UK Plaid: SWOT Analysis

Strengths            - Selling plaid at events they sponsor            - When new plaid comes in, it is advertised on Facebook            - Plaid bowties, very popular            - Help the college of agriculture when a customer makes a purchase	Weaknesses            - Being “bag” heavy            - Creating too many products in a short amount of time            - Pricing of particular products (ex. Cotton scarf & silk scarf)           - Not enough variety in designs
Opportunities            - Having limited time sales/product promotions            - Adding more features to previous products            - Changing the message of the UK Plaid            - Working with other departments on the UK campus to raise awareness for their products	Threats            - Holding too much inventory at one time because lack of sales            - Running into product licensing issues            - Providing too many free products to customers            - Eco-friendly environmental activists

For every success story or failure in business they tend to have what is called a SWOT analysis. The UK plaid is no different, providing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The UK Plaid has strengths that include selling plaid products at events they sponsor and the very popular bowtie collection they have. When new plaid products come in they are advertised on facebook, and for every sale UK Plaid makes they contribute a portion to the College of Agriculture. Some weaknesses they have include being “bag” heavy and creating too many products in a short amount of time. By doing so, UK Plaid does not give its customers time to love the recently presented products. They also don’t have enough variety in its designs, and the pricing of specific products like the cotton scarf & silk scarf, which is twenty four more dollars than the cotton scarf. As far as creating opportunities for themselves, UK Plaid should increase its product promotions and add more features to their “founding” products. They should also work with other departments on the University of Kentucky’s campus in order to raise awareness for plaid products. Another thing they should do is change the message of its products, because in previous years customers would come in expecting to receive free products when they look at the price tag of certain items that were just handed out before. For their threats, UK Plaid tends to hold too much inventory at one time because of so much lack for sales. UK Plaid might also run into licensing issues when they partner with such stores as the Bookstore in the student center located on campus. Since the bookstore is located on campus it is required to sell UK licensed products only as part of its collection. Also, by providing too many free products to customers they can make this an ongoing issue that creates confusion in the views of the customer. Another threat that UK Plaid might run into is how its products are made and the working conditions of its manufacturers, this might create a continuous battle between them and the going green perspective that environmental activists are leaning towards.

The UK bookstore carries a large amount of merchandise. When you first enter from the student center entrance you will see the registers to your right and the help desk to your left. Along the left wall of the store is the book available for the classes given at the University, the center of the store is where most of the clothing merchandises and plaid products are located, and the right wall is where most of the school and office supplies are located. The UK Plaid Products are generally located in the center of the store.

Advantage & Disadvantages of Store Location

Advantage:

Since the UK bookstore is located on campus it receives a lot of traffic from students, teachers, and visiting prospective student. Since the store carries a large variety of merchandise it meets many different needs for its target market. Having the large inventory of collegiate apparel is very convenient for students to be able to buy apparel to wear to sporting events without having to leave campus.

Disadvantage:

Like many buildings on campus the bookstore is limited to their parking space. The parking lot that is placed next to the bookstore is requires a parking pass.

General Information

The UK bookstore is located in the student center therefore it is one of the most popular bookstores on campus. They carry a wide range of inventory including higher quality retail merchandise. (This is where the plaid category is.) 

Location Fact Sheet

Cross Streets	Avenue of Champions & Lexington Avenue
Dimensions of Separate Spaces: Square Footage of Bathrooms, Square Footage of Store Rooms	7,000 ft.
Shape of Store	Rectangle
Location of Entrances/Exits	Entrance/Exit that faces Avenue of Champions & another that faces the student center
Location of Windows	Are made of glass and face both ends of the store
Month Rent, Rental/Square Foot	There is no monthly rental charge to Follett. There also is no charge per square foot for rent. Follett is required to pay the University a percent of sales
Terms of Lease	The initial lease period is for 10 years and there are five separate 1-year renewable years
Common Area Fees: Maintenance, Marketing, etc.	There are no associated fees
Security Deposit	There is no security deposit
Realtor Fees	There are no realtor fees
Expenses Incurred by Lessee: Utilities, etc.	Follett pays for telephone and IT expenses. Follett pays for custodial services and maintenance expenses. Follett will pay for routine replacement of furniture, POS systems, carpet, etc. The university pays for utilities
Allowable Renovations	Follett must obtain approval from the University on any renovation to the space

Follett Interview Questions

Interviewee: Andrea Bailey

1.  What are some of the ways that your store tries to advertise the plaid products? 
The UK bookstore works directly with the AG department and sells plaid at events they sponsor. There is a specific shop on their website about UK plaid products. Every time new plaid comes in, the bookstore will promote it on Facebook and other social media outlets.

