Acadia Institute Case Study: Athlete's Warehouse Analysis

This case study examines the Acadia Institute's analysis of Athlete's Warehouse, a business venture founded by Colin and Ed Power. The analysis delves into the company's strengths, such as its targeted demographic and knowledgeable staff, as well as its weaknesses, including management limitations and financial constraints. The study identifies opportunities for expansion and growth, like the strategic location and product variety, while also acknowledging potential threats such as competition from established businesses. The case study employs a SWOT analysis, providing a comprehensive overview of the company's internal and external factors, ultimately offering insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by the entrepreneurs.

Acadia institute case
study

Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................3
Main body.............................................................................................................................................3
Strength............................................................................................................................................3
Weakness..........................................................................................................................................3
Opportunities...................................................................................................................................3
Threats.............................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................4
References............................................................................................................................................5
Books and Journals..........................................................................................................................5

Introduction
Athlete's Warehouse started in 1984 and closed in 1986. It was an initiative by Colin and Ed
Power of Grand Falls who were sportsmen. The first Athlete's Warehouse shut due to the location
which was in Comer Brook and also because Colin could not give his time for management of the
store (Phadermrod, Crowder & Wills, 2019). They opened another Athlete's Warehouse in Grand
Falls because both the brothers thought that it had a market in that location. The store took off well
in that location.
Main body
Strength
There major strength was they targeted the age group between 13 to 34 and provided them
with adult recreation activities and school sports athletic wear. This type of mix was not available in
Grand Falls and regarding to the competitors none of the other stores had knowledgeable assistants
for selling proper shoes and clothings for the customers (Brooks, Heffner & Henderson, 2014). The
location of Athlete's Warehouse, Grand Falls was between a new enclosed mall, older down-town
area and several malls at high traffic streets. The biggest advantage for the brothers was that they
had knowledge of the products they were selling to the customers since both had knowledge about
sports. There were stores providing similar shoes but the quality was not good enough.
Weakness
Both the brothers did not have quality time which they could provide to the store and there
was a lack of management due to this. Opening a new Athlete's Warehouse in Grand Falls was a
great opportunity for the brother s but Ed Power did not want to invest more money into these
ventures and wanted to keep it for his retirement. Though the other companies were selling similar
product and there prices were low too which could turn out be a disadvantage for the store. The
location of B&B store had all good hard athletic equipments such as softball, hockey equipments,
baseball, hunting and fishing equipments and was also spread over 2,000 square foot(Gürel & Tat,
2017).
Opportunities
If Colin and Ed Power opened a new store of Athletes Warehouse in Grand Falls then there
location would have been a great opportunity for them to earn and expand. The mix of varieties they
provide the customers is a great opportunity for the store to become one of the best (Bull and et.al.,

2016).
Threats
The brothers had knowledge about the store and the products they sold but they did not have
quality time to provide to the store for management of the store. If the other stores get good quality
of employees who could help the customers in selling good products and who have knowledge of
the equipments in the store then it would be a great threat for the Athlete's Warehouse (Brooks,
Heffner & Henderson, 2014). B&B could be their biggest threat since B&B has an experience of 15
years.
Conclusion
Ed Power is willing to invest in this new venture then it could be an advantage for the
brother due to its location and the equipment's knowledge they both have if they are willing to give
the store there quality time.

References
Books and Journals
Phadermrod, B., Crowder, R. M., & Wills, G. B. (2019). Importance-performance analysis
based SWOT analysis. International Journal of Information Management. 44, 194-203.
Brooks, G., Heffner, A., & Henderson, D. (2014). A SWOT analysis of competitive
knowledge from social media for a small start-up business. Review of Business Information
Systems (RBIS). 18(1). 23-34.
Gürel, E., & Tat, M. (2017). SWOT analysis: A theoretical review. Journal of International
Social Research. 10(51).
Brooks, G., Heffner, A., & Henderson, D. (2014). A SWOT analysis of competitive
knowledge from social media for a small start-up business. Review of Business Information
Systems (RBIS). 18(1). 23-34.
Bull, J. W. and et.al., (2016). Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats: A SWOT
analysis of the ecosystem services framework. Ecosystem services. 17, 99-111.