Shanghai Toex Trading Co., Ltd. (TOEX) was a Chinese pet grooming equipment maker. In 2014, after years of operating internationally solely through third-party distribution channels, TOEX opened a new sales and logistics centre in Dallas, Texas to boost TOEX’s business in the United States. The new centre was also meant to be a model for future expansions to other countries. With more than a decade of industry experience, TOEX's founder believed that succeeding in the United States was critically important for the company’s future. However, he was not sure how to execute a successful international growth strategy and how to best leverage the new U.S. logistics centre.
Bank of Baroda was the second-largest commercial bank in India, but it was struggling with a decline in profits and an increase in non-performing assets. Only a week before the new chief executive officer's term commenced, Bank of Baroda was in the news due to reports of fraud occurring at the bank's Ahmedabad and New Delhi operations. The frauds involved bill discounting schemes and money laundering. The bank's violations of its "know your client" and anti-money laundering standards raised concerns about its risk management practices-or lack of such practices. The new chief executive officer was only the second executive from the private sector to head a public sector bank. He needed to prove his value in the world of public sector banking by managing the crisis, implementing a strategy to stabilize the bank's financial health, and preventing a recurrence of the problems.
Moshi, a fusion restaurant in an upmarket area of Dubai, had carved out a niche for itself with its unique menu, high-quality food, and excellent service-all offered at a reasonable price. As the young owner planned to launch another outlet, he pondered his options for growth. Was it time to create a chain, or should he give the new outlet a completely different feel and target a specific customer segment? Should he increase his product range or stick with his unique offerings? Because of its fusion theme (Nepalese cuisine and Japanese sushi), Moshi did not have a clear positioning in terms of its menu. Would Moshi's unique offerings be enough to sustain its continued existence in Dubai's competitive restaurant industry? Would this business be scalable? The owner had relied on word-of-mouth publicity thus far; however, was this method adequate? What sort of marketing strategy should he adopt?
This case tells the story of how Sarah Kauss, a young female entrepreneur, built a premium water bottle brand from scratch. After having built a high-end brand, the key decision in the case is whether to begin expanding the S'well product portfolio to the mass market.
In 2011, Songy Partners, an Atlanta-based real estate developer, was facing three distressed investments within their portfolio each with distinct sets of challenges. Having weathered a myriad of issues during the global financial crisis that included operational shortfalls, failed partnerships, bankruptcies, lender consolidations, lagging tenant demand, low investment liquidity, and pending loan maturities, Songy needed a path forward for these three assets. Songy's lenders were threatening to foreclose on all three properties and also call on corporate guarantees. The case addresses Songy's decisions leading up to and during the crisis. Which of the firm's challenges might have been avoidable? Did the company have any leverage with its creditors? What tactics might the company employ to save its properties? Within this context, what are Songy's responsibilities to his investors?
In the late 1990s, home-based hospital care started to be introduced in the United States and worldwide. This initiative seemed to lower costs, improve quality of care, and have a generally positive impact on patients. In early March 2014, the director of performance improvement at a major U.S. hospital was asked to develop a proposal, including a business case and an outline of a pilot program, for a version of home-based hospital care for the hospital's patients. The director was expected to present his proposal at the monthly session of the health system leadership team on April 30, 2014. He knew that his proposal would have to take into account various factors such as location, medical condition coverage, patient eligibility, the critical data that needed to be collected, the appropriate means of data collection, and the length that the pilot study would need to last. He also knew that his proposal would have to include projected costs and the potential benefits of such a program -- the program had to make financial sense.
