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Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) is a well-known Canadian retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment. While it stocks a range of branded products in its stores, a key source of profits is its private label line of products, which spans the entire range of products offered at MEC. The challenge MEC faces is how to continue to develop and launch innovative private labeled products while recognizing that these private labeled products may be direct competitors of MEC's assortment of global brands. MEC needs to be able to develop its line-up without being seen as infringing on intellectual property or being too much of a "follower." In assessing how MEC can develop its line-up, students can review MEC's philosophy as a co-operative (in which it positions itself as being different from corporations) and its design philosophy.

Excel spreadsheet for instructors.

The newly-promoted international operations director for ReedTrek Manufacturing, is trying to diagnose the issues at his company's under-performing China plant. While the operations director originally believed the loss-making operations suffered from technical issues, his visit to the plant suggests to him that there are leadership and management issues.

This is a supplement to ReedTrek Manufacturing (A) 9B12C051.

This is a supplement to ReedTrek Manufacturing (A) 9B12C051.

The chief executive officer of Mission Hills, a Chinese golf course operator, is thinking about how to expand his resort operations into Hainan Island, a few hundred kilometres away. He is wondering what his organization needs, from a human resources standpoint, to be able to develop another five-star resort. Mission Hills is a top golf course brand in China employing 7,000 people in its Shenzhen and Dongguan facilities. The expansion to Hainan Island is part of a larger plan to establish Mission Hills resorts around China.

Supplement for case W12976

Keith Palmerston, managing director at PKG Capital, is thinking about what to do with his firm's holdings in Kraft Foods. In early 2010, Kraft, primarily a grocery products firm, is trying to acquire Cadbury, a well-known U.K.-based chocolate manufacturer. Palmerston is trying to determine if Cadbury is a good fit for Kraft's operations and if the transaction will generate value for shareholders. This case can be used in a strategy course as part of a negotiations module for strategic analysis, and to discuss the topic of valuation..

A stock analyst is preparing a recommendation on what his firm, a large U.S. investment house, should do with its stake in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, was trying to recover from a series of missteps that had seen competitors such as Dollar Stores and Amazon.com close the performance gap. Competitors had copied many aspects of Wal-Mart's distribution system, from cross-docking product to eliminate storage time in warehouses, positioning stores around distribution centres, and widespread adoption of electronic data interchange (EDI), to manage ordering and shipping from suppliers.

In 2012, a stock analyst was preparing a recommendation on what his firm, a large U.S. investment house, should do with its stake in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, was trying to recover from a series of missteps that had seen competitors such as dollar stores and Amazon.com close the performance gap. Competitors had copied many aspects of Wal-Mart’s distribution system, including cross-docking products, eliminating storage time in warehouses, positioning stores around distribution centres, and widespread adoption of electronic data interchange (EDI), as well as ordering and shipping from suppliers.

The president of Image Pipeline Services, a pipeline flushing and inspection firm, is taking a step back from the past few weeks, where he has spent virtually all his waking time working on his new business in Edmonton’s oil sands industry. A few months after starting his business, he controls virtually the entire market, but competitors will be encroaching soon. One competitor has offered to purchase his business and the president wants to weigh his options before agreeing to sell or continuing to compete.

Keith Palmerston, managing director at PKG Capital, is thinking about what to do with his firm’s holdings in Kraft Foods. In early 2010, Kraft, primarily a grocery products firm, is trying to acquire Cadbury, a well-known U.K.-based chocolate manufacturer. Palmerston is trying to determine if Cadbury is a good fit for Kraft’s operations and if the transaction will generate value for shareholders. This case can be used in a strategy course as part of a negotiations module for strategic analysis, and to discuss the topic of valuation.

This case is a supplement to Pursuing Cadbury (A).

The chief executive officer of Mission Hills, a Chinese golf course operator, is reviewing a handful of expansion options. In August 2011, Mission Hills has three large land holdings in Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Haikou, 12,000 employees and 22 golf courses. In addition to golf courses, it owned two luxury hotels and sold houses built within its properties. Mission Hills occupies an average of 60 per cent of the land it currently owns, and Chu is trying to decide if growth should come by expanding to a third Chinese province or if it should continue building in its current land holdings. He wants to identify and mitigate some of the risks that come with running a high growth business.

The chief financial officer (CFO) of TELUS Corporation (Telus) has just been informed that Moody's, a bond rating service, has downgraded the firm's credit rating to one notch below investment grade. The CFO's challenge is to determine what specific actions, if any, to recommend to the firm's audit committee. First, this case facilitates a discussion on how changes in capital structure impact a firm's earnings, stock price and flexibility to carry out plan. Second, students learn about how bond ratings are set and how a firm's bond rating affects its bond yield. Last, by focusing on the situation faced by Telus during challenging market conditions in 2002, students learn how to manage relationships with investors while in the midst of change.

The chief executive officer of Mission Hills, a Chinese golf course operator, is reviewing a handful of expansion options. In August 2011, Mission Hills has three large land holdings in Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Haikou, 12,000 employees, and 22 golf courses. In addition to golf courses, it owns two luxury hotels and sells houses built within its properties. Mission Hills occupies an average of 60 per cent of the land it currently owns, and Chu is trying to decide if growth should come by expanding to a third Chinese province or if it should continue building in its current land holdings. He wants to identify and mitigate some of the risks that come with running a high-growth business.

On December 22, 2010, the chief executive office (CEO) of Al Hilal Bank was preparing to address a group of international banking executives who were interested in understanding what decisions had contributed to Al Hilal's success thus far, and what challenges the bank would face for 2011 and beyond. In two and a half years, Al Hilal had developed a respected and fast-growing Islamic bank. The Al Hilal team had combined a foundation of strong corporate governance practices, a strong risk management framework and an innovative customer service culture. As concrete proof of its success, it had become profitable in the third quarter of 2009, and profits were rising rapidly.

Yara Branco has just joined Tarbes S.A., one of Brazil’s best-known technology firms, as its new CEO. She sees a crisis on the horizon and needs to find a way to communicate that change is necessary at the company. She must overcome several issues, including the fact that she is an outsider and that many insiders will not support the change effort. Branco needs to develop an appropriate communications strategy to begin her term as CEO. This requires determining Tarbes’s predicament, devising a list of stakeholders and barriers to change, and identifying the stakeholders’ interests and what might be necessary to change their positions.

Spreadsheet for product 9B10N028.

Spreadsheet for product 9B11B002.