Harlequin Enterprises

The primary issue facing Harlequin is the "steady loss of share in a growing women's fiction market", due to the growing popularity of single-title novels. With the volume sales dependence that is inherent in series publishing, the unit sales stalling that occurred in the late 80's and early 90's acted as a warning signal to Harlequin. A change in pricing strategies enabled revenues to continue to rise, but this was a short-term solution and Mira has the potential to become a long-term solution. However, there are a number of issues surrounding the launch of Mira. Harlequin made efficiency and certainty a part of their everyday business, in an industry where low profit margins and risky releases were the norm. Harlequin has been able to create high barriers to entry in the series market through the development of brand loyalty and excellence in product quality and supply chain management.

In regards to Porter's Five Forces, Harlequin can be analyzed as such. There is a possibility that other publishers will develop competitive romance novels and imitate their marketing strategy, and in fact Bantam has been fairly successful in doing so. Consumers have considerable bargaining power, as there is a plethora of new books being introduced each month, and may not only switch publishers, but genres as well. Harlequin's suppliers have little bargaining power, as they are considering internalizing their sales force, and have the capacity to switch printers, or even bring printing in house as well. There is a high barrier of entry into the industry for newcomers, which works in Harlequin's favor. In addition, there are few rivals to their corner in the romance industry.

Strengths include a stable of 100 authors and editors who have the ability to produce a consistent product. Weaknesses include no internal sales staff or printing. Opportunities include internalizing outsourced functions such as sales and printing,