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In September 2019, a marketing director at Multinational Beverage Inc. faced a dilemma: she needed to determine how to reverse the declining sales and market share of her Florida-based orange juice brand, Fresh Squeeze. While one potential solution was to move production to Brazil to take advantage of lower production costs, the marketing director also had to consider the effect this would have on Fresh Squeeze's brand image. Given industry dynamics, would becoming a low-priced competitor lead to the right positioning for Fresh Squeeze, or were Florida oranges the heart of this business?

In September 2019, a marketing director at Multinational Beverage Inc. faced a dilemma: she needed to determine how to reverse the declining sales and market share of her Florida-based orange juice brand, Fresh Squeeze. While one potential solution was to move production to Brazil to take advantage of lower production costs, the marketing director also had to consider the effect this would have on Fresh Squeeze’s brand image. Given industry dynamics, would becoming a low-priced competitor lead to the right positioning for Fresh Squeeze, or were Florida oranges the heart of this business?

"We're in business together, and whether we lose a few million dollars or make a few million dollars, let's do this. If you think you can pull it off, I'm behind you." Michael Rapino, chief executive officer of Live Nation, the world's leading live entertainment company, expresses his support to Pharrell Williams, one of the music industry's biggest stars, and his long-time manager Ron Laffitte. It is December 2018, and Williams just pitched Rapino an idea for a music festival in Virginia Beach, Something In The Water. Williams is engaged in many endeavors - he is not only a chart-topping musician, but also a fashion designer, film and television producer, brand builder, and business consultant - that are brought together in his company, I Am Other, which is in a joint venture with Live Nation. Although Live Nation generally does not shy away from making big bets on its artists, Williams' festival idea is risky and has an unusually aggressive time table. Is Rapino right to lend his support to Williams' proposed festival? Are partnerships like the one it had formed with Williams' company I Am Other the way forward for Live Nation? And how can the company that dominates the live music space best continue to create value for artists and their managers?

Tea Connect, a chain of five tea cafés in India, had ended 2019 with sales revenues of ₹48.1 million. The co-founder of Tea Connect had the ambitious target of opening 20 cafés and achieving sales revenues of ₹200 million by 2020. The co-founder planned the renovation of the cafés to improve the speed of service, but he also wanted to launch Tea Connect-branded consumer packaged products. Three franchising offers for stores in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Mount Abu were also under consideration. He was wondering whether renovation would help to enhance the customer experience and whether this was the right time to launch consumer packaged goods. Also, was it the right time to explore the franchise route of expansion?

In late 2018, the founder and owner of Pupadise, Inc., a pet care business in Canada, was nearing her graduation from university and needed to decide what to do with the business she had built in her undergraduate years. Pupadise cared for clients’ pets when the pet owners could not; its services primarily consisted of live-in and drop-in pet care. The owner was considering selling the business, but was concerned that the sale price would be low because her business had no traditional assets. Inspired by a guest speaker in her pricing class, she realized that her client list of 300 pet owners had value, but wondered how to price it. She had a meeting scheduled with a prospective buyer and wanted to prepare. Should she sell her business, and if so, for how much?

Spreadsheet to accompany product 8B20A043.

In February 2019, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Daily Bread Food Bank (Daily Bread) in Toronto, Ontario reflected on the charity's strong performance in the past year. Despite Daily Bread's success, the CEO felt there were opportunities to do more. Toronto's food insecurity rate had been rising in recent years, and food banks across the city had been struggling to meet demand. The CEO had several potential ideas for contributing to the long-term sustainability of the food bank and delivering the highest impact in the community. Daily Bread's underused kitchen could be turned into a social enterprise and used to generate more funds to gain additional engagement with the local community in the fight against hunger; the kitchen could also be rented out for special events after hours and on weekends; extra shifts and truck deliveries would help grow the charity's operations; or the organization could keep the status quo and let the charity grow naturally. Most importantly, however, the decision would have to align with the charity's mission and current operations. With the advisory board of directors' meeting rapidly approaching, the CEO had to make a decision on how to maximize the food bank's resources.

