Strategy Description Our strategy focuses on two overall business needs for Sellmark, the first is brand identity, and the second is growth. Brand identity-Sellmark has a bit of identity confusion. The company's founder originally intended to start a marketing firm, but due to economic restraints switched directions, and began a brand ownership model. The brand ownership model allowed Sellmark to weather a bad economy by leveraging the knowledge of a lean supply source to enter a high price weapons optics market with a low price option, thus the Sightmark brand owned by Sellmark was born. When looking at Sellmark on the internet, the brand is intimately associated with Sightmark, yet Sightmark is merely a successful Sellmark brand. We see a need to differentiate Sellmark from Sightmark. Growth- When discussing growth, it is easy to focus on the growth of the Sightmark brand because it is very successful, however, it is key to remember that Sightmark is a Sellmark brand, so our focus is on the growth of Sellmark as a primary concern, and Sellmark brands (such as Sightmark) as a secondary concern. Growth in any market is a risky proposition, whatever position a company tries to grow into on the perceptual map is likely either occupied by large and crushing competitors, or challenged by lean and hungry copiers. When contemplating growth, capital becomes a primary concern as a firm is challenged with fierce competition, in the face of a capital crisis, many firms choose to sell the company, or perhaps have an IPO, but because the founder and president of the company seems adverse to this idea (and the instructor of this course asked us to abandon that recommendation) we believe that Sellmark should cultivate a healthy body of brands that provide revenue across many industries before changing the position of their very successful Sightmark brand Execution Requirements The execution of this strategy relies on leveraging the knowledge and good instincts of a skilled marketing team, broadening of Sellmark's mission statement, and a reorganization of both people (in terms of leveraging talent), and the companies infrastructure. New Mission The biggest challenge in re-writing the mission statement is for the new mission statement to provide direction and narrow the scope of what the company does, so that he firm does not stray far from core competencies. The current mission statement narrows scope by product type, but we feel that may be too narrow. We suggest narrowing the mission based on a focus on core competencies. Proposed new mission statement; “Our mission is to leverage our knowledge and expertise to own and manage brands that provide value, and fill a market need.” Deconstructing the mission statement Leveraging knowledge and expertise- This portion of the mission is intended to narrow the scope of brands that Sellmark acquires or manages to brands that are somewhat homogenous with an existing product line. This is not as strict a limitation as the current mission, as the current mission demands that all products be “outdoor” products. By narrowing the firm's scope in this way, the mission allows for an ever expanding pool of brands as core competencies increase. Own and manage We envision brand acquisition as well as the development of a brand management consultation model as core competencies increase. Provide value and fill a market need Brands for acquisition or management should be limited to those that demonstrably provide value, and fill a market need. This is the portion of the mission that requires that quantifiable analytics in choosing where to invest capital. Reorganization This strategy requires a reorganization of the company. In our vision there are two organizational structures that would adequately support this growth plan, the holding company, and the corporate investor, each of which has advantages, and shortfalls. A holding company structure requires the acquisition of brands that already occupy a valuable market position, and ensuring that the firm achieves maximum potential in terms of both profit and visibility. Brands that already occupy a valuable market position are expensive to acquire, but easier to maintain, and grow. Since our core strategy relies on growing Sellmark, and then using the capital generated in that effort to grow its’most successful brands, the holding company structure ties up significant capital and therefore can considerably lengthen the time horizon required before moving on to other acquisitions or brand growth initiatives. The second way to accomplish this sort of growth would be as an investor in brands that are poised to assume a profitable market position but need an infusion of capital. This requires the ability to predict a brand's future potential, to keenly negotiate maximum ROI, and to manage a large portfolio of investments with varying degrees of involvement, ownership and control. This structure allows for greater diversification, but requires constant monitoring of fulfillment of contractual obligations. If this option were pursued, we recommend bargaining for a controlling interest in any company Sellmark invests in, this would allow for leveraging Sellmark's unique branding expertise to assist struggling brands. Locating Brands Marketing Resources to employ to find good brands Capital Cycles (buying in serial or simultaneously?) Benchmarking minimum requirements for brand acquisition
Purchase answer to see full attachment