Business Strategy

 

Porter's Five Force Model [Arianna Mendez]:

Force	Explanation	Strength
Bargaining Power of Customers	Can customers force the prices down?	High - Since customers have so many different distributors to purchase their wax supplies from, they can affect prices.
Threat of Substitutions	If the need is wax, are there other ways to satisfy the need?	Medium - There are other ways to remove body hair such as shaving and using hair removal creams. People can also choose to get laser hair removal.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers	Who does Legion Beauty Supplies buy from?	Low - There are many known wax suppliers world-wide such as Honeycomb Wax Co., Sally Beauty, and Once Natural Wax. Additionally, E-commerce companies including Amazon and eBay offer waxing supplies as well.
Threat of New Entrants	How easy is it to open a wax distribution company in Paramus?	Medium - There is limited real estate available with sufficient inventory space and zoning laws.
Rivalry	Which distributors do Legion Beauty Supplies compete with directly?	Medium - There are limited body wax distributors in the area. Legion’s most direct competitors include Starpil Wax, Miss Cire and Cosmo Prof which is also located in Paramus, NJ.

    Based on the above analysis, Legion Beauty Supplies definitely seems to be profitable within the beauty industry. Although there is a high bargaining power of customers due to the fact that there are many wax suppliers and distributors in the industry, Legion Beauty Supplies has the advantage that they work exclusively with  Italian manufacturers who produce high quality products that are not really seen or known here in the U.S. Although our company's prices may not be as competitive, even if customers decide to go with other low-cost suppliers, they will not get the same quality products which is vital in this kind of business that deals with people’s skin and this is how they differentiate themselves and their products from their competitors. Meanwhile, the threat of substitutions is somewhat high, these other options such as shaving and laser hair removal are not viable options. For instance, even though shaving is inexpensive, it is known to lead to ingrown hairs and also leaves cuts and dark spots on the skin, laser hair removal is a much more expensive procedure that not everyone can afford. Waxing, in this case, is the most reasonable solution that is especially trendy in today’s young generations. Additionally, as for bargaining power of suppliers, the strength is low for our company because there are numerous suppliers and manufacturers in the market which makes it easy to switch to other supplier brands in case the connections with Italwax & NaturaVerde Pro were to get compromised for any reason.

    Not to mention but Legion Beauty Supplies has remained loyal to its Italian manufacturers yet it would be beneficial for them to expand its horizons to make new relationships and allow the company to grow in the future. Furthermore, the threat of a new entrant is low in the area where Legion Beauty Supplies is located because there are high entry barriers as Paramus, NJ is a small town meaning there is limited space to construct and develop  a distribution company especially considering the fact that they are in such close proximity to New York City. High capital and connections within the beauty industry are also vital to growing a type of business like Legion Beauty Supplies. Lastly, rivalry is somewhat high in strength because although there are limited competitors such as Starpil Wax, Miss Cire and Cosmo Prof, these are well-known and the area as well which makes it more challenging to get loyal customers. They could respond to this by entering new markets such as entertainment or expand into another segment of the beauty industry such as incorporating skincare like facials and body scrubs. Anyhow, overall, Legion Beauty Supplies is in great standing and has the potential to continue flourishing in the industry.

Competitive Strategy [Arianna Mendez]:

 

    According to Porter, an organization can focus on being the cost leader or it can focus on differentiating its products or service from its competitors within an industry segment or across an industry as a whole. These are known as Porter’s four competitive strategies which are broken down in the following categories: industry-wide cost, industry-wide differentiation, focus cost, and focus differentiation. After further analyzing our company, Legion Beauty Supplies, our team determined that the competitive strategy it follows is focus differentiation. We came to this conclusion because Legion Beauty Supplies specializes in selling high quality body waxing supplies and, body waxing itself is only a segment of the beauty industry. In fact, other branches of the beauty industry include skincare, haircare, cosmetics, fragrances, meaning it is a very complex industry with many opportunities for expansion. Therefore, because Legion Beauty Supplies has remained set on selling products for body waxing specifically and they distribute products from Italian manufacturers that are known to be higher quality than others, we determined that this company follows a focus differentiation competitive strategy. Not to mention but our company addresses the threats from the five forces by taking immediate action and ensuring that the company is abiding by its business strategy in the process. For example, this means continuously promoting their products through social media platforms and creating fun creative content to keep the audience engaged with Legion Beauty Supplies and its products.

