• An EPIC Pricing Challenge

    In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, EPIC (a not-for-profit organization) decided to replace its usual in-person conference with a virtual conference. After outlining the challenge, the case recounts the history of EPIC and its conferences (including earlier pricing changes and their impact), the progression of the pandemic in early 2020, the process resulting in the March 30 decision to go virtual, and the efforts launched in late April to decide how to price a virtual versus an in-person conference. Various factors and considerations are presented, including the conference's pricing changes over the years, other conferences planned for 2020 that had been changed to a virtual format or cancelled, and a survey of EPIC members to determine their price sensitivity. Excel spreadsheets of the survey data are provided for students and professors.
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  • Groupe Park Avenue: Growth and Transitions

    Groupe Park Avenue (GPA) owns a large group of automotive dealers in Montreal, Canada. The business's origins go back to Norm D. Hébert, who purchased an underperforming Chevrolet dealer on Park Avenue in downtown Montreal in 1959. His son Norman Jr. joined GPA in 1980, when it was still a single dealership. Now, thirty-five years later, GPA owns 20 car dealerships and must adapt to an ever-evolving landscape. Historically "mom and pop" shops, dealerships are increasingly acquired by regional dealer groups such as GPA and by public companies. Indeed, AutoCanada, a Canadian public company, has just purchased a BMW and a MINI dealer in the Montreal market, the first time a consolidator has stepped onto GPA's home turf. Meanwhile, GPA is also changing, with Norman Jr.'s son having recently joined the business. This case, which centres on the interaction between enterprise growth and family ownership, examines the strategic challenges and ownership transition issues facing GPA.
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