A product extension for a public company - 6 parts of paper and 2-3 page for each

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 1

Signature Assignment- Opportunities: S’well Water Bottles

Devin Hall, Kresimir Pavic

Isabel Treidl

Management Information Systems

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 2

Product Introduction

S’well water bottles are reusable, stainless steel, and known for insulating cold and hot

temperatures for over 24 hours. However, the true competitive advantage that gives them their

competitive edge is their design. S’well water bottles offer hundreds of designs that are clean,

trend-driven, and customizable. This allows the customer to choose from designs that fit their

taste and encourage multiple sales for having different designs for different moods and styles.

Looking at “The Discipline of Innovation” by Peter F Drucker, the most relevant source of

innovation when referring to S’well would be industry and market changes. There are a variety

of industry trends that lead to S’well being a popular water bottle choice for customers. The first

trend is sustainability in consumer products. In the water bottle industry, shifts are being made

toward reusable bottles to halt an individual’s use of plastic bottles. Some Environmental

Advantages of reusable bottles include: the protection of animals and their habitats, the reduction

and elimination of chemicals, they are still recyclable, and they lower the amount of waste in a

landfill! According to a study conducted at Penn State, American citizens spend upwards of

$11.8 billion on plastic water bottles. The second is wellness/shifting to a healthy lifestyle.

Athletic activities require water for proper hydration along with the extensive health benefits of

drinking water as opposed to other beverages. Lastly, the desire for personalization is another

market shift that is causing businesses to alter their products. Products are made to speak to the

customer and feel as if they would have chosen that product over an unlimited expanse of

options; in the case of S’well, this is evident in their extensive design assortment. Epsilon

research states that 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer

personalized experiences.

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 3

Product Extension

When thinking of a product extension, the goal was to create a product that complements the

innovative strengths of S’well that give them their place in the market. The product extension

should, in turn, be used at the same time a customer would use their water bottle. With this said,

the product extension that seems perfect for S’well would produce backpacks that have matching

designs as their water bottle counterparts. Backpacks also promote fitness since they are often

needed for athletic or wellness-oriented activities such as hiking, yoga, and sports. Anyone

participating in any of these activities should have a water bottle nearby and a backpack would

allow for more mobility since they would not have to carry their S’well in their hands. The

matching designs encourage the purchase of both products to personalize their products and

show off the customer’s customized style preferences. According to an article by the Association

of Psychological Science, S’well backpacks could be used as a “Reminder Through

Association”. Scientists Todd Rogers and Katherine L. Milkman state “This approach involves

associating intentions (e.g., drinking water from your customized S’well water bottle) with

distinctive cues that will capture attention when you have opportunities to act on those intentions

(e.g., a matching backpack, which is sitting near your desk).

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 4

Customer Strategy

When segmenting which customers are the best fit for a backpack product extension for S’well,

the first thought was deciding who would use a S’well and backpack together. The main

customers include fitness enthusiasts, sustainable product users, students, already established and

loyal S’well customers, those who travel frequently, and markets who are seduced by design.

Regardless of the ideal customer, the value of backpacks to a business is undeniable. By 2023,

the backpack market is estimated to be worth $22.48 billion which is a 30.7% increase in five

years (O’Connell 9 August, 2019) which indicates steady, yet heavy growth. The cause of this is

reported to be the change in consumer lifestyles that adapt habits that a backpack complements.

To further establish that entering the backpack market as a newcomer is valuable, the history of

startup backpack businesses encourages a diverse selection. Companies such as: Herschel Supply

Co, Superdry, and Fjallraven which only came to prominence in the late 2010s display consumer

interest for new backpacks compared to the typical Jansport bag. Beryl Solomon, CEO of State

Bags, addressed the new backpack environment by saying: the new dominance “isn’t scary or

intimidating,” says Beryl Solomon, CEO of State Bags, a Manhattan-based backpack brand

launched in 2013. “It means people are ready for something new. People enjoy the sense of

discovery. They want to know the new cool player in town,” (Roberts, ​Yahoo Finance). ​This

knowledge is then compared to who is most likely to purchase a S’well water bottle.

Although there are no customer insights from legitimate sources of the brand specifically,

looking at the values and brand image of S’well makes it clear for whom these products are for.

