Case Study 3
1. When Sara Blakely came up with the idea for a women’s shapewear that would tighten your figure and eliminate panty lines, she had invented a holy-grail of hosiery that would ultimately sell itself. Now a billion dollar business, SPANX began with a small savings account of $5000 and a brilliantly simple idea. Sara Blakely began her enterprise with that idea, and used her savings to bring it to life. After spending the majority on devising prototypes and starting up her business, she had little left for advertising. Though advertising soon proved to be unnecessary when Oprah Winfrey featured SPANX as an item on her Favorite Things show. After that, SPANX became sensationalized. Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Tyra Banks were publically talking about it, department stores like Neiman Marcus began to carry it, and the product began to come with high demand. Now, Sara Blakely still spends little on advertising, due to the already existing demand by women for SPANX.
2. A product mix is simply the expansion of a business or idea, into multiple variations of businesses or ideas by selling different products. In Sara Blakey’s case, she expanded her SPANX Empire by selling a mix of products that range from her original …show more content…
Although SPANX has most of their designs patented, there are still many companies trying to enter the women’s shapewear market. Fortunately, SPANX has the market dominated after successfully reaching Stage 4 in the product life cycle. They started in Stage 1, with penetrative prices and low margins, and instantaneously progressed to Stage 2, establishing higher margins. Soon enough, SPANX passed through Stage 3, becoming strongly established with higher prices and higher margins. Now, in Stage 4, competitors are entering the same market with low margins and penetrative prices. Regardless, SPANX continues to grow and dominate the market due to their unwavering quality, product mix, and expansion to more affordable options for
1. When Sara Blakely came up with the idea for a women’s shapewear that would tighten your figure and eliminate panty lines, she had invented a holy-grail of hosiery that would ultimately sell itself. Now a billion dollar business, SPANX began with a small savings account of $5000 and a brilliantly simple idea. Sara Blakely began her enterprise with that idea, and used her savings to bring it to life. After spending the majority on devising prototypes and starting up her business, she had little left for advertising. Though advertising soon proved to be unnecessary when Oprah Winfrey featured SPANX as an item on her Favorite Things show. After that, SPANX became sensationalized. Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Tyra Banks were publically talking about it, department stores like Neiman Marcus began to carry it, and the product began to come with high demand. Now, Sara Blakely still spends little on advertising, due to the already existing demand by women for SPANX.
2. A product mix is simply the expansion of a business or idea, into multiple variations of businesses or ideas by selling different products. In Sara Blakey’s case, she expanded her SPANX Empire by selling a mix of products that range from her original …show more content…
Although SPANX has most of their designs patented, there are still many companies trying to enter the women’s shapewear market. Fortunately, SPANX has the market dominated after successfully reaching Stage 4 in the product life cycle. They started in Stage 1, with penetrative prices and low margins, and instantaneously progressed to Stage 2, establishing higher margins. Soon enough, SPANX passed through Stage 3, becoming strongly established with higher prices and higher margins. Now, in Stage 4, competitors are entering the same market with low margins and penetrative prices. Regardless, SPANX continues to grow and dominate the market due to their unwavering quality, product mix, and expansion to more affordable options for