LSBM103 Business Environment: Key Issues in Footwear Sub-Sector Report

This report delves into the key issues impacting the footwear sector in the United Kingdom. It identifies challenges such as managing multiple warehouses and stores, and the complexities of integrating technology for multichannel and offline operations. The report employs the PESTEL model to analyze the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors affecting the industry, with a specific focus on the positive and negative impacts on Hotter British footwear. It then explores the implications of these issues and proposes solutions, such as robust omnichannel solutions and advanced warehouse management techniques (FIFO). The reflection section highlights key learnings from the research, including the importance of efficient inventory management. The report concludes by summarizing the significant impact of these key issues and suggesting the importance of adapting to overcome challenges.

Key issues in footwear sub sector

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Key issues faced buy footwear sector.........................................................................................3
PESTEL analysis of Footwear sector..........................................................................................4
Positive and negative impact on Hotter British footwear on the basis of key issues..................5
Reflection....................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
A key issues is an important publication in the category in some way. This can be the
cause of business disastrous at market place. This creates a more problem for company and for
its market growth. It is very important for company to find solution of key issues and problem.
The present report is based on “Footwear sector” of United Kingdom. This footwear sector is
manufacture and distributor of shoes, boots, sandals and other types of footwear. This report will
identify and describe by two key issues which will affect to footwear sector. The report will
follow by PESTEL model in category of key issues with its negative and positive impact on
“Hotter British footwear” company. The study will reflect by main two challenges faced by
company with its solutions.
MAIN BODY
Key issues faced buy footwear sector.
The footwear retailing is the fastest growing sector and it is always fast paced by some
changes. The biggest challenge for the UK shoe business is rising cost of being on high street
since customers are gravitating towards online shopping and works. The footwear industry is a
mature industry which is comprises all kinds of shoes forming by the women footwear, men
footwear and children footwear at the marketplace. This is the second important fashion segment
and apparels (Ciasullo, Cardinali and Cosimato, 2017). There are different and many of different
small and large private brands available in the market and global market. Those are generally
shaped by changing trend by buying habits of the customers in respective and effective manner.
This is very important for company and whole footwear sector to identify and describe the key
issues which are affect to industry. This section is shows a different key issues which are faced
by Footwear sector and industry are as follows:
Managing multiple warehouse and stores/utilization of stock:
The managing multiple warehouse and stores is become a key issue for footwear industry
because industry have warehoused and different stores at various place to keep shoes store and
safe. This creates a more problem for industry because in that case managers are not able to
understand which product and shoes is on priority to customers. They are not able to proper
management of shoes inventory. Through that, industry is not done proper utilization of stock
which is keep by different companies at market in order to satisfy their customers. This creates
various issues for footwear industry which are managing warehouse space or layout,

communication problem, time management and meet the customers expectations because having
a multiple warehouse is not met the customers expectations in effective manner. Multiple
warehouse are consume various time to find proper style of footwear. Most of the time, through
that various styles are comes out in front of customers (Andon and et.al., 2019). This is the
biggest issue faced by footwear industry.
Managing technology multichannel and offline:
Technology plays a very important and effective role in the industry. Nowadays
technology are more advanced are created more problems for company and for its growth factor.
Managing multichannel and offline are create issues for industry in order receiving and
delivering or marketing of products is like footwear. At the same, it is very difficult for company
to manage various channels and on channels receiving orders by customers. Through that,
industry is affected by technology advancement. Like for the industry this creates disadvantage
of keeping multichannel open in a potential lack of resources and manpower in order tom keep
everything going at the higher level.
Those are the main key issues which are faced by footwear industry. These impact to
company and its growth in negative manner.
PESTEL analysis of Footwear sector.
The footwear industry is faced major two key issues like managing multiple warehouse
and stores or managing technology which are discussed above in brief (Saint Dunbar and et.al.,
2018). This section is use by PESTEL model in order to analysis which is more affect to
industry. The different factors are affecting industry which are as follows:
Political factor:
The political factor is determined the extent to which government policy may impact on
the organization and footwear industry. The footwear industry is face key issues which is
managing multiple warehouse and stores at the same time. The Foreign direct investment
policies impact to footwear industry because that have managed various warehouse to keep
footwear safe. Through this political factor because now have policy in country to prohibit full
ownership of shoes.
Economical factor:
The economical factor is includes various factors includes: economic growth, interest
rates, exchange rates (PEST Analysis, 2018). The footwear industry face key issue which is

