After more than 1,100 people lost their lives in the 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building in Bangladesh, executives of Joe Fresh, a Canadian fashion and lifestyle brand, had to respond. Along with numerous other Western retailers, Joe Fresh had sourced much of its merchandise from the Rana Plaza factory. The disaster evoked an emotional public reaction, ranging from sympathy to outrage. The clothing industry had become a critical part of Bangladesh’s economy, and this was not an isolated incident. How would the Rana Plaza incident affect the public perception of Joe Fresh, and what could the company do to improve that perception? More fundamentally, how could Joe Fresh balance its competitive position, obligations to shareholders, and customer demands with ethical sourcing?
After more than 1,100 people lost their lives in the 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building in Bangladesh, executives of Joe Fresh, a Canadian fashion and lifestyle brand, had to respond. Along with numerous other Western retailers, Joe Fresh had sourced much of its merchandise from the Rana Plaza factory. The disaster invoked an emotional public reaction, ranging from sympathy to outrage. The clothing industry had become a critical part of Bangladesh's economy, and this was not an isolated incident. How would the Rana Plaza incident affect the public perception of Joe Fresh, and what could the company do to improve that perception? More fundamentally, how could Joe Fresh balance its competitive position, obligations to shareholders, and customer demands with ethical sourcing?
Set in November 2005, the case examines a company that has been extremely successful in several product categories in its own domestic market and is defending its market position against intense competition from powerful multinational corporations, emerging domestic rivals and newer low-cost alternatives. The multinational corporations include some of the world's most sophisticated marketing companies. The case may be used independently or with the supplement Splash Corporation (B): International Expansion, product 9B06A015.
The Splash Corporation (A) case, product 9B06A014 focuses on the domestic Philippine market, particularly the competitive dynamics in the existing product lines of skin care and hair care. The Splash Corporation (B) case focuses on international expansion and the introduction of a new line of nutraceutical products. Both cases are set between late 2005 and early 2006 but deal with very different issues.
Sante Fe Relocation Services was a premium provider of relocation services based in Hong Kong. Founded in 1980, the company had built a reputation as a reliable, high-quality packer and mover of household goods. By 2000, the company also offered a full range of relocation support services including visa and immigration applications, home searching and cultural and language training. Santa Fe relocated expatriates and their families between Asian countries and between Asia and other regions. The company had its own staff and assets in Asia and managed its international operations through a network of partners. In 2005, the chief operating officer faced three key challenges: differentiating and positioning the brand in a crowded and often price-driven market; incorporating an expanded service line under the original brand and gaining market recognition for those additional services; and managing the brand across the Asian region with an effective balance of standardization versus local adaptation.
The owners of the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel planned a grand 4+ star hotel in a prime location, just a five-minute walk from the airport terminal. It would feature 612 guest rooms, multiple food and beverage outlets, meeting facilities and the largest ballroom in eastern Bangkok. The property was co-owned by three Thai government corporations and was set to open on 1 October 2006. Bangkok hotel operator Universal Hospitality Group and French hotel and leisure company The Accor Group submitted a joint bid for the management contract when it was opened for tender in September 2004. In February 2005, the hotel's owners awarded the management contract to the Accor-Universal management group. This was after the hotel's design had been finalized and construction had begun. The management consequently felt they had no meaningful input in the development process. Furthermore, the hotel had been built on a turnkey basis. Hence, when the management group assumed responsibility for the hotel in April 2006, they discovered many operational challenges stemming from what they felt was a misalignment of the hotel's development, construction and operation. The management group spent the first few months grappling with those challenges and seeking solutions.
Examines the life, career, and leadership style of John Meredith, the group managing director of Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH). Meredith established the company in 1972 based on his vision for more efficient global trade. Under his leadership, the company grew to become the world's largest container port operator. HPH grew from owning and managing a single container port to owning and managing 45 container ports by May 2007. Also looks at the importance of leadership at all levels of organizations. When a company grows quickly and sets up operations around the world, it must constantly train new leaders. However, HPH had difficulty finding and training enough leaders who were willing to lead the company's new port operations in far-off destinations. Reviews HPH's actions thus far and asks what other measures may be appropriate in the future.
This case examines the life, career and leadership style of John Meredith, the group managing director of Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH). Meredith established the company in 1972 based on his vision for more efficient global trade. Under his leadership, the company grew to become the world's largest container port operator. The company grew from owning and managing a single container port to owning and managing 45 container ports by May 2007. This case also examines the importance of leadership at all levels of organizations. When a company grows quickly and sets up operations around the world, it must constantly train new leaders. However, HPH had difficulty finding and training enough leaders who were willing to lead the company's new port operations in far-off destinations. The case examines HPH's actions thus far and asks what other measures may be appropriate in the future.
Splash Corporation has been dubbed the next Unilever - not bad for a consumer packaged goods company that was started in a garage in the Philippines no more than 20 years ago. As one of the largest consumer packaged goods companies in the Philippines, it is now considering international expansion options. Should the company tackle the nearby markets of Indonesia and Malaysia, or should it look farther afield at the lucrative markets of Europe and North America? The company is not short of ambition but resources are scarce.