2.  Have sales of the plaid products been increasing or decreasing over the past couple of years? Why?
Sales of plaid products have been decreasing in the UK bookstore over the past couple of years. The merchandise product manager at the bookstore believes that the market got too flooded by coming out with too many pieces, too fast. She also believes that there is not the best selection because the plaid is very “bag” heavy. The new stuff is too similar to older pieces and the original group of merchandise had the best success.

3.  What are some new plaid products that could help to increase sales?
The merchandise product manager had many ideas on how to increase UK plaid sales. The consumers who look for UK plaid the most are also consumers of Vera Bradley. Therefore, if some pieces were “retired” and limited time like Vera Bradley does, it could bring some more success. She also suggested producing different styles and adding more features to older products. The items she is asked for the most are laptop sleeves, IPad covers and umbrellas.

4.  Which plaid products are the most profitable and which are the least?
The UK bookstore’s goal in the beginning was to carry every plaid product but had to scale back because the inventory is very consuming. The classic pieces have sold the best at the UK bookstore such as the: carrier bag, tablecloths, napkins, picture frames and cotton scarves. The bowtie did very successful and they are often asked for it but it is no longer made. If an item is no longer profitable, the bookstore will not carry it anymore.

5.  Where are the plaid products located in your store?
The plaid products in the UK bookstore are located towards the front center in the “gift” department. The gift department is located next to the women’s department, which carries the Vera Bradley. The only thing separate from the UK plaid is the tie, which is carried in the menswear department.

6.  Are customers aware of the fact that they are helping AG school when purchasing the plaid products?
There used to be small signage up stating that purchasing plaid products was helping the AG department. However, it got damaged and it no longer up. The merchandise product manager stated that the AG department provided the sign and the bookstore did not make it.

7.  Is there a certain age group that is most attracted to the plaid products?
The merchandise product manager stated certain items of the UK plaid products attract certain age groups. College students usually purchased the carrier bag, ID holder, scarf and tie. The tablecloth and napkins were usually purchased by the older generation around 50 and up.

8.  How do customers respond to the pricing of the plaid products?
Most of the time customers aren’t surprised with the pricing of the plaid products. If they are expecting the products to be super cheap then they are unaware that the bookstore only purchases higher quality goods and most merchandise in the store is around that price range. Since the bookstore is UK owned, they only carry official license products that benefit the school and there is a lot of licensing that comes with it. The one product that consumers are most shocked by is the silk scarf. It is $24 dollars higher than the cotton scarf and is much less material.

9.  If there was something you would change about the plaid products what would it be and why?
The merchandise product manager suggested that changing the message about the UK plaid products could really help. If the department could get the word out about what it’s going towards, it could be really beneficial. She has heard a lot of stories about the department buying the plaid but then giving it away for free. There have been so many freebies such as the coozie that when people come into the store and see the price tag of a UK plaid product they no longer want to purchase it. There is almost a perception that they can get what product they want for free from the department.

10.              Do you have customers coming in looking particularly for the plaid products? Yes, some customers will come in the UK bookstore particularly looking for plaid products. The customers are usually alumni, MAT majors or someone who works for a county extension office. The manager explained that each county has an extension office that does a variety of things such as sponsor workshops, classes and tutoring. They are apart of the AG department and like having UK things to display at these events. The biggest thing that they always ask for is plaid by the yard which she stated unfortunately is never going to happen. 
All in all, the merchandise product manager at the UK bookstore really likes the plaid. Her supervisor is apart of the plaid committee and they are hoping

that the possible vendor change will really help the sells of UK plaid. She has seen many student ideas of possible plaid changes and believe tweaking the plaid would also be beneficial. Right now, the vendor is small and local which allows them not to have to pay shipping but they cannot produce mass quantities. The possible change of vendor will allow them to produce more quantities and hopefully really help the sells of the products.