Description: With the personal computer market stalled, Intel, the primary maker of computer chips, warned its investors Friday that revenue would be lower than expected, as would profit margins. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Sep 07, 2012 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/08/technology/intel-downgrades-sales-expectations.html?ref=business Questions for Discussions: What are the reasons for the situation at Intel and the PC industry in general?… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Part 4: Marketing Management
Pitaya: The Selling of a Superfruit
Description: A few months ago, Eric Helms, the 42-year-old founder and chief executive officer of Juice Generation, a chain of juice and smoothie bars in New York City, wanted to display what he calls “the next big superfruit†in his stores. Having bought exclusive import rights to a year’s supply of pitaya, a softball-sized fruit… Read more »
Jack Daniel’s Parent Targets a Varied Customer Base
Description: Ted Hissey is senior vice president and director of innovation, consumer planning and global marketing services for spirits and wine producer Brown-Forman, marketer of brands such as Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Korbel, Chambord and Finlandia. Hissey oversees new product initiatives, market research and marketing services that support B-F’s brands on a global basis. Hissey… Read more »
How Crayola crayons are made
Description: For over 100 years, Crayola has mixed and molded crayons in the hopes of encouraging creativity in children. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Aug 29, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2012/08/29/sbiz-hwgs-crayola-crayons.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Why do you think crayons and Crayola brand in particular have endured for so many generations? Describe the manufacturing process that was… Read more »
Facebook Shares Hit New Lows
Description: Facebook shares fell 5% to new lows Friday as two analysts from firms that underwrote its initial public offering cut their price targets on the shares, Paul Vigna reports on the News Hub. Photo: AP. Source: Moneywatch.com – video report Date: Aug 31, 2012 Link: http://on.wsj.com/R3hzXy Questions for Discussions: Summarize the explanation in this… Read more »
A Weight-Loss Strategy From an Unlikely Pair
Description: WHEN Myles Berkowitz first met Steven Kates through a mutual friend in 2006, Mr. Berkowitz had serious doubts about him. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Sep 01, 2012 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/business/lifesize-a-weight-loss-strategy-from-an-unlikely-pair.html?ref=business Questions for Discussions: What is the key selling point in this dieting system? Why do you think it is it successfull with consumers? How else would… Read more »
Obama’s small biz solar star fades
Description: A small solar business, once the leading light of President Obama’s green jobs program, is now caught in an international trade dispute. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Aug 24, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/08/23/n-obama-solar-star-not-shining.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Summarize the history of this start-up business. What are the lessons to be learned about the globalization of… Read more »
Employing Dietitians Pays Off for Supermarkets
Description: Lois E. Florence recently left her doctor’s office with a diagnosis of colitis, an intestinal disorder, and a complicated set of instructions for changing her diet. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Aug 24, 2012 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/business/dietitians-pay-off-for-supermarkets.html?_r=1&ref=business Questions for Discussions: Explain the logic of adding the services of dietitians at supermarkets. How can managers calculate the ROI… Read more »
Apple Gets $1 Billion From Samsungâ€â€Nothing Changes
Description: Apple got the best of Samsung in the first of their many patent trials to go to a U.S. jury. A nine-person panel came back to the federal courtroom in San Jose, Calif., Friday afternoon, after only three days of deliberation, and announced that the Korean electronics giant had infringed six of the seven… Read more »
Now it’s Dell being told: Junk PCs
Description: What a difference a decade makes for manufacturers of personal computers. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: Aug 22, 2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/now-its-dell-being-told-junk-pcs-2012-08-22?siteid=nwtwk Questions for Discussions: What has happened to the PC business over the past decade? What are the possible choices facing management? What would you advise?
