Rogers Chocolate
Case 7: Rogers’ Chocolates Vertical integration is present in Rogers’ because they participate in many of the steps included in the industry value chain. Firstly, Rogers’ produces all of their products in-house and packages them by hand. Furthermore, Rogers’ is fully involved in the marketing and selling of their products to consumers through their wholly owned retail stores, particularly Sam’s Deli, and by also accepting online and mail orders. This makes it evident that Rogers’ engages in forward vertical integration because they maintain the most ownership of the activities that make it possible for the product to reach the consumer. Rogers’ uses a product-market diversification strategy by offering a variety of products, ranging from sugar-free chocolates to ice cream, to many different markets. Consequentially, one of Rogers’ core competencies is that they have had the ability to satisfy the demands from loyal customers, tourists, corporations, and wholesalers. This can also be seen as an opportunity to reach new markets and extend their brand. Rogers’ should focus more on attempting to market to areas outside of Canada of their products, specifically the U.S. Once a loyalty to the brand is established through some type of hands-on means, consumers can take advantage of the online business, which will hopefully add growth to the company without adding a huge sales cost. In turn, if production capacity needs to be expanded, outsourcing is an option that may help keep costs low, yet also runs the risk of diluting the