Hawthorn: New Product Development Impact on Business Performance

This project analyzes the impact of new product development on Hawthorn's business performance, particularly in the context of launching a summer shoe during London Fashion Week. The project includes a detailed introduction outlining the aims and objectives, focusing on market expansion and competition with multinational brands. A comprehensive project management plan is developed, covering cost, resources, scope, time, quality, communication, and risk management. The assignment also features a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to illustrate time frames and stages. Furthermore, it involves a small-scale research study employing both qualitative and quantitative methods, along with data analysis using appropriate tools and techniques. Based on the research findings, suitable recommendations are provided to enhance the project's success and meet the stated objectives, concluding with an assessment of the research's value. The report provides a complete analysis of the project, from initial planning to final recommendations.

Managing a Successful
Business Project

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
(A) Aims and objectives of project........................................................................................3
(B) Project management plan including relevant factors to meet the objectives and time frame
................................................................................................................................................3
(C) Suitable Work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide time frames and stages
................................................................................................................................................4
(D) Conducting a Small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research
methods...................................................................................................................................8
(E) Research and data using an appropriate tools and techniques..........................................9
(F) Suitable recommendations as a result of research and data analysis..............................15
(G) Value of undertaking the research to meet stated objectives.........................................15
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................18

Title: “To identify the impact of new product development on business performance while competing with multinational brand. A case study
on Hawthorn.
INTRODUCTION
Globalisation refers to the way through which nations and people of the world interact and integrate with each other. There are several
factors that can impact on the decision of globalisation by an organisation which includes economical and political fluctuations, technological
advancement etc. Therefore, to enter into new market with new product or businesses the management of an organisation should first analyse the
market environment through conducting a suitable market research. The present assignment report is based on Hawthorn which is engaged in
manufacturing and selling garments to small brands and emerging designers throughout the UK. The company now decided to launch a new
summer shoe in London Fashion week taking place on 16th to 20 February where major industry representatives are participating. The project
includes company's vision, mission and objectives of an organisation, project management plan, Gantt chart and Work breakdown structure,
small-scale research using qualitative and quantitative method, data analysis and recommendation on the basis of outcome received at the end of
the research.
(A) Aims and objectives of project
Background: The clothing Market is vast as there numerous players in this industry. This sector faces a tough competition at national as
well international level. With globalisation many international brands have entered the markets place with creating of market place with tougher
operation and cut throat competition. Among all the brands Hawthorn is leading player in the clothings sector of UK. The company is engaged
in production of high end garments with the best quality. The ready products are sold by the organisation to small brands, Small and medium
enterprises and emerging designers. The business is of the view about the expansion of the business for accessing effective market share with
establishment of brand image (Ariely, 2012). This is being thought of to have a competitive advantages over the established competitive brands
at national level. For expansion the management oh Hawthorn have decides to launch a series of Summer Shoe in the LONDON FASHION
WEEK to be held on 16-20 February 2019, attended by major industry representative and to whom the product can be presented effectively.
To enter ton new market with a new product call for developments of many plans and strategies to grab the attention of the consumers and to
compete with already established brands effectively. Before presenting the products in the fashion week in time completion of products with test
of the market approval from the board is essential. For the same beneath is the plan:
Aim: “To investigate the impact of new product development on business performance of Hawthorne within multinational brand
competition"
Objectives:
 To identify the markets of the nation in which Hawthorn can decide to expand.
 To analysis the factors for achievement of 60% of the market share of target nation within 6 months.
 To investigate the cultural orientation of the people of the nation to expand in.
 To increase the market presence of Hawthorn in the international market.
(B) Project management plan including relevant factors to meet the objectives and time frame
The Project management plan includes different aspects such as cost, scope, time, quality, communication and resources. For
achievement of desired aims and objective regarding the production and launch of new Summer shoes by Hawthorn an effective project
management plan is required. The plan so developed defines the activities and tasks to be performed in prescribed time line to achieve the
desired outcomes in stipulated time (Boserup, Tan and Toulmin, 2013). Without a perfect and effective plan for managing the project the
managers can not execute thee project. Beneath are the determinant that project design manager must take into consideration:
Cost: This is the primary requirement for initiation of the project through which project activities are executed effectively with not acting
any fund constrains and contingencies. The managers prepared the budgets and cost plan top determine the cash and fund requisites. For
launching of Summer shoes, Hawthorn is firstly required to carry out market analyse to determine the present situation, tastes, habits and
preference of consumers as well the current trends in the footwear industry. For this the estimated cost is determined to be £52000 pounds to
conduct the market research and production and for each Pair cost is estimated to be £31. For completion of project the other overhead are
estimated at £48000, overall cost for project is estimated to be £100000.
Resources: This is also another important aspect of the project plan this includes manpower, funds, raw materials for the implementation
and operation of the project for production of the new summer shoes. The essential resources for summer shoes production by Hawthorn is
determined as funds and availability of the raw material. Timely and sufficient availability must be ensure so that the production can run
smoothly so that the shoes can be launched at the summer fashion week in time.
Scope: With launch of the new product at the market place the organisation gains competitive advantage in the footwear industry and
ensures business development and sustainability. The scope of the project is vast as with this will enhance profitability, market share and
3

