Monthly Archives: September 2014

I have learned in Comm 101 that segmenting to a specific audience and positioning is vital for success. This is exactly why Nike has such a high success – Nike has been rapidly increasing sales to women during the past years.

Nike’s Women’s Clothing

In the previous decade, Nike’s earning calls only mention the word “women” in the single digit range; today, the word “women” is mentioned as many as times as “innovation.” Nike has realized the importance of broadening their audience to not only include women, but target them. With the current growing trend of “athleisure” popular for women, Nike has decided to become a powerhouse in the female athletic-clothing industry.

Nike, Lululemon, Underarmor Cr: dailyfinance

I personally believe that targeting women in a attire of clothing that is typically for men is a genius move. Most athletic clothing in the previous decades were advertised to men. Now, more companies have been creating ads targeted at women, especially Nike, Adidas and Reebok. Brands such as Lululemon that focus on women are becoming more prevalent now as well. The real challenge for Nike is to become the number one brand for women’s apparel. Al Ries and Jack Trout state the importance of being number one in a niche – Nike will have to figure out a strategy to make it the number one brand for women’s apparel, unique from brands such as Lululemon and Under Armor as rivals.

With the recent discussions in the Comm 101 lectures and discussions about government interventions, I have decided to blog about a recent controversy involving China’s Central Bank.

China’s Industrial Production

In China’s current economy, industrial production is growing at a slow pace. As a solution, China’s central bank has decided to lend a grand total of $81 billion to the country’s five main banks. By injecting money, the banks can lend money to politically-linked companies in sectors such as advanced electronics and mass-market house constructions. Even though injecting money into banks is common for countries, countries do not typically inject a enormous sum of $81 billion at once, making this decision extremely controversial.

Central Bank of China
Bernardo De Niz/Bloomberg via Getty Images

I personally believe China’s decision is excessive. Even though China’s economy is slowly growing, it is still going upwards; the same cannot be said about some economies on the globe.  I believe government intervention is necessary in stimulating the economy and controlling prices, but using such a substantial amount of tax money to inject into banks is excessive. However, it is possible China’s plan may work; I understand that with such a substantial amount of money injected, the banks could loan an enormous sum of  money into a larger range of companies, exponentially improving China’s economy. Government intervention is definitely a controversial topic with strong points from both sides; in this specific case, I believe China should be allowed to help stimulate the economy – I just believe the amount of money is extremely excessive.

With the recent discussions on business models and planning for products during the Comm 101 lectures, I have decided to read about the record-setting sales of the newly released Apple products over the past weekend and the reasons for its success

Thousands wait in lineup at Midtown Manhattan’s Apple Store. Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

I have decided to dissect the reasons for the record breaking sales of the two new Apple products as elements of the Business Canvas Model. A major factor for these increase in sales is believed to be the increase in screen size; a majority of smartphones have larger screen sizes, including strong competitors such as Samsung. I believe this is a value proposition many die-hard Apple fans have been waiting for, and an attractive feature for new consumers. The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are 4.7 and 5.5 inches respectively, larger than the previous 4 inch iPhones. By fulfilling a highly demanded value proposition, Apple also increases customer relationships. Additionally, Apple is also increasing its supply and production to meet these pleasantly surprisingly results with its key partners and resources in Asia.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

iPhones have always been making huge sales in the smartphone market, but now that iPhones have a competitive screen size alongside its pleura of other features that have made them popular, I foresee these new iPhones to be making a significant impact in the market. By achieving key elements of the business canvas, I can see why Apple’s newest products are not only always better, but achieve record breaking sales yearly.