The co-manager and partner at Escape Outdoors (EO), North Sydney, Nova Scotia had to decide if the adoption of Herschel Supply Co. (Herschel) products-as part of her outdoor store's product mix-was a good decision for her company. Herschel had never been included in the traditional outdoor mix of brands, and EO's market was an older clientele than Herschel's. Marketing factors affecting her decision to adopt a new brand included buyer behaviour, marketing informatics, segmentation, differentiation, and positioning. However, Herschel was a post-millennial-focused brand, and the company's representative believed the younger demographic was becoming more interested in outdoor recreation. EO's co-manager and partner had concerns. Did Herschel fit EO's values, current brand mix, and customer base? Should EO adopt the brand? Which specific lines or products would be the best fit? How much inventory should EO begin with?

The case discusses the opportunities and challenges faced by Lladró SA (Lladró), a Spanish luxury porcelain brand, when marketing itself in India in 2019. Lladró was known for its high quality, artistic, and handcrafted porcelain pieces created in its workshop in Valencia, Spain. In India, Lladró had gained popularity among high net-worth individuals and corporate executives through its "Spirit of India" series of sculptures featuring Hindu gods and goddesses in porcelain. However, with the changes in the luxury paradigm the company was striving to reorient the brand as a lifestyle luxury brand with a focus on functionality in its product offerings. The case raises questions about the future direction the brand should take in India without risking its prestige status. What strategies should Lladró adopt to target specific buyers in India? Would the company benefit from its expanding product portfolio or run the risk of diluting its exclusive luxury image with this growing product portfolio?

This case explores the marketing challenges that a robotics and automation technology start-up faces in the construction industry. A recommended framework for analysis is Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations (see suggested complimentary reading by John T. Gourville). By applying the analysis of the adoption curve, students can work through the process of diagnosing what might be impeding sales of the SAM100 and then identify which market segments, targets and positioning strategies will help accelerate the adoption of this new innovation in order for it to progress through to a robust product lifecycle.

This case explores InsurTech start-up Lemonade's disruptive new business model aimed at creating and delivering a 'shockingly great user experience' around a 'lovable brand' - in an industry plagued by low customer satisfaction. The digital disruptor leverages principles of behavioural economics to address conflicts of interest and mistrust which prevail in the existing industry. It uses digital technologies to automate, accelerate and manage an impressive amount of work - with few employees - thereby reducings customer effort and , increasing customer satisfaction to achieve cost-effective service excellence. The effortless experience is aggressively priced and relies on a flexible subscription-based pricing model. Artificial intelligence (AI), data and machine learning are key in the race to achieving data parity with incumbents. The case culminates in Lemonade's filing for an initial public offering (IPO) and asks where growth should come from next: incremental improvements, further expansion across the United States, global expansion beyond Germany and the Netherlands, or from new types of property.

Since entering China in 1987 with its first restaurant in Beijing, KFC has been a great success and has become the largest quick-service restaurant (QSR) in the country. In 2015, Joey Wat was named Chief Executive Officer of KFC China. In the following year, Yum China (NYSE: YUMC) spun off from Yum! Brands and became an independent, publicly traded company. To expand KFC China's business one step further, Joey Wat had to navigate through a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive landscape. With China's rising economy and personal income levels, many more fast-food chains and snack choices entered the market and competition intensified. Moreover, over the years consumers were increasingly attracted to not only healthy diets, but also an enjoyable consumption experience. As Gen Z customers become the largest consumer base, they have shifted their focus more to value, personalized experience, and a sense of engagement in their food purchases, beyond just affordability and speed. For KFC, other issues were added to the challenge too: a high employee turnover rate and rising rent and labor costs. With highly standardized products and a stable ticket average, how should KFC move forward amid the new and challenging dynamics to achieve a breakthrough? KFC China had started its digital ecosystem early and built up powerful digital capabilities. Under Joey Wat's leadership, KFC China made various attempts to drive productivity, reduce costs, and constantly improve the customer experience. How did digitalization help with these accomplishments? How did KFC China carry out the digitalization? Would digitalization continue to benefit the business in the future?

Brewing Peace was a company based in the Philippines that sold coffee beans. Despite having a base of 80 customers, 70 per cent of its business depended on 9 key accounts; this included its biggest buyer, Concepcion Coffee Enterprises Limited (CCEL), which accounted for 20 per cent of Brewing Peace’s revenues. After a ₱30 million order from CCEL with a profit margin of less than 20 per cent, a payment period of 90 days, and a short delivery time, the co-founder of Brewing Peace was forced to review its relationship with its biggest client. The dilemma facing Brewing Peace was that it could not accept this order on CCEL’s terms without jeopardizing the company’s payment terms with its vendors and affecting the supply for orders, worth ₱25 million, to its other customers.

