II.

SWOT Analysis

i. Strengths

1. Product

• Brand

◦ Has high perceived value

◦ Historical brand with roots to Canadian Victorian establishment

◦ Loyal Following of buyers

• Variety

◦ Variety in product offering

◦ Different styles and tastes that are geared to certain seasons

◦ Variety in services, from special orders to wholesale orders

• Quality

◦ Using natural ingredients when possible

◦ They offer a unique product that is considered elite and of high

quality

• Award Winning

◦ Rogers won the Retail Council Of Canada's Innovative Retailer of

the Year Award in the small business category in 2002. They

attained this through being a strong market leader and innovative

in their industry.

◦ They also won the Superior Taste Award in 2006 from the

International Taste and Quality Institute.

2. Human Resources
II. SWOT Analysis

• Employee Interest and Devotion to Company

◦ Some of Rogers Chocolate Employees were third generation

employees and were proud and passionate about Rogers

heritage and commitment to quality. They believed in the Brand

and its image.

• Leadership with Experience

◦ Parkhill who had previously worked as the VP for Maple Leaf

Foods was in charge of six plants and 2,300 employees. Has a

Ivy League MBA and has extensive work in Sales, Marketing and

Operations.

• Progressive Management Team

◦ Management consists of members who will work extra hours and

are very efficient in their respective fields. Phoenix has had a

tenure since 1994 and is very dedicated to Rogers by working

extra hours and helping out at stores that are short of staff.

Wong works with manufacturing and Food Science and had

worked in the industry before Rogers. Bjornson worked with

Pacific Coach Lines as the CFO and worked their finances

especially in the areas of reorganization, acquisitions and

dispositions.

3. Consumer Loyalty

• Customers are loyal to Rogers because they have an emotional

connection that relates them to Rogers. This revolves around the

experience that Rogers tries to promote, especially in their gift line.

4. Social Awareness

• Part of the workforce at Rogers is comprised of disabled individuals

who help out in production.

5. Revenues and Margins

• Margins are maintained at 50% on average which outperforms lower

quality chocolate segments. Their revenues have increased due to

new products and acquisitions although overall sales percentage had

decreased.

ii. Weaknesses

1. Production

▪ Equipment and Processes: Old Technology. Machines are not optimal

or efficient. They bare more costs on operating the old equipment.

Their handmade processes are labor intensive and time consuming.

▪ Suppliers: Chinese suppliers cannot work efficiently to the schedule

that helps the company run on an optimal level. But Rogers does not

have enough orders share for them to pressurize the supplier.

▪ Capacity: They are limited in capacity as they have a 24,000 sq. ft.

manufacturing facility, with 35 production employees. They cannot

meet the current demands on time in that space.

▪ Software or capability to measure the impacts of new products like

ice-cream is not available for accurately forecasting whether to move

forward with certain products.

2. Human Resources

▪ Resistance to change: Some employees have been with Rogers for a

long tenure and are resistant to changing the way that Rogers does

business. Some believe that the core values and heritage that Rogers

claims to will be compromised if they changed too much. Despite

huge indications that packaging innovation needs to take place,

certain Rogers employees are resistant to that change.

▪ Management Disputes: Historical conflict between Wong and Phoenix

show signs of favoritism for the wholesale department of the company.

The sales force do not have enough training to help them sell the

Brand that Rogers has adequately to their consumers.

3. Product

▪ Rogers depends on people to experience their product in order to

become aware of their product. Due to their lack in diverse locations,

they are restricted in attaining brand awareness outside of their

geographical confines.

▪ Traditional Image does not attract new and upcoming Canadians and

other buyers.

▪ Packaging and Design: Rogers has very traditional Victorian

packaging that gives off the image of being traditional or not

innovative enough.

▪ Longevity of Product: Due to the lack of additives in their products.

Rogers chocolates do not have a long shelf life. To add more additives

or preservatives in their chocolates would go against their quality

image.

4. Distribution

▪ Locations: Granville is situated behind some refuse bins. This is

contrary to the brand image that Rogers is trying to portray and

promote.

▪ Wholesale inegrity: Certain small wholesale customers have sold

expired products which hur the Brand image of Rogers Chocolates.

5. Financials