Do I want to be the CEO of my own company, or will I get more satisfaction walking past every store,
seeing my own ideas brought to life with a kind of execution I am incapable of delivering on my own?
Ultimately, I need to decide if I want to give all my chips to someone else to bet for me, or give it a go
myself (1/2)
The unanimous opinion in the syndi - A4 is that Vicki Tsai should not take up the current acquisition offer due to the below reasons:
POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH
●
Her idea of selling high-end products based on 200 yrs old Geisha beauty techniques has potential to grow as there is a growing interest in East
Asian Beauty Markets; evidenced by acquisitions of various Asian brands by giants like L’Oreal.
●
Growing pluralism in beauty standards would help in selling Asian concepts of skincare and beauty
●
There is a growing demand for chemical-free beauty products, and TATCHA can target this segment for growth.
BRAND POSITIONING
●
Currently, there is only one product - aburatorigami available under the brand TATCHA, hence the brand and product positioning is not very
strong in the minds of the customer.
●
The inspiration for the products was ancient Japanese beauty aesthetics and her desire to share the Geisha legacy with the world
●
If an acquisition happened at this stage the acquiring company may opt for mass-market positioning, hence diluting the values of TATCHA.
Do I want to be the CEO of my own company, or will I get more satisfaction walking past every store,
seeing my own ideas brought to life with a kind of execution I am incapable of delivering on my own?
Ultimately, I need to decide if I want to give all my chips to someone else to bet for me, or give it a go
myself [2/2]
CONVICTION
●
The growth of the idea for TATCHA was born out of Vicki’s own struggles with skin care and her concern of chemicals present in it.
●
She has invested her savings along with maxing out her credit cards, putting her in debt.
●
Hence, we can say that her conviction regarding TATCHA is very high , which would be very difficult to replicate and maintain by an acquirer.
Which part of the value chain would you use to create value for customers?
MARKETING
Improve procurement of raw materials
through more reliable sources that will be
able to maintain continuous supply
Scale packing and shipping operations use
low cost labor to utilize Tsai’s time to
focus on R&D of new products
SCALING OPERATIONS
Current marketing strategy is targeted
towards make up artists and fashionistas
through magazines. Tsai should focus on
marketing the product to larger audience
through other channels such as email,
web, and print.
Build loyal customer base through
targeted loyalty programmes
Build promotional alliances for joint
marketing with distributors and retailers
based on incentive structures
WHAT SUGGESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE COMPANY?
FUNDING
Vicki can try and reach out to VC
firms, Angel Investors to help resolve
the fundings issues that she is facing.
She can leverage her Alum network
for access to funding
POSITIONING
She needs to concentrate on
differentiating her product for the
consumers hence she can try and
generate word of mouth buzz by
targeting celebs and influencers and
fashion week
PEOPLE & PROCESS
Tatsha needs to find alternate
sources to procure Aburatorigami to
scale their business
Vicki should look to onboard a
member with cosmetic product
specialization
CUSTOMERS
Promote customer growth by
initiating loyalty programs hype/hoard effect. Leverage
relationship with 200 retailers.