As the Financial Post states in this news article, Ford is about to change the pickup truck game by introducing its all new 2015 F-150. Ford’s point of difference in this year’s model is the use of aluminum instead of steel on the exterior of the vehicle, making it about 750 lbs lighter than the steel version of the truck. Pickup trucks account for 60% of overall sales so this could be a game-changer for the company. This new truck even contains multiple parts that are made in Canada! Over the past year, Ford sales have only risen by 0.6% as opposed to Chrystler sales rising by 10%. It is projected that Ford sales are soon to rise with the release of the new F-150, as many people have been holding off buying their new trucks until this version is released.

Ford is using innovative technology and recyclable parts to create a more fuel efficient, stronger, and lighter truck that will be available in Canada before the end of this year.  The truck is sure to be a hit in Canada where trucks are as (if not more) popular than cars.

Phil Rozek’s business blog “Local Visibility Systems” gives local businesses tips and tricks on how to have a higher ranking on google. In his latest post “10 Reasons to get a Google Business View Photo Shoot”, Mr. Rozek lists 10 reasons why businesses should hire Google to professionally photograph their business and post the photos on the internet for customers to see. The reasons behind getting this photo shoot done include encouraging customers to click on their link, having professionally quality photos of your business to use for any purpose (portfolios, websites, etc), and of course, a higher Google ranking. 

Each Local Visibility Systems blog post has a new insight to share about how to prevail in the Google world, which leads to a more successful business as a whole. Intuitively, people click on the first links that appear on a google search, and the more people are clicking on the link to your business, the more customers will be gained! Phil Rozek makes a living helping small businesses grow through a simple business blog, and I believe that more small business owners should be taking advantage of what Local Visibility Systems has to offer!

The United Nations is an organization that promotes world peace, security, and friendly relationships among its 193 member states. The organization focuses on improving the lives of poor people, conquering diseases and illiteracy, and encouraging nations to work together. The Arc Initiative works to make connections which facilitate a genuine exchange of knowledge and business skills between Sauder students and business people in various locations around the world.

We would still need the Arc Initiative and other social enterprise programs if the United Nations was fully funded because of the differences between the two organizations. Where the UN is focused more on world peace and solving problems on a very large scale, Arc focuses on specific organizations in specific areas of the world developing a two-way knowledge exchange. I believe that the Arc initiative would still be necessary because of the mutual beneficiality that the program provides. Not only do the business people in rural areas benefit from the first-world business techniques that Sauder students, professors, and alumni can provide, they can also share business knowledge from their society which could potentially help the economies of both countries. Both nations benefit from this initiative and strong relationships are built along the way.

As Rene posted in her blog “Sound’s Like a Fair Trade“, Starbucks has recently announced that they will be selling fair trade espresso beans in all university campus locations across Canada. Using fair trade coffee beans means better working conditions for coffee producers in developing countries and promotes global sustainability.

Deciding to convert to fair trade espresso would have been an expensive decision for Starbucks, but consumers are willing to pay the extra little bit. By buying from Starbucks consumers are now empowering farmers and developing the business skills that they need to compete in the global coffee market.

Starbucks is a huge international company with a big customer base and making this small change will promote ethical behaviour in the entire coffee industry. It will also promote awareness of the many unfair coffee farming practices taking place around the world, and hopefully persuade other coffee companies to follow in Starbucks’ footsteps.

As Eric stated in his blog post “The Real Reason Burger King is Buying Tim Hortons“, burger giant Burger King has recently agreed to take over Canada’s famous Tim Hortons for 11 billion dollars. Coincidentally (or maybe not), if Burger King relocates to Canada, they will pay 14% less tax than they previously paid in the U.S. As the world’s second largest burger giant, Burger King would be saving a large sum of cash with a 14% tax break. This is not the first time that 3G (Burger King’s majority shareholder) has bought a company with plans to expand. As seen in this article, 3G bought Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion in 2008 and quickly used it to nearly take over the market for beer. 

Along with lower taxes, Burger King is about to acquire a Canadian fast-food chain that knows a lot about breakfast. By gaining inside breakfast-knowledge from Tim Hortons, Burger King could earn big profits by hopping on the morning coffee-and-doughnut train.

I agree with Eric that buying Tim Hortons was a smart move on Burger King’s behalf, but it will be interesting to see whether the rest of the world will fall in love with Timmies the way that us Canadians have.

