A 27-foot-long bronze clown shoe is the only indication that there is something otherworldly within the concrete walls of the large, rather nondescript building. Located in Montreal, the building is home to what many feel is the most successful entertainment company in the worldCirque du Soleil. The companys massive headquarters houses practice rooms the size of airplane hangars where cast members work on their routines. More than 300 seamstresses, engineers, and makeup artists sew, design, and build custom materials for exotic shows with stage lives of 10 to 12 years. In fact, the production staff often invents materials, such as the special waterproof makeup required for the production of O, a show performed mostly in a 1.5 million-gallon pool of water that was also specially designed and engineered by Cirque employees. Another key in-house resource is Cirques team of 32 talent scouts and casting staff that recruits and cultivates performers from all over the world. The department maintains a database of 20,000 names, any of whom could be called at any time to join the members of Cirques cast, who number 2,700 and speak 27 languages. Shows with exotic names like Mystre, La Nouba, O, Dralion, Varekai, and Zumanity communicate through style and tone that they are intended to do more than just amuse. Cirque designs productions with distinct personalities that are meant to evoke awe, wonder, inspiration, and reflection. As one cast member put it, The goal of a Cirque performer is not just to perform a quadruple somersault, but to treat it as some manifestation of a spiritual, inner life. Like in dance, the goal is . . . to have a language, a conversation, with the audience. Audiences have responded. Even with ticket prices that start at $45 and can run as high as $360, the company sells about 97 percent of all its seats at every show. For Cirque, that translates to about $500,000 a week in sales and yearly profits of $100 million on gross revenues of $500 million. Incredibly, every one of the 15 shows that Cirque has produced over its 20-year history has returned a profit. In contrast, 90 percent of the high-budget Broadway shows that strive to reach the same target market fail to break even. Cirques statistics, however, are eye-popping. Mystre, which opened at the Treasure Island hotel and casino in Las Vegas in 1993 and still runs today, cost $45 million to produce and has returned over $430 million; O, which opened at the Bellagio hotel and casino in 1998, cost $92 million to produce and has already returned over $480 million. Though the company splits about half of its profits with its hotel and casino partners, those same partners sometimes absorb up to 75 percent of Cirques production costs. At the helm of this incredible business machine is the dynamic duo of Franco Dragone and Daniel Lamarre. Dragone, a Belgian, is the creative force behind most of the companys nine current productions, and Lamarre, a former television executive, presides over show and new venture development. Together, they have transformed a one-tour, one-residence circus company into an entertainment powerhouse with five simultaneous world tours; four permanent facilities in Las VegasTreasure Island, the Bellagio, New YorkNew York, and the MGM Grandall of which are part of the Mirage family of casinos; another permanent theater at Disney World; and a series of shows on the cable television channel Bravo that has already won an Emmy. Lamarre claims that his business is successful because he and his staff let the creative people run it. He guides the company with an invisible hand, making sure that business policies do not interfere with the creative process; it is Dragone and his team of creative and production personnel, not a predetermined budget, that defines the content, style, and material requirements for each project. Because of their sound planning, Cirque du Soleil can claim that it is one of the worlds elite businesses, as well as one of the worlds elite entertainment companies.

Answer the following questions with the imformation provided

Based on what you have read in the case, outline a rudimentary SWOT analysis for Cirque du Soleil. Make sure Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats are discussed.

List and describe three keys to Cirque du Soleils competitive advantage.