Reflective Business Report

This Reflective Business Report provides a detailed situational analysis of the target market, followed by internal analysis, marketing strategy, performance analysis, and future strategic recommendations.

Running head: REFLECTIVE BUSINESS REPORT
Reflective Business Report
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction – Vision and Mission Statement....................................................................3
1.1. Vision and Mission of Awesome Air Shoes................................................................3
1.2. Company Logo of Awesome Air Shoes..........................................................................4
2. Situational Analysis – Macroeconomic Analysis, Industry and Sector Analysis...............4
2.1. Macro-environment Analysis using Porters 5 Forces Analysis..................................4
2.2. Macro-environment Analysis using Porters Generic Forces.......................................6
3. Internal Analysis.................................................................................................................7
4. Marketing Strategy.............................................................................................................8
4.2. Competitive Positioning..............................................................................................8
4.3. Marketing Mix.............................................................................................................9
5. Performance Analysis.......................................................................................................10
6. Corporate Social Responsibility and Citizenship.............................................................10
7. Future Strategic Recommendations..................................................................................11

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1. Introduction – Vision and Mission Statement
The Business Strategy Game or BSG as it is commonly known is nothing but an
online simulation game that demonstrates the actual circumstances in which the
international footwear industry is seen to be operating. The entire class that we happen to
belong to, is one that was divided into two industrial area groups, with each group
comprising of six companies. All of the companies were to devise a strategy for the
selling of shows in four major geographic regions that is North America, Latin America
and Asia Pacific, Europe and finally, in Africa in order to gain a competitive advantage or
edge over its rivals in the market and thus be in a position to procure huge amounts of
profit. The company for which our group decided to devise a marketing strategy is
Awesome Air Shoes in the four regions that have been mentioned, namely, North
America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa and the country of marketing
expansion is North America. This reflective report provides a detailed situational analysis
of the target market, followed by internal analysis, marketing strategy, performance
analysis in addition to corporate social responsibility and citizenship and future strategic
recommendations.
1.1. Vision and Mission of Awesome Air Shoes
2. Vision: “Our customers will wear the best shoes at the best price”.
3. Mission Statement: At Awesome Air Shoes, we value customer trust, care very much
for employee respect and are committed to creating a unique digitalized shopping
experience.

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1.2. Company Logo of Awesome Air Shoes
2. Situational Analysis – Macroeconomic Analysis, Industry and Sector Analysis
2.1. Macro-environment Analysis using Porters 5 Forces Analysis
The following was observed when Awesome Air Shoes in North America, Asia, Africa,
Europe and Latin America was analyzed using the Porters 5 Forces Analysis
Competitive Rivalry – There are many competing forces that Awesome Air Shoes has
to deal with in the countries of North America, such as USA and Canada as well as
in the European, Asian, African and Latin American countries country of America,
that provide the same target customer base as that of the company with high quality shoes
at affordable prices along with a digitalized shopping experience. Awesome Air Shoes is
a company that specializes on the provision of comfortable footwear to its customers, but
it needs to focus on adding a number of other unique features to its shoe products as well,
in the form of exclusive designs and colors in order to make such shoes really stand out in

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the market and gain an edge over rivals (Chowdhury et al. 2018). Therefore, competitive
rivalry is high.
Supplier Power – Given that there are many shoe companies in existence across the
length and breadth of the country of America Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America,
there are many suppliers that are also in existence in American, European, African, Latin
American and Asian cities and towns who can provide Awesome Air Shoes with all the
raw materials that it needs to manufacture comfortable and high quality footwear for its
international American customers at the most affordable of prices. As a result, it can be
stated that the supplier power for a company like Awesome Air Shoes across the four
continents in the country of America is quite low (Deng and Sinkovic 2018).
Buyer Power – Given the fact that there are so many shoe companies that are in
operation in the North American cities and towns in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin
America, customers will find many different varieties of comfortable and quality
footwear to choose from, most of which are made available at prices that are relatively
modest. Buyer powe in the four geographic regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin
America and North America r in America is therefore very high, and Awesome Air
Shoes will have to really provide its customers in all the four geographic regions America
with full value for the money that they spend on its shoes, in order to keep them coming
back to its stores again and again instead of reaching out to the company’s rivals and
competitors in the country to buy shoes (Meyer and Cohen 2016).
Threat of Substitution – The threat of substitution is one that is very minimal real
for a company like Awesome Air Shoes in all the four geographic regions of Asia,
North America, Latin America and Africa North America. There are numerous
suppliers in these regions he country that provide interested shoe manufactures with the

