Austin Smith's Business Blog

Recently I stumbled across a particular blog from GoPro’s company blogsite. After reviewing the blog I was intrigued to learn more about the company. Nick Woodcock, successful entrepreneur, never intended to be where he is today. Mr. Woodcock tells his story on how he created the GoPro Camera Company which has revolutionized the video camera industry. The company’s product line is unique to say the least. With less than 10 products the company maintains incredible reputation world-wide as the top leaders in portable video cameras. The cameras are renowned for their “compact design, durability, and mountable convenience.”  GoPro faces a fairly new competitor in the market, video camera company “Drift.”

 (1, 2) Grams, Chris. “Brand Positioning Tip #1: Points of Parity and Points of Difference « Dark Matter Matters.” Dark Matter Matters. 08 June 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. <http://darkmattermatters.com/2009/06/08/brand-positioning-tip-1-points-of-parity-and-points-of-difference/>.

(3) Grams, Chris. “Rahm and the Art of Positioning « Dark Matter Matters.” Dark Matter Matters. 01 Mar. 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. <http://darkmattermatters.com/2009/03/01/rahm-and-the-art-of-positioning/>.

This past summer my brother was in India where he worked with a unique company called “No Nasties.” When guest speaker “Joanna Buczkowska” discussed social entrepreneurship and social enterprises in class 20, the thought of this company immediately rushed into my head. Based out of India, this company is making a big difference to the impoverished communities that are present throughout the country. Apurva Kothari, social entrepreneur and co-founder of No Nasties, has a social mission which is to enrich the lives of farmers, child labourers, and village communities. The social purpose venture of No Nasites distributes a large portion of their profits back to the farmers and to the factory children. All these components define social entrepreneurship and Apurva Kothari is a great social entrepreneur with a great company that is creating a positive difference to people in India. Social enterprises are “about blending financial and social returns” mentioned by Joanna in our Comm 101 lecture. No Nasties is taking this approach also by donating a portion of their profits to other local organizations who are trying to spread awareness. I for one couldn’t resist contributing to the great cause, shown in the picture down below.

IMAGE LINK:http://helterskelter.in/images/nasties1.jpg

ARTICLE LINK:http://yourstory.in/2011/10/no-nasties-100-stylish-sustainable-clothing/

Honda has definitely had its fair share of financial hardships this year due to catastrophic natural disasters that have occurred overseas in Japan and Thailand. To name a few: the earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan in March, and the floods that occurred in Thailand this past October.  Honda’s company manufacturing lines, production operations, and warehouses have all been damaged impacting the companies supply chain. “A number of Honda suppliers in Asia currently are unable to maintain parts production, which is disrupting the flow of parts to [the] production operations in North America.” What is the optimal solution for Honda to prepare from future collisions? It needs to be a flexible and ready for change if they are producing overseas.  Improvements in their supply chain management keeping “tighter control of internal inventories, internal production, distribution, sales and the inventories of the company’s product purchasers”. The company needs to maximize operational efficiency and reduce overall supply chain costs. Should Honda start to reduce automobile production to reduce having excess and only focus on the North American plants? Honda must keep strong relations with their suppliers in Japan and be able to adapt to changes.

Article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/thai-floods-force-honda-to-halve-canadian-us-output/article2219865/

Image:

http://www.jbs.ac.in/jbs/slider/honda-logo.jpg

Who knew bicycles could be a fashion statement.  Fashionable bicycles have become a strong addition to the clothing lines of companies Missoni, Ralph Lauren, and Kate Spade.  These companies have joined with bike manufacturers to promote their brands. The companies have their brand displayed on a selection of vintage bicycles.

I think these vintage bicycles along with people models who advertise the clothing lines bring about a great combination alluring consumers
in the fashion world. It is very valuable for companies in the retail sector to use unique items to promote their products. The special edition bicycles could potentially attract consumers who have an interest in classy, designer products. The bicycles are being marketed in the companies’ magazine catalogues and this as a result has facilitated more and more consumers getting to know their products at a global scale. These companies know how to diversify their brand from their formal wear to street wear. The bicycles act as moving billboards, which are inexpensive to supply. Should more retail companies consider moving in this direction and invest in unique items to promote their product lines?

Aritcle Link:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-designer-bicycles-20111015,0,3757469.story?page=1

Image Link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/4678462518_95727513d1.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UogqRegVwpg/TaUrvZdJppI/AAAAAAAABRI/v1-qyTZm7YI/s1600/adeline-adeline.jpg

The NBA season is not off to a good start with NBA commissioner David Stern having no solution to the labour deals.

The league will lose hundreds of millions as the preseason games are postponed until the new labour deal is resolved. With a lock out in process, the league has postponed  games until November 14^th tallying 100 games not being played which affects $83 million in ticket sales which does not take in account concession, parking at the arena, or souvenirs. The fan base would decrease dramatically and television channels will lose their ratings. This will lead to more unemployed workers as their hours will decrease at the stadiums souvenir shops, restaurants, and bars. There are many retail businesses that thrive off the NBA that are in contention of losing a lot of market value and sales.  The debate continues. The real intrigue lies in the question of where the proposed percentages of revenues for the players and their salary caps will be if the league settles with an agreement.

