Stakeholders of IC Group in Fashion Industry
Discuss about the Strategic Management Analysis of IC Group for Entrepreneurship.
IC Group is a clothing based organization which has its origin in Copenhagen, Denmark. The organization was established in the year 2001 with the help of the merger between InWear Group A/S and Carli Gry International A/S. The brand named Tiger of Sweden was acquired by the organization in the year 2003. The organization has been operating more than 60 branded stores and more than 70 franchise based outlets (IC Group. 2018). The major part of sales was mainly based on four markets which include, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway. Mads Ryder was appointed as CEO in the year 2013 which was based on the implementation of the vision which was laid out by the board. The most important part of implementation of this vision was based on the diversion of mid-tier brands, driving growth and innovation and simplification of the organization (IC Group. 2018).
The IC Group has laid an effective stakeholder policy which is based on the different important stakeholders of the organization in the fashion industry. The shareholders of the organization are considered to be the most important stakeholders. The main objective of the organization is thereby to maintain and fulfil the long-term interests of IC Group. The Executive Board of IC Group is thereby responsible for enabling the shareholders to express their opinions which are based on the business activities of the company. The capital of the organization and shareholder structure is evaluated by the Board of Directors on a periodic basis to ensure that they receive the best services (Frow, McColl-Kennedy and Payne 2016).
The credit institutions which are related to the IC Group are an important part of the stakeholder group of the organizations. The creditors of the organization are able to understand the needs of IC Group and further support the activities in an effective manner. The company works in coordination with the stakeholders in order to complete its business operations in an effective manner. The development of liquidity of IC Group and capital structure of the organization is an important part of the association of IC Group with the stakeholders. The business press and media also form an important group of stakeholders of IC Group. The customers of IC Group are considered to be major stakeholders of the organization (Helfat and Martin 2015).
The foundation of the Group development has thereby been formed by the customers. The suppliers of IC Group are responsible for providing raw materials to the organization for the development of products. The Board of Directors are responsible for creating a long-term relationship with the suppliers so that they are able to maintain the procedures of the organization in an effective manner. The suppliers are required to enter into new agreements with the company in order to provide the raw materials to IC Group on a regular basis. The employees of IC Group are also considered to be the stakeholders of the organization (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014).
Challenges for IC Group in Fashion Industry
The company thereby relies on the work performance of the employees in order to provide best services to the customers and development of proper work performance as well. The community in which the organization has its operations is also a part of the stakeholders group. The stakeholders are thereby able to create an important part of the stakeholder group of IC Group. The company is dependent on the stakeholders for the purpose of providing the best levels of services to the customers all over the world (Hitt and Duane Ireland 2017). The management of these stakeholders thereby holds huge importance for the proper operations of IC Group in the fashion industry. The company is hugely dependent on the different stakeholders for creating a powerful position in the industry. IC Group is an organization which manages the stakeholders in an effective manner for providing the best levels of services and products to the customers. The power interest grid can thereby be used in an effective manner for the purpose of mapping the stakeholders (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson 2012).
Threats of new entry – The growth of the fashion industry is quite fast and the industry is also quite competitive in nature. The global economic crisis has thereby led to changes in the choice of the customers. The customers thereby demand high quality products within low prices. IC Group is also able to provide products to the customers in order to create an effective customer base. The increase in rates of currency in the country has also led to many changes in the offerings of IC Group. The economical quality of the organization can be lost due to the changes that have been seen in the industry. The fast growth of IC Group is based on the diversification of style in the vertical and horizontal manner (Dobbs 2014). The brands which operate under the IC Group are able to provide the best products to the customers. The evolution in the industry has however led to the high increase of cost growth as compared to the sales growth of IC Group. The IC Group is thereby able to target a larger group with the help of its products. The company thereby needs to invest in the emerging markets in order to create an effective position in the market. The sustainable growth of IC Group is thereby possible with the help of proper investment in the emerging areas. The risks that are related to the company in the emerging markets are lower as compared to the developed markets (Dobbs 2014).