In September 2013, two years after its $2.1 billion acquisition of Mey Icki Sanayi ve Ticaret AS (Mey Icki), the principal spirits company in Turkey specializing in the local beverage raki, Diageo, the world's leading premium drinks company, was concerned about new legislation approved by the Turkish parliament prohibiting marketing and restricting the places and times at which alcoholic beverages could be sold. Diageo's Mey Icki investment in 2011 was the company's biggest acquisition in more than a decade. Having been caught off guard by the 2013 legislative changes, the Diageo management found itself needing to justify its $2.1 billion valuation, given that Diageo had acquired Mey Icki in 2011 from TPG for three times TPG's purchase price in 2006. Investors as well as analysts were questioning the over seven times value increase in Mey Icki since its privatization in 2003. Menezes, The new CEO, found himself increasingly overwhelmed by these issues. Had Diageo underestimated the uncertainties in the Turkish market? Would Diageo, with its broad range of brands, geographical spread, and significant financial resources be able to adapt to the changing environment and recoup its vast investment in Turkey? The case describes the forces that affect investment circumstances in emerging markets, raising the issue of how to best manage and prepare for risks. The case provides the context for the students to identify the potential elements that companies could face when investing in emerging markets where rules, legislation, and taxation can change and thus affect investment outcomes. The case challenges the students to ponder how companies should think about when investing in volatile markets and what it takes for them to succeed under uncertain and shifting circumstances.
The chief executive officer (CEO) of Rosch Innovations and his team had developed a kinetic power plant that used the buoyancy force of air in water to generate electricity. This breakthrough innovation defied old principles of physics and was therefore difficult to comprehend and communicate. The CEO and his team had grown their network behind the scenes, careful not to raise too much attention from the powerful German energy lobby in the beginning. They had selected partners and investors that Rosch could manage without losing control. The plan to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) was shaping up in 2016. Major clients and investors were on board, yet the energy lobby was trying to discredit the company and its founder. With major projects lined up for funding, what was the right strategy? Which type of endorsement would help mute the critics and lead the way for an unprecedented IPO?
California-based Silver Spring Networks designed, developed, and deployed the large-scale networking platforms and solutions that enabled the "Internet of Things" to control power grids. In 2010, there was an opportunity for Silver Spring Networks to partner with another start-up that wanted to integrate electric vehicle charging technology with the power grid. At the same time, leading-edge smart city developments-projecting significant savings for utilities and governments-were gaining traction. Both endeavours held significant upside potential and could be used to attract the attention of utilities and other firms, along with state and federal governments and their regulatory commissions. There were signs of disruptive technology innovation, and Silver Springs Networks had to devise a roadmap for entering the market at the right time with the right product in the right sequence.
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited was the largest manufacturer of farm equipment in India, with a more than 40 per cent market share. It manufactured five different tractor brands in the domestic market, including a brand of mini-tractor, the Yuvraj 215 NXT. This brand was targeted at small farmers with less than two hectares of land, who were primarily dependent on bullocks or power tillers for farming but aspired to own a tractor to increase productivity at an affordable price. Although such farmers formed over 70 per cent of the farming population, the penetration of tractors in this segment was the lowest. While the situation demonstrated high potential, selling tractors in this segment was challenging due to low product awareness, limited access to information, and low financial resources among target customers. With such a product in its portfolio, how should Mahindra & Mahindra Limited promote the Yuvraj 215 NXT among small and marginal farmers?
Few cases allow the student to understand the relationship between brand strategy, marketing strategy, implementation, and analysis. While some conceive of the process as being sequential, this case demonstrates that in fact, this process is more fluid, and that implementation and analysis impact subsequent strategy. This field-based case provides a rare glimpse into the turnaround of a brand that was all but dead. After Buick suffered more than five decades of declining business results and an inferior brand image versus all rivals, few thought that the brand could be resuscitated. This case provides a valuable under-the-hood look at how the Buick team, over time, progresses through a series of marketing improvements all anchored on an evolved strategy. Specifically, Buick introduced a shift in brand strategy behind an evolved brand essence statement (i.e., brand positioning), improved product lineup, new-to-the-world innovation, enhanced dealership service, and more compelling advertising. The results led to a record number of product awards, significantly improved advertising measures, improved service ratings, and better business results. Despite significant improvement across multiple dimensions of the business, Buick still trailed key competitors on one of the most important measures Buick tracked-the brand momentum rating-suggesting that there was still more work needed to complete the brand turnaround. The case introduces Molly Peck, the new marketing director on Buick, who is wondering what more, if anything, Buick should do. The material allows for instruction around marketing strategy and the process of converting it into implementation through the use of a creative brief.
This technical note describes the history and benefits of social media marketing and discusses the ways in which it differs from traditional marketing. Seven major social media platforms-Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Snapchat, and WhatsApp-are covered in detail, and the authors outline the different techniques that companies can use with each one to uniquely engage with their customers. This technical note is used in a Darden course elective covering social media marketing and would be an appropriate addition to any marketing class, particularly in a module focused on social media marketing.