managing multiple channels for promote their product and services. This help to enhance
economic growth of company in effective manner because by using different technology for
promoting and receiving orders increase growth of the performance shoe industry because
through that sales is increase and create strong brand image. If economic growth is developed
than economic factor is support to managing technology of work in effective manner.
Social factor:
The key issue is managing multichannel to promote and receiving orders from customers.
By using technology company is able to maintain their sales with quality of raw material in
effective manner, because through that industry promote their products at marketplace in order to
increase customers awareness about products and services in effective manner. Through that, this
key issues company face various problems but customers are more satisfied with that the social
factor is suppoty to this key issue.
Technological factor:
Technological factor is considers with advanced technology at multiple warehouse
management. Footwear industry is managed various warehouse for keep shoes but it creates
communication problem for company (MARKETING THEORIES – PESTEL ANALYSIS, 2018).
Most of the time communication between store manager and shop keeper is different and product
receive another. In that case, technological factor is effective support to industry by giving
various ways to communicate like video call and internal mail facilities. Through that technology
is created more advantage for footwear industry.
Environmental factor:
Environmental factor is refers the various aspects is like climate and weather changes.
Environment factor is affect to key issue which technology. Through the climate changes
technology is not working proper and creates issues in receiving orders form customers. This
impact to industry in negative manner.
Legal factor:
Legal factor is help to industry in order to protect data of customers because industry is
followed technology to receive order from customer through online platform. Like if company is
use this technology in that case customers data can be linked and this is the responsibility of
industry to protect data of customers in effective manner by using data protection act (Kassaneh
and Workalemahu, 2018). This act is helpful for industry in order to protect data of customers.

Positive and negative impact on two different companies on the basis of key issues
Managing multiple warehouse and stores
Warehouse and store management is one of the most integral part of an organization
especially for fashion industry organizations. As they need to manage their warehouse and stores
where their all the products and goods are stored (Ivan and Newkirk, 2016). Managing multiple
warehouses and stores also have various positive and negative impact for footwear. In respect to
negative and positive impact on two different companies i.e. Hotter British footwear and Cody &
co. are as follows:
Positive impact: One of the main positive impact of managing multiple warehouses and
stores is that it helps the Hotter British Footwear in providing better customer service as within
the help of multiple stores access to company’s products for customers becomes easier and with
multiple warehouses large number of products can be provided to customers. The main reason of
positive impact is company have various stores at different place if company is manage properly
then company have great affect.
Negative impact: it increases overall operational cost of the organization as rental
expense of different warehouses increases. Another negative impact is location of different
warehouses it is quite difficult for Cody & co. to manage all the warehouses simultaneously
because locations of all the warehouses will be different (Ivan and Newkirk, 2016). Because of
this operational process becomes complex. For example, wrong product might get ordered from
wrong warehouse which will further result in inaccurate inventory record.
Managing technology multichannel and offline:
Positive impact of Managing technology multichannel and offline are: it helps in
increasing brand awareness of Hotter British footwear. They can easily advertise their business
products and services in order to increase their targeted customers (Iouguina, 2015). This will
further help Hotter British footwear in reaching their targeted customers in a speedy and better
manner. Multichannel can help Hotter British footwear to become a proper brand within their
customer’s mind by advertising everywhere customers look. Offline also has an advance as not
every customer looks on online multichannel some of them also looks for offline channels as
well.
Negative impact of Managing technology multichannel and offline are: Because of this
strategy return on investment of Cody & co. can age disturbed which can further result in

