Archive for 'Articles' Category
Reverse Innovation – Definition and Examples
What is Reverse Innovation? Reverse Innovation is the strategy of innovating in emerging (or developing) markets and then distributing/marketing these innovations in developed markets. Many companies are developing products in emerging countries like China and India and then distributing them globally. Who coined or introduced the ‘reverse innovation’ concept? Vijay Govindarajan. He is the Earl [...]
P&G’s Connect and Develop Strategy for Innovation
Reinventing P&G’s innovation business model P&G’s old strategy for innovation was based on the invention model where innovation comes from within the company – ‘invent it ourselves’ model. Earlier, innovation at P&G meant building global research facilities and having the best talent in the world develop unique products or inventions. But with the times and [...]
Intel’s Go-to-market Strategy – Tick Tock
What is ‘Tick Tock’? The term ‘Tick Tock’ has been referred to a music group from Puerto Rico, a novel by Dean Koontz, a fictional character in Marvel Comics Universe and even a dance step, but did you know it is the name of Intel’s go-to-market strategy as well. The global economic downturn hit the [...]
Glocalization Examples – Think Globally and Act Locally
We have heard a lot about globalism versus localism over the years. In order to succeed globally, even the biggest multinationals must think locally. A few examples: McDonald’s In the UK, McDonald’s strategy is to listen more to local consumers and then act on it. The company strives to do this around the world. Some [...]
SWOT Analysis
SWOT is an abbreviation for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT analysis is used for identifying those areas where an organization is strong, where it is weak, the major opportunities the company can explore and the threats. SWOT analysis is a useful tool for assessing the strategic position of a business and its environment. SWOT [...]
Bharti Gets a Brand Makeover
Brand Strategy – November 2008 Dominant in the telecommunications services market, Bharti Enterprises, the telecom giant has unveiled its vision for 2020. Its latest brand identity attempts to reflect its intent to grow its other businesses such as financial services, retail and agri-business. New Brand Identity and Brand Essence In early Novemeber (2008), Bharti Enterprises, [...]
Coke’s new strategy in India
Business Strategy – India – Training – Retailing – November 2008 With slowdown in developed markets, companies like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are looking at emerging markets like India and China for growth. PepsiCo is aiming to triple its businesses in India over the next five years (and also setting up a new leadership structure in [...]
Dell in India – Business and Marketing Strategy
Business Strategy – Strategic Marketing Dell’s Entry in India Dell International started in India about seven or eight years back by opening a customer contact center at Bangalore in 2001. In 2003, the second contact center was opened at Hyderabad. The company operates its services from four centers based at Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Gurgoan. [...]
Dell’s Turnaround Strategy in 2008
Business Management Article Dell’s new retail business and supply chain approach Dell is taking steps to turnaround its business and recovering from losses and decline in its profit margins. Dell had first announced cost-cutting measures as early as May last year. In 2007, Dell changed its direct-sales model to offer computers in retail outlets, after [...]
Alarm Bell for Dell
Business Turnaround Strategy – February 26, 2009 “Within our business, we’re being very disciplined in managing costs, generating profitability and cash flow, and investing in ways that separate Dell from others today and when the economy inevitably improves.“ – Founder and Chief Executive, Michael S. Dell. In February 2009, Dell Computers announced that it would [...]
Foreign Retailers in the U.S.
Fashion Retailing- March, 2009 How are foreign retailers like Zara, Hennes and Mauritz (H&M), Mango, Uniqlo, Kira Plastinina and Topshop performing in the U.S.? What are their expansion plans and their entry year in the U.S.? Can they compete with The Gap, the U.S. local retail chain which has more than 3,000 stores and has [...]
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Dual Headquarters in London and US
January 14, 2008 – Business Management Article Since its formation in 2001, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the pharmaceutical giant, for the first time will run from its London headquarters. GSK will continue to operate from its dual headquarters, in London and Philadelphia. GSK’s CEO, Andrew Witty (who joined Glaxo UK in 1985) has decided to remain in [...]
HP’s business strategy in a challenging marketplace
Business Strategy – India – November 2008 How is HP dealing with a challenging economy? Leading tech companies (including Intel and Cisco) believe that given the constraints of the economy today and the likely global recession, customer spending on technology will decline rapidly impacting both consumer and corporate purchases. Declining sales figures in October and [...]