James Amphlett, a financial analyst with Xenon Capital LLC, gathered information about NetSuite Inc., a company whose shares Xenon might purchase for its computer software portfolio. NetSuite provided cloud-based financial and enterprise resource planning software to customers for a recurring subscription fee. The company's stock price performance over the last few years was nothing short of spectacular, having increased from around $10 per share at the end of 2008 to over $110 per share at the end of 2013. NetSuite was one of many companies that provide cloud-based computing services, and were often referred to as software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies. NetSuite generated sales through both direct and indirect approaches, with most selling activities conducted over the phone by its sales force. Xenon's portfolio manager asked Amphlett to pay close attention to the company's accounting methods, particularly its revenue and expense recognition methods. Xenon had become quite wary of companies such as salesforce.com, ADT, and Pre-Paid Legal Services, which experienced significant stock price declines after popular press articles criticized their accounting policies. Such stories invited close scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Recently, software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies have attracted considerable attention from the investment community because their services were sold to customers on a subscription basis and services were delivered over the internet through applications on mobile phones, tablets and other portable devices. Because software provided by SaaS companies required considerably less investment in infrastructure (servers, software engineers) than traditional software vendors such as Oracle and SAP, they were affordable to far more companies. And because of a much larger total addressable market, over 200 SaaS had gone public through initial public offerings (IPO) in the last five years to take advantage for the demand for SaaS applications by small and medium-sized companies. Southern Cross LLC, an investment fund with over $20 billion under management, had established a SaaS portfolio to which it planned to add several high quality companies. Once such company under consideration was Workday, Inc. Workday provided cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and financial management (FM) computer applications to customers for an upfront subscription fee. Southern Cross had assigned Andrew Ferris, a recently hired MBA graduate, to evaluate Workday. Workday solicited customers for its software offerings through its direct sales organization. Southern Cross's portfolio manager had asked Ferris to scrutinize the company's accounting methods, particularly its revenue and expense recognition methods. Upfront revenue recognition and capitalizing and amortizing some indirect outlays were well known methods for enhancing a company's bottom line.
Soon after Robin Kovitz (MBA 2007) acquired Baskits Inc., the largest gift basket company in Canada, she became convinced that the business needed to make significant operational improvements. In her first year as CEO, she introduced an ERP system to help with sales and purchasing, and relocated the business to a more efficient facility. She wondered if she moved too quickly.
Kumar Builders KUL was finally nearing completion on the four luxury condominium towers that comprised the first phase of its bold vision for the redevelopment of more than 70-acres of prime real estate in downtown Pune, India. The Nirvana Hills development also involved working with the Slum Redevelopment Authority to relocate and build on the site homes in towers for at least 20,000 slum dwellers and restoring much of the site to green space. At the request of Chairman Lalitkumar Jain, KUL's project team had assembled to discuss planning for Phase II, a massive mixed-use scheme of more than 7.2 million square feet of market rate residential and commercial development. Kruti Jain, the 28 year old daughter of Lalitkumar and CEO of KUL, and her team must weigh many decisions including the appropriate mix of uses for Phase II, determine the proper phasing, assess a potential partnership, and manage relationships with the slum community benefiting from the development.
VMD Medical Imaging Center, a local independent provider of medical imaging services, is facing some important challenges. Despite efficiency improvements and cost cutting initiatives carried out over the past few years, their profitability is shrinking, their prices are becoming uncompetitive, and their main customer, a large regional research and teaching hospital, is threatening to seek alternative, more cost-effective, suppliers. The case addresses a number of important challenges that firms typically face with respect to designing and maintaining their costing systems, including the need to keep the costing system in line with the business processes of the firm throughout its life cycle, the setting of transfer prices, which highlights the interdependencies between costing systems and pricing strategies, and the demand-induced death spiral, which is brought about by a shift in sales mix from labor intensive to technology intensive imaging services. In addition, this case offers an opportunity to develop the class discussion in multiple directions, at the discretion of the instructor, such as the role of costing systems in organizations, the relationship between costing and strategy, and the facilitating role of costing with respect to cross-functional coordination.