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quality materials needed for the manufacture of different types of shoes. The fantastic
comfortable and affordably priced shoes being sold by Awesome Air Shoes can at some
point of time be easily substituted with similar types of shoes being manufactured by a
new company (Meyer and Cohen 2016). The threat of substitution is therefore quite low
Threat of New Entry – Given that shoes are popular among customers in each and every
part of the world, as it is impossible to walk indoors and out of doors without wearing
shoes, starting a business in shoe wear is likely to be lucrative for any entrepreneur
especially in the four different geographic regions a country like North America where
consumers are so style conscious and like to be trendy about the type of garments and
accessories that they wear. Awesome Air Shoes could therefore any day face competition
from a new shoe company that provides customers with quality shoes at a price that is as
affordable as the price at which Awesome Air Shoes sells its products. The threat of new
entry for Awesome Air Shoes in Asia, Africa, Latin America and North America in
North America is high (Meyer and Cohen 2016).

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2.2. Macro-environment Analysis using Porters Generic Forcesfor
Competitive Strategy
` The existence of Awesome Air Shoes in the four geographic regions of Asia, Africa,
Latin America and North America North American market will now be analyzed using
Porters generic forces of competitionstrategies.
Cost Leadership – Cost leadership refers to the low cost ways by which a company can
produce its goods and services in order to establish cost advantage. Owing to the fact that
there are many suppliers in North American cities and towns of the four geographic regions
that can provide Awesome Air Shoes with the raw materials it needs to produces affordably
priced quality shoes for its target customer base, the company can procures such raw

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materials at bulk rates for the long term and thus establishes cost advantage, manufacturing
its shoes at a price that is relatively low (Denicolai et al. 2016).
Differentiation – In order to gain a competitive edge over its rivals, Awesome Air Shoes also
has had to find ways and means by which it can diversify its shoe products and accessories,
making these truly stand out in the market. One way to do so would be to manufacture shoes
in the most vibrant of shades and designs, drawing the immediate attention of the company’s
prospective customer base (Meyer and Cohen 2016).
Cost and Differentiation Focus – Awesome Air Shoes is a company that needs to decided
upon a specific target base in order to be able to compete successfully in the North American
shoe market in all the four geographic regions. It is not practically possible for Awesome Air
Shoes to cater to the tastes and appeal of all shoe wearers in North American cities and
towns. The company therefore had s to decide whether it is going to want to focus on catering
to teenagers and people who are in their early youth or people who are in their middle or late
age in order to succeed in its operations. Choosing pre teens, teens and early youth as its
customer base could an result in the Awesome Air Shoes running its operations quite
successfully in all the four different geographic regions the USA, given that the youth of a
country is always easier to please than the country’s senior population (Gulanowski et al.
2018).

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3. Internal Analysis
The internal analysis of Awesome Air Shoes in all the four geographic regions North
America is now analyzed using the SWOT method of internal analysis.
Strengths – The biggest strength associated with the shoes that are manufactured by
Awesome Air Shoes is that it provides quality shoe wear at affordable rates. Customers
can come across many different varieties of shoes to choose from at the most affordable
of prices when shopping at Awesome Air Shoes in the Asia, Africa, Europe and North
America region of North America.
Weaknesses – When it comes to weaknesses it needs to be remembered that Awesome
Air Shoes is new in all the four regions America and it will the company some time to
know exactly what it is that customers in the four different regions North America want

