Situation and Competitive Analysis: StockX in China

PART III: The Marketing Plan
Situation and Competitive Analysis
StockX has increased its online marketplace and is dedicated to sneakers, fashion and artistic expression among sneaker and fashion lovers. Additionally, StockX shows the trade value of different products, and has diversified away from exclusively selling sneakers to include different collectibles and watches. The company is a marketplace and service that authenticates that there are no fake items and this helps to build the company’s brand and reputation. The company is keen on improving the authentication services and procedures as footwear and clothes are of the most counterfeited items in online markets.
SWOT
Strengths
* The company has an inventory of different sneakers and fashion for different markets to meet customer needs and the customers choose from an inventory that meets the market demands. Streetwear is popular in some markets and combined with more personalized choices customers can choose from the diversified product portfolio.
* StockX has marketed online channels to increase visibility, sales revenue and competitiveness presence. A strong brand combined with brand awareness in other areas where the company operates has increased brand awareness and traffic to the online marketplace.
Weakness
* The company’s business model can be replicated by others including better capitalized companies with a wider reach to the target market. Even when selling products that are in high demand, there are competitors that can get the items at a lower cost. Even if StockX improves the inventory management practices other firms can copy the model and be more efficient.
* StockX’s success partly depends on leveraging technology, but there is inadequate talent to manage technology and processes in the future and remain competitive. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are increasingly useful to manage target consumers, and the company needs to invest more in technology to optimize operations.
Opportunities
* There is increasing consumer spending in China on fashion and footwear and this may benefit the company. China’s personal income has increased over the past three decades, even as there has been a slowdown because of the current coronavirus pandemic. StockX offers products under different brands and with access to the online marketplace, there is potentially a wide reach in China.
* There is growth of web-based stores as e-commerce increasingly facilitates trade in China as internet penetration has improved. Small and large business now leverage the power of online stores and e-commerce sales have increased for different retailers in China.
Threats
* Expansion by competitors such as Foot Locker and Poizon threatens the company’s growth potential in a highly competitive market. Foot Locker is a sportswear and footwear retailer that has operations across various countries and sells multiple brands of products including the most sought after and rare products. Poizon is another platform for sneakers trading and resale operating in different countries and also through on ensuring only the genuine and not the fake items are sold (Deng, 2018). Other online retailers such as Amazon and QieKe are also major competitors as they have expanded their operations and offer a wide variety of products besides footer and fashion.
Product Key Success Factors
There is a product roadmap where there is emphasis on maximizing marketing and improving revenues from the sale of limited-issue shoes and other rare items. This is further supported by communication to the target market and through the press, which builds credibility. There is value creation from the brand activities as the company’s marketing activities highlight the company’s uniqueness, products and services offered as well as efforts to meet customer needs. The StockX Company has also partnered with other companies to improve marketing and distribution of the products where the marketing campaign is aligned with company’s vision and overall strategy.
The company emphasizes offering authentic products and there are various authentication centers to ensure compliance with this. StockX has leveraged technology including the data-driven cloud services to improve service delivery and support the infrastructure so the company can sell genuine products and what the customers want. This improves the company’s brand the market for purchasing and selling in-demand products, and there is value creation from the brand activities. The counterfeit culture is a concern in the footwear and attire markets, and customers are keen more than ever before to purchase products from the verified sources and not fake or reproduced products.
There is emphasis on providing superior customer experience to respond to customer needs and expectations and ensure that the company does not deal with poor-quality products. Customer queries and concerns are handled for the different products sold by the company. When there are multiple customers who endorse the product including high profile customers such as artists and athletes’ increases brand visibility and awareness. Online shoppers are more informed than ever before and seek different sources of information to make informed decisions and positive customer experiences in other markets have been associated with repeated use of the online marketplace.