definitely attract the attention of industry tycoons increasing the opportunities to attract funds for the project. The scope of the project can be
defined as need, benefits, objectives, deliverables and key milestone. The needs of the project can be defined growth and expansion of business.
Benefits from project will be competitive advantages and enhanced profitability. The key mile stone for the present project of introduction of
summer shoe is launching it in the London Fashion Week.
Time: This is referred as the work Breakdown schedule for the project which can be defined as the visual representation breaking down
the scope f the project into manageable section for the team. The milestone is to present it in the London fashion week taking place from 16-20
February 2019. The product success in the market place is determined to be 6 months. The first section of the plan related with market research
is allotted a time of 2 months to thoroughly determine the market potentials. After the predicted success of the product the project will continue
for further period. The time frame of project is determiner from 3/12/2018 to 10/12/2019.
Quality: For achievement of the objective of the project of gaining competitive advantages in larger section of market the quality of the
product not must be compromised in any case. It is essential for Hawthorn to produce shoes with good quality with heel support, adjustable strap
etc. providing comfort to target consumers. This can be achieved by identification of the needs, requirements and preference of the buyers
through conducting market research to collect accurate information and applying the same to product specification.
Communication: This is another essential factors of the project management plan which involves communication with outside
stakeholders of the Hawthorn along with tits teams members engaged in the products development, distribution and promotion. An effective
communication structure is required to be formed allowing every employ to their new and innovative idea about the product launch. The outside
stakeholder includes consumers, investors, creditors, shareholders etc. the consumers will be communicated through various advertisements
platforms keeping focus on digital promotion. The other stakeholder a will be communicated about the product development and expansion plan
on the official website of Hawthorn as well in the annual report of the company. The plans are developed for sending proper messaging around
for the project as per the scheduled when commination with the team members.
Risk: The risk management part of the project planning means to identify all the foreseeable risk associated with the project for
development of a new summer shoe by Hawthorn. The common risk related with project are unrealistic time and cost incurrments, unfavourable
feedbacks and reviews from consumers, budgets cuts changing trends and habits of buyers and lack of the committed resources. The risk can
also be related with technological changes, technical issues in the new equipments, tools, manpower etc.
(C) Suitable Work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide time frames and stages
Work breakdown structure: It is the described as the segmentation of big activities in small parts which needs to be executed for the
execution of the project in the predetermined period of time. Work breakdown structure is helpful for delivering the project in a proper manner
due to the breakdown of project in small portions. This is an essential part which is helpful for achieving the desired objectives by managing the
teams and the smaller sections. It also refer as the disintegration of team which will be helpful for accomplishing the goals by hierarchical
system. This structure involves various elements like products, workforce, service etc. it is also helpful in providing the appropriate structure for
estimating the funds of the project and accomplishing the predetermined objectives. This structure is helpful for calculating the value of
developed product. It also helps in providing the structure of entire map.
4

Gantt chart: It is the graphical representation of the time period assigned for the execution of the project which is beneficial for planning,
facilitating and tracking the activities of the project. It is an outline in which arrangements are shown in horizontal lines which states the
measures needs to be taken for executing the work in the allotted time which is given in the beginning of project. In the Gantt chart, activities of
the project are divided on the basis of given time period. This chart provides the employees with the determined goals through which they can
control their activities for completing the project with efficiency. In this project, this chart will provide the positive outcomes in the
predetermined time.
5
Summer Shoe
16-02-2019
Budget- 95000
Market Research
3-12-2018
Budget- 15000
Product design
10-12-2018
Budget 10000
Production
planning
14-12-2018
Budget- 10000
Marketing
15-01-2019
Budget-20000
Project
management
10-01-2019
Budget- 20000
Product
development
19-12-2018
Budget- 20000
Surveys
4-12-2018
Budget 4000
Questionnaires
5-12-2018
Budget 3000
Research analysis
7-12-2018
Budget- 2000
Market research
findings
8-12-2018
Budget- 6000
Designing of
product
11-12-2018
Budget 8000
Selecting designs
8-12-2018
Budget- 3000
Model concepts
9-12-2018
Budget- 3000
Documentation
12-12-2018
Budget 4000
Research
evaluation
13-12-2018
Budget- 4000
Designing
15-12-2018
Budget- 3000
Testing
16-12-2018
Budget- 2000
QA design
17-12-2018
Budget 1000
Completion of
production plan
18-12-2018
Budget 4000
Purchasing
material
20-12-2018
Budget- 6000
Developing
prototype
26-12-2018
Budget- 4000
Testing of product
31-12-2018
Budget 5000
Sign-off
development
5-01-2019
Budget 5000
Developing
marketing plan
18-01-2019
Budget 6000
Preparing
marketing
strategies
22-01-2019
Budget 4000
Marketing
collateral
25- 01-2019
Budget 10000
Commercials
31-01-2019
Budget- 4000
Promotion of
business plan
5-02-2019
Budget- 3000
Brochures
16-02-2019
Budget- 3000

