SMALL BUSINESS A – Finishing Touches S.A.

Location: Lima, Peru

Industry: Construction and Remodeling

Sub Industry: Commercial / Distribution

Specialty: The company sells exclusive finishing’s (marble and ceramic flooring, bronze
molding and framing, hand chiseled mirrors, decorative luminaries, etc.) for class A office
and apartment buildings, hotels as well as upscale residences.

Vision: Be the supplier of first choice for our clients’ decorative requirements due to our
exclusive array of products, our prompt delivery and professional installation.

Mission: As a highly integrated team of professionals we strive to offer the best end to end
service to our customers by partnering with them from the start in designing their areas,
selecting the most adequate products, achieving their rapid delivery and assuring their
flawless installation, with permanent post-sales support.

History: Finishing Touches S.A. was founded by three architects, Juan, Ricardo and Gino,
when they culminated their studies. As student interns in local construction firms they
noticed that the economic growth of the country and in the construction sector specifically
had produced a demand for exclusive finishing’s that could be imported from Europe,
especially Italy, Spain and Portugal at very good prices. They started with capital that one
of the partners inherited from his father and with a loan from a local bank.

As architects they were in an excellent position to advise clients regarding the design of
the spaces, especially common areas, and recommend the best products. Due to their
good taste and ability to come up with esthetically pleasing design solutions, their
reputation spread quickly. An excellent network of contacts in Europe through Gino´s
father enhanced the firm´s capacity to source exclusive materials and the demand for their
products and services grew. Eventually it became necessary for them to rent a
warehouse, purchase more transport vehicles and hire more architects and administrative
assistants to take calls, place orders to their suppliers, handle the import process and….
as always… pay taxes!

Current situation::Ten years have passed and they have grown to the point where much of
the partners’ time is taken up by operational and administrative duties and they have less
time to source and visit new clients. The Peruvian economy has also slowed down
compared to what it was 10 years ago. The demand for the exclusive, expensive products
which traditionally had the best profit margins has declined and now there is much more
competition---- others, including large retail chains like Cassinelli have encroached on their
market. For the first time, they are confronting a situation of slow growth, higher costs and
eroding margins.

They have contacted you to help them do a SWOT Analysis. Use your knowledge of
SWOT Analysis and your knowledge of what is going on right now in Peru to help them do
their analysis.