Alexandria Confectionery & Chocolate Company (trading as Corona), led by chief executive officer Shady Farid, grappled with a post-pandemic downturn in sales, weakened brand image, and heightened competition in the chocolate, biscuit, and chocolate spread markets. Faced with an urgent need for revitalization, Farid contemplated strategic adjustments, with an emphasis on enhanced brand perception and consumer insights. To succeed, he had to leverage the company’s existing brand and market position and focus on targeted advertising and quality representation to reclaim market share and grow revenues. Farid focused on three product lines: moulded chocolates, the Bimbo brand, and chocolate spread. How could he leverage the company’s existing positioning and brand name to increase market share and revenues?
The case explores the challenges faced by the leader of the El Dandara tribes in Egypt, as he confronts the disappointing results of an assessment on the status of women within his tribe. Despite being praised for his leadership style, the assessment reveals a significant gap in female empowerment within the tribe. Hashem, known for his transformative initiatives, had initiated a project to uplift women in his tribe. Now faced with the need to reassess and improve the project, Hashem must navigate the complexities of tribal leadership, cultural norms, and the urgent need for female empowerment. This case helps students understand the importance of culture for leadership by providing insights into Western and Arab leadership practices.
The case study revolves around Amir Hashem El Dandarawy, the leader of the El Amara tribe in Upper Egypt, who faces two pressing conflicts. El Dandarawy must navigate these conflicts, mediate between the embattled families, and assert his tribe's rights while maintaining neutrality and integrity. The case examines El Dandarawy's leadership style; prominent Western leadership models such as servant leadership, transformational leadership, situational leadership, and ethical leadership; and different approaches to conflict resolution in Arab culture, including mediation, negotiation, consultation, and consensus-building. Students are challenged to compare and contrast Western and Eastern approaches to leadership and conflict resolution.
Breadfast is an online grocery delivery retailer founded by Mostafa Amin, Muhammad Habib, and Abdallah Nofal in Egypt in 2017. The three co-founders are now contemplating international expansion into new markets to further grow their revenues and diversify geographically. They have decided to investigate expanding into nearby Tunisia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Therefore, they must examine the macroeconomic environment and the food and beverage industry in those two countries to determine if the conditions are favourable to ensure a successful international expansion. In addition to identifying the criteria of attractiveness for each country, the co-founders must select the most appropriate market entry strategy. The online grocery retail market in Tunisia and KSA has been growing as a result of evolving consumer preferences and the COVID-19 pandemic. Both countries have favourable and unfavourable factors. Given the risks and trade-offs in each country, Breadfast must determine which market to enter and which mode of entry will increase its the chance of success.
On May 12, 2016, the founder and development manager of Democrata, was considering the future of his clothing store, in light of an increase in visitors to the area from different regions of Lebanon. Democrata was a clothing and apparel store founded in 1974, providing the latest fashion trends to both women and men. It offered major brands and basic casual and formal wear at competitive prices for customers in all income ranges. With success and affordable prices in northern Lebanon, Democrata grew to attract customers from all over the country. The idea of growth had always interested the development manager, who was seeking the best way to generate organic growth in the business. However, he had to consider the challenges facing the apparel industry. What were Democrata’s competitive advantages? How strong was its financial position? What growth strategy would be right for Democrata?
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?
Profico Trading and Contracting Company WLL, an aluminum and glazing contracting company in Lebanon, assembled and installed aluminum and glazing doors and windows and aluminum composite panels for local construction projects. The company's revenues had increased over the years, but over the previous four years, revenues had declined, largely as a result of regional political turmoil that affected the construction industry. The management team was contemplating an opportunity to invest in a production line that would expand the company's scope through backward integration, conceivably increasing the company's revenues by 40–50 per cent. Was the investment worthwhile in the context, and if so, how might the company finance it?
In December 2016, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Château Ksara, the largest and most renowned wine producer in Lebanon, was analyzing the company’s sales volume and product availability around Lebanon. To the CEO’s surprise, a popular fine dining establishment in the city did not include any of Château Ksara’s wines. Frustrated, he started wondering what could have been the reasons for the omission. Was the quality of wine giving competitors an edge in selling their brands? What position did Château Ksara currently hold within the wine brand landscape in its own country? How could Château Ksara add value to, and maintain profitable relationships with, its distribution channel partners?
In the summer of 2016, the general manager of IXSIR Winery of Lebanon (IXSIR)—a young winery in Lebanon that offered customers a new level of quality by producing wine from a mixture of grapes harvested from different terroirs—received news of a bomb striking Beirut. IXSIR had been facing challenges competing in the unstable and risky local market, and the general manager realized that the bombing signalled rougher economic times ahead and likely a decrease in wine consumption. He was concerned about how the political unrest in the country could negatively impact wine sales and started thinking about different ways to tackle the threat of an ongoing economic downturn. He also wondered how to mitigate a potential decrease in revenue. Should IXSIR pursue revenue-generating activities such as oenotourism or diversify into different products?