Management of Logistics and Operations in IC Group
Bargaining power of the suppliers – The age of globalization has led to the continuous growth of the organization in the fashion industry. The number of suppliers in the industry has increased with the help of increase in the operations of IC Group. Suppliers are considered to be an important part of the stakeholder group of the organization. The bargaining power of suppliers is high as the fashion industry is growing in nature. The licensed contracts are provided to customers in order to provide the required raw materials to the company. The brands are thereby able to establish stable relationship with the suppliers in order to acquire the raw materials within appropriate prices. The suppliers are able to enjoy high arbitrage rates by setting prices for materials that are required (Dobbs 2014). The suppliers in the fashion retail industry are thereby responsible for the change in prices of products.
Bargaining power of the buyers – The amount of money which is spent by the organization on advertisement activities is high. The company thereby relies on the word of mouth based promotions in order to create an effective position of IC Group. The management also aims at investing on the research and development based activities in order to understand the demands and needs of the customers. The customers in the industry are thereby quite unpredictable in nature. The prices and quality of the products that are offered by IC Group are mainly based on the different brands which operate under the group. The buyers in the fashion industry are highly demanding in nature and have the availability to change the prices of products that are offered to the customers in an effective manner (Durand, Grant and Madsen 2017).
Threats related to substitutes – The products that are offered to the customers by the organizations which operate in the fashion industry can be substituted by different products. The companies tend to offer different types of products which are similar in nature and the prices wars are also quite high in the industry. The supply chain of IC Group is highly responsive in nature and the products offered to the customers can be effectively substituted by the other products. The investment that is made by the organization on advertisement based activities is based on the substitute products that are offered to the customers (Durand, Grant and Madsen 2017).
Competitive rivalry – The fashion and apparel industry is segmented with the help of different types of customers. The number of organizations which operate in the industry can be smaller in size as the levels of rivalry are moderate. The performance that has been shown by the industry in the past few years is quite moderate in nature and this has caused issues for different organizations which operate in the industry. The direct rivals of the company in the industry are mainly, H & M, Adidas Group, Nike Inc., DK Company, Bestseller A/S. IC Group has not been able to create an effective position in the fashion industry (Elmes and Barry 2017). IC Group thereby has a loyal group of customers in the industry as the switching costs of the buyers are quite high. The customers are however concerned about the reputation that is help by the brand in the market. The rivals of the company have been able to provide tough competition to IC Group in the fashion industry. The image that is created by IC Group in the industry is an important aspect which can affect the customer base. The increase which has been seen in the demand in the industry has been an important part of the operations of IC Group in fashion industry (Ethiraj, Gambardella and Helfat 2018).
Inbound logistics – The supply chain activities of IC Group have been managed in an effective manner with the help of different activities. The organization works with huge number of suppliers in order to provide the products to the loyal customers. The different products which are made by the suppliers are further shipped to the warehouses. The digital technology and IT based infrastructure of the company is used to manage the deliveries and the inbound logistics as well (Lasserre 2017).
Operations – The operations of IC Group are managed with the help of its 5000 outlets all over the world. The stores thereby consist of many retail outlets and franchise stores. The channel that has been created by the organization is thereby available in many different countries of the world (Meyer, Neck and Meeks 2017).
Outbound logistics – The organization receives the products from its suppliers and the different warehouses which have been effectively developed. The distribution based centres of the organization are thereby located in different areas where IC Group operates. The centres are thereby helpful in distributing the products to different retailers. The company also uses software and advanced technologies in order to track the inventories in an effective manner (Michael, Storey and Thomas 2017).
Marketing and sales – IC Group has been able to invest huge amounts of money on the promotion and marketing based activities. Digital technology is used by the management of the organization along with partnerships with the different brands. The organizations which have been acquired by IC Group in order to grow in the market are mainly, Carli Gry International and InWear Group. The brand also has partnerships with different personalities and sponsorships which are provided by organizations. The commerce channel is used for the purpose of managing the sales and marketing based activities (Morschett, Schramm-Klein and Zentes 2015).
Procurement – The procurement or supply chain based operations of the company are based on the ways by which the raw materials are sourced in an effective manner. The organization has made partnerships with the suppliers in order to ensure the efficient delivery of goods and production as well. The supply chain team is able to select the partners who can be used for supply purposes (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang 2014).
Human resource management – The human resource management or employees of the organization play an important role in the successful operations of IC Group. The company is focussed on the creation of a great culture which is helps in fostering the diversity and inclusion within an environment of innovation and collaboration. The brand is thereby able to take care of development and growth of the employees (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington 2008).
