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The Mountain Hardwear A, B, and C cases cover the founding and rise of the premium outdoor apparel and equipment manufacturer. The A case (set between late 1993 and 1999) addresses the company's founding, early brand development, and the particular characteristics of the outdoor apparel and equipment industry. The B case is set in 2003 and examines trends within that industry as well as the company's opportunity to be acquired by a larger, more diversified apparel company. The C case is set in 2006, and it examines Mountain Hardwear's athlete sponsorship program.

Supplements the (A) case.

In November 2005, Microsoft launched Xbox 360, its latest game console. It was an extraordinary event, not because of the glamorous business executives and journalists hanging around the event, the super cool festival mood soaking the Mojave Desert, or the graphic technologies dazzling the giant consoles surrounding the conference room. Rather, the air was filled with a mix of trepidation and excitement about the viability of the company's new strategy of moving beyond Windows-based PCs. Everybody in the room wondered whether the company could regain its past glory by entering new territories. What opportunities and challenges, they wondered, awaited the company in markets in which it did not have proprietary advantage? What specific strategies did it have to adopt to capitalize on the opportunities and counter the challenges? How best could Microsoft execute its diversification strategy?

Provides an overview of the course Competitive Dynamics: Strategy and Tactics and discusses challenges facing those who wish to use game theory to assist in strategic and tactical decision making.

Focuses on the buyout of HCA by three private equity firms: Bain Capital, KKR, and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity. It provides an opportunity to discuss a variety of issues related to leveraged buyouts including the process, the role of private equity, the incentives of the participants, the benefits to conflicting shareholders, and the valuation of the buyout.

At age 47, with two decades of experience as a lead designer for a Fortune 500 fashion company, Liz Claiborne put her life savings on the line to form Liz Claiborne, Inc., a partnership that included her husband. A decade later, in 1986, Claiborne was CEO of her own Fortune 500 company, reaching that milestone faster than any other business up to that point in history. Because the company did not own any of the factories that made its clothing, Claiborne relied upon her detailed understanding of design and manufacturing processes to instruct successfully her American and offshore contractors on how to mass-produce designer clothing at affordable prices. Claiborne was an industry pioneer in many ways. She developed detailed customer feedback collection systems. She and her staff were in frequent contact with department stores to help them present her clothing in display and to customers. In the 1980s, after building up her designer brand name, Claiborne expanded her business through licensing arrangements with quality manufacturers of apparel, shoes, and accessories.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 207076

Describes the retailer-supplier negotiations of Frey Farms Produce in its growth from a small local produce supplier to becoming a supplier for Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer. The (A) case sets up three negotiations led by Sarah Talley of Frey Farms Produce in order to sell produce to Wal-Mart, manage price expectations during a difficult growing season, and deal with issues of co-management. The (B) case describes strategies, tactics, and the results of these negotiations, along with broader insights from the protagonist into a general approach to retailer-supplier negotiations.

An abstract is not available for this product.

Describes the negotiations by Howard and Marilyn Bollinger over supplying a new product line to Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer. The (A) case outlines the Bollingers' development of their product, the Wallpockett, documents their negotiation preparation for dealing with Wal-Mart, and describes their negotiation challenges. The (B) case describes strategies, tactics, and the results of their negotiations with Wal-Mart and draws on their experience to provide a set of recommended approaches to retail-supplier negotiations.

An abstract is not available for this product.

This comprehensive technical note explains linear regression. It is intended for students with no prior knowlede of the topic. It is devided into nine sections, which may be assigned separately: 1. The simple linear model, 2. Fitting the model using least Squares, 3. Important properties of the least-squares regression line, 4. Summary regression statistics, 5. Assumptions behind the linear model, 6. Model-building Philosophy, 7. Forecasting using the linear model, 8. Using dummy variables to represent categorical variables, and 9. Useful data transformations. The sections correspond to stand-alone notes also available through Darden Business Publishing

Provides an overview of bankruptcy procedures in U.S. courts and a framework for evaluating the different sources of uncertainty and their implications for various stakeholders of the firm when attempting a reorganization with creditors or considering opening a court-supervised reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Recent data on filings is presented as well as a summary of the hierarchy of claims and outline of bankruptcy events. While the stigma associated with bankruptcy for executives and boards of directors has diminished, companies can use the threat of a voluntary bankruptcy as a bargaining tool to negotiate with creditors.

Kendall Square Research was a small competitor in the supercomputer industry. Sales grew rapidly in 1992 and early 1993 and the company sold stock to the public for the first time. Analysts forecast higher earnings for 1993, then the company's revenue recognition practices were questioned and the answers were devastating.

Examines an acquisition in the highly competitive new media advertising industry in China in late 2005. The transaction leads to eventual consolidation of the industry and a positive stock market reaction. Discusses valuation in the context of an M&A transaction in an emerging economy and the role of private equity and venture capital in the development and the eventual consolidation of the new media advertising industry. Provides a context in which to discuss antitrust regulation, or lack there of, on an industrial organization in China.

An abstract is not available for this product.

Hedge fund SAC Capital and analysts from Gradient Analytics and Banc of America face charges of stock price manipulation from Biovail, a Canadian pharmaceutical company. Gradient and BofA produced negative reports on Biovail's earnings quality. At the same time, SAC built a large short position in the stock. The defendants must consider specific and general strategic responses to these allegations.

Late in October 2006, China Resources (Holdings) Co., Ltd. (CRC) CEO Charlie Song Lin, CFO Jiang Wel, and Information Center GM Derek Cheng were traveling from Hong Kong to Wuxi, China to attend the first ever meeting of China Resources Microelectronic's (CRM) newly established Office of Strategy Management (OSM). The team had high hopes for this meeting as CRM was not only one of CRC's most strategically important profit centers but also a potential model for the implementation of the CRC 6S management system in all of CRC's 19 profit centers.

Gauri Nanda is the creator of an innovative new product: an alarm clock named Clocky that, in addition to ringing, rolls around the room in order to force its owner to get out of bed. Beset by media attention and consumer interest but still at least a year away from the ability to debut Clocky, Nanda must navigate a series of challenges and difficult decisions in order to effectively bring her product to market. These include positioning strategies, choosing the proper channel, potential partnerships, manufacturing issues, market analysis, and PR management.

Develop a better understanding of what salespeople do, what motivates them to succeed, and how to effectively manage their efforts.