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This case deals with the revitalization of Tata Chemicals Ltd. (TCL) by way of significant international acquisitions in the first decade of the new millennium. Set in 2011, TCL has a decision to make on the potential acquisition of a stake in a North American early stage potash development company. This acquisition could allow TCL to set up a fertilizer plant, which might give the company a jumpstart just as earlier acquisitions had helped the company to be ranked number two in the world in soda ash production. As backward integration can be a risky strategy, the acquisition needs to be carefully considered in terms of when to integrate and when to rely on market-driven contractual arrangements.

Great Offshore Limited (GOL), a leading player in the Indian offshore oilfield services industry, was one of the largest customers of Bharati Shipyard Limited (BSL), the second-largest private-sector shipbuilding company in India. BSL had acquired an approximately 15 per cent stake in GOL (by invoking a share pledge) and made a public offer for a further 20 per cent stake in GOL. BSL’s rival — ABG Shipyard Limited (ABG) — announced a counter-offer. By early August 2009, both BSL and ABG had made further counter-offers and the latest offer price by ABG was 51 per cent higher than the first offer made by BSL. Both players had also invested substantially in building up their equity holdings in GOL. BSL had to decide on how far it should go to make the acquisition.

Near the end of November 2013, Lululemon Athletica (Lululemon) became the subject of a viral firestorm after a series of negative events seriously ruptured the company's reputation. The company found itself facing its worst quality control problem to date, with a recall of 17 per cent of its Luon pants due to issues with sheerness. In addition, the company’s chief executive officer had stepped down. Was Lululemon destined to follow Blackberry as another example of a failed Canadian company, or could it resurrect its former glory by facing its critics head on?

In 2014, Tim Hortons Inc., a powerhouse in the Canadian quick service restaurant industry for 50 years, has a number of strategic choices to make if it is going to address increasing competition and shifting consumer trends. To have an international presence, it needs the financial resources, organizational capabilities, store saturation, product innovation and brand recognition to compete with Starbucks, McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts, the world’s largest and best known providers of fast food such as coffee, donuts and sandwiches. However, while the brand is almost synonymous with Canada, it is far less known beyond that country’s borders. In mid-August, the company announced its potential acquisition by 3G Capital, the Brazilian parent of Burger King, but this still has to be approved by its shareholders and likely by Canadian and U.S. regulators. The potential merger might help the company move forward, but will it be enough to create a competitive advantage on a global scale?

Lululemon, a successful yoga and athletic apparel company, faced a number of controversies notably those surrounding comments made by the founder and regarding employee and public relations. Many of these controversies seem out of line with Lululemon's Manifesto, a one-page collection of sayings that guide the company's actions. These issues culminate with issues regarding one of their most popular products, resulting in a product recall in 2013. As Lululemon enters 2014, facing drops in their share price and a revenue growth below expectations, Lululemon's new CEO has to make some decisions about the best way forward for the company.

In October 2013, the Health and Human Services Secretary of the United States is tasked with making decisions about a website project, Healthcare.gov, that is a critical component in delivering the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” to the American people. The act is a cornerstone but controversial policy of the Obama administration aimed at increasing access to health care services by providing health insurance to uninsured Americans. Unfortunately, the project is over budget and late. Forced to roll out before it is ready because of political considerations, the website crashes, causing anger and frustration for users unable to sign on or get information about the program. Because the act never really had the support of Republican Party representatives, the failure of the website stokes a political storm that appears to have more to do with reopening a debate in the media about Obamacare than it does with the website launch issues. Also in the spotlight is CGI, a technology company headquartered in Canada that is responsible for the overall design, development and execution of the project.

Google’s plan to gear up its flight search service in India by allowing users to compare fares and book tickets made other domestic travel portals in India nervous. There were fears that this development might turn out to be discriminative as Google had the dominant share in Internet search service. Fearing a substantial reduction in their share of the search market, these domestic portals had the option of lodging a complaint against Google with the Competition Commission of India.<br><br>Google’s business practices had been challenged and/or come under the scanner of anti-competitive law in many other countries as well. The public in India wondered why Google was involved in such controversies. Why did competing companies fear Google’s business practices? What would be the Competition Commission of India’s stand and how would it help consumers and society in general?

