The case contains a discussion on Lesso Group, a leading construction material and home decor manufacturer in China, and its market entrance strategy to establish footprint in the retail space in the United States.
This case is intended to take students through the cycle of a direct investment, during which a number of decisions has to be made by the financial investor as the shareholder of the investee company. In a situation where the financial investor is a minority shareholder, it is of the investor's best interest to be sensitive to the alignment of shareholders, especially with the controlling/strategic shareholder. When faced with a decision as to whether to maximize value for itself, or share value with the controlling/strategic shareholder, the financial investor should look harder to find creative solutions which can add value to both the minority and the controlling shareholder. Often times, additional investment means additional risk, and the then-current reward/risk balance should be carefully considered, including the then-current fundamentals of the investee company, and the competitive environment of the industry.
Realizing the missing link between traditional veterinary services and modern-day technology, Dicky Lau created a solution of his own-a telemedicine platform for pets. He founded VetNX in 2016 in Hong Kong after working in his family's pet food business for six years. As with many other early-stage companies, the two-year-old venture had gone through a few changes in its business model and seemed to have found the right niche to tackle the large potential market in China. The company had expanded rapidly in terms of geographic coverage and product offerings, and was at the stage of final testing on when it would be ready for commercial launch imminently. Dicky was also concerned about the future of his venture: the competitive landscape of the pet industry, the regulatory environment in the e-commerce sector in China, the efforts involved to secure venture funding, and above all, the kind of operating model he would use in his company.
Bloom & Grow is a regional distributor in Asia of maternity, baby, and children's products. The company was founded in 2004 by a mother who was having problems finding reliable, high-quality products for herself and her first baby. The company grew from a one-person venture into a pan-Asian enterprise with five warehouses.
Bloom & Grow is a regional distributor in Asia of maternity, baby, and children's products. The company was founded in 2004 by a mother who was having problems finding reliable, high-quality products for herself and her first baby. The company grew from a one-person venture into a pan-Asian enterprise with five warehouses.
The objective of the case is for instructors to teach students how to analyze the strategic situation of a company and use this analysis to evaluate alternative strategic moves for a company. China's e-commerce market overtook the United States market and reported the highest online transaction value in 2013, growing at over 50% per annum. JD.com is the largest independent e-retailer, a key player in the industry, with a unique, differentiated position. The case takes place just as JD.com is preparing for its IPO on the NASDAQ. The case presents the four developmental directions that JD.com CEO Richard Liu had laid out. The direct competitive threat is from Alibaba's Taobao and its T-Mall marketplace, the 10-ton gorilla of China's e-commerce sector. It also contains information on JD.com's unique logistics backbone, its pre-IPO financials, and the company's plans to become a public company.
The case is based on the inventory situation faced by Arome Bakery, one of the leading bakery chains in Hong Kong. Sarah Cheng, assistant operations manager, wants to increase the bakery's competitiveness by improving its operation. A key goal is to reduce the number of unsold products that are returned to the central baking factory for disposal. Sarah is looking for a systematic method to determine the optimum order quantity, so as to minimize product wastage while balancing stock-out risk.
The case is based on an actual challenge faced by Christie's Hong Kong, the Hong Kong subsidiary of the renowned auction house. For its biannual auctions, the company needs to hire 200 to 300 temporary sales assistants and assign them to different positions on different days. The human resources team believes that the current manual process of hiring and assignment is labor intensive and is unable to cope with sudden changes. They are looking to streamline the process and use decision tools.
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, a leading international airline providing both passenger and cargo services, had been operating under a collaborative arrangement with HATCL, the largest air cargo terminal operator in Hong Kong, since the opening of the new airport. Demand for Cathay Pacific's air cargo handling services outgrew the terminal's capacity of the operator. There were on-going discussions between the two partners on opening a new terminal, but no agreement had yet been reached on the service fee paid to HATCL. As a last resort, Cathay Pacific would need to consider the possibility of building an air cargo terminal for captive use. Peter Lee, a senior executive at the airline, was put in charge of the feasibility study. Although Peter had experience in leading special projects in the past within the company, this particular one was completely different given its scale and the amount of investment involved. Perceptibly, fundamental business elements such as targeted capacity, return on investment and competition had to be included in the study. Other soft issues like management expertise future cooperative relationship with HATCL should also be studied. Peter wondered what other considerations he should include in addition. He wanted to be sure that by tackling these issues from all angles, it would allow him to come up with a recommendation to the board: whether Cathay Pacific should build its own terminal.
This case is designed as the second part of a two-part case study on Cathay Pacific's cargo operations, but it can be used separately on a stand-alone basis. The objective of this case is to demonstrate the implementation process of e-freight solution at Cathay Pacific, which involved multiple stakeholders along the air cargo supply chain in multiple countries. Students are expected to step into the role of the cargo service manager in charge of the implementation project, and come up with a detailed plan to resolve the issue.
iLinko is a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) based in Hong Kong. It has two major lines of business: providing business-to-business sourcing and procurement services for its customers (mainly medium-size companies located in the United States and Europe), and distributing babies and children products under the brand name Bloom. Simon May, the protagonist of the case, is the founder and CEO of iLinko. Given the rapid growth of the company, the existing ERP system can no longer satisfy the operational needs and requirements at iLinko. Simon has to choose whether to upgrade the existing ERP system or replace it with a brand-new system altogether.