Assessment 1 (80%)
Case study based Individual coursework H&M
The apparel retailer H&M has made an incredible journey since its start in 1947 with a single store for women’s clothing in Sweden to go on to become one of the leading global fashion and design group. Currently, H&M has 4200 stores in 72 countries and employs around 177,000 employees worldwide. H&M also has a strong online presence and their products are available on 47 online markets (platforms/ countries). A pioneer in ‘fast fashion’ , H&M has positioned itself as a firm that responds quickly to new trends and creates fashion items that are made available to customers both online and in stores immediately thereafter. You are required to answer the following THREE questions that pertains to the case H&M. For further details on H&M, you may refer to the case study, ‘H&M in fast fashion: continued success?’ (Exploring Strategy, pp 576 – 583). It is also recommended that you research information additional to the case study to support your arguments. This may be obtained from a diverse range of sources and you are encouraged to research the issues in whichever way you deem appropriate.
Question One:
Sources of Competitive Advantage and its relevance to management
Critically review the theories of competitive advantage and evaluate their relevance to
management. In particular, discuss how such theories could inform H&M managers in their
quest to gain sustainable competitive advantage.
Question Two:
Firm’s strategy and strategic position
Critically review the relationship between organisational resources, external environment and
firm performance. You may use H&M as an illustration in your discussion
Question Three:
The role of innovation and internationalisation in a firm’s Competitive Advantage
Evaluate the relevance of innovation and internationalisation in designing and
implementing H&M’s strategy/ competitive position
Assessment 2 (20% weighting)
Individual Poster Presentation to meet learning outcomes K4, S3 and S5
As part of this assessment, you are to prepare and present a one page poster that includes
1.Identification of trends within the ‘fast fashion’ industry which you consider are to be key
drivers for change for H&M and why?
- Are there other megatrends that might be important for H&M?
- Construct (5 or 10 years) scenarios for H&M.
- Using the identification of megatrends and/or scenarios, consider the potential impact of future environmental forces on H&M’s business in terms of both threats and opportunities.
Use words and images to present the message. You may use complete sentences, bullet points or diagrams but be prepared to present/ discuss your analysis with your audience. Your poster should also include your key references/sources.
Solution
Introduction
H&M is an apparel retailer that was founded in 1947 in Sweden with one store for women apparel. The retailer has now grown to be one of the top worldwide fashion and design group. At the moment, H&M has 4,200 stores in 72 nations operated by approximately 177,000 staff (Regnér and Yildiz, 2014). H&M has a reputable brand, and it has positioned itself as a retailer that reacts quickly to new trends and produces new fashion items that are sold to consumers through online and physical stores. This essay is an analysis of the sources of competitive advantage of H&M and their significance to management, its firm strategy and strategic position and the role of innovation and internationalization of the firm’s competitive advantage.
Question 1. Sources of Competitive Advantage and its Relevance to Management
According to Nithisathian et al. (2018), competitive advantage is acquired when an entity develops or obtains a group of characteristics that enable it to outdo its opponents. Rothaermel (2017) added to the study noting that pursuing competitive advantage is an important matter of the theoretical discipline of strategic management. Daspit et al., (2017) defined strategic management as the “set of decisions and actions resulting in formulation and implementation of strategies aimed at achieving the objectives of an organization”. Furrer et al. (2008) argued that……………………………………….To access the rest of the solution for $20, please click on the purchase button.
