Would you rate Casper's competitive strategy as pursuing differentiation, cost leadership, focus, or a combination of these? Explain. Do you think Casper will grow successfully and turn a profit? Why?

Casper: Big Dreams\" Casper is a directtoconsumer mattress startup founded in 2014. The founders have been quietly acknowledging that selling foam slabs online may not be enough to build a protable business. The startup squeezed compressed mattresses into cardboard boxes that were sent straight to the buyer's home for less money than mattress stores charged for their wares. Casper's niche was an alternative to cluttered mattress store chains that mystified customers with verbiage, and the 100night trial period was reassuring. Casper's strategic value proposition was that going to a mattress store is not fun and no one should have to do it. Simply order a reliable mattress online. and Casper would disrupt the established mattress industry. This proposition made sense for some other retail startrups such as VVarby Parker, which cut out the intermediary stores by selling eyeglass frames online. In the years since Caspers founding. lots of mattress inabox imitators have entered the market. including Tuft 8d Needle. Saatva. Leesa. Purple. and Avocado. Additional competition came from the wellness industry. with companies attaching mattresses to a sense of healthful purpose. Without stores. Casper's product line was limited. Therefore. Casper opened storefronts to sell complementary products like pillows and sheets. Casper said its online sales grew faster in cities with retail stores. Yet no company has established itself as the dominant market leader in the sleep space. Buying a mattress is usually an infrequent purchase. so finding opportunities to bring the customer back into the Casper ecosystem might be a key to growth. Casper decided to recast itself as r'tl'ie Nike of sleep." It established a sleep advisory board that included credentialed academics from reputable universities. The board will advise Casper's 500 employees on how to sleep better so they can advise customers at the companys stores. The stores will help shoppers develop a more intimate affection for Casper. One founder commented. rrConsumers are investing in things that mean something bigger. Just as a Nike customer may feel connected to the Olympic athletes who wear Nike