April11,2016
2017FASHIONSCHOLARSHIPFUNDCASESTUDY
BACKGROUND:
Etsyisamarketplacewherepeoplearoundtheworldconnecttomake,sellandbuyuniquegoods.The
Etsybusinessmodelisbasedonsharedsuccess:Etsymakesmoneywhenitssellersmakemoney.In
ordertocombatagrowingtrendofsuccessfulsellersleavingthesite,in2015EtsylaunchedEtsy
ManufacturingandannouncedanewretailpartnershipwithMacy’s.Thetwostrategicinitiativeswere
designedtohelpthecompanyscaleitsfastestgrowingsellersandkeepthemloyaltotheplatformthat
haslaunchedtheirsuccess.
OBJECTIVE:
Inthiscasestudy,youwillexploretherealmofpossibilitiesEtsy’snewsmallbatchmanufacturing
platformofferstoitssellersandend-usecustomersthroughitsnewpartnershipwithMacy’s.Your
objectiveistoidentifywhatproductlinewouldmakethecollaborationmostsuccessfulforall
stakeholdersinvolved.AllscholarsmustcompletePartI,andeachscholarmustcompleteonesection
(A,B,orC)fromPartII.
PARTI:IDENTIFYTHEEND-USECUSTOMERTHISCOLLABORATIONSHOULDTARGET
ConductaSWOTanalysisoftheEtsyandMacy’spartnership,evaluatingthetwocompanies’strengths
andweaknesses,opportunities&threatsinthecontextthatsupportsthemainobjectiveofthecase.
Identifytheend-usecustomerthiscollaborationshouldtargetintheopportunitiessectionofyour
analysis.
PARTII:IDENTIFYETSYSELLERSWHICHWOULDCREATETHEMOSTDEMANDFROMTHETARGET
CUSTOMER
A.DESIGN&PRODUCTDEVELOPMENT
Youareasmall-scaledesignerwithaspirationstolaunchanationalproductline.Identifyawhitespace
opportunityforanewshoponEtsywithinApparel,Jewelry,AccessoriesorHomethatwillresonatewith
thecustomeryouhaveidentifiedinPartI.
1. Developabrandnameandapositioningstatementtargetedatthecustomeryouidentifiedin
PartI;explainthestorybehindyourconceptandwhyitwillworkintheEtsyMacy’sShops(one
page).
2. Createaninspirationboardforyournewline(halfpage).
3. Createahangtagandlabeldesign(halfpage).
4. Createamaterialsstory(fabric,fiber,alloyetc.)includingselectionofcolorsandprints(one
page).
5. Design6to8itemswithinyournewproductlinewithrenderedcolordetailedcroquisaswellas
flattechnicalsketchesforeachitem(threepages).
B.MERCHANDISING&MARKETING
YouaretheDirectorofSpecialIn-StoreMerchandisingProjectsatMacy’s.IdentifyanexistingEtsyseller
withinApparel,Jewelry,AccessoriesorHomethathasthegreatestopportunityforgrowthbasedonthe
customeranalysisyouconductedinPartI.
1. BasedontheSWOTanalysisyouconductedinpartI,explainwhyyoubelievethisnewlinewill
besuccessfulintheEtsyMacy’sShopsandhowitfillsthevoidinthecurrentMacy’sassortment.
2. DevelopalaunchplanfortheEtsyMacy’sShop.Considerthefollowing:
- Whatwilltheassortmentyoubuylooklike?Howwillitdifferbetweensmall,mediumand
flagshipsizestores?
- Howandwherewillyoudisplaythemerchandise?ConsiderthecurrentMacy’ssellingfloor.
3. DevelopamarketingcampaigntopromoteyourEtsyMacy’sShoplaunch.
4. Provideaconcisesix-monthfinancialplandetailingexpectedsales,receipts,profitmarginand
inventory.
5. WhatareyourplanstoscaleupyourShopifitissuccessful?HowwillyouliquidateyourShop’s
inventoryifitdoesnotsell?
C.TECHNOLOGY&ANALYTICS
YouaretheVPofAnalyticsatEtsy.Youhavebeentaskedwithdevelopingaprocesswhichwillallow
yourcompanytoidentifyproductswithgreatestpotentialtoscalenationallythroughtheEtsy’s/Macy’s
partnershipandEtsyManufacturing.
1. Identifyamarketplayeryoubelieveiscurrentlybestinclassintermsofusingpredictive
technologytomanageitsinventory.Explainyourchoice.
2. Developyourownsetofinstructionswhichwillactasanalgorithmicmodelforpredictingthe
demandofproductscurrentlysoldonEtsywhenlaunchednationallythroughtheEtsy/Macy’s
partnership.
- Identifyfivetotenspecificinputsyouwouldusetobuildyourmodel.Dataavailableforyour
analysiswillincludebothMacy’s&Etsypointofsaleinformation,includingonlineandinstore.
- Howwillyouidentifyemergingtrendsthatwouldresonatewiththecustomeridentifiedin
PartI?
3. Developasecondsetofyourowninstructionswhichwillactasanalgorithmicmodelfor
predictingwhethertheproductyouidentifiedashigh-demandcanbeeasilymanufacturedata
scalerequiredtosellatMacy’s.
- Considerbarriersandcostsrequiredtoscaleandthelevelofproductionrequiredtosellin
Macy’s.
- HowwouldyouleverageEtsyManufacturingtoensureyoumaximizethepotentialofallof
theproductsyourfirstalgorithmidentifiedashigh-demand?
JUDGINGCRITERIA:
Youwillbejudgedequallyonthedepthandrelevanceofyourresearch(PartI,40%ofscore),the
creativityandfeasibilityofyourideas(PartII,55%ofscore)andtheclaritywithwhichyouportrayboth.
Followingformatdirectionswillaccountfortheremaining5%ofyourscore.Yourcasewillbejudgedby
industryprofessionalsincludingtheYMAFSFBoardofGovernors,YMAFSFMentors,andYMAFSF
Alumni.Keepyouraudienceinmindwhenensuringyourideasareclearandwell-supported.
AllscholarsmustcompletePartI,andeachscholarmustcompleteonesection(A,B,orC)fromPartII.
ScholarsshoulddrawontheirfindingsfromPartIandbuildontheminPartII.Allscholarsmustalsouse
atleastoneprimarysourceaspartoftheirresearch,whetheritisthroughaninterview,aselfdistributedsurvey,oraself-ledfocusgroup.
FORMATDIRECTIONS:
Allcasestudiesaretobedoneinan8½“by11“APAformat,withnoexceptions.Allcasestudiesmust
benolongerthan10pages:4pagesforPartIand6pagesforPartII.Thisdoesnotincludeappendix,
bibliographyandfootnotes,whichshouldtakeupnomorethan5additionalpages.Makesureto
includeatitlepagewithonesentencetosummarizeyourcase.Onthetitlepage,donotincludeyour
nameorschoolascasestudieswillbeevaluatedanonymously.Besuretoproofreadyourcasestudy.
Pointswillbetakenofffornotfollowingformatdirections,aswellasforgrammarandspellingerrors.