Assignment

Questions to answer to include in the paper:

1) What were some of the key characteristics of Vans' earliest customers in the 1960s and 1970s? What was the public perception of skateboarding during this era?

2) What was Vans' competitive advantage during its early days (1960s and 70s)? What was its value proposition to customers?

3) How has the company's competitive position and value proposition changed over time?

4) In recent years, Vans has expanded in a number of directions. For example, the company has: a) increased the number of sports it is affiliated with; b) diversified its product portfolio; c) expanded its distribution; and d) broadened its promotional mix. How have each of these decisions impacted: a) Vans' customer base; b) Vans' brand image; and c) the overall alternative sports category?

5) The biggest question facing Schoenfeldnow is "how to drive that next stage of growth" (case, p.2). One option is to focus on the shoe category. The challenge here is to fix the Women's Collection and decide what to do about the Outdoor Collection. The second option is to focus on growing within the "entertainment" category despite the fact that the company admits it has little expertise in this area. The challenge is to figure out which projects to focus on. It could be movies ("we don't know the first thing about the movie business"), music ("we don't really know how to make and sell music"), and videogames ("I can't say for sure how this will play out"). Do you believe Vans should be focusing on shoes, entertainment, or both?

6) Do you think Vans should attempt to become a $1 billion brand? Why or why not?

Article: Vans: Skting on Air by Youngme Moon and David Kiron.

Attachment:- what_the_paper_should_have_1.rar