This is indicative of their social media, website design, and already released product line

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extensions. On their website, the current promotional banner states, “Crushing on

Customization” which proves the target market of design-based customers. Their line extension,

“Sip by S’well” is a more playful and child-focused assortment of bottles with designs. Featuring

Disney Frozen 2, superhero, unicorn, truck, and other images that are popular for younger

markets, this validates that students are a recognizable market for S’well. On the homepage,

there are additional banners that say “Less is More” and their mission of displacing 100 plastic

bottles by 2020 which solidifies sustainable customers are highly targeted. While not the most

concrete reason, the National Geographic line, and tropically-designed bottles imply that S’well

customers value different cultures which are a factor in determining that travelers would shop the

brand. There are also bottles that feature prints of sports-related iconography like soccer balls,

footballs, and basketballs that show S’well customers consider fitness important. Another

consideration is that a S’well backpack is the best fit for women customers. Women have shown

an increase in the value of backpacks with women’s handbag sales dropping around 5% annually

while backpacks are seeing a growth of around 6% (Vogel, ​Boardsport Source) ​which directly

shows a shift in bag preference.​ ​This alongside the founder being a woman, designs being

traditionally being more feminine, and the models posted on the Instagram account for S’well are

almost entirely women, the correspondence they have to female customers is clear. Below is a

customer map of the most potent and obvious customers for the new product extension. This

considers what S’well has shown is important to their brand, markets that would use both a water

bottle and backpack together, and how they would perceive a new backpack on the market.

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 6

Questions

1. Do all bottles receive a matching backpack at launch? If not, what decides which bottles

receive a matching backpack?

a. These questions determine the inventory strategy of the launch. Having matching

bottles for all is safer in resonating with customers, but could lead to a stock issue

if customer behavior skews for one style over another. The second question

determines which styles are deemed most qualified. Reasonable choices include:

If their counterpart is a bestseller, if the design translates well to a backpack, or if

the backpack inclusion will change sales of a particular model.

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 7

2. If this product is such a great and reasonable extension, why haven’t competitors

solidified their place in the backpack market?

a. Backpacks are not a mainstay within the water bottle industry. More outdoorsy

brands like Camelbak have hydration-dedicated backpacks, but not design-based.

This goes over whether S’well is qualified to consider themselves the best brand

to release backpacks.

3. Will S’well now be considered a water bottle company or become more ambiguous with

their product specialization?

a. With product extensions, the brand image may differ as time goes on. For

example, Amazon was originally a bookseller only but product extensions have

blurred what they specialize in. S’well will need to consider how close to their

roots they want to stay.

4. Is the connection between water bottles and backpacks strong enough to drive mass

demand?

a. Although it has been established that there is a market for backpacks and the

usage is complementary to water bottles, whether this is compelling enough for

customers to alter their buying habits is unknown.

5. Will there be a bundle deal for a similar-style backpack and water bottle combination?

What about their additional food line?

a. Bundles are common for similar products, especially for ones with the same or

similar designs. This often is a better value for the customer financially since the

cost is lower than purchasing each individually. S’well needs to determine if the

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 8

discount is an affordable loss in sales. They also have food containers of

particular styles that can be included but would raise the price of the bundle

altogether.

6. Will new release bottles come out with backpacks at the same time? Should there be a

delay in the rollout to test the success of the bottle design before the additional

investment of releasing a backpack?

a. Every couple of weeks, new S’well designs are released. S’well needs to figure

out if going forward if their backpack counterparts should be released at the same

time. This may reduce the attention of the water bottles, but encourage the

likelihood of a customer buying both together. However, the design might not be

the best choice for a backpack, so a delay could be provided for objective

information as to whether the particular style drives the demand for an add-on.

7. Are these backpacks competing with water bottle companies or backpack companies?

Should this extension be targeted toward water bottle customers or backpack customers

primarily? Ex. Hydroflask, Camelbak, Yeti or Jansport, Herschel, Fjallraven.

a. Although the customers listed in the mind map are the most ideal customers who

are naturally going to be classified as a target audience, whether the backpacks

should compete in the backpack or water bottle industry is unknown. This leads to

asking if the connection to the water bottles is strong enough for backpack

customers to want to purchase a S’well bag and if the features are competitive

enough. This also leads to if the backpacks inclusion will make water bottle

customers more likely to shop S’well.

