Specialist
Former VP at Shutterfly LLC
Agenda
- Key trends affecting Shutterfly and its operating environment
- Shutterfly's segment overview, noting challenges and opportunities for growth – physical vs digital offerings
- Assessment of strategic direction vs competitors such as Minted
- 6-18-month outlook
Questions
1.
How has Shutterfly evolved over recent years?
2.
What are the key trends today that are currently or might soon be impacting Shutterfly?
3.
Can you quantify how much of a demand pull-back we might see for certain Shutterfly products? Might this be at a concerning or meaningful level?
4.
How resilient might be Shutterfly’s various brand offerings to the greater macro environment? In 2020, we had the pandemic, and the current recovery is prolonged and there’s a potential recession, which could be another headwind.
5.
How did the business strategy need to adjust due to the pandemic, or was it an overall strong tailwind? How did the push to digital impact Shutterfly?
6.
The ability to have pictures done in school, offered by Lifetouch, may have been affected greatly during the pandemic as many schools went remote. We talked about a potential build-up due in this vs other products. What are your thoughts on Lifetouch and its offerings being more in demand now as we come out of the pandemic? What is consumer perception of Lifetouch after restricted access over the past couple years?
7.
What is the future of the physical card and photo industry? Will the viability of those offerings be challenged? Might demand decline over the long term as more digital offerings emerge and consumers shift digital? What’s your assessment of Shutterfly’s physical offerings?
8.
What is Shutterfly’s positioning in the market? Is the company the top player? Are there other competitors with better positioning?
9.
With direct and indirect competitors, where does Shutterfly have an advantage ?
10.
Where might Shutterfly be weaker or disadvantaged vs direct competitors, if at all?
11.
You mentioned Shutterfly has strong brand awareness – in the high 80s – vs direct competitors. Can you talk through this thought?
12.
You mentioned cards and home décor as segments with many non-personalised competitors, such as simply boxed cards. How does Shutterfly compete with indirect competitors? Why would a customer choose a non-personalised offering over Shutterfly?
13.
You mentioned that historically, Shutterfly tried to take share from indirect non-personalised competitors. How do you view the company’s ability to do that? Can it be done effectively? Has it been doing it well?
14.
What’s your take on Shutterfly taking or gaining share against direct competitors? Do you think the company can continue to do that?
15.
What is your outlook for Shutterfly being able to get customers to buy into more categories, beyond its Q4 2022 cycle? Do you believe the company can effectively do that, or might it be too difficult?
16.
You’ve mentioned that Minted, Shutterfly’s primary direct competitor, has been shifting its strategy, which could be beneficial. How is this strategy shifting, and why might it be beneficial to Shutterfly?
17.
What is your view of the Snapfish brand and its position in the market? Does it make sense for Shutterfly to continue supporting both the Shutterfly and Snapfish brands?
18.
What other efficiencies are realised from having both Snapfish and Shutterfly under common ownership, aside from production and fulfilment?
19.
How does Shutterfly approach marketing to its customers? What is its strategy?
20.
We’ve discussed a tougher macroenvironment having a significant impact on consumer demand. How can the Shutterfly audience be activated in Q4 2022 effectively despite current macro pressures? Can this even be done effectively to mitigate a likely reduction in demand?
21.
Could any marketing efforts overcome the potential demand reduction due to macro pressures? What marketing could be enough to mitigate that likely reduction?
22.
How vital is marketing effectiveness for sales growth with companies such as Shutterfly? How effectively is the company using its marketing tactics to grow sales? How would you grade it on a 1-10 scale?
23.
What is the marketing spending mix by medium for Shutterfly? Is there a heavier weighting on performance-based search or social media, perhaps such as TV?
24.
What are the ROIs achieved in performance-based marketing, and how should we view them? Have you seen any impact from tighter privacy regulations such as Apple’s app tracking changes, or from a transition away from cookies?
25.
How does CAC [customer acquisition cost] and conversion rate compare for mobile vs desktop for Shutterfly?
26.
Do you have any concluding thoughts?