The passenger car industry in India has witnessed intense competition since the Indian economy’s liberalization in the early 1990s. Although Maruti Suzuki India Limited has been the most dominant player for the last three decades — with many Indians using “Maruti” as a synonym for “car” — it has been unable to raise the prices of its cars over the last ten years due to a price war among rivals. Though Maruti has been a profitable company, rising input costs and poor price maneuverability are making it very challenging for the firm to remain profitable in the future. In 2014, Maruti is contemplating a major investment in a new plant. The chairman of Maruti must determine whether investing in the new plant would reduce costs significantly and help the company remain profitable.

Flipkart faced many challenges since its inception due to the hypercompetitive nature of its industry. The company preferred the route of profitless growth in the emerging e-retail industry in India — sacrificing profits for size and growth. Venture capitalists also supported this strategy by providing five rounds of funding. Nevertheless, Flipkart encountered intense competition from local players, who were quickly imitating its competitive and growth strategies. It responded to competition and enhanced its efficiency by rationalizing its product mix, opting for acquisitions and refurbishing its supply chain. Soon, however, Amazon announced its entry into the Indian e-retailing market. Amazon’s entry posed a major threat to Flipkart, mainly because of its financial strength. Flipkart responded by using a three-pronged strategy of technology, human resource management and supply chain investment. However, venture capitalists were still left wondering whether Flipkart would be able to report a profit or would be acquired by Amazon.

The Indian online retail (“e-tailing”) market had seen a flurry of activity. Success stories such as Makemytrip.com and Naukri.com in the travel and job search domains, respectively, were significant catalysts for this new breed of start-ups. Of these start-ups, Flipkart stood out as one of the most successful (and audacious) — more so because of the funding the company managed to secure over a very short period of time as compared to its competitors. The firm was celebrated for its bold stance on growth versus profitability but simultaneously had its share of critics and skeptics. The latest round of venture capital funding had valued Flipkart at US$1.6 billion, nearly eight times sales. In less than two years, the firm had attracted nearly $550 million in venture capital funds and its sales turnover had grown nearly 30-fold. Was Flipkart growing too big too soon? Were these valuations justified?

By the end of its first season in spring 2014, “Comedy Nights with Kapil” had become India’s top rated comedy television serial in the nonfiction category. Each episode invited celebrities from Bollywood or sports teams as guests to promote their upcoming movies or ventures. The show had developed its target market and had entered the maturity stage of its business life cycle. What might be future value creation business strategies for the show to sustain its audience engagement and ratings? The intent to telecast once a week rather than twice a week upset the broadcasting channel, Colors TV. How would this change impact value creation for all the stakeholders?

Armed with an air operator's permit, Air Asia, a Malaysian low-cost carrier airline, is preparing to enter the Indian aviation market. AirAsia is known as an aggressive player globally. It plans to use aggressive pricing strategies to revolutionize air travel in India and gain competitive edge in the aviation market through highly competitive operational targets. How will AirAsia India’s entry and its aggressive pricing decisions work in the oligopolistic Indian aviation market? How will the barriers to entry affect its operational targets? Will its entry cause a clash in Indian skies and disrupt industry equilibrium? What strategies should AirAsia India pursue in such a market for long-term survival and growth?

Rebranding is a marketing strategy often used by companies. The rebranding of a city is not only less common but far more complex. By 2013, the city of Detroit, Michigan was facing a multitude of problems: declining population, crumbling roads and bridges, abandoned properties, an alarming school drop-out rate, poverty, high cost of pension plans, government corruption, growing crime and crippled emergency services. The 2008 recession had dealt a serious blow to its core automotive industrial sector, and although some high tech companies were moving in, the “Motor City” was wallowing in debt. In July 2013, Detroit filed for bankruptcy protection, which was granted that December. Its financial emergency manager was able to strike deals with its major debt-holders, the banks, and with the city’s largest union, but these forward steps were threatened when the water department started cutting off water to households that could not pay bills that had risen 120 per cent over the past decade. How does a city facing outraged residents and investors, that lacks infrastructure to such a degree that almost half of its traffic lights are non-functional and that is in an atrocious financial state repair its image and attract new investors?

The CEO of clothing manufacturer and retailer Abercrombie and Fitch defends his decision that the company will not offer plus sizes for women, although extra large sizes are available for men, because average- to large-sized female consumers do not fit the company’s target market. This insistence on a standard of female beauty as young, svelte and tall has enraged consumers who have criticized the company, and the CEO in particular, in both the traditional and social media for exacerbating problems of body image and gender stereotypes, especially among teens. Increasing sizes, however, presents not only logistical and manufacturing challenges but may lead to charges that the company is encouraging obesity and unhealthy lifestyles as happened when a competitor, H&M, introduced large-size models and mannequins in its stores. Abercrombie and Fitch’s popularity with its target teen market depends on its promulgation of exclusivity, which in turn depends on its vision of what is “cool.” Yet, in the face of mounting criticism and declining sales, does sticking to the segmentation strategy make sense?