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 9

8. What will the inventory ratio be for water bottles and backpacks? Is S’well to assume that

every customer will want a backpack with their bottle purchase? Is the backpack just an

add-on? Or will S’well backpacks bring in more traffic than they outweigh the current

bottle traffic?

a. This may be four questions, but they all lead to one another. When regarding the

inventory there are three possible outcomes: the demands for a backpack and

water bottle are equal, the demand for a backpack is higher, or the demand for a

water bottle is higher. S’well must adjust their stock of the two to fit this.

Scenario one results in equal stock, scenario two results in higher backpack stock,

scenario three results in higher water bottle stock.

9. What will S‘wells next step be in case the backpack launch does not go as planned? What

will they do with the overload of inventory?

a. Businesses tend to plan for a successful launch, but don’t create a back-up plan in

case the launch doesn’t meet expectations. Coming from a water-bottle based

brand, Swell will need to figure out ways to get rid of/sell their inventory

overload.

10. With products such as the CamelBak Hydrobak, will S’well have the necessary

competitive advantage to push this launch to success?

a. Many festival-goers and athletes make use of Camelbak’s backpacks, a bag that

incorporates a water sac with a straw made for easy use and carry. When S’well

releases their new backpacks, there will need to be a proven competitive

advantage.

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11. If customers find that the design and backpack don’t meet their expectations, will S’well

offer refunds or credit towards another product?

a. This question is extremely important, there are different policies for different

products. For example, S’well Water bottles can be reused if they are unused and

in pristine condition. S’well will need to offer a return policy that makes it

convenient for the customer, as well as, protect the company from damaged

products.

12. For the younger child market, those that are interested in the Frozen-themed bottles, will

S’well offer smaller sized backpacks? Those that can be used at school bags for young

students.

a. Parents are typically buying their young children ​Frozen II-themed​ S’well bottles

and food containers. S’well needs to take into consideration the size of their

backpacks, especially when creating product combinations. Many young students

enjoy colorful, bright, and themed backpacks, meaning S’well would need to find

a way to hit that market.

13. How often can customers see backpacks being restocked, will it be as often as S’well

Water Bottle restock?

a. It is important that S’well perfects their Supply Chain when launching new

products that will fill a product line-up, they need to incorporate different

information systems to make restocking and delivery processes easier.

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 11

Finding Information

1. Do all bottles receive a matching backpack at launch? If not, what decides which bottles

receive a matching backpack?

a. While the decision is up to S’well, sales data from their information systems

should defend their choice. If their counterpart is a bestseller is a key indicator,

this can be easily recognized by the number of water bottles of a particular style.

While sales data is not public, which bottles are considered bestsellers are listed

on the website. There are currently 20 bottle styles listed as bestsellers with three

being printed and one being a solid color. If the design translates well to a

backpack requires communication with the manufacturer in which S’well

develops bottles. This could be determined by production time, production costs,

and which prototypes are viewed as appealing in the eyes of S’well and S’well

customers (This can be tried by test groups and merchandising experts). If the

backpack inclusion will change sales of a particular model requires a more

criteria-based strategy. S’well may have a bottle that is underperforming, new,

limited edition, a potential classic, or other reasons as to why S’well would want a

certain style pushed. This would also require sales data to see how current styles

are performing. Also seeing which bottles see the most engagement on social

media is also a factor.

2. If this product is such a great and reasonable extension, why haven’t competitors

solidified their place in the backpack market?

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a. This information would be difficult to obtain legally as the most valuable sources

would be internal with the competitors. However, a skilled researcher with critical

thinking skills can identify each major competitor and put themselves in the shoes

of each company and identify their gap with their products and a matching

backpack line. This is easier to identify with publicly traded competitors like

Vista Outdoor (Camelbak) since their financial state is much more transparent.

The financial statement of their Q3 shows that the company performed poorly

with a 9% decrease in sales and most likely would not put their marketing and

investment efforts into their backpacks.

3. Will S’well now be considered a water bottle company or become more ambiguous with

their product specialization?

a. This is a more post-release question as it is dependent on the success of the

backpacks. However, if this question must be answered prior then it would be

dependent on the amount invested into the backpacks. If S’well is committing a

hefty budget that is close in proportion or higher with their water bottles, then this

would be a more reasonable shift in product specialization. If the budget is

smaller, then S’well would be a better fit as a water bottle company that also sells

backpacks. The first investment for S’well was $30,000 for the water bottles

which shows a realistic launch budget for the company. This can be factored in

with the launch of their other extensions and scale how close the weight in the

backpacks is compared to how much they spent on other products at first.