Hewlett-Packard’s retail channel advantage over Dell
February 21, 2008 – Business Management Article HP’s retail channel strategy is working Hewlett-Packard (HP), the world’s largest personal-computer maker (based in the Palo Alto, California), beat Dell in PC sales for the sixth straight quarter and posted a fiscal first-quarter profit (February, 2008). The results which topped analysts’ estimates on orders for PCs, servers [...]
IBM acquires NIT, targets small business sales
January 18, 2008 – Business Management Article IBM and importance of small and medium businesses Out of IBM’s total sales, Small and medium business (SMB) revenues account for about 19%. In the fourth quarter 2007, IBM reported that SMB revenues increased by 11% to $5.4 billion. Overall, IBM reported that fourth quarter revenues increased 10% [...]
Business Restructuring at L&T
August, 2009 – Business Strategy, Strategic Management Article Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the engineering and construction giant wants to reposition itself and be a more focused value-added engineering company. L&T is a USD 8.5 billion company and has 12 operating companies and three subsidiaries. The company was mainly into engineering, procurement and construction segments. It [...]
McDonald’s International Innovations
July, 2009 – Strategic Management, Innovation Article McDonald’s, the fast-food retailing giant has a proven formula for doing well in a recession – courting consumers globally by targeting local tastes with global menus. McDonald’s has expanded its global appeal which has resulted in good results, even though almost every type of industry is seeing widespread [...]
Nokia’s Strategy in the Emerging Markets
Business Strategy – India – November 2008 In the emerging markets, Nokia’s business strategy is to: Increase mobile usage in rural areas Reduce the mobile phone ownership and operating costs Bring the benefits of mobile telephony to people in emerging markets Bring the power of the Internet to these markets An end-to-end player with a [...]
Nokia to exit expensive Germany, move production to low cost countries
January 15, 2008 – Business Management Article Finnish cellphone maker, Nokia is planning to close its mobile devices plant in Bochum, Germany by mid-2008, stating that it is not competitive enough. Nokia, the world’s top cellphone maker, may cut up to 2,300 staff. Nokia is moving production to lower-cost regions and to its existing plants, [...]
Nokia increases market share, Motorola Struggles
January 25, 2008 – Business Management Article Nokia with 40% market share in the fourth quarter of 2007 In what is being regarded as the much-awaited and psychologically important milestone, Nokia (NOK), the Finnish handset maker and global giant, announced that it had achieved a 40% market share in the fourth quarter of 2007. This [...]
Nokia – A struggling market leader
Business Strategy and Management – January 24, 2009"In recent weeks, the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated rapidly, with even weaker consumer confidence, unprecedented currency volatility and credit tightness continuing to impact the mobile communications industry." – Nokia’s President and chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. Nokia is the world’s largest handset manufacturer and the maker of four out [...]
Oprah Winfrey Television Network with Discovery Communications
January 15, 2008 – Business Management Article Oprah Winfrey, the world famous Talk show host and top-earning US celebrity will launch a new television network channel (to debut in 2009 in more than 70 million homes) with Discovery Communications, which owns the Discovery Network and Animal Planet, among others. In a joint statement release, the [...]
P&G – Building a future supply chain in emerging markets
Supply Chain Management Strategy – January 28, 2009 P&G – Being where future customers are In December 2008, Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G), announced an aggressive expansion plan to build 19 production plants to cater to future consumers in developing countries (where the GDP has grown quickly and which have vast populations). By 2010, P&G [...]
Too many Starbucks stores for U.S. coffee Drinkers?
July 04, 2008 – Business Strategy Article A struggling Starbucks Starbucks, the leading coffee retailer has been struggling amidst a faltering US economy, its own rapid growth and increased competition from cheaper rivals. In the first three months of 2008 its net income fell to $108.7m (£54.7m) down 28% from the same period of 2007. [...]
Starbucks – Storm in an instant coffee cup
Business Turnaround Strategy – February 15, 2009 Will a ‘transformational product’ help Starbucks turnaround? Starbucks will begin selling a new product, called Via. Via is an instant coffee product wherein coffee loving consumers can brew the coffee by emptying the granules into hot water (which will replicate the taste of Starbucks coffee). Starbucks CEO Howard [...]
A bit of UPS History, some UPS and some downs
Business Management Article – January 31, 2008 UPS reported a fourth-quarter (2007) net loss of $2.58 billion, compared with a net profit of $1.13 billion, a year earlier. The quarterly loss was mainly due to a $6.1 billion pension-related charge. United Parcel Service Inc (UPS), the world’s largest package delivery company has come a long [...]