Article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203499704576623380115158542.html?mod=WSJ_business_whatsNews

Image:

http://lockersmash.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/NBA-Lockout.jpg

Recently reading the Globe and Mail Business section, I came across a striking article. There is a recurring problem that the main $3.6 billion 80 kilometre rail lines from Johannesburg to Pretoria have been shut down twice due to maintenance problems from stolen cables. It is estimated in the month of August alone, $2 million dollars of cable theft occurred on South Africa’s National Railway system.  Bombardier is internationally known as the top company in transportation in the aviation and rail equipment manufacturing. This scandal has caused a substantial amount of embarrassment to the company. The solution would be to hire a more technological team of engineers to come up with a stronger and more resistant cable to prevent this problem from occurring. The government needs to keep track the waste and scrap dealers exporting their goods out of the country. This is a very problematic issue that is making a huge dent in the South African economy. Government implementation formulating new laws to crack down on the cable thieves is essential to reduce this ongoing problem.

Article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/global-exchange/globe-correspondents/south-africas-ignominious-new-statistic-the-theft-index/article2194249/

Image:

http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=cable+thieves&um=1&hl=en&biw=1140&bih=562&tbm=isch&tbnid=a_ChIIATKGZjpM:&imgrefurl=http://www.northcoastcourier.co.za/2011/08/11/cable-thieves-copped/&docid=giHs49HQrcMT0M&imgurl=http://northcoastcourier.devsite.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/cable-theft1-Small-300×225.jpg&w=300&h=225&ei=fkPPTrK6GMGMiAKx4tWJDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=651&vpy=225&dur=105&hovh=180&hovw=240&tx=157&ty=57&sig=100553342118435080371&page=16&tbnh=159&tbnw=206&start=143&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:143

Recently reading Bloomberg Business Week, I came across this fascinating article.“Start-up Sauna” is a new an upcoming company similar to “Y Combinator” flourishing throughout Northern Europe to seek out entrepreneurs. The cities and towns of Northern Europe are the companies’ targets as they are “potential breeding grounds for future generations of world start-up companies”. This company is few of its kind and it has the potential to grow and become internationally known. The future start-up companies awarded and selected into the program have the potential to bring economic growth to their regions. Fostering entrepreneurial culture is a way to introduce some of the emaciated cities and towns to new and distinct markets in the business world. With support and finance from Start-up Sauna ,entrepreneurs have opportunities to develop their companies and seek venture capitalists. Many regions in Northern Europe are lagging in business skills and Start-up Saunas help can lead to big gains for the people in second world countries.

Article:

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/startup-sauna-goes-hunting-in-siberia-10032011.html

Image:

http://siliconangle.com/files/2011/03/startup-sauna-logo.png

Patagonia is on the right track to be considered the number one outdoor retail business. Their new marketing pitch is exceptionally innovative addressing the issue of sustainability. The companies “Common Threads Initiative”  joins with E-bay in a partnership providing a market for used clothing on both companies’ websites. Patagonia’s’ sole purpose is to be environmentally friendly, and with this website market to be resourceful with used clothing, they can do just that. With no financial incentive, it goes to show that this company places their beliefs and actions first. In order to sell or donate on the website, each customer has to accept the terms of Patagonia’s environmental awareness pledge. Patagonia’s vision will result in a larger customer base and give them great relations with the top outdoor corporations to perhaps merge and expand into a larger market in the future. Vice president of marketing “Rob BonDurant” states “we believe that our responsibility for the product doesn’t end with the customer who buys it” implementing resale, and recycling are two valuable concepts that will thrive the company to greater economic and environmental success.

Article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/adhocracy/patagonia-marketing-with-a-mission/article2185369/

Image:

http://environmentalmediaconsultingfirm.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/patagonia-logo.jpg

The AIADMK  is underway with their strategized campaign to gather votes across the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The party’s election promise is to distribute 6.8 million laptops within in a five year plan to higher secondary and college students. Facts display that this project will cost  an irrational amount somewhere near $700 million the first year.  This allocation of free laptops for the election may be regarded as highly unethical.  There are more plausible alternatives with the way this money should be spent. BBC article mentions social services and infrastructure. Yes. Tamil Nadu is in a dire state infrastructure wise. If investments for improving infrastructures are ignored, there would be limitations on laptop usage due to frequent power outages, and the high probability of damaging the laptops via transport throughout the city. Government funds could also be allocated for the construction of more educational institutes. IT majors Acer and Hewlett Package have already contributed several thousand laptops for this launch. If the AIADMK party continues the distribution of laptops, will there be a plummet in tax revenue leading to bankruptcy? Do the advantages override the costs?

Article:

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-12/india/30144929_1_lakh-laptops-colleges-tamil-nadu

Image:

http://www.aiadmkallindia.org/images/homepagetwoleaves.jpg

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