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4. Is the connection between water bottles and backpacks strong enough to drive mass

demand?

a. This question is easily answered as a “yes” since both industries are experiencing

growth in sales and complement each other nicely. Looking at hydration packs, a

2-1 backpack and water bottle which would be phenomenal for S’well if the

hiking-based image did not conflict with the more sophisticated brand image

going for them, the expected growth is tremendous. This growth is a direct

measurement as to how well the two go together without conducting an individual

study on the topic. The global hydration backpack market is poised to grow by

USD 55.37 million during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of over 6% during

the forecast period (​Business Wire ​1/07/2020) which will additionally raise the

sales in backpacks and water bottles.

5. Will there be a bundle deal for a similar-style backpack and water bottle combination?

What about their additional food line?

a. This question can be driven in motivation through the current sets of products that

already match with one another. This can be measured by if their sales

performance is healthier than their individual counterparts. If not, this shows that

the products would be a better choice sold individually. S’well currently has

bundles of certain styles with complementary products (Bottle, traveler, and

tumbler) for a lower price than purchasing them individually so it seems like sales

data indicates that this would be a reasonable and comfortable decision for S’well.

The consideration as to whether they are comfortable discounting the backpacks

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depends on what they retail for in relation to cost to see if their profit margin is

wide enough to see a decrease.

6. Will new release bottles come out with backpacks at the same time? Should there be a

delay in the rollout to test the success of the bottle design before the additional

investment of releasing a backpack?

a. The best historical evidence for whether this is a good decision or not is found in

their previous extensions and how smoothly those rolled out. If S’well released

their food containers at the same time as their matching water bottle, this would

provide direct historical evidence as to whether it was a comfortable launch for

the company. This is also determined by their confidence in the success in the

backpacks. If the pre-KPIs indicate that a certain style will be a large success,

then the brave action of releasing the backpack at the same time would only take

further advantage of this. However, if S’well wants to test the waters as to

whether new arrivals will be strong enough to release a corresponding backpack,

then it should not be released at the same time until more data is released that

determines whether they are a success. After a style reaches a certain level of

success (All dependent on the standard water bottle sales and what is expected of

a single style), then it would be a better fit to receive a backpack. In late 2019,

S’well reported it has sold over 20 million bottles (Clifford 2019). If there are no

major outliers skewing the average as to which style is the most popular (It is a

broad assumption, but with no IS this is a necessary assumption. S’well knows

whether this is correct, but this is a look without data), the average amount of a

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single style is 130,718 units sold. A style would have to be higher than this

standard to be the best candidate for a matching backpack.

7. Are these backpacks competing with water bottle companies or backpack companies?

Should this extension be targeted toward water bottle customers or backpack customers

primarily? Ex. Hydroflask, Camelbak, Yeti or Jansport, Herschel, Fjallraven.

a. Although this customer most likely has an answer of “both” since it purposely

mixes both markets together which already crossover with one another, one

market is a better fit and has a higher ceiling of potential and profit. The backpack

industry is currently worth $19.14 billion annually (Statista 2020) while the water

bottle industry is currently worth around $9 billion (Statista 2020). Although this

shows that switching to the backpack industry has a higher ceiling, S’well has a

much larger share of the water bottle industry. Therefore, marketing the backpack

toward backpack customers is a more long-term strategy while marketing toward

water bottle users is more likely to be an instant success. Studies should be

conducted toward both backpack and water bottle users to determine how

recognized and admired S’well is for both groups. The data shown will indicate if

switching market segments toward the higher ceiling would be smooth enough to

warrant a change in customer type. If backpack customers are aware of and have

positive toward S’well, then this transition should be made.