Unilever’s Thirty-Day Action Plans
August, 2009 – Business Strategy, Strategic Management Article Polman wants to increase the speed of decision-making in the sprawling company, which is known for its cautious culture. “Thirty-Day Action Plans” introduced under his reign, for example, are designed to make executives act quickly to fix problems with individual products. – The Wall Street Journal, August [...]
Wal-Mart’s Great Value Brand Makeover
Brand Strategy – Retailing- March, 2009 What is ‘Great Value’ brand? In 1993, Wal-Mart launched the Great Value store brand. ‘Great Value’ is the largest grocery brand and the biggest brand that Wal-Mart has with thousands of products spanning 100 categories. Wal-Mart has more than 5,250 of its Great Value private-label products. What did Wal-Mart [...]
Is the Adidas Reebok merger working?
March 05, 2008 – Business Management Article Adidas plus Reebok is equal to better competition with giant Nike In 2006, Adidas (the German athletic apparel and the world’s second-biggest sports goods maker after Nike) acquired Reebok in a US$3.1 billion deal. The merger was aimed at helping Adidas increase its share in the U.S. market [...]
Warren Buffett – Lunch with the Investment Leader
June 29, 2008 – Leadership and Entrepreneurship Article Warren Edward Buffett, Chairman and Chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and admired by many analysts for his shrewd business acumen is primarily known for his investing success. Over the years, Buffett developed his own tenets of buying a business or stock. Not only his investments, but [...]
Daimler, Chrysler and the Failed Merger
March 10, 2008 – Business Management Article Daimler 2007 Profit Rises Mercedes-Benz maker, Daimler AG and the world’s second-largest maker of luxury vehicles reported profits in its fourth-quarter results for 2007. The good results this quarter have come after selling the Chrysler division in the U.S. and cutting jobs at Mercedes-Benz Cars. Without Chrysler, Daimler [...]
Is Dell’s Retail Strategy paying off?
January 17, 2008 – Business Management Article Dell’s Turnaround Strategy working… Ever since founder Michael Dell returned as CEO a year ago, Dell has forayed into retail, made more acquisitions and focussed on cutting costs. IDC reported that Dell is back to double-digit percentage growth in global PC shipments in the fourth quarter. Dell’s worldwide [...]
EBay’s Ethical Supply Chain
Business Ethics and Supply Chains EBay and Ethical sourcing In September 2008, EBay, the online auction giant, launched an ethically sourced online marketplace for selling products that have a positive impact on people and the planet. The project is a collaboration of eBay and World of Good. It includes a nonprofit development organization along with [...]
eBay CEO Meg Whitman plans to retire
January 22, 2008 – Business Management Article Margaret Whitman, the chief executive (CEO) of eBay, is planning to retire so as to breathe fresh life into the company and a much needed radical reinvention of eBay. In March, Ms. Whitman, 51, will have served in the position for 10 years. Whitman, ranks 22nd on Forbes.com’s [...]
Will controversy follow Exxon Mobil’s Record profits again?
February 02, 2008 – Business Ethics Article Exxon Mobil and 2007: Record Profits Oil companies like Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell reported strong profits in 2007. Chevron, the second-largest American oil company, reported profits of $18.7 billion (increase by 9 percent compared to last year). Royal Dutch Shell reported the best figure ever for a [...]
From a sluggish Caterpillar to an alert CAT
January 27, 2008 – Business Management Article Chairman and chief executive of Caterpillar Inc, Jim Owens, expects to see record results again in 2008, in what he thinks will be a challenging year. But he hopes to see the world’s biggest maker of earth-moving equipment have all-time record results again fuelled by growth in markets [...]
GE’s Turnaround and Jack Welch’s straight talk
January 26, 2008 – Business Management Article “Jacked Up: The Inside Story of How Jack Welch Talked GE into Becoming the World’s Greatest Company” is a 315-page book written by author Bill Lane. Bill Lane is none other than Jack Welch’s former speechwriter. In his book Bill recounts how John Francis Welch Jr. (Jack Welch) [...]
HR Best Practices at FedEx, a Best Company to Work For
January 26, 2008 – Business Management Article FedEx (NYSE: FDX), is among the 100 “Best Companies to Work For” in the US announced by FORTUNE magazine and the Great Places to Work Institute. FedEx (the largest employer in 2008 list and only shipping company included) now figures in this list in 10 of the past [...]
