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Vera Bradley

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Written Case #1: Vera Bradley in 2014: Will the Company’s Strategy Reverse Its Downward Trend?

LUICELENA PEREZ – CWID: 11493487
GBA 490-006 Dr. Marino 3/01/2016
Thirty-four years ago in the Hartsfield Atlanta Airport, Patricia Miller and Barbara Bradley noticed that the majority of people had the same simple and boring luggage design. These two friends saw the opportunity to pursue a new market that offers colorful and patterned baggage designs, and that is how Vera Bradley began. Vera Bradley started producing colorful and unique pattered designs for luggage, bags, sports bags and handbags; and after the success of the first product line and their economic growth, they decide to expand, creating new products such as: wallets, purses, computer and cell covers, scarves, beach accessories, lunch bags and jewelry.
The company growth was consistent until 2014 when the revenue of the company fell by 1% and the net income decreased around 15%. The customer traffic was declining and new customers were not buying Vera Bradley’s products anymore. After analyzing competitors, the industry, and the internal situation of the company, there are some recommendations that I would like to develop more in-depth to add those into a new strategic plan that can actually generate profit for Vera Bradley.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1: Decrease production of certain products on the existing line to have a limited amount of high quality handbags and accessories.
Recommendation 2: Expansion of the distribution channels by opening new locations globally, especially Asia due to the growth in the luxury goods market there; and improving e-commerce.
Recommendation 3: Make an improvement on their marketing strategy.

Recommendation 1: Decreasing production of some products on the existing line to have a limited

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