SWOT analysis

02

SWOT analysis

Strength

• Being a designer, I can save costs on designing my own books, covers, website design and so on.

• Under the advantages of the freedom of the publishing industry, my company can provide a variety of different type of books every year to meet the reader's reading needs.

• My illustrations and graphic designs are exceptional. I have already built my own style which is vivid and cartoon. That is easy to draw consumers' attention.

• The storyline is unique, and the concept of creativity is fully utilized. It is simple and educational. The market is hence well distinguished.

• The fascinating part of the story creates the lovely protagonist and interesting content. From the little story, children can learn and cultivate the imagination at the same time.

• Perfect after-sales service and perfect packaging.

Weakness

The bank gave us a limited loan as we are a small company.

There is no large-scale production group and limited advertising budget, and it is impossible to afford multiple media at the same time, which is difficult for consumers to know our information.

Also, the designer doesn’t have a high reputation, affecting consumers’ willingness to buy and future repurchase rates.

In order to pursue a high quality picture books, more advanced printing technology will be adopted. But it would increase the cost of our books.

Opportunity

Can be used as a textbook because it is concerned about some social issues.

“Long before they can read, children respond to images in an effort to place themselves and the others in their lives into the world around them,” according to Reading is Fundamental. This makes picture books critical for academic learning and mental development. If we are concentrating our efforts on spreading traditional culture and history or create picture books to teach children life lessons, it really helps children develop a sense of self.

Purchase approach of customers has increased as the development of modern technology, such as online shop and social media through Facebook and Instagram.

The Internet is the first place the majority of shoppers go to find information about products. According to a retailer study done by Forbes Insights and Synchrony Financial, 82% of customers conduct the majority of their research online.

Nowadays, people pay attention to the inspiration of young children before school, so it increases the demand from customers.

According to the Human Development Index, the score of Hong Kong is 0.917 in 2015 which means people think education is important. GDP also shows a high standard of living. Therefore, their purchasing power for such books will rise.

The rapid development of the design industry.

According to the report on "Creative Industries in Hong Kong" released by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in September 2012, Hong Kong is recognised as a regional design centre. Hong Kong designers have established a rich portfolio of excellent job references. Some 70% of Hong Kong design companies have exported their services. The creative industries are playing an increasingly significant role in Hong Kong economy.

Threat

Many competitors (such as Sun Ya Publications) in the market are not only strong in strength, but also mostly adopt low-price strategies to gain more sales. It is difficult to maintain consumer loyalty.

• With the rise of e-books, the competitiveness of paper-based picture books is reduced. “The tablet market has reached a mature stage as tablets and reading devices are increasingly affordable to the mass,” said Albert Hsu, a senior manager at Acer. keen competition in the existing market

Hong Kong is a small area and a large population. It is easy to accept foreign cultures, so its demand is relatively diversified. Most of the children's books on the market are still translated from foreign or imported works, including the US, Japan, Germany, France and Canada. Even children's books in China in recent years have been introduced to Hong Kong. Therefore, many children's picture book publishers have already to be an

international publishing model.

New book titles published in Hong Kong had dropped from an annual peak of 5,000 to 6,000 a decade ago to a range of 4,000 to 5,000 over the past two years, Commercial Press general manager Janice Yip Pui-chiu said.

Also, younger generations don't read as much.

The survey found that 32.4 percent of the respondents have not read a single book in the past year, while more than 60 percent of those under the age of 18 admit they do not have a habit of reading books, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reports.

This type of book is easy to be imitated

Competitor large companies

Sun Ya Publications

strength

Their products have a certain position in the market. Whether it is online or brick-and-mortar stores, its marketing methods are relatively strong. My company lacks overall mass marketing, so customers will not notice and purchase the books my company published. Sun Ya Publications is one of the oldest and largest-scale Chinese children's publishers in Hong Kong. It has published thousands of children's books, which covers different ages of readers. Its book also have won numerous awards and are classics in children’s books.

They also have a number of large sponsors sponsoring the publication, so they will also launch a variety of different types of books, and gain more resources then have a good reputation. But my company does not have much budget for promoting my product.

weakness

Some existing products on the market are too outdated. Children always want something fresh, new and different.

However, my design can bring out new styles and unique designs by following trendy. My company can able to foster the content of diverse book, and at the same time integrate new cultural knowledge to diversify the topic for publish a variety of creative books.

Competitor e-book

strength

It is convenient for children to read books. No need to hinder space. Easy to carry. Unlike paper books and materials, e-books only require one device to carry around with readers.

Having color screen and sound function is more attractive.

The touch screen can be easily used by children. Also, they can enlarge fonts when reading the eBook.

It can lower the cost of enjoying children’s favorite titles. With no shipping and handling costs, eBooks typically have prices that are 50-60% lower than their print counterparts.

weakness

• Looking at the screen for a long time is easy to hurt the eyes and feel tired. Parents may not support children to use e-book. Also, lower interaction as there is no face-to-face process for parents to communicate with their child.

• parents prefer to the tactile elements of books as they will think about the act of reading with their children that somehow the e-reader cannot yet replicate. It is that communal family activity that people often return to with printed books.

• Currently eBooks have an unreliable life span.

• Piracy. In the printed book world, people who want to "share" the book will photocopy it, and then send it to their friends.

• It is harder to read in sunlight. The glare of the sun makes a screen hard to read.

E-book will be a threat to the market of paper-based picture books. Therefore, we need to promote the expansion of picture books with the publishers, and further improve the products, so that the products are constantly updated and improved, and the competitive advantage of children's books can be improved.