Technology – Technology has been used in an effective manner by the management of IC Group in order to improve the marketing operations. The distribution and supply chain network of the organization is also affected by the technological abilities of IC Group. The company has invested heavily in the digital technology for the past few years. The growth of brand is thereby based on the successful use of technology. Ecommerce is an important factor that helps in the sales of apparel in Asia and Europe. The luxury based sector of the company is spanned in the different industries. The online platforms have been helpful in the increase of sales of the luxury items of different fashion organizations (Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez 2018).
Infrastructure – The infrastructure that has been created by the organization in the fashion industry has been helpful for increasing the sales of IC Group. The infrastructure of the company is based on the retail stores, the offices, the distribution centres, retail stores. The infrastructure of the company is thereby based on many different countries. The two major organizations which have been acquired by the IC Group have been able to provide the huge customer base and infrastructure to the organization (Pearlson, Saunders and Galletta 2016).
The Porter’s sustainable competitive advantage can be used for the purpose of creating an effective position in the industry. The major goal of the business strategy is thereby based on achieving sustainable competitive advantage in the industry. The two types of competitive advantage that can be gained by the organization in the industry are based on differentiation advantage and cost advantage. The competitive advantage which exists in the industry is based on the ways by which the company is able to deliver the similar benefits which include, lower costs of production. The competitive advantage is thereby able to create a superior value for the customers (Rothaermel 2015).
The differentiation and cost based advantages of the organization are based on the positional advantages as they describe the leadership of the organization in the fashion industry. The resource-based view thereby emphasizes that IC Group is able to utilize the capabilities and resources so that the ultimate results can be based on the creation of the superior value. The resources and the capabilities that are owned by the organization need to be used in an efficient manner so that the company can become superior to the others in the industry. The superior competitors of IC Group in the industry have been the major reason behind the ways by which the competitive advantages are created in an effective manner (Sakas, Vlachos and Nasiopoulos 2014).
The resources are thereby considered to be important assets of the company which help in the creation of the advantage in the fashion industry. The resources which have been created by IC Group mainly include, the huge customer base, reputation of the organization, equity of the brand and many more. Capabilities of the company on the other hand are based on the ways by which it is able to use the resources in an effective manner. The capabilities are an important part of the ways by which the resources are used to develop the competitive advantage. IC Group can create cost advantage by providing the products to customers within low prices (Schaltegger and Wagner 2017).
The capabilities and resources of the company are used for the purpose of differentiating the products from others in the industry. IC Group is able to position itself in the industry with the help of low cost based products. The major decision that needs to be taken by the company in order to segment so that the products are provided to the customers in an appropriate manner. The segments of market are formed in such a manner which can help in providing the products to customers. The creation of value by the firm is an important part of the ways by which the organization is able to develop a competitive position in the fashion industry. The value is created by the organization with the help of different activities which include, the ways by which supply network is created (Trigeorgis and Reuer 2017).
The creation of effective supply chain is thereby an important part of the successful creation of value by IC Group in the fashion industry. IC Group can create competitive advantage in the fashion industry with the help of its resources and capabilities and members of the supply chain network. The company has been able to sustainable advantage in the market with the help of value of the products and the brand that has been developed by IC Group. The generic competitive advantage can be created by the organization with the help of lower costs of the production and low prices of the products as well (Wheelen et al. 2017).
The organization will be able to provide tough competition to the others with the help of its low cost products. The sustainable competitive advantage can be developed in the fashion industry by IC Group with the help of cost differentiation generic strategy. The two organizations which have been acquired by IC Group have been able to provide huge customer base to the company in an effective manner. The merger has been able to provide a profitable growth to the organization which has helped IC Group to create mass market. The customers are able to provide an effective position to the company. The acquisition of the organizations has been an important part of the restructuring of the organizational processes in an effective manner. The brands that operate under the IC Group are also important in the creation of sustainable competitive advantage in the fashion industry (Sakas, Vlachos and Nasiopoulos 2014). The sustainable competitive advantage plays an important role in the operations of IC Group in the fashion industry. The differentiation that is formed by the company in the market will be helpful in the formation of advantage over the others in the industry.
References
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