affecting overall profit of the organization. Organizational boundaries are one of the main
negative impact as because of these boundaries Managing technology multichannel and offline
becomes quite difficult for the organization. Current business data model of Cody & co. is not
effective enough to maintain and unify all communication platform both online and offline
because of which organizations overall strategy can get disturbed.
Reflection.
The above study is summing up a key issues which are faced by footwear industry.
Manage technology has created challenges which limited resource because if company has lack
of resource and manpower (Irzmańska, 2015). In this case, this key issues created challenges for
company and industry to maintain various technology ample number of customers same time.
Way to overcome those challenges and key issues which are as follows:
 In order to overcome challenge of managing different technology here is recommended
for to use Robust omni channel solution (Route online orders to the nearest offline stores.
This help to improvement in customers perception and provide more effective
satisfaction them. According to above discussion it is help to increase economic growth
of company because sales is increased at marketplace in effective manner.
 Recommanded to overcome challenges which is through managing various warehouse by
footwear industry and Hotter British company by using advanced warehouse
management with FIFO based stock picking. FIFO is refers “First in, First out”. This
method is assumes that oldest products in company had been sold first. This help to
industry and company to maintain their stock in specific manner.
From this report I have learned various companies are face various challenges in the
current world. This become a main reason to company disastrous. In this report, I have leaned
about how to identify a various key issues for industry which are managing multiple warehouse
or stores and managing technology with multiple channel and offline. Through this project I have
learned various thinks about research on particular topic. This project is help me for building
various research skills. I have research, through that I found this created problem in time
management (Getahun, 2016). I have learned that the FIFO method is effective and best for
company to use for manage their inventory at different warehouse which are located at different
place.

CONCLUSION
From the above study it had been concluded that the key issues has great impact on
industry by creating different channels for company and industry. The report had been covered
by two key issue i.e. managing multiple warehouse and managing technology. Those had the key
issues which has faced by industry. By using PESTEL analysis, it had been found those factor
which impact to footwear in negative and positive manner. The report had been reflected by key
issues and challenges which had been faced by company with some recommendation that had
help to improve quality of work and sales.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Andon, C. and et.al., 2019. Intelligent electronic footwear and control logic for executing
automated footwear features.
Ciasullo, M. V., Cardinali, S. and Cosimato, S., 2017. A strenuous path for sustainable supply
chains in the footwear industry: A business strategy issue. Journal of Global Fashion
Marketing. 8(2). pp.143-162.
Getahun, T., 2016. The Effect of Industrial Cluster Policy on Firm Performance in Ethiopia:
Evidence from the Leather Footware Cluster. Available at SSRN 2715525.
Iouguina, A., 2015. Retail in a Multichannel World: Beyond ‘Online vs. Offline’Usability
Research. Procedia Manufacturing. 3. pp.5611-5616.
Irzmańska, E., 2015. Protective Footwear And The Risk Of Slipping In Older Workers–
Definitions, Achievements, Recommendations. AUTEX research journal. 15(3).
pp.181-190.
Ivan, J.S. and Newkirk, E.S., 2016. CPW Photo Warehouse: a custom database to facilitate
archiving, identifying, summarizing and managing photo data collected from camera
traps. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 7(4). pp.499-504.
Kassaneh, T. C. and Workalemahu, R. N., 2018. Performance Measurement and Improvement
Method for Leather Footwear Industries. Journal of Engineering, Project & Production
Management. 8(2).
Saint Dunbar, A. and et.al., 2018. Footware system.
Online
MARKETING THEORIES – PESTEL ANALYSIS. 2018. Online. Available through:
<https://www.professionalacademy.com/blogs-and-advice/marketing-theories---pestel-
analysis>.
PEST Analysis. 2018. Online. Available through:
<https://sites.google.com/site/athleticfootwearwsbe/introduction/pest-analysis>