In you textbook “Entrepreneurship” the fifth Ed., you will find case 4.2 in chapter 4, pp...

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In you textbook “Entrepreneurship” the fifth Ed., you will find case 4.2 in chapter 4, pp XXXXXXXXXXIf you don’t have the book, the case is scanned and attached as a pdf with this homework).

You must answer all the 5 questions, as each question is worth 1 mark. Your answers can be found in the case, textbook chapters or online. If you use online resources, please make sure to reference them.

There is not a specific length of pages required.

Writing must be in APA style.

The assignment is worth 5 marks.

Discussion questions:

1- How did TOM’s come up with their business idea? Talk about the market trends and other ways they used to identify this opportunity.

2- Explain the 5P’s of marketing for TOM’s (Product, place, price, people & promotion).

3- Explain TOM’s competitive grid or advantage.

4- Talk about TOM’s ethical foundation and social responsibility.

5- What are the major challenges that TOM’s are facing/ or will face in the future?

qfile_636775518095006092_123151_1.docx qfile_636775518095006092_123151_2.pdf qfile_636775518095006092_123151_3.pdf qfile_636775518095006092_123151_4.pdf

Soumi · Accepted Answer

Running Head: CASE ANALYSIS- TOM’S SHOES	1
CASE ANALYSIS- TOM’S SHOES 		2
CASE ANALYSIS- TOM’S SHOES
Table of Contents
1. Emergence of Business Idea, Market Trends and Scope to Identify the Opportunity	3
2. 5Ps of Marketing for TOM’s	4
3. TOM’s Competitive Advantage	5
4. TOM’s Social Responsibility and Ethical Foundations	7
5. Key Challenges faced by TOM’s currently and in Future	8
References	10
1. Emergence of Business Idea, Market Trends and Scope to Identify the Opportunity
TOM’s was started by Blake Mycoskie, who was a serial entrepreneur. While he was travelling to Argentina in 2005 for taking some time-off from work, he came across a few kids who did not have shoes and their feet were injured. In addition, there were certain countries where entry in schools was restricted to students who were wearing shoes only. At that point, he wanted to help these poor kids and therefore, the real cause of TOM’s inception came into existence. It also acted as a way to open gates to education for children.
As mentioned in the case study, there were many ideas that came into Blake’s mind before reaching TOMS. A charitable model could have been taken up where he could have asked his family and friends for contributions but this was not sustainable in the long term because people could contribute once, twice or number of times but always was not an option and personal contacts would dry up eventually. Moreover, they would not be having any control over the supply; especially shoe size was an issue difficult to manage. Hence, selling a product that is every person’s need and his or her eventual purchase seemed a feasible option. Alpargata was a shoe type he chose because it was comfortable, stylish and less expensive to make.
‘One for one’ was the initial idea synthesized by Blake where, for every pair of shoes sold, one pair would be donated to a child in need. Although, Blake had no idea about shoe business his idea worked because it resonated with the people having a soft corner towards philanthropic objectives. He was able to identify a need fulfilled by a suitable product type for a specific audience also interested in contributing towards a social cause. Analyzing the market trends with time, Blake introduced eyewear and coffee as well along with the shoes in the business model. This helped increase the viability of the business and TOMS was able to serve a broader spectrum i.e. sight related measures, clean water and sanitation to people. Also, people were really influenced by philanthropic activities at that time as there was a huge increase in the number of orders after an article was published in Los Angeles Times about TOMS. People were ready to pay higher prices as they liked the fact that they were helping someone.
2. 5Ps of Marketing for TOM’s
The 5 P’s for TOMS can be defined as follows:
Product
TOMS has focused its strategy on products that are widely used by the general public all over the world. They started off with shoes and expanded to eyewear, coffee in addition to various items such as jewelry, household chores items and technical gadgets. For an equivalent pair of shoes, same is donated to a child in need, for eyewear an equivalent amount is donated towards sight restoring measures for the poor and sale of coffee is equivalent to provision of clean water and sanitation to people in need (as per case study). 
Place
The Company follows an Omni-channel strategy for selling its products with both an offline and online presence. There are currently about 500 retailers worldwide, selling TOM’s products such as Nordstrom, Whole Foods to name a few. As mentioned by Schaper (2016), these retailers offer the company prominent spaces due to long-term forged relationships and the philanthropic aspect of the trade. They also have their own online marketplace, orders for which are shipped through the retailers only. A unique integrated store concept is also underway to bring all the products under one roof. 
Price
The one for one model ensures that the price of equivalent donation must be included in the selling price of the article itself. This is the key to the sustainability of the business. Quite evidently,

In you textbook “Entrepreneurship” the fifth Ed., you will find case 4.2 in chapter 4, pp XXXXXXXXXXIf you don’t have the book, the case is scanned and attached as a pdf with this homework). You must...

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