Reflect.com

Reflect .com

Answers to the Case Study

Contents

TOC \o "1-3 " \h \z \u HYPERLINK \l "_Toc6 " Question 1 PAGEREF _Toc6 \h 3

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc7 " Question 2 PAGEREF _Toc7 \h 7 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc8 " 2 .1 Customer Concerns with regard Online Customized Cosmetics Purchases PAGEREF _Toc8 \h 7

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc9 " 2 .2 Customized Cosmetics Online ? Yes or No PAGEREF _Toc9 \h 9

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc0 " 2 .3 Beauty-involved ' Prospects as Target Customers PAGEREF _Toc0 \h 11

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc1 " 2 .4 Key Challenges of Operating an

Online Customized Cosmetics Business PAGEREF _Toc1 \h 13

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc2 " 2 .5 Main Lesson for Entrepreneurs PAGEREF _Toc2 \h 15

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc3 " Question 3 PAGEREF _Toc3 \h 17

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc4 " 3 .1 Key Trends PAGEREF _Toc4 \h 17

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc5 " 3 .2 Opportunities PAGEREF _Toc5 \h 19

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc6 " 3 .3 The Challenges PAGEREF _Toc6 \h 22

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc7 " 3 .4 Technology Issues PAGEREF _Toc7 \h 24

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc8 " 3 .5 Recommendation PAGEREF _Toc8 \h 25

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc9 " Appendix A - The Competitive Landscape PAGEREF _Toc9 \h 26

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc0 " Appendix B - Reflect .com : A Departure from

G 's Existing Corporate Culture PAGEREF _Toc0 \h 28

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc1 " Bibliography PAGEREF _Toc1 \h 29 Question 1

In 1999 , amidst the demise of several dotcoms , Proctor and Gamble (P G a global consumer packaged goods companies , partnered with Redpoint Ventures (RV ) and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP ) to invest 50m on first round to launch Reflect LLC .

G initially invested 35m equivalent to an 85 stake in the company and controlling interest (Himelstein and Galuszka

This venture aimed at leveraging the potential of mass-customization related web technologies and broadband communications to deliver a unique beauty-related e-commerce website , reflect .com , targeting women of all ages (Redpoint Ventures . Partnership strengths included the marketing , consumer and R B /manufacturing savvy of

G and the technology know-how of IVP through its investment in AskJeeves .com . The specialist customization technology of AskJeeves .com was essential for the level of interactivity envisaged by the investors in reflect .com (Himelstein and Galuszka

Reflect .com was the first e-commerce foray for

G (Neuborne , at the time , the third largest provider of beauty products (Himelstein and Galuszka . This venture was conceived by some as a move aimed at building strong relationships with end-users rather than working through the established and traditional channel model , e .g , Wal-Mart (Neuborne

Instead of selling PG 's established brands (Neuborne , Reflect .com intended to provide the possibility of personalizing and custom-creating beauty products according to the individual tastes and needs of target customers . Online beauty expert advice would also be available (Redpoint Ventures . One unique selling proposition stated that no two women would get the same product (Himelstein and Galuszka

The preferences of customers were collected through an online interactive process that involved answering several questions (Himelstein and Galuszka . For example , one question posed a choice My personality is best represented by a peacock , a hawk...