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Naledo Foods and Beverages Inc. (Naledo) was a small start-up headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, that operated as a social enterprise in the Toledo District of Belize. In 2018, Naledo's operation in Belize produced about 500 jars a day of wildcrafted turmeric paste. With large orders sometimes taking up to six weeks to fill, it was imperative for Naledo to find a way to increase production, and for that, the company needed capital. Naledo's chief operating officer was thus considering ways to raise the necessary capital.

In November 2018, Five Guys, a fast-casual restaurant chain based in the United States, faced an important decision related to its future promotion strategy. Five Guys had started in 1986 as a small company with limited resources. The company had always avoided traditional advertising media, such as television, radio, print, and billboard advertisements. As a result of the company's success over the years, the founder and chief executive officer had a significantly larger promotional budget than ever before; he needed to develop a promotional strategy for the future. In particular, he needed to determine how to allocate the company's promotional budget. In which promotional media should he invest the company's promotional funds?

In early 2016, ChimpChange Limited, a financial technology (fintech) start-up, had started operations in California and already had more than 80,000 customers. The company needed capital to acquire more customers in order to become cash-flow positive, as was the case with most start-ups. ChimpChange Limited should have been able to attain the break-even number of customers within another year or so, but it needed capital to execute a marketing campaign to attract these customers. It had already undergone several series of funding rounds. At this point, should it return for a series C funding round or should it raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO)? If it were to opt for an IPO, where should this take place?

In late 2017, the co-owners of Rocky Mountain Soap Company in Canmore, Alberta, faced an important challenge. Their company produced and retailed toxin-free, 100 per cent natural bath and body products, and they wanted the product packaging to reflect their company’s commitment to sustainability. To meet the challenge of identifying and implementing sustainable packaging solutions, the co-owners needed to address intensifying competition, make good use of their limited ability to conduct research and development, and manage their customers’ expectations. How could the co-owners develop a packaging solution that aligned with the company’s brand focus of “100 per cent natural”? How could they find the support they needed to move the company forward?

In 2018, Al Baba Sweets was a major player in the Arabic sweets and confectionery industry in Lebanon. However, in the midst of a rough patch in the country’s economy, the company was suffering from decreasing revenues. Any major decision concerning the future of the third-generation family business would have to be made carefully. New, smaller competitors were entering the market alongside the industry’s large, long-time players. The company had to decide what its next steps would be. Should Al Baba Sweets branch out to other countries? If so, which modes of entry should they use? What other possibilities were there to enhance and expand operations?

Incorporated in 1983 in Uttar Pradesh, India, GHCL Limited had established itself by 2018 as a well-diversified group operating in chemicals, textiles, and consumer products segments. The home textiles division had launched a new line of bedsheets called Rekoop—a polyester fibre, extracted from recycled plastic bottles and combined with cotton to produce Rekoop bedsheets. The fibre also contained a DNA marker that enabled tracing of the product from fibre to finished product. The textile division was known for its low prices and weak business performance; to overcome that, the company believed that Rekoop could sell for higher prices and move the division’s focus from volumes to margins. Rekoop could provide brand salience, visibility, and higher prices. However, the president and chief executive officer of the home textile division faced many decisions—what distribution strategy to follow, how to get stores and customers to buy the product, how to increase customer awareness, what price points to use, how to maintain brand salience, and above all which markets to enter.

In 2012, Sina Weibo stood out from competing microblogging products and developed into the largest social media platform in China. However, in 2013, competition from WeChat, a lack of high-quality content, and the exposure of an excessive number of fake accounts led to difficulties for Sina Weibo. By addressing three aspects of user activity—content producers, content consumers, and the platform operator—Sina Weibo was able to get back on the right track. The platform went from a loss in 2014 to a profit in 2018. However, behind the prosperity, in January 2019, Sina Weibo was facing new threats—namely, the disappearance of Chinese Internet user traffic dividends and competition from rivals Toutiao and Douyin. Sina Weibo’s chief executive officer had to determine how to deal with these new threats.

In early 2016, Canada’s venture capital (VC) investment environment was growing and, as a result, exciting new start-ups were fruitfully collaborating with a sophisticated selection of investors. Ajay Joshi, a partner at Helarctos Ventures (HV), a seed-stage venture capital investment fund based in Toronto, Canada, was an experienced entrepreneur in the mobile wireless technology (tech) space and a savvy VC investor. HV, founded in 2013, had invested in 28 tech start-ups, and six of them had been successfully acquired. But even with past successes, in an environment of hungry, enthusiastic start-ups that was getting larger and more diverse every year, Joshi and the HV team needed to continuously re-evaluate their process and be sure that they were relying on the right criteria for evaluating investments. Each investment in a start-up was a major decision and represented a significant and long-term allocation of finite capital, time, and energy. Joshi and HV needed to be sure of their decisions, when surety was in short supply.

Rite Aid Corporation (Rite Aid) shareholders had turned down a US$3 million bonus proposed for the chief executive officer (CEO) and elected a new board chair. Under the CEO’s leadership, Rite Aid had paid off some debt and returned to modest profitability. However, two failed plans to sell the business had shaken the shareholders’ confidence. Having dealt with falling sales, shrinking profits, the sale of over half of its stores, and the news that Amazon.com Inc. had acquired an online pharmacy, Rite Aid was facing challenges from all sides. The drugstore industry was in turmoil, and without a buyer, the board chair needed to revisit the company’s strategy and its management’s capabilities. In the face of consolidation, vertical integration, and disruption from new entrants, survival was uncertain. Could Rite Aid survive on its own? Would it be feasible to attempt a third merger agreement, or were more radical options needed?

