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Natasha-Case Study
Natasha-Case Study
Natasha-Case Study
I. POINT OF VIEW: GABBY FERNANDO, Management Consultant working for Baby Bloomers.
II. OBJECTVE: 1. To come up with a new policy of expansion for the Baby Bloomers.
2. To come up with a solution for the financial difficulties the company suffered.
III. PROBLEM: What are the factors that the executive committee of Natasha will take into
account to decide whether to expand its operations within Metro Manila only, or to put up
new branches in four other regions of the country, in order to increase market share and
eventually profits?
established itself as a high quality flourist and has been widely known to the market.
The company was founded in the year 1977 by Mrs. Felisa Picache who was also the
daughter of Mrs. Paula Romero, founder of the Three Flowers Flourists, one of the
leading suppliers of flower arrangements during Mrs. Romero’s time. With this, Mrs.
Baby Bloomers was also viewed as one company who offers imported materials
to ensure that they maintain the best quality they can have for their arrangements.
Because of this, the company was able to set higher markups and prices compared to
undertake Baby Bloomers’ expansion. This was established together with the couple’s
friends, Mr. and Mrs. Tolentino. For the expansion projects, the BBCC was granted
loans from nearby development banks, and the Picache’s personal and real estate
holdings served as the collateral. These projects however were not necessarily related
featuring the company’s lush floral arrangements wine importation business, jewelry
shop, European sporting goods, distributorship of British-made audio equipment and
With various enterprises of Mr. Picache, the available funds were eventually used
up. Unfortunately, some of those enterprises were not doing good. The auto
dealership business faced a great competition with other well established companies,
dollar exchange rates had direct effect on their imported oriented businesses. Lastly,
the disappearance of Mr. Picache led to other major problems that left Mrs. Picache
become overwhelmed that she let all the businesses to run on its own for a while.
The troubled businesses of the Picaches was soon closed leaving the flower shops and
restaurant to continue.
V. TOWS MATRIX
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
1. Plan for additional branches 1. Maintain affordable prices 1.. Attract more dealers since there
outside Metro Manila. without sacrificing the is a limited number of branches
quality of products. (O4,S2) especially in remote and provincial
areas.
2. Customers find it 2.. Also, delivery costs will add 2.. The company may put up small
convenient for their orders up to overall costs of the branches within provincial capitals.
to be delivered to them. company or for a dealer, This would create them an edge over
therefore, encourage customers other local competitors who are just
that if they reach a certain starting since they will be the first
amount for their purchases, they ones to introduce their products in
can avail of the free delivery those areas.
charges. (O2,S2)
3. The name of the company 3.. Conduct various research to
was known even on remote forecast or to predict the size of
areas because dealers are the market in a certain remote
area. This will be the basis
located almost anywhere in whether to put up a small or a
the country. large branch. (O3, S3)
4. Prices of competitors are
usually higher than that of
Natasha’s products.
THREATS Threats-Strengths Threats-Weakness
The following are the possible solutions for the problems that can be considered by Natasha:
1. Natasha should attract more dealers by increasing the benefits of becoming their members.
Adding more perks and advantages will encourage and keep them motivated. The company
can have one main branch for every provincial capital because dealers are already properly
2. The company should consider putting up small branches in provincial areas since there are
more local branches which are quickly putting up branches in almost every location. The
company should however conduct a research first to determine what areas badly needed a
3. The constant research for new styles and trends will also create a competitive advantage over
local and international brands. Customers will eventually choose Natasha’s products for its
4. The company may opt to eliminate other branches or at least, reduced in size that are
operating in Metro Manila which are causing more costs than profits. The extra funds may be
used to put up a branch in areas (considering a careful and reliable research) where financial
gains are promising. The closed branches in Metro Manila may be reopened again when there
is enough funds since it is where business usually is. The company cannot simply allow
competitors on those areas to be monopolized, and so the company must (in case of
temporary closure of branch) reclaim the area by implementing strategies that can give them
5. Natasha is a family-owned company in which the top management are all family members.
The company should have additional employees to aid the top management if it is considering
to branch outside Metro Manila. It is also said in the case that there is no clear delineation of
authority among the three family members which holds three important duties within the
company. It can be assumed that these three may interfere with the work of the other, their
6. Diversify with other products that are on the same industry to maintain good competition
with others.
VII. Conclusion
Alternative courses of action numbers 4, 5 and 6 should be prioritized by the company.
VIII. Recommendation
It is therefore recommended that Natasha, can open up branches in provincial capitals like
Rizal, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo and Dagupan, provided that there is a careful research (survey) of the
area. It is necessary to identify first whether to put up a bigger or a smaller branch based on the
said research to maximize benefits and reduce future unnecessary costs, considering the amount
needed to build a new branch. Also, these five provincial capitals are fast developing which means
products can easily be marketed in these places. Competition in remote areas are usually low,
especially when the company is a pioneer in that area. It will be an advantage to the company to
be the first to introduce their products and establish trust (in terms of quality) to their customers
Increasing the number of dealers in provincial capitals may not only make the product well
known, but it will eliminate the need to put up a new branches (considering setting up branches
Following and keeping up with the current trends for each group of markets are always
beneficial. Competitive prices, fashionable styles and high quality are three of the most important
attributes of the products that when combined and maintained is a powerful means of retaining
It is also recommended that Natasha should diversify with other products. This means that
Natasha should not only stick to one product alone but to be safe, the new products that should
be introduced are not out of the industry to maintain the company’s identity. It is very risky to
invest on new products that the company is still new to and have limited idea. It may cause waste
of time, funds and effort if the company is not careful in choosing new products to be offered.
Lastly, before starting anything new for the company, Natasha should first consider to change
their organizational structure. This organizational structure may cause future problems since
different tasks may not be properly delegated. Duties and responsibilities should be clearly
outlined. Top management should have delegates that would help them. As shown in the present
organizational chart, only the operations and general manager has a direct authority of the Branch
Managers. Which means that the other two divisions (finance and merchandising) may find it
difficult to carry out their tasks on their own if they are planning to expand. They may interfere