Company Profile

Information inside:
Sales (yr if possible)
Problems encounter
Solution
Industry Size. An estimate of an industrys total size is useful. Knowing a given companys size and
the size of the total industry, you can calculate a market share for the company. This may help in
estimating how dominant the company is within its industry and how much growth potential there is
for a company within its industry.
Industry Growth Rate. An industrys growth rate should have a direct impact on a companys
growth rate. Generally, higher growing industries will show higher industry profitability. A high growth
rate, if it is profitable growth, may allow a company to increase its value at a more rapid rate.
Industry Profitability. Average profit margins in an industry can be used as a guide to the likely
profitability of a given company. A highly competitive industry is likely to see lower profit margins
while a less competitive one will see higher margins. It is also useful to understand why a company
may differ from the industry average in profitability. If brands command a high loyalty, products with
strong brands may command a higher profit margin.

Companys Competitive Position: How Wide is the Moat? A good company should have a
sustainable competitive position against its competitors. In other words, it should be difficult and take
a long time for a competitor to erode a good companys market share and/or profitability. This can be
achieved in many ways. Brand equity is one of the more common ways. For instance, Coca-Colas
position in the soda market would take quite a lot of resources to attack. This is one reason why
Warren Buffett made a big investment in Coca-Cola shares when he thought the share price was
attractive. To some extent, E-Bays position as the key auction house on the internet would be difficult
to attack as the more users that use E-Bays selling system, the more useful the system becomes. As
E-Bay gets larger, its position becomes more and more secure. While the future in the technology
industry is more difficult to project, it could be said that at the present time, Microsoft has a key
position in the personal computer operating system market. Technology is more difficult than some
other consumer products because, in the future, the products produced may become obsolete and not
needed. For instance, if everyone moves to use web-based applications in the future, the primacy and
usefulness of the personal computer operating system will be greatly eroded. In contrast, chewing
gum or soda pop is unlikely to become obsolete in the very near future.
Companys Competitive Position: Improving or Getting Worse. After trying to gauge the
sustainability of a companys competitive position, it is also useful to gauge whether the companys

competitive position is likely to improve or to get worse. If it is likely to improve, and this is not widely
acknowledged as evidenced by an undervalued share price, then perhaps a good investment
opportunity is in sight. A company may have invested in proprietary methods to lower its costs which
are not available to competitors. It may have introduced new products that are allowing it to gain
market share. It may have introduced a successful marketing campaign that is improving its brand
equity permanently.
Management Analysis. Probably the most important trait to look for when analyzing a companys
management is integrity. You should be put off a company by any signs that the management is
dishonest or unethical. Avoiding scandals at companies can save you from a lot of losses. An ethical
management should be a non-negotiable item with regards to the types of companies you invest in.

Company Revenue Growth Rate. A good starting point for the companys overall revenue growth
rate is the industry growth rate, which we had described above. Using this as a base, you can judge
whether the specific company you are analyzing should be growing faster, slower or in-line with its
industry. If the company has introduced a successful new product, for instance, and is gaining market
share, it would probably grow faster than the industry as a whole. In contrast, if the companys
products have not kept up with the competition, perhaps the company may find it necessary to
discount its products to sell them. In this case, revenue growth may be lower than the industry due to
weaker pricing power, even if the company is able to maintain its market share.
Company Profitability. A good starting point for company profitability is the previous years
profitability. From there, you should look for reasons why profitability in the future should be higher or
lower than it has been in the past. It is especially important to adjust the companys historical
profitability for any one-time special items that are unlikely to recur in the future. If the company has
introduced new higher margin products and these are growing at a faster rate than the company
average, the companys profitability may rise. Or, if the company is a manufacturing company and the
cost of inputs is rising, perhaps company margins may begin to fall. A good cross-check would be to
take a look at industry profitability, on average, or if this is unavailable, make some comparisons to
similar companies. If there is a big difference in profitability between similar companies and the
company being analyzed, it would be useful to understand why those differences occur and whether or
not they are justified. If they are not justified, it is possible that the companys profitability may start
to converge to the industrys average level.
Bargaining Power of Customers. This refers to the multiple factors which affect the customers
ability to affect the profitability of a given industry. A very important factor is the concentration of
customers compared to the concentration of firms in a given industry. Generally, the more customers
compared to firms, the lower the customers bargaining power, and vice versa. The ease with which
customers can switch products and the ability of buying firms to vertically integrate into their
suppliers industry are other factors. The price sensitivity of the customers is another factor. For
instance, if the product constitutes a low percentage of the total costs of the customer but the product