8. What will the inventory ratio be for water bottles and backpacks? Is S’well to assume that

every customer will want a backpack with their bottle purchase? Is the backpack just an

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add-on? Or will S’well backpacks bring in more traffic than they outweigh the current

bottle traffic?

a. All of the latter questions are surrounding the possible outcomes of the prior. This

question essentially serves as the merchandising strategy for the backpacks

altogether. To determine which outcome is the best fit will be indicated by

pre-release customer tests that weigh out how well the backpack is expected to be

received. These tests should be conducted toward whichever group from question

7 is deemed superior (This provides insight as to what their habits will lean

toward) primarily alongside subjects who have not purchased any S’well products

for a neutral ground. Then based on this information, it should translate to the

backpack/water bottle ratio. If water bottles are still the most desired product and

backpacks are considered an add-on, the ratio of inventory should be heavier

toward water bottles and vice versa. Post-launch, customer behavior will unfold

and shape which actions need to be done in regards to how much of each product

should be manufactured. This provides additional KPIs like customer satisfaction,

social media engagement, and more tangible behavior which all factor into the

ratio. Ultimately, expected sales performance is the main driver but these should

be accounted for through IS.

9. What will S‘wells next step be in case the backpack launch does not go as planned? What

will they do with the overload of inventory?

a. Business typically spends a majority of their time around building a strategy, in

order to be certain a product launch will be successful. S’well is diving into a

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$19.14 billion industry (Statista 2020) and is working to compete against some of

the most well-known backpack brands including, Jansport, North Face,

Fjallraven, etc. As previously stated, S’well, on average, sells 130,718 units per

one design. Using that information, as well as implementing a BIS could be the

perfect way to procure information that could potentially hypothesize the success

or lack thereof the launch. In any case, there should be a back-up plan and with

information previously acquired, S’well could discount the backpacks, bundle

them with other items, or offer them as freebies/incentives to liquidate their

excess/surplus inventory.

10. With products such as the CamelBak Hydrobak, will S’well have the necessary

competitive advantage to push this launch to success?

a. There is a lot of time, money, and research that goes into the discovery of

competitive advantages and disadvantages. In order to find that competitive

advantage, S’well needs to test the product in specific markets as well as hold

focus groups, with a range of individuals who have different needs. In 2017, $2.2

billion worldwide was spent on conducting focus groups, according to the trade

group ESOMAR, with $809 million of that coming in the US (Stromberg, 2019).

Going into the backpack industry, S’well needs to find a way to make their

backpacks different from everyone else’s. Is there a special feature? A new type

of convenience? These are questions that S’well needs to ask. With customer

history and loyalty, it is clear that S’well customers will be interested in the

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product, which will give S’well the time to perfect product design and tweak any

characteristics necessary.

11. If customers find that the design and backpack don’t meet their expectations, will S’well

offer refunds or credit towards another product?

a. Although we can stand sure that the designs will be successful, due to the history

of S’well water bottle designs, it is a question that needs to be brought up. Due to

being small, S’well Water Bottles and their bright designs aren’t an annoyance to

individuals, typically because they are overlooked. Backpacks, on the other hand,

are larger pieces and using them could result in individuals being exposed to

attention, which could be a good or bad thing. If a customer feels that the design

is too “loud” or doesn’t fit their specific needs, S’well needs a convenient way to

allow customers to return the product. ​According to Invesp infographic, on online

return rates statistics, at least 30% of all products ordered online. (Rudolph, 2016)

12. For the younger child market, those that are interested in the Frozen-themed bottles, will

S’well offer smaller sized backpacks? Those that can be used as school bags for young

students.

a. The simple answer to this question is yes. Rising preference for family leisure

trips and educational tours is driving the global market.​ ​Rising preference for

family leisure trips and educational tours is driving the global market​. ​Backpacks

among kids are expected to expand at a fast rate of 15.9% from 2019 to 2025.

(Grand View Research, 2019) Backpacks among children are a way for them to

express themselves, before learning any other way too. Addressing S’wells,

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Frozen II-themed bottles, many children both girl and boy is interested in the

films which you can see as Frozen 2, the sequel to Frozen, grossed $1.325 billion

at the box office (Rubin, 2020). It is clear that the child segment of the backpack

industry isn’t slowing down, so S’well should definitely incorporate smaller

backpacks for their younger consumer.