    It is also important that their inventory is in store and that they have enough shipping supplies on deck which includes boxes, bubble wrap, and shipping labels. Like this, all orders will be ready to be packaged and shipped as orders get placed so no threats whether it be as a result of suppliers, buyers, substitutes or rivals can shift the focus of the company. For this reason, the company must consider working with other suppliers because in order to thrive as a business they need to grow in the industry as well and this means building connections with other suppliers. Legion Beauty Supplies focuses on providing differentiating products and it can continue fulfilling this mission not only with Italwax & NaturaVerde Pro but with other suppliers and manufacturers as well. In fact, this gives them the opportunity to be the first to discover new up and coming waxing manufacturers and even products that will someday be introduced in the industry. Additionally, they can also consider having an actual waxing business within their company to promote their products and get other waxing technicians who own businesses to witness first-hand how they work and differ from the hard, soft, and sugar wax that other brands offer before actually purchasing. This is a huge advantage that could save many business owners from losing money. Therefore, by implementing these innovative methods to the company, Legion Beauty Supplies can overcome threats from the five forces and stay ahead of the game within the industry.    

Value Chain [Gabriella Scotto]:

    Primary activities in a company’s value chain consist of, inbound logistics, operations/manufacturing, outbound logistics, sales and marketing, and customer service. Inbound logistics is defined as acquiring raw materials, which for Legion Beauty Supplies refers to the main suppliers they purchase their inventory from including Italwax and Naturaverde. Operations/manufacturing is when goods are transformed into finished finalized products ready to be sold. Therefore, in our company, when they receive the manufactured products, they get stored in their inventory shelves and the team takes care of listing them on their website to be sold and distributed. Meanwhile, outbound logistics would be how the company packages and transports the finished goods to its customers. For Legion Beauty Supplies, employees package products and create shipping labels to be distributed via FedEx or UPS, however, customers can also choose to pick their order from Legion Beauty Supplies’ location in Paramus, NJ.

    Additionally, marketing and sales is how a company entices their customers to buy their products while providing the means to do so. This would include the company’s website, which makes it easier to explore the variety of products and place their orders, as well as the company’s use of various social media platforms to promote their different products by showing how they function and are put to use by its own customers. Lastly, customer service is how a company assists the customer with the use of the products. When it comes to customer service, Legion Beauty Supplies makes it easy to contact them via phone, email, or social media for any complaints or feedback. Thus, this is called the value chain since each of these functions adds value for the customer. Altogether, these activities are what make up the three kinds of business processes including materials ordering process, manufacturing process and sales process.

How Legion Beauty Supplies Uses Information Systems [Isabela Marticorena]:

    One example of information systems that is used by Legion Beauty Supplies is social media IS, or otherwise known as the dynamic business process of social media marketing. They frequently utilize social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok to not only promote their business and products but to also easily reach its customers, gain valuable insights, and effectively grow their brand by keeping track of what products are in demand. This is extremely vital for the business as it helps them keep track of their inventory and ensure that they place their orders from their Italian suppliers with time considering distance and shipping methods. Therefore, social media plays a major role in this company as it allows them to build brand awareness, promote outstanding customer service, create marketing content, acquire leads in a low-cost way, and learn more about their customers by engaging with them and keeping an eye out on what is trendy in the beauty world when it comes to body waxing. 

    Furthermore, they consistently use collaboration IS as they have a close knit team of hard-working employees who work together to track the online orders that get placed by customers, retrieving the purchased products from their inventory shelves and manually packaging them to get them ready to be shipped out in a timely fashion. Thus, they use an internal computerized system called Ecwid which supports the whole order fulfillment structured process of the company. It is managed by their management team and employees which serves the purpose of providing them with the most updated information about the company in terms of inventory, handling orders, and keeping track of packaged and distributed orders that get shipped through carriers such as FedEx and UPS. This system allows the business managers and administrations to monitor the company’s revenue which is why we are focusing on the structured process of sales. Therefore, as a result, these processes are what allows the company to constantly remain organized in order to keep Legion Beauty Supplies functioning as smoothly as possible which will take them one step closer to achieving their goal of expanding within the industry.