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The co-founder of a continuing education lecture series needs to develop and implement a marketing communication strategy to meet target enrolment while constrained by limited promotional funds. The case focuses on the development of a marketing communication strategy in a non-profit environment and emphasizes the importance of target market definition. It introduces issues surrounding the use of e-commerce and websites to support a marketing plan.

The founder and president of Winston & Holmes must decide whether or not to expand the Yorkville location. Winston & Holmes is a fine tobacco and men's accessories shop. This year has proven to be a breakout year for the company and management had begun to question whether the Yorkville location needed to be expanded. The founder and president realized that the decision must be made soon, so that the upcoming Christmas sales season would not be affected by any construction.

The chairman and chief executive officer of Sun Microsystems Inc., is struggling to take the company he co-founded into a profitable direction. There is strong evidence that a new strategy is necessary. Segments of Sun's business are growing but open source solutions and commoditization of products are driving revenues toward zero. Decisions involve market focus, pricing and investment in new technologies. The case illustrates the role of management preferences and the limits to an executive's span of attention/control. Both the chairman's and Sun's success is contingent upon an accurate assessment of the industry and the relative position of partners as well as the ability to generate creative solutions.

Chip Wilson is trying to decide if he should pursue his current venture, a yoga wear retailing concept or return to being chief executive officer of Westbeach Snowboard, a firm he found two decades ago. This case is the first in a series of seven lululemon athletica cases that focus on decision-making using real-options analysis. Other cases in the series are: 9B06M037, 9B06M038, 9B06M039, 9B06M040, 9B06M041 and 9B06M042.

In 2003, lululemon athletica has sales of $30 million, and operations in Canada and the United States. Chip Wilson, the founder of lululemon athletica wants to expand his operations, opening up stores in either Asia or Europe. As his rapidly growing firm does not have resources to expand in both regions, he wonders how he should decide between the two options. This case is the fifth in a series of seven lululemon athletica cases that focus on decision-making using real-options analysis. Other cases in the series are: 9B906M036, 9B06M037, 9B06M038, 9B06M039, 9B06M041 and 9B06M042.

Should lululemon athletica shut down its Internet sales presence, leaving only an informational site? Chip Wilson, founder of lululemon athletica, has noticed that Internet sales have grown more slowly than stores sales. Faced with whether to invest $250,000 to create a appropriate online presence that would match his store presence, Wilson wonders what to do. This is the sixth in a series of seven lululemon athletica cases that focus on decision-making using real-options analysis. Other cases in the series are: 9B06M036, 9B06M037, 9B06M038, 9B06M039, 9B06M040 and 9B06M042.

In 2005, Chip Wilson, the founder of lululemon athletica is thinking about selling a 48 per cent stake in his firm. With $90 million in sales in 2005, lululemon athletica has a bright future ahead. In addition to U.S. expansion plans, the firm is expanding international operations. This case is the seventh in a series of seven lululemon athletica cases that focus on decision-making using real-options analysis. Other case in the series are: 9B06M036, 9B06M037, 9B06M038, 9B06M039, 9B06M040 and 9B06M041.

KTM was a leading sport motorcycle company based in Austria with sales internationally. In 2005, the company was considering expanding into all terrain vehicles (ATVs), a market which was experiencing mid to high double-digit sales growth with healthy operating margins. There were several options open to KTM to expand into the ATV market, including internal development, acquisition of another firm with capabilities in the area of allying with an ATV manufacturer. The chief executive officer had to consider the fit of the ATV business with KTM's core business as well as the implications of the various options for ATV market entry on maintaining control of KTM, achieving KTM's growth objectives, and effectively exploiting the ATV opportunity in an international context. This case allow students to determine how best to pursue a related market to maximize revenue and cost synergies, learning, and control of the firm. This case can be used with KTM: Ready to Race, product 9B05M036.

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited (Orchid) is an Indian pharmaceutical company, which commenced its operations in 1994. Over a span of 10 years, the turnover of this company has increased from US$11 million to US$153 million. The company's profit after tax registered a five fold increase from US$1.3 million to US$6.8 million in the corresponding period. Early success was a combination of pricing flexibility, lower production cost and business opportunities in unregulated markets. Orchid decided to explore opportunities for the manufacture of generic drugs in the regulated markets and formulations in the domestic market. Diversification to basic research was also considered. Cooperation and joint ventures were the primary route to expand and explore new molecule discovery. By 2005, Orchid was no longer a single-product company, its business had widened to multiple products in bulk, formulations and generics, in both regulated and unregulated markets. Orchid was making its presence felt in its novel drug delivery systems and new drug development processes. In 2005, Orchid faced several challenges related to financial leverage and risks, leadership, managerial challenges associated with joint ventures, balancing the new business model, setting global trends in being a pioneer in the industry, addressing shareholders' concerns and evolving an appropriate organization culture and process.

In 2004 CCL Industries Inc. was a leading producer of value-added outsourcing custom products and packages for numerous large consumer packaged goods companies. CCL's chief executive officer and vice-chair faced an important strategic decision. The CEO was contemplating selling the custom manufacturing division of CCL that was the basis for its founding, and still contributed approximately 34 per cent of overall earnings. Although the firm had acquired and divested many business units throughout its history, this divestment was perhaps the most significant in terms of its historical importance. The divestment of this division represented a major change to the essence and strategy of the firm. CCL was fortunate to have a very active, supportive yet independent board of directors. The CEO had to ensure that if he recommended divesting the custom manufacturing division, he would need to be very well prepared for some intense questioning from the board regarding the soundness of his proposal. The board took their role as stewards of the corporation very seriously.

