Posts Tagged: Product and Distribution Strategies (p386)

Stitching a business from scratch

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  Fashion designer Eileen Fisher didn’t even know how to sew when she started her clothing company but had the determination to succeed. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 09/16/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2011/09/16/hwgs_eileen_fisher.fortune/ Questions for discussion:  How would you describe the entrepreneurial character of Eileen Fisher? Do you think her success is due more to her… Read more »

Netflix ‘momentum story’ stalls, analysts say

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: Subscriber forecast is cut; ‘value proposition is getting worse’ Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 09/15/2011 Link:   http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-momentum-story-stalls-analysts-say-2011-09-15?siteid=nwtwk Questions for discussion: Why has the firm’s stock value fallen so dramatically? Summarize the firm’s financial situation. Do you think the firm represents a good investment prospect today?

King of Rinds Has 2 Contenders as Hispanic Surge Fattens Sales

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: To make Baken-ets pork rinds for No. 1 client Frito-Lay, the $13 billion-a-year snack arm of PepsiCo Inc., Rudolph Foods Inc. uses what it calls a secret two-step process at its flagship plant in Lima, Ohio — “the pork rind capital of the world,” Rudolph claims. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 09/15/2011 Link:   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-15/king-of-rinds-has-2-contenders-as-hispanic-surge-fattens-sales.html Questions for… Read more »

$2K deal? That’s what you think

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  Author Bill Poundstone sheds light on the psychology of pricing in the retail world. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 09/07/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/pf/2011/09/01/pf_hd_retail_anchors.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Are there any ethical issues in this report? Do you believe this strategy works? Give one example where, as a customer, you have noticed this strategy at work…. Read more »

Amazon Tries On New Web Design

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  Amazon has updated the classic design of its Website with something cleaner, lighter and more tablet-friendly, WSJ’s Stu Woo reports on digits. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 09/06/2011 Link:  http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/amazon-tries-on-new-web-design/54CA69F5-BCCA-4D99-915C-91A1438EB76F Questions for discussion: Do you think the new design is superior to the older version? Should Amazon get out of the marketing of… Read more »

Is your Gibson guitar contraband?

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  Federal agents raid Gibson Guitar factories looking for rare, protected wood, such as ebony and rosewood from India, costing the guitar manufacturer $1 million in losses. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 09/02/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/09/02/n_gibson_raid.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: What are the ethical issues in this case? Is Gibson management behaving in a socially responsible… Read more »

H-P: We’re Bringing TouchPad Back

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description:  The H-P TouchPad is dead; long live the TouchPad. Due to unexpected, almost cult-like demand for cheap TouchPads after H-P decided to kill its iPad rival, the company has decided to revive the tablet for a limited time. Ian Sherr and Ina Fried discuss on digits. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 08/31/2011 Link: … Read more »

Daniel Gross’s Greplin Is One Smart Search Engine

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: The precocious Israeli coder is co-founder of a startup building the one search box to rule them all—and to organize your entire online life Source: Businessweek.com Date: 09/01/2011 Link:  http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/daniel-grosss-greplin-is-one-smart-search-engine-09012011.html Questions for discussion: What does this report suggest about entrepreneurship? Would you invest in this app? What are the difficulties, from a marketing point… Read more »

How Steve Jobs saved Apple

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  A look back at why Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple and how his return reinvented the computer giant. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 08/25/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2011/08/24/t_steve_jobs_apple_fall_rise.fortune/ Questions for discussion: How would you describe the business career of Steve Jobs? What do you think Jobs’ legacy will be? Would you consider Jobs an… Read more »

No housing slump for Toll Bros.

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description:  A 54% jump in quarterly profits buoyed shares of the luxury home builder despite a beleaguered housing market. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 08/24/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2011/08/24/mkts_midday_toll.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Explain the reasons why some analysts might suggest that the financial improvements in this firm are “good news” for the economy as a whole…. Read more »