Bsbwor502 Leadership and Control

Apparel Brands, founded in 1901, is an Australian based manufacturer and distributor of generic clothing and footwear. The company takes orders from retailers and supplies retailers with clothing products that have been manufactured to retailers’ specifications. These clothing products are then sold to consumers under the retailers’ various brands.Recently, Apparel Brands has found its market share in decline due to a strong Australian dollar and increased overseas competition. In addition, labour costs are eating into profit margins. Trends in the Australian textile industry suggest that the company, although it is in a strong financial position now, will struggle to make a profit within two years.
To ensure the continued existence of Apparel Brands, the company has embarked on a bold new strategic direction:
? develop own brands and product range and sell direct to consumers
? leverage e-commerce opportunities to reduce distribution costs and increase profit margins.Company vision: In the next five years, Apparel Brands will establish a range of innovative and exciting online clothing brands and help secure a future for Australian clothing manufacturing.Your team has been charged with the task of identifying an e-commerce opportunity for Apparel Brands and developing a proposal to put to the board of directors. For example, your team could decide to propose setting up an online business in which customers design their own custom t-shirts. Your budget for setting up the e-commerce venture is $30,000.
For your proposed e-commerce venture, your team will need to determine:
? Value proposition: What will you offer consumers? What products? What price? What quality? How will the products benefit your customers?
? Who your target market is: What are the characteristics of the people who will buy your products? What do they need or desire?
? How you will gather necessary information for setting up the venture?
? Who you will consult or network with to benefit from others’ expertise?
? What steps you will need to take to set up the e-commerce venture? This will range from website design, to ensuring a system for payment, to establishing an online presence through web search engines, etc.
? How you will determine the benefit to Apparel Brands: What is the benefit? Reduced costs? Increased productivity?
? How you will determine cost?