobile, petroleum, hospitality as the operational efficiency of the business increases after the implementation of these software’s. Apart from IT the company has created separate companies for managing the financial investment and research and also their BPO business is growing in the Asian subcontinent that makes up a major part of the revenue.
  • Huge client base: Due to the strong brand name which the company has and their global presence the client base of IBM is huge. It helps them to avoid any kind of fluctuation and volatility in the market as alternative industries subsidies’ the revenue slide and does a balancing act. The revenue generated from these clients is huge and banking, airlines, shipbuilding industries continue to stick to a single company that has given them benefit in the long run.
  • Expensive solutions: The services and solutions which IBM is offering comes at a hefty price as they target only the large industries. Hence in this situation the large number of medium and small scale business are unable to afford their solutions which is a big loss to the company. In developing countries the small industries far outnumber the large scale industries and other companies are focusing on creating solutions only for them.
  • Lesser revenue from core business: The revenues from IBM Global technology, business services, systems hardware are all reducing due to a sluggish demand in the market and a strong dollar rate. There has been a lot of divestment done in the lower margin business and with the European market becoming stagnant the company is facing serious problem in improving its finances.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Internet of Things: IBM is investing in IoT (Internet of Things) which is the biggest thing in software for interactive applications and has a great market ahead. Also they have built up a new data processing Artificial intelligence platform and expects to gain $10 billion in annual revenue within a decade.
  • Semiconductor industry: IBM is licensing out the designs for the semiconductor chips, servers and software’s in tech firms across the emerging market. With a strong brand value the company a huge revenue is expected to be generated from this business.
  • Competition: The single biggest threat for IBM is the massive competition in the software sector and cloud computing. Companies like Amazon and Microsoft have also built up their data center and are expected to pose a challenge to the company.
  • Obsolescence: The shelf life of a product in the software sector is very low and as a lot of companies are working in different fields hence continuous development of the software’s are required.

Nordstrom SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Quality of the products
  • The British style high quality products sold by Nordstrom are one of its biggest strengths. The quality of Nordstrom products have earned the support of its customers for many years now
  • Employee strength
  • Nordstrom has 52000+ employees in its rolls and this is one of biggest strength the company has. Such huge number of employees is surely a huge strength since they will contribute to the productivity at all points of time
  • Customer reputation
  • Nordstrom has gained very good name from its customers that the repeat business it gets from them assures it of regular business revenue and assured profitability
  • Vast geographical presence
  • Nordstrom has 120 number of full-line stores and 110 Nordstrom racks which takes care of selling the brand’s products enhancing its business revenues
  • Product range
  • The wide range of products it deals with like House wear, clothing, bedding, footwear, jewelry, furniture, café and beauty products keeps its presence across in all key areas of necessity. This is a huge strength Nordstrom has to leverage on to expand itself
  • Free shipment offer to customers
  • The free shipment offer it gives to its customers adds value to the buying experience of the customer from Nordstrom adding value to their purchase
  • Customer segment addressed
  • The customer segment addressed by Nordstrom is upper class and upper middle class which is generally the strongest one for selling household goods
  • Limited geographical presence
  • Nordstrom is well established in US. But it has not spread its wings in other parts of the world. This is the biggest weakness of the brand. Nordstrom
  • Weak market share
  • Owing to the many stores available in the market selling similar products, the market share of Nordstrom is very low and this is one of the weaknesses Nordstrom has to overcome for its existence
  • Competition
  • The high levels of competition that is available for Nordstrom makes it a big struggle for it to obtain regular business revenues and profit margins
 Opportunities Threats
  • Advertising
  • Nordstrom has scope to increase its business potential through advertising and branding activities. If done properly, this will act as huge business booster for Nordstrom. This will also help increase the brand visibility to many parts of the world.
  • Business acquisitions
  • Nordstrom needs to take over many smaller retail chains so it can expand its business and brand name across much geography.
  • Emerging countries
  • Nordstrom has scope to tap business potential in developing countries. It is high time that Nordstrom catches hold of emerging markets quickly so that it is able to sustain its success for a longer period of time
  • Exploit customer potential
  • Nordstrom must make fullest use of the spending capacity and disposable income capabilities of its customers. Exploiting the customer potential is the biggest opportunity that Nordstrom in front of it.
  • Brand equity dilution
  • The reducing market share and lessened sales poses threat for the brand in the form of equity liquidation. Nordstrom must take consistent steps on priority to retain its brand name that it has earner in a hard manner over a period of time
  • Emotional connection
  • The reducing brand equity may pose a threat to the emotional connectivity the brand enjoys with its customers which in turn may reduce the business potential and revenue earning capacity
  • Severe competition
  • The increasing levels of competition may pose a threat to its sales and business revenues. Nordstrom must work out some crucial strategies to escape from these threats in the quickest possible time

Ikea SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness
  • Innovative products – Ikea is renowned worldwide for its creative and out of the box product line. Ikea is one of those brands which has come out with the concept of DIY furniture which can be assembled at the comfort of your home without any external help.
  • Pioneer – Ikea has pioneered in this segment of furniture, thus has the first movers advantage. Ikea took a few years to establish itself in market where ready to use goods were abundantly available. Now with growing acceptance amongst the consumers, Ikea is a highly accepted and appreciated brand worldwide.
  • Financial strength – Ikea is an extremely strong organisation in terms of finances. With its deep pockets, Ikea has the ability to spend a lot of money in R&D and further improvement of their product line. In the year 2014, it has notched a sale of EUR 29 billion.
  • Focussed line of products – Ikea has to its credit around 9500 products ranging from furniture to home appliances. Their product features are easy to assemble, ease of use, low cost and practical approach towards the product design.
  • Less or no presence in Asia – Asia is an emerging market in almost all the industries. Unfortunately Ikea has a very low presence in Asia and has a major presence and dependence on the European market. Thus Ikea loses on the Asian market which could have been otherwise a profitable market for them.
  • Competition – With more and more acceptance being built in and around the Ikea product line, the competition is building higher for Ikea to cope up. There are companies which has lesser overhead costs and are offering products at a much lesser price than Ikea as they do not have much expenses on R&D.
  • Negative publicity – Due to certain environmental conditions, certain Ikea products might behave a little differently than others in a few regions. This fact has drawn unnecessary attention among the Ikea users which have built a huge negative publicity for the organisation for promise made and service not kept.
 Opportunities Threats
  • Global expansion – Global expansion for Ikea is a long due strategy which they need to implement right away. With operations in China and India on the anvil, Ikea plans for more ambitious markets for a larger share in the already growing market.
  • Strategic tie-ups – With more strategic tie ups and mergers it can gain mileage in major emerging markets and make a name and brand for itself very soon with the help of local brands.
  • Going green – In a world where people are more conscious about their environment and health are leaning more towards environment friendly products for daily use. Thus as the market evolves so will the demand for Ikea’s range of products.
  • Global economic condition – With the rise in the economic condition, people have shifted their preferences towards other brands which speaks more of one’s status. Thus there has been a shift in customer loyalty especially in the European market.
  • Competition – With growing competition in every channel of marketing, Ikea is facing enormous competition. Its major threat is from the online shopping portals which offers similar products at a much cheaper rate as it saves on distribution and employee costs.
  • Rise in consumer economy

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