Taseko Mines Ltd. has been approved by the provincial government twice to build a copper-gold mine near Williams Lake, BC (see this article). Both of these approvals, however, were rejected by the federal government. The Tsilhqot’in people of British Columbia plan to include the land on which Taseko will build their mine. If the Tsilhquot’in win this land in court, the mine will not be built. The scheduled unveiling for the “Tribal Park” is October 4th. The park will include 3,120 square kilometres of active habitat and act as a preservation area for fish and other wildlife. The land will be sustainable logged by first nations peoples to provide the first nations community with jobs. This land includes Fish Lake, a fish bearing lake which was the original site for the Taseko mine. The native population fought for the mine site to be moved and won, saving numerous fish, grizzly bears, and other animals in the area.

In 2015, the court will rule whether the copper gold mine move forward at Little Fish Lake or not. This mine will use Little Fish Lake as its tailings pond contaminating more fish habitat, and may also contaminate the upper river leading to Fish Lake. British Columbia’s provincial government believes that making this land into a Tribal Park will help to build a lasting bond with the first peoples of BC.

As stated in this article, Saskatchewan has recently developed old-age technology to solve new-age environmental problems. Saskatchewan has taken an old coal-fired power plant and developed it into a carbon dioxide eliminating machine. This technology can capture up to 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year, significantly reducing Canada’s carbon dioxide footprint if adopted by other provinces. This CO2 reducing technology is not new, the same idea having been shut down by Alberta’s government in 2012, but this is the first time that it has been used on an existing power plant.

The one existing  plant located in southern Saskatchewan cost tax payers $1.4 billion Canadian to create. Neither tax payers nor the federal government are likely to see a financial return on this investment. Electricity costs would have to rise over 80% to cover the costs of these facilities, which is highly unlikely in the near future.

There is little hope of projects such as this one spreading to other parts of Canada. Other provinces such as Alberta have imposed a carbon tax of $15 per ton rather than installing expensive equipment to capture green house gas emissions. In the future, the government may be forced to spend the money on projects like these, but only if they get serious about raising the price of carbon.

As stated in this article, Keurig’s Green Mountain Coffee has recently been sued by Canada’s Club Coffee for 600 million dollars for allegedly engaging in anti-competitive measures to keep their monopoly in the single serve coffee market. Because of Keurig’s monopoly, single serve coffee prices are artificially high.

This is where competitors’ Canada’s Club Coffee and Rogers Family co. come in. Both of these companies offer alternative coffee pods which also fit into Keurig’s machine but market at a significantly lower price. Keurig’s new product, the Keurig 2.0, uses lockout technology which only responds to Keurig licensed k-packs. This new technology excludes competitors from selling their own versions of coffee pods, forcing consumers to pay more for their self serve coffee by purchasing only Keurig brand packs.

If Canada’s Club Coffee loses the lawsuit with Keurig, they will be forced to find an alternative machine to produce their coffee. In efforts to counteract this deficit, an option for Canada’s Club Coffee is to begin producing their own self-serve coffee machine to be sold at a lower price than the Keurig 2.0. A more affordable version of the Keurig would be a better option for low income coffee drinkers, and save competitors from going out of business.

Breakfast cereal has been a normal part of our every day routines for over 100 years. In recent years, however, North Americans have been consuming less sugary breakfast cereals and more fibre-rich breakfast substitutes.

As North Americans are continuously in a rush to get from point A to point B (especially in the morning), breakfast sales at fast-food chains such as McDonalds and Tim Hortans are on the rise. Breakfast sales alone account for 15-20% of McDonalds total revenue. McDonalds invented the breakfast sandwich with their “Egg McMuffin” in 1971, and since then it has grown to be the most popular breakfast item on the market today. Although McDonalds still stands at number one for fast-food breakfast sales, competitors such as Tim Hortons, Starbucks, and A&W all offer large breakfast menus, breakfast sandwiches being the top seller.

The reason for the decline in cereal sales is that people are leaning towards healthier breakfast options with less sugar, more fibre, and less gluten. Fast-food as well as fast at-home breakfast options such as smoothies (with a Magic Bullet) and coffee (with a Nespresso or Keurig) are increasing in popularity as well. Though cereal seems to be on its way out, eating breakfast in the morning is getting more popular in Canada and around the world. Over the past 10 years, lunch has replaced breakfast as Canada’s most skipped meal.

Source:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/battle-for-your-breakfast-buck-fast-food-attacks-cereal-s-supremacy-1.2748472

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Breakfast Cereals Contain Too Much Sugar for Kids