Splash Corporation has been dubbed "the next Unilever"--not bad for a consumer packaged goods company that was started in a garage in the Philippines no more than 20 years ago. As one of the largest consumer packaged goods companies in the Philippines, it is now considering international expansion options. Should the company tackle the nearby markets of Indonesia and Malaysia, or should it look farther afield at the lucrative markets of Europe and North America? The company is not short of ambition but resources are scarce.
ForeFront Wood Products produces high quality wooden door-sets. The company faces capacity constraints and inefficiencies resulting from its processes and culture. As a consequence, it struggles to be profitable. ForeFront's parent company, ForeFront Holdings, plans an initial public offering in 2007. It has recently hired a new operations manager with the mandate to turn the factory around. As the operations manager begins his job he tours the manufacturing facilities to gather information on production processes and factors affecting capacity, cost and conformance. The case describes the firm's manufacturing and managerial processes. Many issues are described, including high costs, low yields, unreported defects and equipment that fails to operate near its rated capacity. Organizational and change management challenges, including high employee turnover, excessive use of overtime and failure of supervisors to observe or report employee errors are also described.
ForeFront Wood Products produces high-quality wooden door sets. The company faces capacity constraints and inefficiencies resulting from its processes and culture. As a consequence, it struggles to be profitable. ForeFront's parent company, ForeFront Holdings, plans an initial public offering in 2007. It has recently hired a new operations manager with the mandate to turn the factory around. As the operations manager begins his job he tours the manufacturing facilities to gather information on production processes and factors affecting capacity, cost, and conformance. Describes the firm's manufacturing and managerial processes. Many issues are covered, including high costs, low yields, unreported defects, and equipment that fails to operate near its rated capacity. Organizational and change management challenges, including high employee turnover, excessive use of overtime, and failure of supervisors to observe or report employee errors are also described.
Eat2Eat.com was an Internet-based restaurant reservation service covering a dozen cities in the Asia Pacific region. It was the principal business of Singapore-based Eat2Eat Pte Ltd. It was launched in 2000 by an entrepreneur and former investment banker with US$1 million of his own capital. He quickly established the capabilities and business model, but after five years, the registered user base remained relatively small at about 12,000. He thought the next step for the company was to expand that user base and hoped that the company could change the way people made plans to eat out. Resources - specifically, time and money - were limited, so any promotional efforts would have to be innovative and efficient. The case focuses on entrepreneurial marketing with sub-themes of financing and small enterprise management. It is a story of an entrepreneur who had an idea and enough money to launch it, but then struggles to achieve adequate scale.
Eat2Eat.com was an Internet-based restaurant reservation service covering a dozen cities in the Asia Pacific region. The principal business of Singapore-based Eat2Eat Pte Ltd., it was launched in 2000 by an entrepreneur and former investment banker with US$1 million of his own capital. He quickly established the capabilities and business model, but after five years the registered user base remained relatively small at about 12,000. He thought the next step for the company was to expand that user base and hoped that the company could change the way people made plans to eat out. Resources--specifically, time and money--were limited, so any promotional efforts would have to be innovative and efficient. Focuses on entrepreneurial marketing with sub-themes of financing and small enterprise management as it tells the story of an entrepreneur who had an idea and enough money to launch it, but then struggled to achieve adequate scale.
The chief executive officer of Calgary-based Guest-Tek Interactive Entertainment Ltd., a leading provider of high-speed Internet access to the hotel industry, must consider whether and how his company should grow its business overseas. Ninety-seven per cent of Guest-Tek's fiscal year 2003 revenue was derived from North American hotels - a market he knew would eventually become saturated. Guest-Tek had listed publicly in January 2004. Both internal and external investors now demanded results. Other geographic markets held the promise of new growth and competitors were already pursuing those opportunities.
The Splash Corporation (A) case, product 9B06A014 focuses on the domestic Philippine market, particularly the competitive dynamics in the existing product lines of skin care and hair care. The Splash Corporation (B) case focuses on international expansion and the introduction of a new line of nutraceutical products. Both cases are set between late 2005 and early 2006 but deal with very different issues.
Examines a company that has been extremely successful in several product categories in its own domestic market and is defending its market position against intense competition from powerful multinational corporations, emerging domestic rivals, and newer low-cost alternatives. The multinational corporations include some of the world's most sophisticated marketing companies.
Set in November 2005, the case examines a company that has been extremely successful in several product categories in its own domestic market and is defending its market position against intense competition from powerful multinational corporations, emerging domestic rivals and newer low-cost alternatives. The multinational corporations include some of the world's most sophisticated marketing companies. The case may be used independently or with the supplement Splash Corporation (B): International Expansion, product 9B06A015.
Focuses on the domestic Philippine market, particularly the competitive dynamics in the existing product lines of skin care and hair care; international expansion; and the introduction of a new line of nutraceutical products.