Perched on a cliff, the ninth-century Tatev Monastery is one of the most important monasteries in Armenia. A prominent Moscow-based businessman has decided to make it into an accessible and attractive tourist destination. Complicating matters is the region’s significant poverty and inaccessibility due to harsh weather conditions and a lack of proper infrastructure. In addition, shortcomings in hospitality management and training mean that tourist numbers remain low. One of the greatest challenges of the project is the management of eight stakeholders, including the Armenian Church, the local community, investors and UNESCO. How can the founder of the revival project devise a commercially successful strategy that will address all stakeholders’ interests without compromising his own principles and ethical values?
This is the fourth case in the Azza Fahmy series. This case and the three others in this series (9B13M097, 9B13M098 and 9B13M099) can be used together or on a standalone basis.<br><br>Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post-revolution (B) (9B14M024) is a supplement to this case.<br><br>This case series features a female Egyptian entrepreneur who faces the challenge of developing her self-titled jewellery brand. This case describes the changes that have occurred in the external environment and their effect on strategy implementation. The Egyptian Revolution on January 2011 has forced the entrepreneur to re-evaluate her strategy and make the necessary changes. The use of social media, which was a catalyst of the revolution and also affected its outcome, presents a great opportunity for expanding her business even further.
This is the third case in the Azza Fahmy series. This case and the three others in this series (9B13M097, 9B13M098 and 9B14M023) can be used together or on a standalone basis.<br><br>This case series features a female Egyptian entrepreneur who faces the challenge of developing her self-titled jewellery brand. This case describes some of the first steps of doing business internationally in the West. Lacking international experience, the entrepreneur seeks to minimize risk by entering into a strategic alliance with renowned fashion designers. They systematically help her to introduce her brand to the international market, albeit on a limited scale. After the initial success, she begins to plan a more structured approach towards internationalization. She decides to commission a thorough study of France, Spain and Turkey, as they are historically familiar with Arabic jewellery designs. Accordingly, the case identifies specific information about the three countries so that students can compare them in order to reach the best decision about structured international expansion.
This is the second case in the Azza Fahmy series. This case and the three others in this series (9B13M097, 9B13M099 and 9B14M023) can be used together or on a standalone basis.<br><br> This case series features a female Egyptian entrepreneur who faces the challenge of developing her self-titled jewellery brand. In this case, the entrepreneur realizes the importance of having a clear organizational structure with different departments and a clear chain of authority. As a result, she hires her daughter as the managing director to take on the responsibility of developing a mission, vision and explicit organizational structure. This restructuring allows the company to grow further, which leads the entrepreneur to consider her opportunities in the international market.
This case and the three others in this series (9B13M098, 9B13M099 and 9B14M023) can be used together or on a standalone basis.<br><br>This case series features a female Egyptian entrepreneur who faces the challenge of developing her self-titled jewellery brand. The issues are strategic in nature and typical of a growing business. Following the successful establishment of her company, she faces issues related to rapid growth; she is a “one-woman show” who controls everything in the company including marketing, operations, human resources and finance. Although she enjoyed a successful start, the tremendous growth of her company has culminated in management difficulties. Thus, she is considering how to transform her business from an entrepreneurial firm to a structured organization.
Jabwood, a wood trading company with four branches in Lebanon owned by the Jabado family, is contemplating international expansion into new markets — specifically, Saudi Arabia and China — to compensate for a decline in revenues. This case examines the macroeconomic environment of Lebanon, China and Saudi Arabia as well as the wood industry in those countries. The characteristics of a successful international expansion are considered. In addition to identifying the criteria of attractiveness for each country, the case requires a decision on a market entry strategy that would ensure a successful expansion for the company. Given the risks and tradeoffs in each country, Jabwood has to decide whether it should expand in either market or both and on the mode of entry it should adopt to increase its chances of success.
Olympic Group (OG) was an Egyptian white goods giant that made products such as water heaters, fans, and cookers. In 1997, OG decided to buy IDEAL, a large state-owned white goods firm. Being a monopoly in its markets, IDEAL had a strong brand name and market share, which made it very attractive for OG. Also, the products that IDEAL produced — refrigerators and washing machines — complemented OG’s products. A year after the acquisition, OG had to deal with several issues such as integrating the employees of the two companies, boosting employees’ productivity, changing IDEAL’s brand image, and improving IDEAL’s products. Accordingly, within the next month, the CEO had to decide whether to start by changing IDEAL’s brand image or integrating the employees of the two companies. He also had to consider how and when to integrate the employees of the two companies without affecting overall performance. What methods should he use to boost the employees’ productivity, especially at IDEAL? What areas needed to be worked on in order to improve the IDEAL brand image without affecting its market share? What changes in IDEAL’s products were required to sustain its competitiveness and market share?
Driven by the 2009 global economic crisis, Dacia Romania designed and built the Dacia Duster sport utility vehicle (SUV) to be the ideal SUV at an affordable price. After a successful introduction of the cheapest modern sedan on the international market in 2004, and one of the cheapest modern seven-seaters in 2006, Dacia planned to introduce what it hoped would become the cheapest modern SUV on the international market. The main challenge it was facing in 2009 was not only how to sell the car to existing customers, but also to conduct an extensive public communication campaign in order to convince other drivers to change their cars for the cheaper, more efficient Dacia SUV that was going to be available in spring 2010.