1. PREPARED BY: NADER ELKHUZUNDAR SUPERVISED BY: MS. RASHA ATALLAH Wildrose Farm Organics Case Study

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. The Internet at Wildrose Farm Organics 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.

5. Through the use of the Internet, the Minnesota-based company now counts the southeastern United States among its suppliers market. Knierim later added, “To have done that research and contacts without the Internet I think would have been difficult and time consuming.” Hence one great advantage the Internet added to the company is not only being “a great joy” as Knierim mentioned, but also a great time saving tool as well for the company material procurement. 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.”

6. 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.”

7. 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.”

8. 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. 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,”.

9. 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 U.S.” 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.

10. 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.