DUDEWEAR

The solitary desk lamp burned into the darkness that had engulfed the office for
several hours now. Abdulla sighed, put down his pen and rubbed his aching eyes. It
was way past midnight. He glanced up at the wall calendar to his left. Even the sight
of exotic, bikini-clad women drifting lazily over a perfect beach could not raise his
spirits. He focused on the date 24th September 2013. In four days time he would meet
his bank manager and attempt to explain why his companyDudewear had not
succeeded in significantly reducing its overdraft in over eighteen months. Turnover
was static at around $0.5 million. Credit from suppliers was drying up and the
company was trading at little more than breakeven. To add further to Abdullas
problems, the lease on his factory premises, a decrepit industrial area in Harare would
expire at the years end. The area was to be turned into another office/shopping
complex, and he hadnt yet found a suitable alternative location.
Tomorrow he would meet a strategic consultant-an MBA student from the GSM, who
had offered to provide strategy advice on the cheap. The idea of a business plan had
never particularly appealed to Abdulla, who liked to keep his ideas to himself, and
didnt have time to plan anyway. Yet, perhaps tomorrows encounter might offer
some inspiration to help him through these difficult times.
Dudewear Limited had been producing rubber and latex garments for the consumer
watersports market for some thirty years. This consisted of complete wetsuits and dry
suits and accessories such as waterproof gloves, socks and linings. Most of the firms
end-users consisted of leisure divers, surfers, windsurfers and sailors, rather than
professional water-related workers, who generally demanded specialist wear that was
too expensive for the average water nut. Dudewear had resisted the temptation to
expand into related products, such as masks, fins, breathing equipment and boards,
because these required far more sophisticated machinery and skills in the
manufacturing process. Instead, Dudewear purchased waterproof fabric in rolls from
suppliers and fabricated water sports garments in various sizes, based on eight
different patterns. Abdulla had developed these styles himself from over 30 years
experience in the textile industry, so they were tried and tested. Lately, however, the

company was beginning to lose market share to more fashionable garments made by
the major water sports manufacturers.
Abdulla himself was usually an energetic and charismatic figure, with a capacity for
hard work and immense knowledge about his industry. A 58 year-old divorcee, he
often regretted his failure to produce any heirs to his business. Although desperately
wanting to grow his business, there was nobody Abdulla felt he could trust with major
company decisions, so he ended up dealing with administration, finance, marketing
and production matters himself. This meant that decisions could be made quickly,
without referral to anybody else. Recently, however, Abdulla was beginning to feel a
little out of touch with innovations he read about in the trade press. Concepts such as
direct marketing, telesales and segmentation seemed part of an increasingly alien
world. He believed that investing in computer technology might ease his burden, but
didnt really know where to start.
The company employed one sales representative on a commission-only basis to exact
orders from wholesalers and retailers.

The sales representative, Johnny, was a

resourceful and eager worker in his late twenties, who seemed to have a natural flair
for selling. He had previously been a brand manager at a major textile company, but
had left because he wanted more autonomy in his work. Lately, however, he was
becoming increasingly discouraged at his inability to influence things at Dubewear
and at his reliance on commission income. Meanwhile, Abdulla devoted upwards of
12-15 hours a day to running Dudewear and wishfully recalled those heady days in
1982 when he founded his dream enterprise along with two partners. Both of these
had now retired, but continued to exact a toll on company profits through each
owning a third of the firms equity. The remainder of shares was owned directly by
Abdulla, but neither he nor his sleeping partners possessed significant extra capital to
invest in the business.
Currently, Dudewear employed twelve semi-skilled workers as fabric cutters, sewing
machinists and finishers. Although producing around 1000 garments a week, there
was enough capacity to produce twice that number. Most workers were women
willing to labour for a relatively low hourly rate to secure a second income for their
families. There were no bonuses or fringe benefits, although overtime was
2

occasionally required if large orders materialised. Staff turnover was higher than in
many of Dudewears competitors. Usually there were enough applicants to fill vacant
positions, but recruitment had become more difficult lately-possibly due to new office
developments moving into the area, or a demotivated workforce.
Abdulla poured over his hand-written notes. Although difficult to validate, he
reckoned the Zimbabwe water sports garments market to be worth around $1billion in
2010 and growing rapidly along with much of the leisure sector. Official production
figures revealed 11 water sport garment manufacturers, of whom 3 dominated the
Zimbabwean market with 60 % of total output. Most of the remainder were
insignificant producers with a handful of workers. In the warmer climates of South
Africa, Southern Europe, North America and Australasia, sales were inevitably far
higher; Dudewear had no distribution network there. The company focused instead in
Zimbabwe, but around 10% of production found its way to retailers in Northern
Europe; where some consumers recognised the high quality and value-for-money of
Dudewears products. Of particular merit was a fabric strip patented by Abdulla in
1995 that allowed the suit wearers perspiration to evaporate, whilst still keeping the
suit warm. This produced greater comfort for the watersport enthusiast and reduced
the need to clean the suit.
Independent watersport shops accounted for 70% of product sales, but the
overwhelming majority of Dudewears production went to a handful of wholesalers
that Abdulla had traditionally done business with. Sport chain stores and mail order
sales provided a small but growing outlet for the product; but Dudewear had no direct
involvement in these channels.
Overwhelmed by the problems he faced, Abdulla bowed his head in despair and
prepared for another long night.

Questions
1.

Why is it so difficult for Mr. Abdulla to think strategically? What

solutions do you recommend to help turn him from an operational manager into
a strategic manager?

2.

You are the lucky MBA student preparing a strategic analysis for Mr.
Abdulla. Prepare a brief report examining: a) the strengths and weaknesses of
Dudewear Limited, and b) the opportunities and threats that face the company.

3.

Based on your SWOT, what strategies would you recommend to Mr.

Abdulla in order to overcome the difficulties his company is experiencing?