Wildrose Farm Organics Case Study 2003
Meriem Chida
This
is a case study about the Wildrose Farm Organics, a family-owned company, was
conducted in November and December 2003. This study focuses on the company’s
specific uses of the Internet and subsequent results. To this end, I researched
the company’s background and web site, and interviewed Chuck Knierim,
co-founder and owner of Wildrose Farm Organics.
Background
Wildrose
Farm Organics is about 13 years old, it is an
all-organic family-owned and -operated business. This company raises produce
for sale, such as free-range poultry (i.e., chickens and turkeys), along with
managing an organic tree farm. The primary focus of the business is the sales
of organic cotton clothing and recycled fiber rugs. Chuck Knierim CEO of
Wildrose Farm Organics, stated that ‘the organic
clothing business is about nine years old.”
Wildrose
Farm has won the Governor’s award for its innovative policy of producing and
selling environmentally sound products. At Wildrose Farm Organics nothing gets
thrown out. In fact, the Company has won the 1999 Governor’s
award for its zero waste policy.
The
apparel and carpets are manufactured on the farm in a studio that was built out
of timber from the farm, is heated from the waste of wood and shares the
furnace with the house and the office. This results in savings in fuels up to
75%. This strategy best exemplifies the goal of the company through its
advocacy of zero waste tolerance. “The studio is safe, comfortable, and an
environmentally sound work area,” added Knierim.
|
“Ethereal” Carpet |
6-gore cotton skirt |
The
company produces apparel and carpets made out of 100% organically grown cotton
with no agricultural chemicals. Wildrose Farm Organics uses no toxins in its
dye and the accessories are all from recycled materials. For instance, the
buttons of the jackets are from recycled glass. The by-products of the apparel
manufacturing are used to weave carpets or paper, depending on the size.
The
Internet at Wildrose Farm Organics
Wildrose
Farm Organics started using the Internet about eight years ago. “Our experience
with the Internet sale and material procurement had been very successful,”
stated Knierim. The company went from using the Internet solely as research
tool for its client sources for organic cotton, to building strong and
long-term relationships with its suppliers. Knierim believes that without the
Internet, such relationships could not have been established.
Through
the use of the Internet, the Minnesota-based company now counts the
southeastern
One
thing to keep in mind, added Knierim, is that “ organic
cotton fabric is not available in the retail market or the wholesale market
very much.” For this reason, Wildrose Farm Organics needed to conduct research,
to find and deal directly with several mills. According to Knierim, “the
Internet allowed us to build that type of relationship it is very convenient to
do business.”
Wildrose
Farm Organics is able to reach suppliers internationally as well, because of
the Internet. For instance, they buy the hemp yarn (for the warp) used in the
weaving of the rugs and that cannot be obtained inside the
Internet
as Business Resource
Because
of the years in the organic farming business, the company had already
established clientele for their agricultural produce. When the company began to
move into the clothing retail business, the Internet became a value business
resource. Knierim remarked that “by the time we adopted the Internet, the
clothing aspect of the business brought in limited sales because that apparel
retail was a minor aspect of the farming business.”
Web
Site
Initially,
the web site for Wildrose Farm Organics was very basic. Then the company hired
a professional designer and a family member, to develop the site. Karen
Knierim, Chuck’s wife, designed and made a bridal gown for their niece in exchange
of the web site design and development. But lately, Knieriem
commented, Karen Knierim does most of the maintenance, with some “occasional
technical questions referred to our niece.”
Business Tool
The
apparel aspect of the company is the sales of tailored organic garments sold
online. The site is secure and allows customers to finalize purchases under a
secure transaction. Knierim stated, “We can accept credit cards. We take our
web site orders through email.” Email is also used to communicate with customers
if they have questions or concerns about their products. Still, Wildrose Farm
does not as of yet have a database of the customers’ emails, but they are at
the initial stage of “coming up with a periodic or a newsletter that would
bring up that information,” according to Knierim.
As
for the growth in online sales, it is slowly moving in an upward direction.
“The interesting thing, added Knierim, “is that we have noticed through the
years that we have received more and more interest from people who have become
chemically allergic.” This new development gives Wildrose Farm an incentive to
do business while at the same time know that they are helping people with
difficulties. Sometimes this involves answering questions about the chemical
composition of our garments or about allergies.
