An investment manager at Glitz Investments, a firm based in the United States with a focus on the entertainment industry, wanted to identify potential blockbuster movies in the Indian film industry for the firm’s potential investment purposes. The investment manager received a report compiled by analysts at the firm indicating that Bollywood would be an attractive industry for investment. The firm’s analysts had collected data but could the manager determine a quantitative relationship between box office performance and the factors the team had identified? Could Glitz Investments choose movies based on this analysis alone? The investment manager's boss was looking for more specific data on which to base the firm’s investment decisions.
In early December 2016, the owner of the Asian Grill restaurant in Henderson, Nevada, noticed that the restaurant had busy nights where customers left due to long wait times, yet there were empty seats due to small groups occupying large tables. She had a proposed new table layout before her and had to evaluate whether this would allow the restaurant to seat more customers on her busiest nights (Thursday to Saturday), or whether a different table layout would be even better.
Two business-school grads are the co-founders of a technology startup that provides a mobile-based solution for automotive reviews. The case focuses on customer validation and on fitting a demand model to the aggregate sales data from the test versions of their product.
In 2009, the owner of a Broadway theatre has to figure out whether to switch to a new show or continue with the current one, which is not generating the revenue expected. He already has a new show booked to begin in five weeks; each new show requires a week of set-up time during which its producers pay rent to the theatre but there are no ticket sales. Is it worth closing the current show and replacing it with an unknown show for a very limited run? Or should he just let the current show continue until the new, already contracted show is set to begin? A freelance analytics consultant helps him solve the problem by analyzing past data on the weekly box office performance of shows.
In recent years, men’s tennis has been dominated by Roger Federer, Rafeal Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The question is whether their performance depends on the type of court surface.
Pinpoint Consulting, a multi-billion dollar strategy consulting firm, has been hired by Dart Financial Corporation to provide advice on the potential acquisition of a credit card portfolio. An analyst has the task of building a model and making recommendations. The price is set at $60 million and the analyst must assess whether the portfolio is an attractive opportunity and a suitable fit for Dart Financial.
Teleco Inc. (Teleco), an established telecom conglomerate with a significant position in the Canadian wireless business, had engaged M2 to plan its digital media spending strategy for the upcoming quarter. The vice-president at M2 would have to help Teleco decide on the ideal investment strategy for its $1.5 million digital media advertising budget and wondered how this would affect M2's strategic recommendations.
The chief leasing officer (CLO) of Arthur Hill & Company was preparing Sunrise Atrium (a commercial property currently in the company's portfolio) for sale. Currently, many of the tenants of the building had signed long-term leases that still had time to run but were significantly below market rates. The CLO believed that the majority of potential buyers of Sunrise Atrium would use the cap rate method of valuation, which made the future net operating income (NOI) a key component of the valuation and hence the sale price. To improve the value of the building, the CLO was considering offering a rent holiday to selected tenants as a way of raising some leases to market rates. To determine if it made business sense, the CLO identified the key success factors to be the choice of tenants eligible for the holiday and the duration of the holiday. His goal was to develop a lease reconfiguration plan that would add value to investors.
Beck Taxi is Toronto's leading cab brokerage. In May 2009, the company's chief executive officer (CEO) is wondering whether the company could change the radio fee for the limited duration of summer, usually a lean season for the cab trade. The fee, paid by drivers for the dispatch service connecting them to customers in waiting, has not been increased in over a decade. That is enough reason to go for a straight upward revision on a permanent basis. The CEO is also considering introducing a variable component to pricing - a novelty in the cab trade. There are several forces at stake in the trade and any decision by Beck Taxi, as the market leader, will shake it up. Status quo is therefore an option in its own right for the CEO. The case provides the background against which the CEO will have to make a call on pricing Beck's service.