Willy's Candy

Abstract

Willy’s Candy Company has been in business for several years and is currently deciding what their next strategic movie will be. Willy’s Candy has struggled to expand their variety of candy products and has relied primarily on the sales of Willy’s Yummy Chews and Willy’s Sour Straws. Their dependance on these two products has led to a flat line in sales growth and a need to adjust their current strategy. Currently, there are four options being considered for the future of Willy’s Candy Company. This paper seeks to explore each of these options and determine the best possible solution for the company.

Willy’s Candy Company: An analysis of future strategies

A short recap of the key of the key decision makers and their respective points of view will follow. Chester A. Wonka III is the CEO of Willy’s Candy and believe the best course of action is to merge with a larger Swiss company, which afford the company the resources, capabilities and marketing support to grow the business. Swifty Miller, CFO, believes that instead of selling to the Swiss company the company should take on debt from Silverman Fuchs, an investment bank, and buy smaller candy companies to increase their product portfolio and increase production efficiency and sales. Megan Lee is the Executive Vice President of Marketing does not agree that outside help is the best solution for the company. Megan wants to increase the resources of development to create new products and continue to invest directly into the company. Lastly, Robert Johnson, COO, wants to see more of an effort put toward improving operations and reducing costs.

Currently Willy’s Candy Company needs to decide what competitive strategy they would like to pursue. Based on the characteristics and price point of their product, it would make sense for them to employ a low-cost provider strategy. According to Gamble a low-cost-provider strategy seeks, “to achieve lower overall costs than rivals on products that attract a...