Firewire SurfboardsFirewire SurfboardsName:Institution:SummaryFirewire Surfboards is a company launched in the year 2005, by friends who shared a passion for not only surfing but taking this exhilarating game to an advanced level. The friends realized that the only way they could change surfing was to create surfboards that incorporate cutting edge technology, thus enticing all surfers, professional and amateur alike. The principal aspects that the young entrepreneurs took into consideration, while designing their novel surfboards include strength, flexibility and weight. Unlike the traditional surfboards, Firewire boards are stronger, more flexible and lighter than traditional boards. Further, the Company opted to manufacture custom made boards, instead of just producing boards that its competitors avail to the market. To gain additional competitive advantage, Firewire Surfboards moved its production activities to Asia, where it could sustain production without compromising quality.
Review/Analysis of the CaseAnswer to question #1There are two principal Firewire’s competitors namely; Channel Islands and Lost Surfboards. However, the stronger of the two, and Firewire’s greatest rival is Channel Islands’. This Company is considered to be the market leader in surfboard production. The level of rivalry is also evident from the fact that, the custom board price for both companies is almost the same, ranging between $650 and $675. The only distinction between the two lies in flexibility and manoeuvring capacity of Firewire boards. Channel Islands is able to retain its market share by upholding tradition and the fact that it engaged in production of custom made boards, long before Firewire did (Longnecker, Petty, Palich, & Moore, 2010).
Answer to question #2Firewire’s entrepreneurial team should have taken into consideration several crucial factors. For instance, the team should have recognized the fact that most surfers prefer to get distinctive boards. This would have prevented Firewire from incurring unnecessary expenses, manufacturing ordinary sized board, available off any sports rack. Additionally, the young company should have critically analyzed the industry’s size, growth pace, basic trends, as well as the principal players (Longnecker et al., 2010). Acquiring this information prior to commencement would have played a significant role, in ensuring that Firewire dealt effectively with competition. For instance, they would have been aware that local production would be expensive owing to the extra materials required. For this reason, the team could have had measures to counter the high cost, sustain profitability
The Product of the Presentation: This is the time frame in which the product should be evaluated. Given the quality of the product, you are going to want to consider the value of the product as much as the overall cost (or a higher quality product at that).
Considerably less than 30% of each product is available with a known value. This is something that can also be considered when assessing the price you can get for the product. For instance, a high quality surfboard, perhaps 30% more than an average board is currently cost prohibitive for some surfers‪ but this price will be very high for people who aren’t interested in spending money to replace their surfboard. This value can also be evaluated when evaluating the long term performance, safety, or performance performance of the product.
The Conclusion: After reviewing the entire product and a clear concept of evaluation, the top performers are expected to have a “proper, cost effective product”.
The Results:
Overall performance, safety, and quality were all extremely positive.
The overall value of the product was highly valued.
Overall performance, safety, and quality were all very positive.
The team found that this value comes from the fact that the product outperforms many other surfboards and sports. That is to say, these products can be used and sold as cheaply and to a wide variety of people. With the majority of our product being low performance, high grade surfboard that outperforms nearly all other products found that the cost of purchasing these products also increased.
All of the teams in the conference also agreed that their team is very prepared to test and refine this product through competition.
The Results:
For everyone involved, the results were very positive. Our team was extremely pleased with not only the product, but also the management team that chose to test it to the fullest that they can. Our results are a much more reflective and informed view of their business practices.
The team, like all other surfing teams, were also deeply satisfied with their results. Our team members took it quite seriously when responding to questions stating that they will go on and test the product to the fullest that they can.
In addition, our team’s leadership was very excited to test this product to a larger audience that did not expect their product to be as highly publicized.
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