Peyton thought managing an athletic shoe store would be easy, never imagining how many factors influenced sales. For example, running shoes changed constantly. The latest trend was "wavespring" technology. It was important to stock the latest shoes for competitive runners who wanted them as soon as they came out. Then there were "plodders" who defiantly announced, "I want the same shoes I've run in for years." Unfortunately, it was challenging to find some of those old shoes. Now there were "mud-runners" who wanted high-top running shoes so they wouldn't lose them in mud holes. Besides running shoes, it was important to keep up with the popular brands of walking and cross-training shoes. Employees and customers changed, too. Customers were increasingly a more diverse mixture of ethnicities and nationalities reflecting the changing community surrounding the store. Peyton found it was important to understand that customers from different backgrounds often had different expectations for an athletic shoe store in order to adapt to those differences. Adapting also meant hiring a more diverse sales staff to match community demographics. More customers were asking about technology for improving their workouts. Some simply wanted reliable watches to time themselves. Others want devices to track their workouts, monitor their heart rates, and record their food intake. Some just wanted a good phone app to help them. Peyton was considering adding a section to the store stocking a range of such products. Peyton never imagined events around the world would affect local shoe sales. Recently, when the news reported a major shoe manufacturer was using sweat shops in China to produce its shoes, sales of that brand dropped dramatically. Now Peyton was overstocked in that brand and understocked in others. The challenges never seemed to end.

QUESTION: What is a brief framing of this case? What are the issues and opportunities? What assumptions can be made? What alternatives are there for addressing the Issues/Opportunities that are presented? And what are the pros and cons of each? Lastly, what recommendations can be made to address the challenges of the shoe store?