Burt's Bees Case Analysis

Introduction Burt’s Bees case is a follow up for the case about Roxanne Quimby, an entrepreneur who started Burt’s Bees together with Burt Shavitz and managed to create a considerably big company almost from nothing. The objective of the first case was to make a suggestion whether the company should relocate its production from Maine to North Carolina and use its full potential, or stay in Maine and operate with limited growth potential. As the second case indicates, it is obvious that Quimby decided to expand company’s operations by moving to North Carolina while the company’s revenues were projected to be between $6 million and $8 million. Quimby’s current intentions are to expand its operations to a level that is going to allow Burt’s Bees to have more than $25 million in sales which Quimby thinks is sufficient to sell the company to a bigger market participant. The dilemma that Quimby currently faces is how to expand company’s operations in order to make Burt’s Bees attractive for a potential buyer. This is why the objective of this case is to make a decision whether retail would be the best route to $25 million sales and to suggest how Burt’s Bees would enter the market that is already crowded. Moreover, the case asks to provide an alternative to retail if retail is proven not to be the best strategy available to Burt’s Bees.

Analysis Burt’s Bees’ early success, while the company was still located in Guilford, Maine, was attributed to Roxanne Quimby’s entrepreneurial skills and her desire to capitalize on the opportunity that she saw in the market. However, by 1994 she noticed that the future potential of her company would be limited if she decided to stay in Maine because of high transportation costs and the lack of associates that had enough relevant experience in the industry. Quimby’s decision to move the company to North Carolina overcame the obstacles that prevented Burt’s Bees from making more money while the company was forced to substantially