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On April 12, 2018, the manager of a Philadelphia Starbucks Corporation (Starbucks) store called the police and two customers were arrested. The two men, who were black, were sitting at a table in the store without having placed an order. The incident sparked an online wave of protest over racial bias at Starbucks, a company that had long touted its social agenda of racial equity and diversity. The chief executive officer of Starbucks, quickly acknowledged the incident with a general public apology and a more specific follow-up statement later the same day. Amid outrage over the Philadelphia arrests and backlash online, the company also announced a half-day mass anti-racism training program for its employees. Experts were skeptical about the success of the training, claiming that a half-day training session could not eliminate racial bias. Was the company doing enough to train its front-line employees in providing not only the best service but also equal service to its customers? Did Starbucks truly represent the values it promoted? Would a half-day anti-racism training session effectively address the issue of racial bias, especially for front-line workers?

In late 2016, HaoDF Online launched an "Internet hospital" in Yinchuan, China, which, in its first three months, served more than 31 million users and conducted online diagnosis and treatment for almost 1 million patients. The online health care services platform could collaborate with physicians to remotely monitor patient conditions and guide paramedical staff in the decision-making process. However, beyond diagnosis, consultation, and prescriptions, patients needed a physical hospital or clinic for the actual treatment, which led to the first of two major challenges that the company needed to address. The online health care platform could not achieve its full business value and become profitable without collaborating with existing traditional health care organizations, which were reluctant to embrace the online health care system as a medium for interaction with patients. How could HaoDF Online better attract traditional health care organizations for collaboration? Also, dozens of newcomers were entering the market, enticed by the readily available venture investment and funding, which raised a second challenge for HaoDF Online-What business strategies should the company develop to sustain its competitiveness and become profitable?

In 2015, three entrepreneurs in India decided to resurrect the 100-year-old iconic Keventers brand, which had stopped selling milkshakes in the 1970s. Although earlier generations had grown up enjoying Keventers' milkshakes, millennials had very little association with the brand. To connect with this new generation, the three entrepreneurs relied on both old and new brand associations. The three founders re-established the Keventers milkshakes brand; however, the milkshakes market became flooded with small and large competitors, and the company needed to find new ways to ensure the Keventers brand's long-term sustainability. To sustain its growth momentum, the Keventers brand entered the subscription-based, premium-milk market in June 2018. As a result of increasing urbanization, rising incomes, and demographic changes, the consumption behaviour of Indian consumers was undergoing transformation. Demand for premium, organic, unadulterated milk was on the rise among affluent health-conscious consumers. Premium milk comprised less than 1 per cent of the dairy market in 2018, but it was expected to rise to 5 per cent by 2020. How could the three founders meet their goals of capturing 20 per cent of the premium-milk market and becoming a major competitor by mid-2019?

Supplement to case W19604

John Branca, attorney to pop musician Michael Jackson, must negotiate a series of deals on behalf of his client in order to safeguard his financial interests and creative license during a period of rising stardom.

In 2018, Cycles Devinci, a bike manufacturer in Saguenay, Quebec, set itself the ambitious objective of 20% annual growth for the next three years. Simon Brodeur, global brand manager for enduro and downhill bikes, suggested the company expand into Asia Pacific. Intrigued, marketing manager Alain Pedneault asked him to draw up a proposal for selling 1,000 bikes in that region by 2021. Brodeur thus found himself compelled to formulate a proposal for the management team. Providing a stimulating organizational context and actual data, the case puts students in a real-life situation where they must screen markets based on both quantitative (estimated demand, per capita income, demography, tariffs, etc.) and qualitative criteria (political and cultural challenges and international agreements). The case analysis addresses a wide range of strategic dimensions, including business models, competitive advantage, and international marketing. It highlights the challenges faced by a company trying to raise awareness of its brand overseas and by marketing and brand managers at a company with ambitious objectives but limited resources.

In 2015, Dietmar Hopp, owner of Germany's Bundesliga football team TSG Hoffenheim and co-founder of the global enterprise software company SAP, was considering how to ensure long-term sustainability and competitiveness for TSG Hoffenheim. While historically a small team from bottom rungs of the league, TSG Hoffenheim, with revenues of €60 million to €70 million, reached the top division of the Bundesliga in the 2008-2009 season thanks to a deliberate strategy focused on enhanced scouting, strong youth programs, and innovative technology and analytics that improved player development. In 2014 Hopp, who had personally invested €300 million in the club, built a "footbonaut," an automated training environment that collected data on players' skills and strengths. The tool, one of three in the world, helped scouts and coaches better assess and develop each player. Yet some managers felt the technology was a distraction, an investment too expensive for a team that was not yet cash-flow positive. The team finished the 2014-2015 season in eighth place, below the top division, and Hopp wondered whether the focus on technology and analytics was the right strategy to grow the club. He wondered if the "moneyball" approach-when a smaller team competed with wealthier teams by using statistical analysis to buy undervalued assets and sell overvalued assets-could work in football and if investments in technology could lead the team to financial independence.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) was founded in 1971 and focused on retailing items for customers' "home and heart" life events, such as weddings, births, and moves. By the end of 2017, the company had over 1,530 stores distributed in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada, but its third-quarter earnings results revealed a 50 per cent year-over-year decline in net profits and a 45 per cent decline in stock price compared to the beginning of the year. BBBY was facing a steady decrease in physical store sales even as digital sales showed growth. BBBY was trying to catch up to competitors with digital initiatives, gain and retain customers through discount and membership programs, and keep a close control on costs, but the question remained: How could BBBY stay relevant and competitive in the long term?

