Manager

RollerBlade Inc. PEST & SWOT

Environmental factors

- Political: The Company does not face any real political issues in its markets, it is an international based corporation with expansion into the most lucrative and well developed markets in the world.

- Economic: The overall economic situation in the world now is affected by the so-called war on terrorism, and most of the economic activities are affecting in one way or another most of the markets around the globe.

- Social & Cultural: in-line skating is not a sport or activity that is affected by social or cultural values, it is an acquired type of activity and it can fit in any society or culture. Rollerblade Inc. was first introduced as a substitute for ice skating in summer days, where skaters would not find ice to skate.

- Technological: Rollerblade Inc. was always one of the innovative and premier companies in the industry of in-line skating that used technological advancements in its production of its product lines.

Competitive Analysis

- Rivals: Rollerblade Inc. faces a fierce competition from other main corporations in the industry because of the high demand for the product, and the objectives of other companies to maintain and build upon their brand names in the market. Such rivals are Nike and Fila in which they entered the market in 1996, followed by ski boot manufacturers such as Rossignol, Salomon, and K2. While at the same time, we can find that there are other rivals in the market than direct competitors, such as bicycles and skateboards manufacturers.

- Barriers to Entry: Rollerblade did not face real or tough barriers to entry because it was the first company to introduce the concept of skating not on ice to the public after the thing was discovered in the 1700s. by aligning with major and strong alliances through mergers, buyouts and acquisitions with strong partners outside the States, they are making the process of entering new markets much more smoother.

- Substitutes: As we mentioned before, the rivals for Rollerblade Inc. are not only direct competition, it is also an indirect competition which offers customers other options for having fun on wheels, such as skateboards, bicycles, and scooters. These products are considered to be the substitutes for in-line skating boots.

- Bargaining Power: With respect to the bargaining power of Rollerblades Inc., it does not face a tough bargaining power from its suppliers, because most of the suppliers are owned by the corporation (Benetton Sportsystem), and for the bargaining power of the buyer, we can notice that Rollerbalde Inc. faces some bargaining power from the buyers in the time where the market is full of other brands and options.

Internal Factors

- Mission: The mission for Rollerblade Inc. is to provide ice skaters with an alternative skating method that gives the feeling of skating on ice while there is no ice season.

- Objectives: The company's objectives were to

* Become the market leader for in-line skating products

* Increase its market share through innovative products and continuous product development

* Maintain and preserve its brand name from being wasted

- Strategy: To always continue on developing and creating new product extensions in order to maintain their position as the market leaders and innovators.

- As for the other internal factors such as the hierarchy of the corporation and the relationships between the management and the employees, we did not have enough information from the case regarding these issues.

SWOT analysis

- Strengths

* Leaders in the market place

* Reputation of being an innovator

* Quality brand and product

* A brand name synonymous with the sport it represents (Rollerblading), no one from customers refer to the sport as in-line skating

* Wide variety of products to meet the needs of all its targeted consumer segments

* Innovative marketing techniques (Guerilla and Grassroots Marketing approaches)

* The promotion of health benefits out of the sport

- Weaknesses

* Low advertising budget and exposure

* Short product life cycle

* Continuous change in the owners and management team

- Opportunities

* Consumers are always thrilled by new innovations and technologies, and especially in extreme sports gears

* There is a big portion of countries that the company did not reach yet

* Advertising and promotional media is evolving day after day, and it is an opportunity for Rollerblade Inc. to grab and take advantage of

* Most of the new generations are risk takers and especially with activities related to this type of business

* The market is ready to adopt new improved and innovative product extensions

* Skates are used for fitness, recreation, transport, and playing hockey

- Threats

* Other manufacturers would access the market with advanced and much more innovated products and make Rollerblade Inc. lose a part of its market share

* The lost of identity is one of the major threats a company would face, and Rollerblade Inc. is losing this advantage if they do not build upon their brand equity, because the name rollerblade became the generic term for in-line skating

* The threat of consumer switching to other types of games or sports if they do not perceive a change or innovation with the current products

Marketing Strategy

- Product: over the years, Rollerblade Inc. has provided a wide variety of products to meet the specific needs of individual consumers. For example, a specially designed skate for women, as well as an extendible skate for children, the all terrain model with thicker wheels, and Blade Cross was introduced at the 1998 summer X Games.

- Place: after attaining a degree of success in the United