STRENGTHS: The major strength Ideas has currently is the strong brand name that itcarries as its parent

brand. It banks heavily on the brand name Gul Ahmed.People across the country trust the brand Gul Ahmed for it quality, noveltyand eminence. Especially in the clothing line their quality is considered to besuperior to their competitors.Consequently the loyal customers of Gul Ahmed would want to buy or tryother product range that is being offered by Gul Ahmed. Apart from theregular customers of Gul Ahmed clothing a lot of people who would want to buy other households might want to try ideas because of the mere fact thatit belongs to Gul Ahmed. The fact that they are offering personalization on some of their productsmakes them different from their competitors. For instance they are offeringto embroider on the bed sheets etc according to the individual customers. This is giving them an edge over their competitors.Another Strength is that they dont have many competitors, so if they markettactfully they can make a mark within no time. The concept of having a oneshop stop is relatively increasing as people find it convenient to buy all thehousehold stuff from a single store. Although it is becoming a popularconcept but they dont have many competitors in the market as the marketis not very saturated.One of the major strength they bank on is the increasing awareness of diversion between income and economic classes. Shopping from goodbranded stores and malls has become a trend. So, shopping from these bigstores is becoming a status symbol. Now is the right time to make the mostout of this strength which is at its peak right now. WEAKNESS: There are a few weaknesses that Ideas has to take into consideration andwork on for the improvement of its business:One of the major weaknesses is that they are overpriced for the variety theyare offering. Although it is competitive to their other competitors but the overall pricing is a bit too high given the fact that the clothing prints and thematerial they are selling on other shops at a lower price are being sold at ahigher price in the ideas outlet. So, taking the clothing line specifically, theitems that are being sold at Ideas are also being sold at other shops so thereis no exclusive distribution for Ideas. In comparison to this the competitorshave exclusive distribution for their stores. The products offered there arenot being sold anywhere else.Another weakness is that they are not marketing themselves currentlyrigorously as compared to Chen one and Bareeze which are theircompetitors. They dont have a television advertisement at all and they dontusually advertise through print media as such. Only a few bill boards aredisplayed around the town, which does not really give them visibility or maketheir presence felt. So they really need to work on their marketing to makethem known. As opposed to this their competitors pay special attention totheir marketing campaign and design them well.Another weakness is their display of items. It is too cluttered and shabby. Their outlets in different cities have different ways of displays i.e. there is nocoherence. Even the individual outlet is not well displayed as compared totheir competitors who have a very clear display and each section isdifferentiated in a lucid manner. OPPORTUNITIES:

One of the major opportunities that await Ideas is the fact that they canexpand their business greatly. This expansion can be both: Locally Internationally Locally there are many cities that are still unexplored but they do have a lotof potential. Apart from that they can also participate in different businessfestivals where they can put their stalls and displays. So taking part in suchactivities would not only bring awareness for their brand but also make iteasier for them to enter the markets that are still untapped by them.Internationally there is a huge potential for them to setup their stores. Forinstance Chen one is doing exceptionally well in Dubai, so that shows thatthere is a huge market for such stores. What needs to be considered is thatthey need to open their stores in markets where there is potential and theright kind of consumers that would be able to shop from this brand.Another diversification that holds a lot of opportunity is to invest and ventureinto cosmetics market. As they are a reliable brand and offering a homeconcept shop, offering cosmetics would also be successful. Cosmetics marketis huge with little local players. People would consider their cosmetics rangereliable and of good quality because of the mere factor that their parentcompany has a great name as far as quality and reliability hold. They cangive their cosmetics a different brand name but can display them on ideasoutlets. They are already making perfumes so making a complete range of cosmetics would only help them. THREATS: The dominant threats to Ideas currently are Political Instability Rising production costs Competitors The major threat to any business currently is the political situation in thecountry. Strikes, riots and other instabilities are increasing by the day. Itaffects the businesses adversely. It not only affects the sales of the store butmay also cause damage to the outlet itself.Secondly, the rising costs of production that includes the costs frommaterials to all the overhead costs are making it difficult for the textilesindustry to sustain. Although there is no threat of sustaining the business butit does increase the cost of production which in turn increases the price. So,the current economic crunch is also a threat for them to develop moreefficient ways and means of manufacturing and commuting their products totheir outlets.Last but not the least the threat is from their competitors. Chen one isfamous for their grand sales, discounts and the offerings that they have fortheir prestige customers. They also have a long established their name inthis business of selling almost all the households at one shop.But if they make the most of their strengths and take up the opportunitiesthat they have, it wont take them long to match up to their competitors inthe market.