The chief financial officer (CFO) of TELUS Corporation (Telus) has just been informed that Moody's, a bond rating service, has downgraded the firm's credit rating to one notch below investment grade. The CFO's challenge is to determine what specific actions, if any, to recommend to the firm's audit committee. First, this case facilitates a discussion on how changes in capital structure impact a firm's earnings, stock price and flexibility to carry out plan. Second, students learn about how bond ratings are set and how a firm's bond rating affects its bond yield. Last, by focusing on the situation faced by Telus during challenging market conditions in 2002, students learn how to manage relationships with investors while in the midst of change.

In December 2005, the vice-president of global sales and marketing for MedMira Laboratories in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has to decide whether to enter the over-the-counter (OTC) HIV testing market in the United States, if the company receives approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Entry into this market could potentially open the door to OTC sales of other infectious disease tests that MedMira could develop with its current technology. Not entering the market could result in shareholder disapproval and a significant missed opportunity. With the exception of China, the majority of the company's tests have been sold to hospitals and laboratories, therefore, U.S. OTC sales would require the development of new marketing and distribution expertise. It would also be a very expensive undertaking for such a small company with accumulated losses. If MedMira decides to enter the market, the vice-president of global sales and marketing would need to determine whether to go it alone or partner with Home Access Health Corporation, a Chicago-based company, which has the only FDA-approved at-home test system on market. There are also a number of ethical concerns surrounding at-home testing that would need to be addressed.

The president of The Home Depot Canada (THDC), a subsidiary of U.S.-based The Home Depot Inc., had recently articulated her own vision for THDC: to become Canada's top retailer. To achieve this goal, THDC would have to continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of its customer base. The do-it-yourself segment, which THDC had nurtured, was giving way to the do-it-for-me segment. Attracting the female customer, towards whom The Home Depot Inc. had only recently turned its attention, was critical to future growth. The big-box format was approaching saturation in Canada's urban centers. The company would have to look for growth from secondary, inner city markets, requiring stores with less square footage. Did THDC need a new retailing strategy? The president wondered whether the strategy, which had been tried and tested, should be continued, tweaked or overhauled.

In December 2005, The Home Depot Canada (THDC) rolls out its EcoOptions product line. The market for environment-friendly products has been changing in terms of vendor interest, consumer demand and competitive dynamics. THDC has been pushing that change with EcoOptions, which started off as a pilot project in March 2004. The project was driven by a larger vision of making EcoOptions the leading environmental brand in the global home-improvement market. Translated into measurable goals, it meant that 10 per cent of THDC's assortment of about 50,000 SKUs would be designated as EcoOptions by 2010. This case introduces many of the critical issues in strategic merchandising and assortment decisions, with a focus on the management of a major shift in the retailer's product assortment.

Learning Lab Denmark, a research and development institute, encountered many of the difficulties typically experienced by start-ups, especially obstacles that involve developing a set of routines for getting things done. In other respects LLD faced several distinct challenges that are specific to its charter. This case describes in detail the history behind the formation of Learning Lab Denmark, the goals and the organizing principles underlying LLD and its sub-components, the various personnel roles and issues, including performance problems, criticism and paradoxes that arose in the first couple of years. The supplement, Organizing from Scratch: The Learning Lab Denmark Experience (B) case, product 9B06C007, picks up the story and discusses significant organizational changes.

The materials manager at the Wilkins plant in California is surprised to find out that an auditor's report recommends a second annual physical inventory count. He had concerns about the level of the inventory that was conducted, he knew changes were needed and must decide what alternatives to consider. Students are exposed to the difficulties of managing inventory as well as typical problems that occur in growing businesses. Students will diagram the bill of material, conduct a materials requirement planning explosion and determine appropriate levels of safety stock, and address concerns associated with the high level of inventory.

A partner in a venture capital firm is contemplating an investment in a software firm. He must perform a size up of the company and prepare a term sheet.

The chairman and chief product designer of lululemon athletica is preparing to address an audience at an investor's conference. He describes lululemon's great success from 1998 to 2006 and analyses the growth opportunities it faces. This case helps students understand the concept of competitive advantage in relation to the functional and emotion marketing drivers. In addition, it underlines the importance of preserving brand equity and prioritizing strategic growth options.

In 1984, when it was a small factory in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, Wanxiang signed its first export contract. Ten years later in 1994, when Wanxiang America Inc was just registered, the company was headed only by a Chinese overseas student. In 2003, Wanxiang sold its products all around the world, and had acquired dozens of companies in the United States and Europe, becoming a true multinational corporation. The chairman of the board and the president were full of confidence, Wanxiang will become a large multinational company in the foreseeable future, with its unique core values and core competence. It will be named China Wanxiang Holdings. This case mainly discusses the process of Wanxiang's overseas expansion, tracing its development at different stages and presenting how the success had been achieved.

The head of logistics has received a number of customer complaints regarding various aspects of the company's product delivery policy. She must decide what can be done to increase customer satisfaction with its pricing, delivery service and customer relations. The head of logistics is not sure if it's a problem with communications or internal problems with the delivery process. She will have to assess customer feedback and examine the sales process.