Knierim
also noticed that when the company goes to conferences or exhibitions, they
present their products to potential customers, who would then go visit them
online. “At that time when we meet them personally, we also give them the web
site information.” Knierim hopes that through such media, the company will be
able to build a client database, because he believes that “once people get to
know the faces behind the business, they will use our web site with a certain degree
of personal attachment.“ Knierim feels that there is
still a need for the consumer to have a person to person contact, and that once
that relationship is established it is much easier to carry on business through
the web site.
On
the other hand, there are still a number of customers who hear about the
company purely based on the web site. “We even have a certain number of
international customers who find us through the Internet,” added Knierim. The
Internet allows a family-owned partnership to have national and international
recognition and build relationships with consumers from their home, from their
farm or their business in the world. “It
puts us on an equal footing with large corporations who have access to the
Internet” commented Knierim.
In
addition, the Internet has contributed to Wildrose Farm Organics brand
awareness and name recognition as well as has helped boost sales. But Knierim Knierim strongly believes that it is also linked to their
passion and believes in the type of business they run. Knierim added:
I would say that the web site has been
an addition to our business. It gives us access to the world and gives the
world access to us. But also we work hard at what we do, and because of how we
live and where we live we were able to stay in business. We maintain a fairly
low overhead by working here on the farm.”
Research Tool
Similarly,
the company uses the Internet in its other business operations such as market
analysis, trends and research. “We receive information from various sources on
market trend,” stated Chuck Knierim. The company is serving a niche market, and
it is listed with several search engines for several reasons said Knierim: “one
being American made clothing is a very rare item. And two, organically and
environmentally sound socially responsible clothing production is a rare item
in the
Wildrose Farm Organics frequently comes up in people searches
because they use some or all of the wording regarding health issues for people
who became chemically allergic. Sometimes, added Chuck Knierim, “they are
advised by a physician, but often they are left in the dark. Thus, they start
doing research on their own to see what they can do to help themselves.
Communication
Tool
Besides
using the email to process orders, Wildrose Farm Organics also uses it to
communicate issues relevant to the environment and to agriculture in
general. They also have links with some
various environmental organizations and are members of the Organic Trade Association,
the Organic Consumer Association, as well as members of the Midwest Renewal
Energy Association.
For instance, if some members have a specific concern about
an issue within the community about the environment, Wildrose Farm Organics
might be able to address that issue or pass on to the email list. Knierim
stated that Wildrosefarm is “very active in rural agricultural issues our email
is also very useful in maintaining contact with various organizations we are
active in. “The company is member of the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota,”
explained Knierim, “in that organization we also communicate with fellow
members and discuss organic farming issues and government policies, discuss and
interchange ideas and action items.”
Another
example is when the rural activists were involved in the formulation stage of
the organic standards that agricultural business wanted some how to influence
the government in lowering. This information was widely shared among activists
via the Internet and that, explains Knierim “brought about a significant change
in the work of organic standards.”
Challenges
and Efficient Solutions
The
biggest challenge Wildrose Farm Organics faces is the maintence of the web
site. Knierim explained, “It’s an ongoing project but also an educational item
because we do most of it in-house. My wife Karen is becoming more and more
adept at it by experience and by referring to our consultant. “
Maintaining
the web site has been a challenge; because there is need to periodically update
the site with the most newly developed items that should reflect the new design
on fabrics. Also sales and promotions require updating and moving items around.
The other challenge is the amount of spam or junk mail received. The second
biggest challenge when managing an online business is the amount of junk emails
that management has to sort through. They believe that is time consuming and
not the best allocation of their workday.
Conclusion and
Recommendations
Wildrose
Farm Organics is a great example of resource allocation and efficient business
management. It maximized its usage of the Internet by letting the customers
demand justify any additional investments to their online store. Chuck Knierim
believes that the web site is too big of an investment at the beginning of the
business cycle, therefore he encourages small businesses to start small,
because he believes that “when you are new to web design and internet usage, If
you go through conventional methods a web designer can sometimes charge you a
lot of money to set you up in the business that can very well start out very
small.” An expense that could be too big of an initial
investment for very little initial return.
Knierim
further points out to the fact that having an online store allows businesses to
have a higher profit margin, because the costs related to advertising or
maintaining a store front or insurance are almost insignificant as compared to
a real store. Still keeping in mind that every business is
unique. Knierim recommends, “If they are service oriented industry it
would probably wouldn’t even pay for them to have a web site. If they are
industrial or wholesalers the internet portion would save them a favorable
amount of time and research.”