Task
Mode Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
6

Manually
Scheduled Market research 20.04 days Mon 03-12-
18
Mon 31-12-
18
Auto
Scheduled Survey 0.3 hrs Fri 21-12-18 Fri 21-12-18
Auto
Scheduled Questionnaires 0.3 hrs Thu 27-12-18 Thu 27-12-18 2
Auto
Scheduled Research analysis 0.3 hrs Fri 18-01-19 Fri 18-01-19 2
Auto
Scheduled Market research findings 0.3 hrs Fri 28-12-18 Fri 28-12-18 3
Manually
Scheduled Product design 16.04 hrs Mon 21-01-
19
Wed 23-01-
19 1
Manually
Scheduled Desiginng of product 16 hrs Mon 21-01-
19 Tue 22-01-19 1
Auto
Scheduled docummentation 0.3 hrs Mon 21-01-
19
Mon 21-01-
19 4
Auto
Scheduled research evaluation 0.3 hrs Mon 11-02-
19
Mon 11-02-
19 5
Auto
Scheduled selecting designs 0.3 hrs Tue 29-01-19 Tue 29-01-19 8
Auto
Scheduled model concepts 0.3 hrs Tue 12-02-19 Tue 12-02-19 9
Auto
Scheduled Production planning 1.08 days Thu 14-02-19 Mon 18-02-
19 7
Auto
Scheduled desigining 0.3 hrs Fri 15-02-19 Fri 15-02-19 10,11
Auto
Scheduled testing 0.3 hrs Thu 14-02-19 Thu 14-02-19 11
Auto
Scheduled QA design 0.3 hrs Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 13
Auto
Scheduled Completion of production plan 0.3 hrs Fri 15-02-19 Fri 15-02-19 14
Auto
Scheduled Product development 0.11 days Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 12
Auto
Scheduled Purchasing material 0.3 hrs Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 15
Auto
Scheduled Developing prototype 0.3 hrs Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 16
Auto
Scheduled Testing of product 0.3 hrs Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 18
Auto
Scheduled Sign-off development 0.3 hrs Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 19,20
Auto
Scheduled Project management 0.3 hrs Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 21
Auto
Scheduled Marketing 0.04 days Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 17
Auto
Scheduled Developing marketing plan 0.3 hrs Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 22
Auto
Scheduled Preparing marketing strategies 0.3 hrs Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 22
Auto
Scheduled Marketing collateral 0.04 days Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 24
Auto
Scheduled Commercials 0.1 hrs Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 24,25
Auto
Scheduled Promotion of business plan 0.3 hrs Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 25
Auto
Scheduled Brochures 0.05 hrs Mon 18-02-
19
Mon 18-02-
19 27,28
Gantt Chart:
7