This case illustrates how Vontobel, a mid-size Swiss private bank successfully built out its multi-issuer platform for Structured Products (SPs). The case starts by describing the industry of SPs, the market for SPs in Switzerland, and on Vontobel building its know-how in SPs. As a result, deritrade® Single-Issuer Platform (SIP) was launched in 2010. The platform helped gain operational efficiency, relieve employees from doing manual operations and thus allow scarce resources to focus on the core businesses. The bank then gained experience in the market with its SIP. Once the SIP delivered its full power and the SP market stagnated, Vontobel considered opening its platform to its competitors to become a Multi-Issuer Platform (MIP). Yet, there were numerous challenges faced by the company with this decision: cannibalization, convincing competitors to join, pricing, and governance.

The case discusses the strategy of Pantheon, a UK-based fund of funds investing in private equity. Client demands and preferences had changed in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis and Pantheon had to adapt its business model to accommodate requests for new asset classes and customized portfolios. The challenge was to keep an eye on the fee structure, as clients also put pressure on the costs. Pantheon had extended its offer into infrastructure, real assets, and private debt, and had found a way to offer customized portfolio solutions at an acceptable cost level, but the very long-term nature of private asset classes was making it difficult to assess the success of this strategic turnaround.

This note provides essential information on funding sources and valuation topics facing deep technology startups-ventures that are capital-intensive, with high technical and market uncertainty, and require long gestation periods. Both dilutive and non-dilutive sources of investment are described, along with empirical examples and figures.

The chief executive officer of RenY Corporation (RenY) based in Hong Kong, had just established the Ghana Investment Fund Limited (GIF) as a subsidiary of RenY in Ghana. GIF aimed to invest in the entrepreneurial ideas of university graduates in Ghana under a model that brought together the intellectual capital of the graduates, e-commerce, and investment capital under an umbrella of mentoring and collaboration. Access to Ghanaian government contracts to provide products and services was an important aspect of the CEO's sustainable development plans for low income communities, but he was faced with ethical issues on the way government business was done in Ghana-to be successful in gaining some of these contracts, extra payments were required. He had to decide if his investment was going to result in nothing or if there was a way to move forward.

The chief financial officer (CFO) of the Richard Ivey School of Business (Ivey) is reflecting on the state of the school. Ivey's MBA program was just beginning its inaugural year in the new 12-month format at the Spencer Leadership Centre (Spencer), and all signs pointed to a successful start. However, it was becoming obvious to the CFO that the Executive Education programs at Ivey would face some serious capacity constraints, given the resulting reduction in available space in the building. The CFO was considering the need for a $7 million expansion to Spencer to ensure that Ivey would be able to continue its number one position in the executive education market in Canada.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 520031.

Set in 2019, the case describes the challenge Starbucks faces from Luckin coffee, a local start up in China. Having entered China in 1999, Starbucks was the undisputed leader with more than 70% market share and 3600 cafes by 2018. The brand's success was rooted in its core proposition of providing consumers a 'third place', an escape from both home and the work place, to relax and indulge themselves. While China/Asia Pacific was Starbucks' fastest growing market, the company faced a setback in the region in 2018. There was a decline in its third quarter sales, total number of transactions for the year, and the annual operating income. Starbucks' sudden downturn in the region could be attributed to the threat to its third place positioning by Luckin. Launched in November 2017, Luckin grew to more than 2,300 stores in just 17 months. Unlike Starbucks, it offered lower prices and the convenience of having coffee anywhere - at home, the work place or a café. Its mobile app-linked order and cashless payment platform, and a store pick-up and delivery model appealed to the country's digitally savvy millennials. Over 2018-2019, the company successfully raised US$550 million, and in May 2019, came out with its IPO. By the end of 2019, Luckin aimed to open a total of 4,850 stores to surpass Starbucks' planned network of 4,200 stores. The sudden rise of Luckin raises serious questions to engage students. What should Starbucks do in order to maintain its dominance in China? Should it emulate Luckin and work towards building a stronger and wider delivery channel, or should it continue to pursue its premium priced experiential retail strategy? And, would Luckin's cash burn business model that includes heavy discounting, aggressive advertising and a rapid store expansion fail or succeed eventually?

Student spreadsheet to case UV6041

This note examines the corporate venture capital (CVC) industry, which has played an increasingly large role in the global innovation ecosystem, especially in Silicon Valley, over the last decade. The contents of the note include: a history of CVC beginning in the early 1960s; a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the industry in the late 2010s; a summary of the primary reasons why large corporations establish CVC arms; a framework for balancing strategic and financial value; profiles of three prominent CVC arms; a discussion of the challenges to realizing strategic value; and a process model to improve strategic collaboration.

Why do large, successful public companies and their CEOs suddenly weaken? To find out, we studied 45 large European and U.S. stumbles. Our case studies point to some common mistakes, such as undertaking unnecessarily risky growth strategies, treating compliance issues lightly, or poor cost control. These simple mistakes often had complex origins, such as attempts to meet conflicting objectives, weak board governance, or even executives being misled by positive experiences with ambitioius growth investments. We develop a checklist of "Emperor's Clothes" failings to help executives and boards lessen the risk of the worst stumbles.