In the spring of 2003, the World Health Organization identified a worldwide epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that had started in China and spread to the rest of the world, with early cases reported in Toronto and Vancouver. Little was known about the disease, which meant that symptoms were often misdiagnosed as simple flu, and the infection spread rapidly. After the third SARS-related death occurred in Ontario in mid-March, the provincial premier declared a state of emergency, which was finally lifted on May 17 when it appeared the outbreak had ended. A week later, on May 23, four new cases were reported at Toronto’s North York General Hospital. The lack of public health infrastructure in Ontario combined with its hospitals’ noncompliance with following existing policies concerning infection control and especially the lack of communication between hospitals, health organizations and levels of governments, with numerous spokespersons making uncoordinated and sometimes contradictory announcements, all led to the public perception that the government and health care authorities did not know what they were doing or were lying about the severity of the outbreak. Before the next provincial election, the premier must examine and address what could have been prevented, how public health interventions were managed and the differences between public health responses in Toronto and Vancouver.

In May 2013, the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, proposed to create the Churches’ Mutual Credit Union as an alternative to payday lenders. His chief target was Wonga.com, an online provider of short-term loans that was founded in 2006 in the United Kingdom and quickly grew to become the largest payday lender in the country. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, short-term lenders saw a rapid increase in business as banks tightened their lending standards. However, they often charged as much as 5,000 per cent interest or more. Customers were frequently unsophisticated borrowers, and Wonga’s advertising appeared to be directed to vulnerable populations and children. The archbishop did not feel that regulation was the answer to payday lenders and instead sought to compete with them. Is his strategy viable?

In November 2013, GoldieBlox was accused of copyright infringement. It used the Beastie Boys song “Girls” in one of its advertisements promoting new toys for girls without permission. The company’s reaction to file a lawsuit against the band was not well received and perhaps a little hasty.<br><br>In the wake of the crisis, the chief executive officer of GoldieBlox Toy Company and her team had some decisions to make regarding how to handle the lawsuit they filed against the Beastie Boys that then backfired. The hostile environment was not conducive to the image of the company and the negative media was of concern to GoldieBox and its employees.

Transfer pricing used by multinational corporations to lower its tax burden, thereby increasing its consolidated income, can have far-reaching implications for the stakeholders, as a fund manager for Saskhedge fund found out the hard way. A stock investment the manager had made in Cameco Corporation has dropped its value by 20 per cent. In addition, Canada Revenue Agency has initiated a law suit against the firm for alleged tax avoidance in relation to the company's transfer pricing practices with its Swiss subsidiary. The suit could result in an additional tax liability of $800 million to $850 million. The manager needs to explain to the investment board the implications of the lawsuit on the stock price and advise the board on whether the projected $800 to $850 million is a fair estimate.

At the beginning of 2012, Nespresso, a manufacturer and distributor of home-brewed, single-serve coffee machines and capsules, is considering how best to increase its share of the U.S. market. It had always relied on organic growth through its own retail stores and a few premium department store chains. However, between 2005 and 2011, the demand for capsule coffee boomed, and this attracted a number of new competitors, including Starbucks, while existing competitors increased their marketing expenditures. At the same time, Nespresso’s patents were expiring, and some supermarkets started selling generic capsules for Nespresso machines. How should Nespresso change its strategy to ensure future growth? Should it relinquish its tightly controlled distribution system in order to offer increased convenience to consumers? Should it alter its product to better match the U.S. taste for milk-based coffee? Or might an increase in advertising spur demand?

Since 2005, the chief executive officer of Kering, a conglomerate headquartered in Paris, has successfully streamlined the company’s business strategy to concentrate on luxury goods and sporting and lifestyle brands —including Gucci, Yves St-Laurent, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga, among others — through selling off non-related businesses. By 2012, the company was more focused than ever before but was sluggish in one key aspect — its online presence. Like most competitors within the luxury industry, it was struggling with how it should capitalize on the benefits of a web presence, trying not to stray away from the luxury strategy of its brands. Kering recognized the importance of growing online, but needed to come up with an ideal approach to successfully grow the digital presence of its luxury brands.