Critical path:
8

(D) Conducting a Small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods
Research methodology is the systematic process of analysing methods which is used by the investigator while conducting an appropriate
research. It consists of theoretical analysis of methods in addition with the principles that directly connect with the knowledge branch
(Intriligator, 2017). It includes two types of research methods which enable researcher to bring valid conclusion at the end of research. It can be
further described as under:
Qualitative: By adopting such method, the researcher mainly consider information which are qualitative in nature and well supported and
evidenced by the relevant facts and theoretical perspectives. It doesn't required more knowledge to gather information as it is very much based
on the behaviour of people.
Quantitative: By adopting such method, the researcher gathered and analysing information in statistical and numeric terms. It requires
more knowledge to the researcher due to requiring an ability to interpret the numerical data into meaningful and understandable manner so as to
make accurate and valid conclusion at the end of research (Morris and Geraldi, 2011).
From the above two methods, qualitative method is preferred by researcher to adopt with an expectation of getting reliable and accurate
information related with the topic of research.
Data collection: It involves collection of information whose accuracy and reliability decide the effectiveness of conclusion drawn at the end of
research. It consists of:
Primary: It is also known as first hand information which is gathered for the very first time through using various methods such as
questionnaire, surveys, interviews etc. It is mostly adopted by the researcher in order to get reliable and accurate information related with the
topic of research but consumes more time, funds and efforts (Primary source and secondary source, 2018).
Secondary: It is also known as second-hand information which is easily available on the internet, or newspapers, journals etc. It can be
adopted by the researcher only when there is lack of time, funds and resources.
In the present research, the researcher has uses both primary and secondary methods of data collection. To collect primary data,
questionnaire is chosen which contains list of questions relevant to the topic of research. To gather secondary data, views and articles published
by different authors on the topic of research is taken into consideration.
Questionnaire
Name:
Age:
Gender:
1) Did you know about the concept of new product development?
a. Yes
b. No
2) Are you brand loyal brand below in terms of footwear in the sportswear industry?
 Nike
 Adidas
 Puma
 Regularly switch to other brands
3) How often do you buy shoes?
 Every week
 Every month
 Every 6 months
 Every year
4) What are the factors Hawthorn mainly focused on during launch of its new product?
a. Providing Quality
b. Lowering Prices
5) What are the importance of new product development on business performance of
Hawthorn?
a. Increasing sales and revenue
b. Achieving strong brand identity
c. Increment in existing customer base
6) Have buying, do you consider environment influences in footwear?
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 Yes
 No
7) How many pairs of shoes do you own?
 2 pairs or less
 3-4 pairs
 5-6 pairs
 7 or above
8) Is there any relationship between new product development and business performance?
a. Yes
b. No
9) How much do you normally spend on shoes product?
 Less than £10
 £10-£30
 £40 or above
10) Have you bought any footwear influenced by any ways of marketing or branding
programs?
 Yes
 No
11) Do you know Hawthorn is offering personalised or customized footwear?
 Yes
 No
12) Any recommendation wants to suggest
..........................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
Sampling: In the present research, 40 respondents whose views and opinions related with the topic of research are taken into
consideration in order to draw a valid conclusion at the end of research. These respondents includes stakeholders of an organisation such as
customers, employees, suppliers and members of community as a whole.
(E) Research and data using an appropriate tools and techniques
Data analysis is an important part of research through which the researcher can easily draw a valid conclusion at the end of research. It
requires an ability in researcher to interpret the gathered information in meaningful and understandable manner so that the reliability of outcomes
gets maximised. Here are an appropriate analysis of information gathered after asking above questions from the respondents:
Theme 1
1) Did you know about the concept of new product development? Frequency
a. Yes 27
b. No 13
10

a. Yes b. No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30 27
13 Frequency
Interpretation: Among 40 respondents, there are 27 respondents who are having sufficient knowledge about the concept of new product
development whereas 13 respondents doesn't aware about such concept.
Theme 2
2) Are you brand loyal brand below in terms of footwear in the
sportswear industry?
Frequency
 Nike 8
 Adidas 8
 Puma 10
 Regularly switch to other brands 14
Nike
Adidas
Puma
Regularly switch to other brands
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
8 8
10
14
Frequency
Interpretation: From the above graph, it has been clearly identified that the people are more loyal towards their different brands due to
various aspects. From the 40 respondents, 8 respondents are loyal towards Nike whereas the other 8 and 10 respondents are loyal towards Adidas
and Puma respectively. The remaining 14 respondents are changing brand according to their needs and requirements.
Theme 3
3) How often do you buy shoes? Frequency
 Every week 5
 Every month 10
 Every 6 months 20
 Every year 5
11

Every week Every month Every 6 months Every year
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
5
10
20
5
Frequency
Interpretation: From the above graph, it has been observed that most of the people are purchasing shoes product on quarterly basis.
Among 40 respondents, 5 respondents buy shoes on every week whereas other 10 and 20 respondents buys on every month and every 6 months
respectively. The remaining 5 respondents buys shoes product on yearly basis.
Theme 4
4) What are the factors Hawthorn mainly focused on during launch
of its new product?
Frequency
a. Providing Quality 26
b. Lowering Prices 14
a. Providing Quality b. Lowering Prices
0
5
10
15
20
25
30 26
14
Frequency
Interpretation: It is clearly seen from the above graph that most of the respondents are giving to quality as main priority instead of price.
Among 40 respondents, 26 respondents prefer quality over price whereas remaining 14 people are preferring price of products and services first.
Theme 5
5) What are the importance of new product development on business
performance of Hawthorn?
Frequency
a. Increasing sales and revenue 15
b. Achieving strong brand identity 15
c. Increment in existing customer base 10
12