Class 4 essay: Michael McCarthy

Analyzing the resources that The Running Room currently possesses; I can conclude that the
brand has a temporary competitive advantage that can easily be imitated by bigger brands in a
few years.

The company’s first resource is their 110 retail stores (Physical/Financial resource). Having that
many locations is valuable, but not rare or difficult to imitate. Many companies like Nike and
Under Armour have plenty of locations and cash to take advantage compete with Running Room.
Using Jay Barney’s V.R.I.O. theory to evaluate competitive advantage, the number of locations
the brand has provides competitive parity with competing brands.

The driving force for the brand’s success is its reputation and culture that provides a safe space
for people to get in shape and make new friends (Human resource). This connection the brand
has is extremely valuable to bring in people that may have felt intimidated to start running in the
past. The focus on the more recreational and social side of running is rare in today’s market.
Brands like Nike and Adidas generally focus on the experienced runner’s market. Unfortunately,
while it may be costly to provide this environment through hiring trainers and other staff to guide
recreational runners, the cost of these things is miniscule to install for competing brands. Only
thing stopping Nike from implementing these things is its lack of focus on the casual side of
running. A company with as much cash as Nike can most likely implement these things while
making it cheaper to the public due to their longstanding infrastructure and brand recognition.
Applying Barney’s theory (Barney, 1995), we can determine that this resource provides a
temporary competitive advantage.

In summary, The Running Room is tapping into a market that few are targeting, but the brand
does not have anything that the larger companies in the running scene cannot replicate and install
within a few years. The Running Room has temporary competitive advantage.

EVALUATION:

My claim was made very clear in the beginning as well as at the end. I feel that my claim sparks
interest to those that are intrigued by resources and what each one can provide.
Regarding my claim I feel that my evidence was sufficient to justify my thoughts.
The evidence was accurate as everyone reading can verify how much resources the larger
companies mentioned have.
My evidence was not the most precise regarding the resources of the competing brands, but I was
not sure if I could use sources outside of what was discussed in class, otherwise I would have
mentioned exact numbers for them.
The population is not very variable, thus I can focus on solely the running market. More detailed
descriptors of the population are not necessary to justify my claim.
Jay Barney is a trusted professor in business management, and I am a business student, authority
lands somewhere in the middle.

I feel the VRIO system was well utilized to evaluate both of the resources stated.

My essay followed structure including an opening statement, followed by a paragraph

evaluating each resource, and ending with a conclusion paragraph.

The strongest part of my essay was the paragraph regarding the human resource, as I feel I made
a compelling argument as to why I felt that way.

I can improve my essay by providing more precise numbers on the brands and resources
mentioned.