Women Horse Riding Club, SWOT Analysis Example

Strengths

One of the club’s primary strengths will be the first-mover status. The club is the first of its kind which has been exclusively targeted at women only and is the only one that also offers additional services in addition to horse-riding. Due to lack of competition, the club will also have pricing power. The club will appeal to not only women who enjoy horse riding but also others who may simply be looking for a nice place to hang out or engage in sports and stress-relieving activities. Thus, the diverse range of services increases the club’s ability to attract a diverse group of women. The club will offer discounted rates to loyal members. This will provide incentive to the members to opt for long-term membership plans that should ensure more stable and predictable revenue stream.

The club’s strengths also include leadership which has shown that it can think out-of-the-box and is skilled at identifying the profit opportunities in the market. This may be why the club’s leaders are the first to build a club aimed exclusively at women and have added additional services to appeal to more women.

Weaknesses

One of the major weaknesses of the club is its business model. The demand for club activities may be cyclical as some seasons are more appropriate for horse riding but the expenses will be incurred throughout the whole year such as taking care of horses and club facilities. In addition, the demand may also be lower during difficult economic conditions when demand for luxury and recreational goods suffer more than essential goods and basic commodities.

Another weakness is the huge capital investments in initial facilities and subsequent upgrades. High capital investments make it more expensive to exit the market if performance falls short of expectations. Thus, the club will have to do proper homework to ensure that it has a reasonable chance of succeeding because it will be committing substantial financial resources to building the facilities.

Opportunities

The club is the first of its kind, thus, it has huge opportunity to take advantage of the benefits associated with first-mover status. The club can lock-in customers and secure their loyalty through exemplary service before the competition enters the market. Many women do not join sports or recreational clubs due to their conservative family traditions and, thus, there is a huge market out there which is still unexplored. The club may specifically target these market segments as it will be women-only facility where even the employees will be women.

The club will also have the opportunity to get free word-of-mouth marketing through satisfied members which may not only lower marketing costs but also increase customer base. The club will also have great opportunity to establish a strong brand which can be used to enter other services markets aimed at women. The brand may also allow the club to expand into other geographical locations. The average income levels have been rising, thus, the demand for luxury goods and services will continue to rise and the club will be one of the beneficiaries of such a trend.

The club could also expand its revenue sources by offering the facilities for special events and private functions. The facilities could be reserved by anyone from individual citizens to corporations. In order to ensure that the events do not interfere with members’ privacy, they could only be held at specific hours when other services may be closed or during official holidays. Another opportunity for income may lie in the sale of club-branded merchandise such as t-shirts and fashion accessories.

Threats

Even though being the first-mover has its advantages, it also presents certain challenges. The business model is still untested and there is a possibility that the club may overestimate its projected revenues and underestimate its projected expenses. Another threat is the entrance of new players who may be tempted by high profit margins. There are low barriers to entry because anyone with resources can build a club and even provide additional services that may be offered by the club. The new players will not only drive down the club’s profitability but may even come up with a better business model. The competitors will also have the advantage of learning from the club’s mistakes and avoiding them. Another threat is that horse riding does carry risks, thus, the club will have to take huge precautions to ensure members’ safety. Any serious injury may not only expose the club to negative publicity but could also result in expensive lawsuit.

Another threat to the company is that the results of the survey and research may turn out to be unreliable and many respondents who indicated they would join the club may not do so. When there is huge capital investments involved, there is a pressure to achieve a minimum sales target to cover the initial investment. Thus, lower-than-expected sales could threaten the future of the club even before it has an opportunity to establish itself.