is important to the customer, the customer may be less price sensitive. The volume which buyers
command is another factor.
Intensity of Competitive Rivalry. The intensity of competition within an industry depends on the
following: 1) the number and relative size of competitors, 2) the industry growth rate, 3) industry exit
barriers, 4) whether the industry has high fixed costs or not, and 5) if there is little differentiation
between products either in performance or in brand loyalty.
We have used Porters five forces model as a starting off point above. However, in some cases, the
model is not complete. In addition to the forces above, the following factors may also be considered:
Impact of Government. The impact that government regulations can have in an industry varies.
One area in all industries in which the government takes a large interest is antitrust. Antitrust law is
meant to prevent the development of monopolies which would allow a single company or small group
of companies to earn unreasonably high profits. Antitrust law has created uncertainty for Microsoft in
recent years as various governments around the world have investigated the company for
uncompetitive practices. The deregulation of the telecommunications industry in 1996 had a great
impact on the telecommunications industry. Some industries are highly regulated to protect
consumers. The banking industry must follow many government regulations, such as reserve
requirements, which have been set-up to prevent banks from taking too much risk. These regulations
may change from time to time, affecting an industrys prospects. Government de-regulation of the
airline industry in the late 1970s had a great impact on airline companies.

Companys Relationship to its Community. A companys relationship to its local community may
also be a key factor. In the auto industry, the local community in which domestic factories are situated
often consists primarily of auto industry employees. The relationship of U.S. auto companies to the
United Auto Workers, the trade union for workers in the auto industry, is a key factor that would need
to be considered when analyzing the U.S. auto industry. The terms of new union contracts can affect
the profitability of auto companies for many years. In fact, previous union contracts which granted
large health and pension benefits to auto workers are a key factor in the difficulties the U.S. auto
companies are facing today. Another area where local communities are important in holding
companies accountable for degradation of the environment. For instance, logging companies may face
difficulty in extracting profits in local communities where there is a strong desire to protect forests.
Biotechnology companies or genetically modified food producers may face local communities who wish
to restrict their activities on moral grounds.
Strategic Alliances. The five forces models framework assumes that the primary structure of an
industry is a competitive structure. In some cases, however, an industry may consist of certain
strategic alliances in which competitors or suppliers and customers work together to achieve common
ends. The alliance may make an industry healthier than it otherwise would be or it may be especially
beneficial to certain members of the alliance. The relationship among governments and companies in

different parts of the oil industry may be characterized by strategic alliances. In some cases, a key
factor may be the relationship between a country and an oil company rather than an analysis of the
bargaining power of the buyers or the suppliers. The relationship between computer manufacturers
and Intel and Microsoft may also be characterized as a strategic alliance to some degree.

How elastic the demand for the companys services

Is the demand seasonal
Which geographies are key revenue contributor
Service contributes maximum revenue
History
Company today
Strategies sales
Alliance collaboration
Services strength
Market-threats
Competitor
Performance analysis sales loss profit

SWOT Analysis
The following SWOT analysis captures key strengths and weaknesses within the
company and describes the threats facing Fressen.

Strengths

Strong relationships with many different congregations.

Excellent staff who are highly trained and very customer attentive.

Superior service offerings.

High customer loyalty.

Weaknesses

The struggle to build brand equity.

A limited marketing budget to develop brand awareness.

The difficulty finding someone with enough culinary skill to support

Susan.

Opportunities

Growing market with a significant percentage of the target market still

not aware that Fressen exists.

The steep learning curve that kosher food can be creative.

The ability to develop many long-term customers because of a closeknit Jewish community.

Threats

Competition from similar service providers in NYC.

Local, established competitors that wake up and realize that there is a

huge market in Philadelphia.

The inherent high cost of kosher food production.

A slump in the economy that will decrease customer's budgets for

parties.

Case Analysis The case analysis includes: (Optional)

Pertinent background information about the company involved, such as its size,
location, processes, products, and organizational culture. This section of the report
may be very brief or nonexistent if everyone in your class is writing about the same
organization or if your professor indicates he or she is very familiar with the
company.
A thorough and clear description of the problem or decision the organization faces.
Detail the internal and external forces that have a bearing on the problem. If
applicable, include the companys competitive position in your analysis. If the
problem is particularly complex, you might need to break this section into several
subsections to ensure you thoroughly describe the problem from each angle; in
addition, by using sub-sections, you emphasize and highlight the various facets to
the problem, demonstrating its scope and complexity. Most importantly, however,

sub-sections will keep your writing organized and therefore guide readers through
the text effectively.
(If applicable, given the assignment sheet) Analysis from the perspectives of
multiple disciplines, and evidence from both quantitative and qualitative research to
support your analysis. These facets demonstrate to your professor that you can
think critically in a broad manner, and take into account the different perspectives
offered by diverse research methodologies.
A discussion of the specific solutions or decisions that would solve the problem.
Each proposed solution or decision should include enough information to make it
actionablethat is, to make it possible for someone within the company to
implement your ideas.
Your specific recommendation. Given all the factors related to the problem, and the
various solutions available to address it, what is your recommendation? In this
section of the document, you will most likely find yourself using the first person (I
recommend or My recommendation is...) and that is acceptable in most cases.