13. How often can customers see backpacks being restocked, will it be as often as S’well

Water Bottle restock?

a. Backpacks are typically the most popular in the “Back to School” months,

meaning August to September. Of course, customers can buy backpacks at any

given time, but the largest restock is during those months. S’well Water Bottles

are more of a necessity throughout the year, as it is always important to stay

hydrated and customers are always looking for a way to do so. In order to find the

best time, S’well should conduct market research strictly towards how frequently

their competitors restock and use that information along with information from

their own customers to make the decision as to when to restock, whether that is

once a month, once bi-monthly, etc.

Systems

1. Spark Shipping

a. S’well is primarily an e-commerce business with a couple of wholesale product

placements, so all usage of information and data systems must be sensitive and

form-fitting toward these practices. Spark Shipping is an order-management

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system or OMS, that keeps inventory updated and in sync with all sellers in the

supply chain system (SmartOSC). They are one of the most established OMS in

the market and works with many prominent e-commerce retailers and platforms

such as: Shopify, eBay, and Amazon. This allows for directly transparent stock

which can be used for data and serve as an information system with the

knowledge of current statuses with vendors. With Spark Shipping, S’well would

be able to maintain extensive product details from suppliers. If a product is

available with multiple suppliers, Spark Shipping uses AI to route orders

accordingly as well. Inventory is automatically updated through the feeds of

suppliers to have direct data of stock levels along with updates to provide outside

data that is not in the system as inventory yet.

2. Brightpearl

a. Brightpearl is consistently one of the most renowned and admired information

systems for retailers on e-commerce platforms since it is commonly used by

major companies such as: Walmart, Shopify, eBay, and Amazon. It’s a

multichannel system that is a great foundation for IS across all areas of a business.

Sales order management, inventory management, CRM, accounting, POS data,

and more are recorded and reported by Brightpearl for a streamlined and

cross-functional system. Since Brightpearl covers the fundamentals of retail data

in every area, data is easier to translate into knowledge since reports align with

one another. Brightpearl is also compatible with Spark Shipping, so the two

systems would fuse into cohesive management. The system has high levels of

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reported success with an average growth of revenue increase by 60%, boost the

volume of orders by 68%, and shrink the length of shipment times by 13%

(SmartOSC). The system is also compatible with Microsoft which is the dominant

tech company for businesses that may not be useful to S’well if their internal team

works on Mac, but it’s a reasonable connection. Trading and cost data is instantly

available to provide insights for informed decisions that are relevant to expenses.

Flaws or liabilities in order fulfillment and inventory are identified to cut the fat

of what is unsuccessful in the ease of the supply chain.

3. SalesForce

a. Salesforce is an information system used in CRM marketing and management that

helps automate some sales and Salesforce management functions. They are often

combined with a marketing information system, in which case they are often

called CRM systems. Businesses that use SalesForce include: Toyota, T-Mobile,

American Express and Amazon. According to TrifinLabs.com, Salesforce

commands about 20% of the CRM market share. The system is compatible with

macOS, Microsoft, and Outlook and using it could be extremely useful for S’well.

With the use of Salesforce, S’well would be able to track all stages of the sales

process to make it an easier experience.

4. Ramco

a. Due to being a mainly based e-commerce business, S’well spends most of its time

tracking orders through worldwide couriers and with the use of Ramco, the

process can be made easier. Ramco is a cloud-based software. It helps businesses

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manage all end-to-end operations, especially the transportation of goods and

services like courier services. Some features included in the Ramco software are

Communication and networking where they can easily communicate with their

field staff members and clients using Ramco network services. This helps

businesses know what clients want and what the field team has delivered so far.

Freight forwarding allows managers to view all end to end operations. It helps in

optimizing revenues and business incomes. When using couriers from around the

world, data could get mixed up and can often turn into much bigger problems.

S’well could ultimately prevent this with the use of Ramco.

Conclusions

S’well is overall a great candidate for product extensions with a competitive niche of

being design-oriented in the competitive and expanding world of reusable water bottles.

Regardless of sustainability which is the clearest driving force, water bottle brands have become

synonymous with social classes. However, it is not an industry that has peaked in fruition with

what makes a reusable water bottle brand successful, so IS of internal operations is absolutely the

most useful tool when considering product extensions. The line chosen, matching backpacks is

not currently on the market for any other water bottle brand so everything conducted for research

has to be done by S’well themselves. Through data conducted from direct and internal sources,

they have the necessary information as to whether or not this would be profitable and

door-opening for future line extensions.

