GOPRO INC 2017: Failing With Initial Strategy or Just Poor Execution? An Illustrative Case Study with Analyses
Author(s)
Herbert Sherman , Abdul B. Rahman ,
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Abstract
This paper is an instructional secondary research case study of Go Pro Incorporated. It has been developed for a business policy/strategic management course as well as a course in entrepreneurship and/or technology management in order to illustrate how a student would conduct a strategic analysis of a firm. The case includes a discussion of the firm’s mission/vision, strategic approach to the market, industry and SWOT analyses, value chain analysis, financial analyses and recommendations. The case also includes brief explanations of the theories and techniques in question so that students can review content material they have covered in class. It is recommended that this case is employed toward the end of the semester so that students understand the tools and processes associated with implementing a firm’s strategic vision but before an assignment of a comprehensive case (secondary and/or primary) so that they have a model in which to base their analyses upon.
GoPro, Inc. was a pioneer in the action camera market. The company, GoPro Inc. was founded by Nick Woodman in 2003 and went public in December 2012 at $24 per share (https//gopro.com/about-us). The company developed action cameras that were easily mountable and wearable and enable users to capture image and videos of their personal events easily.
GoPro first moved into the market by creating distinct key features that differentiated their camera- and, i.e., action camera with mountable and wearables. However, with its innovative characteristics, GoPro not only differentiated their products but also targeted customers segments such as sports enthusiasts, bikers, adventurers, etc. GoPro excelled as a differentiator given its high brand equity and a strong reputation for its quality of the footage. Some competitors started to target the same segment with better quality products or with similar quality products at a lower price. The impact of this competition and loss of momentum was evident in the firm’s eroding financial performance. GoPro’s stock price on October 23, 2018, was $6.82 per share with a P/E ratio of -3.17 (https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/gpro).
The question students need to address is how GoPro can recover.Measures discussed include corrective strategies such as turnaround, retrenchment, diversification, conglomerate diversification, and liquidation. Instructors may want to delete the alternatives that are discussed so that their students can develop their own recommendations rather than agree or disagree with the recommendations of the authors.
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