¶ … Running Room Case Study Question 1 Do a SWOT on the Running Room.

The Running Room's strengths include the fact that the Running Room offers personalized service and quality shoes expressly designed for running and for the unique sports needs of runners. Also, the relatively low cost of opening up and maintaining the store means that it is easy to enter the market on a store-by-store basis. The Running Room's weaknesses are that the store has a relatively small niche market, that of serious runners and/or health conscious, older consumers. While serious runners do not generally patronize stores like Foot Locker, more generalized athletic shoe stores such have a wider market base and can sell more varieties of cheaper shoes at volume.

The threats to the Running Room include the store's primary competitors in the form of small independent outlets that exhibit local market strength based on longstanding customer loyalties. Opportunities for the Running Room include redefining the store in the United States to take advantage of the current concern about fitness, the increasingly 'fashion focused' attitude of chains like Foot Locker and The Athlete's Foot in the United States that act as a 'turn off' for serious runners.

Question 2 Present Situation: Considering the geography of the U.S. And criteria for location that Staton seems to prefer, briefly describe three alternative strategies that RR might use to enter that market. Be specific.

Although Stanton has a preference for locating stores in smaller markets, one potential option would be to locate in a larger, more urban area such as New York City and Boston, both cities with large and affluent segment markets that enjoy running and might desire the more personal attention the store provides. Although Canadian expansion was achieved with...

Lastly, Stanton could open Running Room stores with different focuses, such as emphasizing the clinic aspect of the store, to encourage customer loyalty and draw new runners to the store.
Question 3: Outline an international business plan for the Running Room to present to possible financial backers. Provide basic information for each component of the plan based on the case presented.

The stores are usually financed from existing Running Rooms, showing the frugality of this store's operating costs. Despite intense competition from much larger companies, because of its low costs of operation and despite its relatively expensive and specialized products, Running Room sales have reached $40 million annually, an average of about $816,000 per store, and the more concentrated United States population would ensure access to more customers, with a higher per capita income than currently exists in Canada.

Each store stocks well-known products such as Nike and Puma, in addition to Fit-Wear, now an established brand name among customers and gives them a reason to shop at the Running Room. The Running Room thus has a reputation for providing good marketing and product placement to its name brand shoes and for known trademarks that draw customers in, and it also has a new brand that can generate customer loyalty and draw customers into the store for the express purpose of buying this product. The fact that the Running Room provides service and quality rather than discounts is another reason that trademarked brands will be willing to do business and finance the expansion…