King Tide Gear, the Canadian athletic clothing retailer has a lot to be proud of. What started

off as a humble Tofino, British Columbia company in 2008 that produced tough and durable yoga wear for its sandy beaches, King Tide Gear has risen to become a multinational business with over 20 stores across North America and Europe. Other retailers have tried to tap into the yoga market. Under Armour, Nike, Adidas, and American Eagle are a few companies that have sold yoga wear. But so far, they haven't captured King Tide Gear's market share.

In a competitive sports retail market, how did this small yoga company rise to such

greatness? Marketing experts agree that King Tide Gear (KTG) offers something unique: a

high-quality product for yoga enthusiasts. King Tide's product is known for its

superior design and high quality. The company, whose sales staff are referred to as

"Educators," have a clear focus on the customer. Its customer service is superior and it

appeals to the target market. King Tide may be big, but it is not selling an undifferentiated product to the mass market.

Beyond a quality product, interest in the company has grown using social media. KTG is well entrenched in the yoga community. Clearly, strong community ties have

resulted in less advertising costs. The company never had to do any commercial

advertising. All the marketing is done "word-of-mouth". The only place you'll see ads

is in Yoga publications and yoga websites.

King Tide Gear, of course, is not just selling yoga clothes, it's also selling a lifestyle. You

can see it in its stores and its slogans. On a typical day, its employees are busy helping

customers and developing a unique shopping experience. Customers, mostly women, are

called "guests," ranging in age from young teenagers to senior citizens. Beyond the yoga

pants, there is a growing range of fashionable athletic clothes.

King Tide Gear has become part of a health trend that affects consumers from their early

teens to their 70s. The company communicates the idea that investing in your health is

important. Part of this lifestyle is also seen in its slogans such as "Invest in your friends,

not in the stock market" and "Move, Be active and Have fun".

Strategically, the company has also done something else differently. The company uses a

"scarcity model," keeping inventory supplies low. This creates the "fanatical shoppers"

who return often to the store. The company does not offer many sales. The products and

image are premium quality compared to the relatively lower end comparable athletic

clothes available at such retail chains as Old Navy or the Gap. The company's reputation

for quality and authenticity is one of the reasons customers are very loyal to KTG.

In many ways, the company's approach is similar to that of Apple. It keeps improving its

clothing features and fabrics, and customers show their appreciation through their ongoing

loyalty. Clearly, King Tide Gear is focused on its customers and their love of yoga and a healthy, active lifestyle. The number of people that engage in some form of yoga has risen rapidly in North America. It is evident that KTG has been able to appeal to this growing market. Certainly,

the value and popularity of the brand is growing.

What's next for King Tide Gear? The company has started to expand into traditional

apparel as well as swim and surf clothes to appeal to a larger customer base. In 2013,

KTG decided to develop a men's clothing line to appeal to runners. The greater

challenge is keeping the company's image of "specialness" while appealing to the mass

population. The specialness of any brand is hard to maintain when it becomes mass-

marketed and more readily available across the market. That sense of being part of a niche

community starts to erode when the group has grown so big that it includes the broader

consumer market- which is what happened to the Gap (in the mid-90s), and to Starbucks

(in the mid-2000s).

1. Analyze the yoga clothing industry as described in the case above using Michael Porter's five-forces model. You may make/add reasonable assumptions as you deem necessary but please identify your assumptions (note: too many assumptions = poor analysis; you're essentially rewriting the facts).

2. Conduct a VRIO analysis of King Tide Gear.

3. Synthesize 1 & 2 analysis into a SWOT format.

4. Discuss which of the three kinds of generic business-level strategies you think King Tide Gear is employing or should employ.

So, the question is, can King Tide Gear now expand beyond yoga wear and be successful

with aiming its products at the mass market.