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S’well needs to keep in mind that this is a completely new market they are trying to

penetrate in a saturated environment with much more intense competitors that make more

revenue than the water bottle industry. This extension serves as a horizontal extension since the

pricing and branding are all in the same vein. This, in turn, means that the IS of both the water

bottles and backpacks should be used to complement one another to provide thorough data such

as sales, customer behavior, customer preference, and reception to innovative features and

promotions. The goal of the backpack launch is summed up perfectly by Dave McIndoe because

the main selling points of S’well are not being altered but, “nudging your brand forward with a

specific goal in mind and building on the brand equity you already have” (McIndoe ​Forbes

2019). IS serves as the messenger who nudges the backpacks in the right direction in the eyes of

customers for what works or what doesn’t. Since all S’well direct distribution is E-commerce, all

IS software should be geared specifically toward that and measure KPIs that correlate with

tendencies of online retail sites. With hyper-competition from Hydroflask, Camelbak, and Yeti

for water bottles and Herschel, Jansport, and Fjallraven for backpacks, S’well needs to have

objective evidence that is specific and directly defines their current status for benchmarking. As

Tom Davenport said: “​It’s difficult to think of any area of human endeavor that doesn’t already

depend on information technology in some fashion—sports, the arts, politics, and certainly

business and science. This dependence is only going to become stronger,” (Davenport ​Forbes

2020). This isn’t exact since IS should not be a dependency, but the data for humans to realize

the extent and clarification of business issues and opportunities. However, it communicates how

tech analytics are necessary to maintain a tight, specific, and articulate strategy regarding all

business decisions since there is data to be measured for every area in the company.

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 24

Works Cited

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Chappell, Carmin. “How S'well Turned Water Bottles into a Fashion Accessory and Built

an Empire.” ​CNBC,​ CNBC, 1 Oct. 2019.

Clifford, Stephanie. “The Cutthroat Battle Between S'well and Its Bougie Water Bottle

Copycats.” ​Medium​, Marker, 7 Dec. 2019

Conway, Jan. “Reusable Water Bottle Market Value Worldwide 2018-2025.” ​Statista​, 24

Jan. 2020.

Davenport, Tom. “Information Technology Powers (Almost) All Innovation.” ​Forbes​,

Forbes Magazine, 24 Sept. 2019,

Drucker, Peter F. “The Discipline of Innovation.” ​Harvard Business Review​, 16 July 2015,

“Inside the Red-Hot Market for Adult Backpacks.” ​Yahoo! Finance​, Yahoo!, 8 July 2016,

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 25

“Global Hydration Backpack Market 2019-2023: Evolving Opportunities with Cascade

Designs, Inc. and Columbia Sportswear Company: Technavio.” Business Wire, 7 Jan.

2020.

O'Connell, Liam. “Backpack Market Value Forecast Worldwide 2018-2023.” ​Statista​, 9

Aug. 2019

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Market Size, Share | Global Industry Report, 2025​, 2019

McIndoe, Dave. “Council Post: Do You Need A Rebrand Or A Brand Extension?” ​Forbes​,

Forbes Magazine, 20 Oct. 2017,

“Press Release.” ​Vista Outdoor​, 6 Feb. 2020,

“Reusable Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottles.” ​S'well® Official

Rodgers, Todd, and Katherine L Milkman. “Reminders Through Association.” ​Reminders

Through Association​, Association for Psychological Science, 2016,

Rubin, Rebecca. “'Frozen 2' Is Now the Highest-Grossing Animated Movie Ever.” ​Variety​,

5 Jan. 2020

Rudolph, Stacey. “E-Commerce Product Return Statistics and Trends [Infographic].”

Business 2 Community​, 2016,

Signature Assignment- Opportunities 26

SmartOSC. “How to Choose the Best Ecommerce Order Management System.” ​The

BigCommerce Blog​, 19 Oct. 2019.

“Spark Shipping.” ​Dropship Automation Software - Automate Inventory, Orders &

Tracking​, 2020.

“S'well (@Swellbottle) • Instagram Photos and Videos.” ​Instagram

Stromberg, Joseph. “The Focus Group Will Never Die.” Vox, Vox, 22 Jan. 2019,

Zwilling, Martin. “10 Metrics Every Growing Business Must Keep An Eye On.” ​Forbes​,

Forbes Magazine, 31 July 2013.