Problems Found in Situation Analysis While Cowgirl Chocolates has been in business for twenty years, it is still in a stagnant position. While they may not be losing enough money to have to close right now, they are certainly not achieving much in terms of growth or sales. The company has not been successful in gaining any larger retailers. It is not easy to find consumers who prefer something as distinct as spicy chocolates. This makes it very difficult to expand the business. Also, selling to wholesale distributors and end use retailers can also be challenging. The products have showed steady sales in the specialty retail locations. The wholesale side has not had such great sales. Identify and targeting potential wholesalers …show more content…
The company was started to fund the art magazine that Marilyn and Ross published. That was their great passion. They must identify a vision for Cowgirl Chocolates before the company can begin to grow. Strategic Alternatives for Solving Problems Increase Online Sales The company website makes up about one third of the total sales. The website was also a driver for the increase in sales that the company had in 2000. I’ve already stated that sales are higher through retailer outlets versus wholesalers. The Appendix shows that retail sales from the Spicy Truffle Bars make up sixty one percent of gross margin. Wholesale sales from that same product only has twenty three percent margin. The outcome is the same for all Cowgirl Chocolate products that are sold through retail and wholesale outlets. To increase sales enough to cover the $20,000 the company needs to continue operating, the online sector of the business would need to make about $31,000 assuming the sixty-five percent margin isn’t changed. Even though, Cowgirl Chocolates is already an online retailer, their website doesn’t include key features to track necessary customer information. Incorporating the features to their existing site should be able to be done at a minimal cost to the company. In addition to the website improvements, the size of orders placed on the internet as well as the shipping and handling charges for
Hershey’s and Cadburys are moving towards the premium chocolate market through the acquisition or upmarket launches (Zietsma, 2007). The profit potential present in this sector supported by its 20% annual growth rate make it very attractive for large organizations to come forward and avail this opportunity. There is a low threat of new entrants prevailing in this chocolate industry because of the high capital requirements and expected retaliation by current manufacturers. Current players in the industry also possess some barriers to entry for new entrants by maintaining economies of scales with their large production capacity and keeping their product differentiation with their specialized and novelty chocolate products. Even though there are low switching costs and easy access to distribution channels, but still the brand loyalty of the customers including the Rogers’ Chocolate itself make it harder for new firms to come into the competition.
The technology enhancement improves the efficiency of the supply chain, safeguard customer information and boost infrastructure associated with the target web portal for supporting online and mobile community an offensive complementary strategic option. The internal information
Using $8.50 as the variable cost provided at the bottom of the case study and using $39.95 as the retail selling price as compared to $23.97 as the wholesale selling price (60% of the retail price), ServiSoft will realize a contribution margin of $31.45 with the retail distribution channel versus $15.47 with the wholesale distribution channel.
3. To become established as the national retailer of choice for chocolate connoisseurs within the next 3 years.
The premium chocolate market has been growing at 20% annually, showing that buyers are willing to pay more for a better tasting and better quality chocolate. The declining growth of the overall chocolate market and rapid growth of the premium chocolate market is positive for current producers of premium chocolates in that the decline
There are a lot of benefits the customers enjoy when they do their shopping online, such as:
Theo Chocolate was first established in March 2006 by Debra Music and Joe Whinney in the Fremont- neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (theochocolate.com, our story). For Theo, they want to do more than just chocolate. It is about the land, the people, the dedication, and the interconnected relationships that bind all of them together. That is why Joe Whinney- Theo’s founder- first pioneered the supply of organic cocoa beans into the United Strates in 1994. Traveling and working in the tropics of Central America and Africa, Joe fell in love with the land and
Since the inception of a revolutionary spicy chocolate recipe, Marilyn Lysohir and Ross Coates have been striving to grow a profitable business in the chocolate industry. Each year Marilyn has loaned the company money to keep it running. Cowgirl Chocolates, primarily run by Marilyn, with help from family and art associates is branded based on the concept that chocolate
Dream Chocolate (D.C.) is a small company trying to survive in an industry with many competitors. The competitive environment comes from some factors. Firstly, D.C. bars are sold in specialty markets, fine gift stores and also available online. However, the competitive companies can also provide various chocolate bars for customers with the low price on the Internet. Secondly, comparing to the big chocolate company like Mars, D.C. is a small company that has the lower brand reputation. Therefore, there may be not many people would trust their products.
Born into a poor, lower-class family, Milton S. Hershey dropped out of school before reaching the fourth grade. He developed an interest in becoming a confectioner. He believed there would be great demand for affordable, mass-produced chocolate, and thus he built the Hershey Chocolate Company. Hershey’s is now the largest producer of quality chocolates in North America and a global leader in chocolate and sugar confectionery. Although he enjoyed making money, Milton S. Hershey was intent on using his vast fortune for philanthropic purposes. He decided to surround his enterprise with a model town and personally financed the building of roads, utilities,
thehersheycompany.com went on to say that the Hershey Chocolate is focused on growing their company globally and sharing Hershey 's chocolate around the world.
By October 2012, it had been over 15 months since Apollo Foods, a global consumer packaged-goods firm, had obtained the rights to distribute the well-known European chocolate company, Montreaux, in the United States. Andrea Torres, the director of new product development at Montreaux Chocolate USA, is presented with the
The transportation cost of chocolate was high and small mom and pop stores commonly supplied chocolate made locally. Today you would be hard-pressed to find local chocolate in the United States, with the shelves dominated by four major brands. The
For instance, there exists market for Novelty Candies and Private Label Candies. Equally, the availability of partnership, Franchising and Licensing can be of great help to The Cherry Lady Company which is still expanding
In 1894, the Hershey Chocolate Company began in Lancaster, Pennsylvania when Milton Hershey decided to begin producing chocolate coating for his caramels. In 1900, Hershey expanded their business by producing more goods. Once Hershey began mass production, they were able to minimize production costs and make high-quality milk chocolate. After this new production model was established, Hershey began to expand its facilities throughout the northeastern United States. They also increased their supply chain efficiency by building a new facility in close proximity to ports and dairy farms that supply Hershey with its raw materials.