Reference no: EM133944182

Case Study

John Smith has owned and operated a small dress shop for the past three years. Each fashion season, Smith attends the apparel shows, and he is always very impressed by the glamour and the hundreds of different manufacturers, all with the merchandise that they say will be this season's biggest sellers.

Smith caters to an older market and baby boomers. He hopes to tap into the upscale market. After his first year of operation, Smith recognized that some of his merchandise was not selling. The "inventory close-out sale" did rescue his investment in this merchandise but did not make him a profit or contribute much to his overhead. Smith knew that it was not reasonable to expect to sell everything you bought, but he was not sure exactly how much of his inventory was comprised of slow movers.

Smith believed that when he went into business, he knew what women wanted in dresses. He had always prided himself on having good taste. When he had the opportunity to open this store, he was confident that he could choose merchandise that would be well received. In the first three years of operations, sales have not met Smith's expectations.

Question

How could Smith realistically create a competitive advantage by giving customer service a focus in his business?