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when it comes to shoe wear. While doing business initially is a good experience, retaining
customer interest in the shoe products is likely to be a challenge given that Awesome Air
Shoes is not too innovative when it comes to the appearance of its shoes, with most of the
shoes looking similar in terms of design, style and color.
Opportunities – Given the love and the need for shoe wear in each and every part of the
four different geographic regions North America, there is plenty of opportunity for
Awesome Air Shoes to grow and expand its business operations in the country. If the
company takes special care to cater to the youth of the country by providing them with
vibrantly colored and attractively designed shoes to choose from at affordable rates, the
company is likely to get plenty of opportunity to grow and expand as much as possible.
Threats – Of course there are many shoe companies, stores and suppliers all over the
length and breadth of the country of America. Awesome Air Shoes will always have to
battle the threat of competitive rivalry in order to retain its space in the North American
market as well as in the markets in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America over the long
term.
4. Marketing Strategy
4.1. Target AudienceMarket
In order to get its shoes in the four regions North America widely sold, Awesome Air
Shoes should consider limiting focusingits target audience marketto customers who are in
their pre-teens, teens and early youth. By doing so, it will be able to get its products widely
accepted by its target customer base, given how easy it is please people in their youth than
those who are older, and who tend to be more fussy and more sophisticated in terms of taste.

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4.2. Competitive Positioning
Based on the theory of competitive advantage, Awesome Air Shoes in the four
regions North America has to really make its products stand out so that its target customer
base in the four regions America will feel inclined to purchase shoes from its stores rather
than from shoes made available by other companies (Hamilton and Webster 2018). For this
purpose, Awesome Air Shoes should consider giving its shoes a vibrant appearance in terms
of the use of colors like orange, red and yellow and also get the shoes to be unisex in
appearance, so that these can be worn by men and women both, thus catering to a wide
clientele and making customers in the four regions USA prefer these over other shoes, that
are dull and which are meant for either women or men but not both (Denicolai et al. 2016).
4.3. Marketing Mix
The marketing strategy of Awesome Air Shoes in the four geographic regions North America
will now be analyzed using marketing mix.
Product – The product that is being marketed by Awesome Air Shoes in four regions
North America is quality footwear for affordable prices.
Place – The place where the products are being marketed are the major cities and towns
of the four geographic regions of North America, Asia, Europe and Latin Ameriica the
North American cities and towns, such as Washington DC, New York City and Chicago,
all of which are inhabited by populations that are trendy and fashion conscious and pay a
lot of attention to the clothes, shoes and accessories that they wear.
Price – In order to attract the attention and the interest of its target customer base in
North America, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa, Awesome Air Shoes is a
company that really needs to keep its footwear very competitively priced, so as to cater to
the needs and requirements of customers of every possible budget and not just people

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who belong to a middle income background or to the elite strata of society. To begin with
the price of a pair of shoes by Awesome Air Shoes will be kept restricted to $ 50. Based
on the success of its business operations in all the four geographic regions America, the
price can later be increased to a higher figure.
Promotion – It is more than evident that in a geographic region like Europe and Asia as
well as in Latin America and Africa region like North America, if Awesome Air Shoes is
a company that is to survive over the long term, it must extensively promote its footwear
so that people in the country, in all the prominent cities and towns where the shoes are
being marketed, take an active interest in such products instead of not getting to know
about them at all. Awesome Air Shoes should definitely consider making use of social
media platforms in order to make its presence in the four regions North America very
widely known. By using social media, Awesome Air Shoes can reach out to a very wide
customer base in a very limited period of time.

