There are a lot of things I learned in class that helped me see why even an “iconic” store such as Stollerys may close down after 114 years.
This article from the Globe and Mail points out a few issues in Stollerys that led to its closing down. The issues are as follows: inability to compete with up and coming stores such as Holt Renfew & Co., inconsistencies, and failure to catch up with the changes of the times.
In class 7 we learned about the business model canvas and strategy. Although Stollerys could have taken advantage of their loyal customers, their brand name, and their iconic image, Stollerys still fell to newer competitors because they failed to find their “sustainable competitive advantage.” Although Stollerys knew its place within Porter’s Generic Strategy (focus strategy, differentiation), it failed to to change up its strategy as competitors came along. As in, it did just enough to “stay in the game, but not beat it.” I also think that its failure to start up an online component to the store (the store was open for 114 years, but an online store was set up just last year) was another huge undermining factor.
There are a lot of other companies I see doing the same thing as Stollerys- feeling too safe in its current position to change up their strategies.