In 2018, Changsheng Bio-technology Co., Ltd. (Changsheng), a leading biopharmaceutical company and one of the market leaders in vaccines, was found to have falsified its production and inspection data and to have sold substandard vaccines in the Chinese market. The unethical conduct triggered widespread public anger and immediate government intervention. What actions could Changsheng take to mitigate the effect of this scandal?

On February 24, 2016, HTL International Holdings Ltd (HTL), a Singapore-based furniture company, announced that it had entered into a purchase agreement with Guangdong Yihua Timber Industry Co. Ltd (Yihua). According to the agreement, which was subject to approvals, Yihua would pay SG$1.00 for each share of HTL. However, the agreement required that HTL meet set profit targets in each of the next three years. A compensation agreement between HTL’s controlling shareholder and Yihua stipulated that if HTL did not make its profit targets, HTL’s controlling shareholder would make up the shortfall to Yihua. When the agreement was announced, HTL’s share price was at $0.70, and the $0.30 gap signalled uncertainty about whether Yihua’s shareholders would agree to the acquisition. Minority shareholders and potential investors, who were not bound by the profit guarantee, needed to decide whether they should buy, sell, or hold HTL’s shares.

Spreadsheet for product 8B19N019.

Spreadsheet for product 9B19N019.

Faced with the challenge of continuing to differentiate the Wellness Institute from traditional fitness facilities, the executive director at the non-profit organization was considering undertaking a thoughtful and comprehensive internal and external branding exercise to improve and refresh its brand. The executive director found the inconsistencies of the current brand troublesome. She was faced with some potential opportunities she would like to explore by better understanding the organization’s brand. But would her many stakeholders support spending money on a branding exercise and investing resources in an effort to impact a broader community? Could she justify the expense to her board? How would her staff react to the rebranding? Was branding the best place to invest resources to impact the broader community?

In 2016 (A case), the founder of Tokyo Smoke, a cannabis retailing enterprise based in Toronto, needed to attract investors. The former Google Inc. employee had taken advantage of public policy changes in Canada and was modelling his retail business on Starbucks Corporation, which had educated North American consumers about coffee and captured a huge share of the coffee market. He needed investment capital in order to build his brand and needed to determine an appropriate valuation as part of his pitch for investment capital. By 2018 (B case), he had to address new challenges in his role as chief retail officer of Canopy Growth Corporation (Canopy), the Canadian licensed producer of cannabis that had taken over the company he founded. How could he position Canopy as a world leader in retail cannabis?

In 2016 (A case), the founder of Tokyo Smoke, a cannabis retailing enterprise based in Toronto, needed to attract investors. The former Google Inc. employee had taken advantage of public policy changes in Canada and was modelling his retail business on Starbucks Corporation, which had educated North American consumers about coffee and captured a huge share of the coffee market. He needed investment capital in order to build his brand and needed to determine an appropriate valuation as part of his pitch for investment capital. By 2018 (B case), he had to address new challenges in his role as chief retail officer of Canopy Growth Corporation (Canopy), the Canadian licensed producer of cannabis that had taken over the company he founded. How could he position Canopy as a world leader in retail cannabis?

In September 2014, the national logistics manager at Lajpal Tea Pvt. Limited (Lajpal Tea), a leading tea brand in Pakistan, received notice that one of his key logistics service providers would soon terminate his service contract for transportation services. This contractor had been associated with Lajpal Tea since the company originated; however, due to payment delays and non-responsive behaviour from the logistics team, he decided to terminate his services and provided three months’ notice as per the terms and conditions of his contract. The transport company’s business was strong: the owner had many local contacts, geopolitical influence, and a good understanding of the local market. However, his trucks were old fashioned and were not equipped with the latest technology, such as global positioning system tracking. Lajpal Tea, a leading organization with plans for expansion, had to decide what to do now. Should the logistics manager negotiate with the existing contractor or find an alternate transporter from among the other available options?

In mid-2017, faced with declining viewership and the loss of the associated advertising and affiliate fees from the pay-TV bundle, The Walt Disney Company needed to consider alternative ways to reach and engage viewers. One option was to move away from bundles and go direct to the consumer. Another option was to acquire more content and make it accessible across multiple platforms. But would these strategies be enough to stem subscriber losses? How did the push by technology disruptors into original content influence these decisions? Were there other strategies worth considering in light of changing tastes, technology, and competition?

Pitch deck prepared by case protagonist and is for instructors to display in class only, not for print or electronic distribution to students.

In 2018, the founder and chief executive officer of Zarr Tech Canada Inc. (Zarr Tech), understood the need for his young business to continue along its impressive growth trajectory. However, he was unsure how this goal could best be achieved. Given the increasingly competitive information technology consulting sector, he questioned whether Zarr Tech was well positioned to take advantage of further industry growth, and he wondered how best to promote his business to achieve the growth it needed. He considered various options, such as attending trade shows; hiring a sales representative; using online advertising mediums, such as Google Ads or LinkedIn; and employing an email marketing campaign. Additionally, the business' young founder was considering expanding his operations to the Vancouver area but wondered if now was the right time to do so.