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5. Performance Analysis
Some of the key performance indicators for Awesome Air Shoes in the four regions
North America are company responsiveness, supplier chain efficiency and customer
satisfaction among others (Mohr and Batsakis 2018). Awesome Air Shoes should
consider having a team of executives operating in the cities and towns where it operates
in America that will be able to address the needs and requirements of customers in the
most effective way. It should aim for customer satisfaction by giving customers as little to
complain about as possible, providing them with quality footwear at the most competitive
prices, all of which are readily available for sale online as well as in physical stores.
Awesome Air Shoes if it wants to continue running its business in North America for the
long term, will have to focus on teaming up with a reliable network of suppliers, who will
provide the company with a continued supply of quality raw materials that it can use in

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order to manufacture top notch shoes for the youth of the country at prices that are easy to
afford (Xu and Hitt 2018).
6. Corporate Social Responsibility and Citizenship
Corporate social responsibility is something that Awesome Air Shoes definitely needs
to look into if wants to create a good reputation for itself in North American society. For
this purpose, Awesome Air Shoes needs to tie up with leading international America
charities and social awareness campaigns and contribute a portion of the revenue that it
earns in the country towards social causes such as ending domestic violence for women,
eradication of poverty and ending discrimination against members of the LGBTQ
community. It should also consider contributing some of its business proceeds towards
environmental causes, as this is likely to go down really well with members of
international American society as well as international the Sstate authorities (Levinthal et
al. 2018).
7. Future Strategic Recommendations
Awesome Air Shoes can take the following recommendations into consideration, if it wants
to grow and flourish in the North American market in the four geographic regions over a long
period of time.
 Awesome Air Shoes should expand its presence on the internet as e-commerce is the
most common medium by which people these days worldwide North Americans are
seen to do their shopping in today’s day and age. Awesome Air Shoes needs to be
taken advantage of online shopping platforms like Amazon and E-Bay and sign up for
selling its products in internationally North America through such platforms if wants

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to cater to a wider customer base in across the North American continent and that too
in a very limited period of time (Oh et al. 2019).
 Awesome Air Shoes must offer regular deals and discounts on its footwear if it is to
retain the interest of its customers over the long term. Given that there are so many
footwear companies all across Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America in North
America, customers are likely to find it worthwhile to buy footwear from a company
that sells shoes at competitive prices and which gives customers regular rebates and
discounted prices to take advantage of (Oh et al. 2019).
 Awesome Air Shoes is a company that needs to consider diversifying by introducing
products along with footwear that customers can use in order to clean their footwear
and keep this in good condition all the year through. Shoe polish, shoe cream and
brushes and other tools that are needed to keep the footwear clear and free from dust
and dirt ought to be sold by the company at competitive prices as well so that
customers don’t have to go and buy these from another store (Levinthal 2018).
 Awesome Air Shoes must consider refunding customers who are not satisfied with the
shoes that they have bought from this company, in the initial stages of its operation in
the USA. By doing so, it will be able to pacify prospective clientele and in the long
term, create a more extensive client base for its products (Denicolai et al. 2016).
Task 2 – Major Strategic Decisions taken during the Group Discussions and Meetings
as part of the Business Strategy Game
Some of the major decisions that were taken during the group discussions and
meetings as a part of the Business Strategy Game or BSG for year 1 was to make use of tools
and concepts like the Porters Five Forces and Porters Generic Competitive Forces to analyze
the position of Awesome Air Shoes in the country of America. For years 2 to 6 A decision
was also made to analyze the performance of the company in America using key performance

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indicators like customer satisfaction, company response and supply chain efficiency as these
provide key insights into how well a business or a company is likely to do in a new country
of expansion. The latter is something that we group members all agreed upon unanimously as
we knew very clearly that if Awesome Air Shoes is a company that is to survive in the market
in North America over a long period of time, it needs to keep its customers happy and it need
to do everything in its power to respond to customer needs and requirements as and when
necessary in order to make sure that they are happy and satisfied with the footwear that is
being sold to them. Customers are always known to appreciate services that allow them to
register complaints pertaining to quality, delivery etc, very easily. If Awesome Air Shoes is
responsive enough to customer needs in America, it will be in a good position to win the
custom of its clientele very regularly rather than facing poor figures with respect to sales.
Finally, an important decision that was taken as a part of the group meetings was to make
sure that differentiation is a policy that Awesome Air Shoes opts for to make its shoes and
related products appear as attractive to the American population as possible.

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