Mattel, 2007 the year of the product recall and the rebound
January 31, 2008 – Business Management Article For Mattel, 2007 was dubbed “the year of the recall.” ‘How will Mattel fare in the aftermath?’, was a question put forth by many. Analysts were divided over whether the leading toy maker was able to handle the crisis situation effectively. About Mattel Mattel Inc (MAT), the world’s [...]
Ryanair the low-cost carrier with lower third-quarter profits
February 04, 2008 – Business Management Article RyanAir: The ‘Southwest’ of European Airlines in 2007 Download Case Study on Ryanair in pdf format The low point… Ryanair, Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier reported its third quarter results with net profits dropping 27 percent compared to a net profit of 48 million a year earlier. Ryanair cited [...]
Starbucks for a dollar, Storm in a coffee cup?
January 23, 2008 – Business Management Article Starbucks (SBUX) is famous for its frappuccinos and mochas and has always concentrated on premium coffee, typically costing more than £2 a cup. But now Starbucks Corp is testing $1 coffee and free refills. Starbucks says that this test is not indicative of any new business strategy. Well, [...]
Will restructuring help Starbucks Turnaround?
February 22, 2008 – Business Management Article Starbucks, the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world, has been struggling amidst a faltering economy, its own rapid growth (international expansion and growing presence in 43 countries) and increased competition from cheaper rivals. Starbucks wants to turnaround its business by providing customers with [...]
Of Wal-Mart price cuts, Struggling Retailers and Weak 2008 Retail Sales Forecast
January 29, 2008 – Business Management Article Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT) announced a price cut on thousands of items including groceries, popular electronics and other items. Price cuts range from 10 percent to 30 percent. Though Wal-Mart announces such price cuts during the holiday shopping season, this promotional move (just before the Super Bowl football [...]
A ‘Whirlpool’ of a result
February 05, 2008 – Business Management Article Whirlpool’s fourth-quarter results 2007 Whirlpool, the appliance maker announced its fourth-quarter results. Its net income rose 72% to $187 million up from $109 million, a year earlier. Revenue increased 7.5% to $5.33 billion from $4.95 billion. Gross profit margin rose to 15.7% from 14%. Chairman and Chief Executive [...]
Wal-Mart’s Marketside or Tesco’s Fresh and Easy stores in US
January 14, 2008 – Business Management Article Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT), the world’s largest retailer, will open small-format grocery stores named ‘Marketside’. These stores to be set up in Arizona will be roughly 20,000 square feet in size to begin with. This in comparison to Neighborhood Markets, Wal-Mart’s existing stores which are almost double in [...]
Nokia’s three-way strategy to capture the mobile music segment
Launching devices with advanced multimedia capabilities and that stimulate consumers’ imagination. Using the Internet, adding value to devices with innovative services like the Music Store and Comes with Music. These services offer the best possible mobile music experience to the customer. Providing the customer with the best updated/dynamic local content with suitable partnerships.
McDonald’s Pricing Strategy in India
McDonald’s in India McDonald’s began operations in India in 1996. The fast-food chain started making profits after it broke even in 2008. Reports suggest that McDonald’s two subsidiaries in India, Connought Plaza Restaurants based in New Delhi and Hard Castle Restaurants in based in Mumbai posted accumulated losses of Rs 189.19 crore and Rs 119 [...]
P&G’s Leadership Case Study – ‘Build From Within’
Succession Planning at P&G “If I get on a plane next week and it goes down, there will be somebody in this seat the next morning,” – A.G. Lafley, P&G’s CEO as quoted in Fortune magazine. Lafley took over Procter & Gamble (P&G) as CEO in 2000 and since then has been very successful in [...]
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and McDonald’s
The chief electoral office of Delhi, India decided to launch a series of advertisements in April 2009 at McDonald’s retail outlets to encourage young voters for the Lok Sabha elections – the largest ever democratic process in the world. McDonald’s which has around 155 restaurants in India (including 35 in Delhi) is keen on the [...]
Restructuring challenges at electronics giant Sony
In December 2008, Japan’s Sony Corp. – the world’s second-largest consumer electronics maker – announced a few restructuring measures primarily aimed at changes in management and manufacturing. These include: A $1.1 billion savings plan in its electronics division Cutting 16,000 jobs Pulling out of businesses and limiting investment for savings of almost 100 billion a [...]