Brewing Peace was a company based in the Philippines that sold coffee beans. Despite having a base of 80 customers, 70 per cent of its business depended on 9 key accounts; this included its biggest buyer, Concepcion Coffee Enterprises Limited (CCEL), which accounted for 20 per cent of Brewing Peace's revenues. After a ₱30 million order from CCEL with a profit margin of less than 20 per cent, a payment period of 90 days, and a short delivery time, the co-founder of Brewing Peace was forced to review its relationship with its biggest client. The dilemma facing Brewing Peace was that it could not accept this order on CCEL's terms without jeopardizing the company's payment terms with its vendors and affecting the supply for orders, worth ₱25 million, to its other customers.

In January 2015, the founder and chairman of Sunyuki Agricultural Co., Ltd. (Sunyuki), was considering a major change to his company. Founded in 2010, Sunyuki was one of the first online fresh-food retailers in southwest China, providing safe, fresh, organic foods to high-end consumers who had a strong preference for high dietary quality. Since its launch, Sunyuki had achieved soaring average annual growth rates of almost 100 per cent. However, it was becoming difficult to attract new customers through online channels alone. Therefore, the founder was considering the option of opening physical stores as an off-line channel to complement the company's successful online sales and distribution channel. Because of rapid growth in the fresh-food industry and intensifying competition, the founder needed to carefully consider the company's next steps. If Sunyuki opted to expand off-line, how should it proceed? Specifically, how should the company manage a new online and offline strategy in an omnichannel sales and distribution environment?

In January 2015, the founder and chairman of Sunyuki Agricultural Co., Ltd. (Sunyuki), was considering a major change to his company. Founded in 2010, Sunyuki was one of the first online fresh-food retailers in southwest China, providing safe, fresh, organic foods to high-end consumers who had a strong preference for high dietary quality. Since its launch, Sunyuki had achieved soaring average annual growth rates of almost 100 per cent. However, it was becoming difficult to attract new customers through online channels alone. Therefore, the founder was considering the option of opening physical stores as an off-line channel to complement the company's successful online sales and distribution channel. Because of rapid growth in the fresh-food industry and intensifying competition, the founder needed to carefully consider the company’s next steps. If Sunyuki opted to expand off-line, how should it proceed? Specifically, how should the company manage a new online and offline strategy in an omnichannel sales and distribution environment?

In early 2015, the chief executive officer of Bumbox Logistics Private Limited (Bumbox) faced a challenge. The company, launched in Singapore, provided smart lockers for use by delivery companies and consumers to ensure the safe and timely receipt of online purchases. The lockers offered an attractive opportunity, given their ability to resolve last-mile delivery problems that plagued both logistics companies and online consumers. Despite the promising business concept, 18 months after launching, the business had not gained much traction—or revenue. The chief executive officer was fully aware of the company’s multiple challenges: because parcel lockers were a new concept in Singapore, consumers needed to be educated on their use; the company faced competition from other companies, including the nation’s post office; and while increasing the number of smart lockers would help the company succeed, expanding the network could only be justified once the lockers were being widely used. The company had tried to target three segments—online shoppers/consumers, logistics companies, and e-tailers—but because of limited resources, it needed to focus on one segment only. What strategy should the chief executive officer follow to take Bumbox to the next level?

In early 2015, the chief executive officer of Bumbox Logistics Private Limited (Bumbox) faced a challenge. The company, launched in Singapore, provided smart lockers for use by delivery companies and consumers to ensure the safe and timely receipt of online purchases. The lockers offered an attractive opportunity, given their ability to resolve last-mile delivery problems that plagued both logistics companies and online consumers. Despite the promising business concept, 18 months after launching, the business had not gained much traction-or revenue. The chief executive officer was fully aware of the company's multiple challenges: because parcel lockers were a new concept in Singapore, consumers needed to be educated on their use; the company faced competition from other companies, including the nation's post office; and while increasing the number of smart lockers would help the company succeed, expanding the network could only be justified once the lockers were being widely used. The company had tried to target three segments-online shoppers/consumers, logistics companies, and e-tailers-but because of limited resources, it needed to focus on one segment only. What strategy should the chief executive officer follow to take Bumbox to the next level?