Clearwater Seafood Case Analysis Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Identification of Main Problem

Clear water Sea foods Company is business-to-business (B-2-B)Shellfish Company situated in Canada with an experience in this market of about four decades. The company exports its products to major restaurant chains worldwide in bulk after harvesting and processing them. Over the years the company has achieved significant growth in its business operations and product sales because of its high quality products and a focused corporate strategy of the company’s owners(Chandrasekhar, 2013). The executive vice president and the chief commercial officer of the company, Greg Morency wanted to sustain the same growth for the company by gaining a competitive position in the seafood retail market of China. However, the main problem facing the company was:

“ The transition of the company from a B2B to a B2C business with a focused go-to-market business modelwith the Chinese grocery retailers.”

Other peripheral issues associated with this main issue included that how to choose from the variety of different products and which retailers to choose from. The focus on revenues and deriving the required margins in order to cover all the direct costs associated with retailing by balancing revenues and the profits was another issue. Moreover, the Chinese people have created a commodity type of mindset for all the seafood transactions however, Clear water Seafood Company will also have to overcome this challenge and differentiate the company based upon certain competitive advantages in the area of seafood retailing in China.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Clearwater Seafood Company is basically a vertically integrated company and had established a focused corporate strategy. The company has established a strong brand name in the global seafood market. A strong brand name makes the purchase decision for the consumers easier as they are surer that they are buying a high quality product especially in a Chinese market where the consumers are more focused on buying hygienic food products. The company has promoted the brand of the company as a premium brand. The company has also established strong customer relationships, sustainable practices and innovative technologies. The innovative technologies of the company improve the harvesting and the packaging process of the company, thus enhancing its operations.

The brand loyalty is also being enhanced by maintain strong customer relationships. This is also related to the high quality standards which have been maintained by the company which is evident from the certifications awarded by the Marine Stewardship Council and patenting of its major technologies. Furthermore, the executives of the China have more than 15 years of experience in the Chinese seafood market which enabled the strengthening of the relationships with all the B2B partners.

Weaknesses

The first weakness which could be seen in the overall operations of the company is that the product line of Clearwater Seafood Company seems to only have a strong presence in the United States market till now. Furthermore, the production process of the company is labor intensive and also capital intensive. The company was also not able to run the two Halifax stores because of the retail exposure in seafood market and also because of less experience of the company in this area. Morency and the executive team lacked the experience required in the retailing market.

Opportunities

The demand for seafood has been increasing rapidly and the seafood market in China is estimated to grow in size in future years so it provides opportunities for the company for the extension of the product line expansion. The company now has a huge opportunity which is to target the retail consumers directly and improving the product placement in the grocery stores(Seafoods, 2013). The expansion of the company’s product lines and entering the retail segment would also open up opportunities to expand its catering services and change the commodity type mindset of the consumers based upon competitive advantages pursued by the company. Lastly, it is also evident that the interest of the global consumers in seafood delicacies is growing rapidly.Clearwater Seafood Case Analysis Case Solution

Threats

There are a number of threats which could be faced by the company in future years such as the prices for the ingredients might increase and global shortages might also occur for seafood as a result of the over harvesting. Other rivals might enter the market and offer products at much cheaper rates as compared to the product offered by Clearwater Seafood Company. Lastly, other rivals might penetrate the retail seafood market if the company does not devise its go-to-market business model soon........................

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