Developing a Growth Strategy for a Small Business Retail E-Commerce Company

This research is a consulting project for a small online retailer. The major goal of the study is to develop a growth strategy for a small online retailer who is at the “infancy” stage of the life cycle (according to the concept of I. Adizes), which determines the professional significance of the study. The investigation includes analyzing the key approaches to the definition of the concepts of strategy and corporate strategy, revealing the features of strategic management in the context of a small business, carrying out a comprehensive analysis of the Russian retail industry with a focus on the non-food online retail segment, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the online store operating via the social network Instagram, determining the target market positions of the company and evaluating the compliance of the current internal environment with the specified target positions. The overall result of the study is a strategic growth plan for the Backpack Stock online store for a period of 1-2 years, as well as recommendations for eliminating its strategic problems.