Apple retail stores offer more than just products; they offer an experience. Spread throughout the globe, Apple has successfully developed a massive network of stylish and modern stores, situated in such places as Grand Central Station and the Louvre. Obviously competitors would catch on to this success and get in on the opportunity.

Microsoft has just opened its first canadian retail store in Toronto Yorkdale Mall, and surprisingly enough, this store has striking similarities to Apple’s style of store – interactive displays, modern style furnishings, and a substantial amount of employees. The Globe and Mail reports that after Apple’s worldwide success, “Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.– perhaps Apple’s biggest competitor in the mobile space – has also taken similar steps”. Also, Colin Gillis, senior technology analyst for BGC Financial states “I’m just waiting for the Google store”.

It seems that the revolution of online shopping can only go so far. Customers still, and will always, want to test the products for themselves and they must go in store to do that. Furthermore, the Retail Strategy adopted by Apple seems to be the example for which all large technological companies are basing their strategy off of. It is evident that Microsoft has seen success in this adopting of ideas after the successful opening weekend of its Yorkdale store; but is it all just hype? Will this marketing strategy greatly benefit Microsoft? Only time will tell.

Energy Aware; Will It Ever Come TO BC?

In my fellow classmate Madeleine Marshall’s blog “Energy Aware; Will It Ever Come To BC?” she asks the interesting question; whether BC Hydro will adopt the new Energy Aware tablet or not.

Energy Aware is a tablet that displays how much energy a household is currently consuming and has been proven to decrease average household power usage by 20% – a significant number. With the implementation of BC Hydro’s smart meter technology it seems that these products could be integrated to allow for consumers to easily monitor their usage and likely conserve energy.

With the 20% decrease in average power usage, it is obvious that BC Hydro will see a decrease in revenue, but will this be seen as secondary to its public intentions of being “power smart”? I think yes; BC Hydro is a sustainable and efficient company that has encouraged conservation for years. These intentions seem genuine and this product could largely contribute to the long-term goals of the company.

Madeleine put into question BC Hydro’s legitimacy, and whether BC Hydro was simply in the business for making money and would put profits ahead of this energy-saving idea. BC Hydro is very much invested in sustainable business practices, and with the introduction of this new tablet in the industry, basing off of BC Hydro’s extensive past of conservation and efficiency, BC Hydro’s intentions are legitimate. Even if it is not through the use of this tablet specifically, BC Hydro will use the new smart meter technology to help reduce the power consumption of its users.

Growing Economies Will Lead to an Over-exploitation of Natural Resources

In my fellow classmate Matt Jorgenson’s blog post “Growing Economies Will Lead to an Over-expolitation of Natural Resources” he raises the interesting question: is it ethical to do whatever it takes in order to further your countries economic power? Although this question has many components and considerations, I strongly believe that environmental exploitation for economic growth is unethical.

Matt makes comparison’s to China’s heavy coal usage, and with the increasing price of coal, an energy alternative will be required in the future. It is clear that China has not practiced sustainability in the past, and so with the transferring to a different form of energy, the time is perfect to switch to a greener alternative.

It is obvious that I am coming from a completely idealistic perspective if I were to assume that a “capitalist” nation like China would change to cleaner energy just because, as assuming any nation to do that would be unrealistic. And from the previous basis it is assumed that all capitalist endeavours without regard to environmental degradation is unethical. Understanding the idealism is key, as a vast nation such as China or the USA cannot simply change their energy sources with the snap of a finger, it takes much time and investment, therefore we cannot call these nations “unethical” at this moment. We can however, call them unethical if they are not making strides to improve their sources of power to more sustainable options.

China has seen and is still seeing massive economic growth through unethical business practices in many aspects. If sustainability is ever to succeed and see positive effects on the Earth large nations like China are going to have to get on board and help the cause.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/blog/2012/aug/28/apple-samsung-windows-phone-nokia

Since the release of iPhone in 2008, iPhone has become the most popular smartphone in the world with an intimidating consumer base. Being the first in the market, Apple has always had the trendsetter advantage, and has always used this advantage to retain its large consumer base.

After winning the lawsuit against Samsung regarding design copyright, Apple has unearthed a new competitor claiming: “Not every smartphone needs to look like an iPhone”. The windows operating system running on several Nokia and Sony devices is critically praised and offer several new features that Apple has not, such as the integration of Microsoft Word, Excel, and other applications.

If the Windows phone is to succeed, it must differentiate itself from Apple and offer new features that Apple has not yet released in its devices. A competitive edge of Apple is the ease of compatibility between the iPhone, iPad, and Macs – “iCloud” (the wireless connector of these three devices) has indirectly encouraged every Apple user to buy all Apple products. Therefore why would a Mac owner purchase a Windows Phone? Is the entire demographic of Mac users now eliminated from the potential customer base?

For Windows (or any competitor) to succeed in its smartphone endeavours it must understand Apple’s clear advantage and develop a product entirely new and innovative.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/sustainability/green-waste-disposal-solution-brings-unexpected-benefits/article4261374/

Many companies often find themselves conflicted with pursuing sustainable business practices as they believe it will increase costs, but for Bylands Nursuries Ltd. there was the opposite effect.

Bylands grows a wide variety of plants annually, and is a successful thriving business throughout Canada and the USA.  Through production of plants much green-waste is created. As costs of disposal increased, Bylands decided to use these byproducts to its advantage; in breaking up the waste, Bylands now “produces about 18,300 metres of compost a year and has replaced peat moss formerly used in its potting mix with compost”.

This process saves the company over $400,000 a year, and the compost soil is more effective than the chemical fertilizer that was previously used. Win, win, win.

Companies like Bylands that use sustainable practice to its advantage are favoured by consumers and are contributing largely to a greener world. The idea that sustainability costs money is often not the case, Bylands was fortunate that it could use green-practice as an advantage in a major aspect of its business, but preservation of resources such as electricity and water are a “win-win” as well; companies save money, and practice sustainability.

Moreover, in a world where the importance of green-practice is increasing, companies must embrace sustainable conservation practices, as they will likely benefit the company and the Earth.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/mobile/rim-adds-free-call-feature-to-bbm/article5274314/

The smartphone industry has grown exponentially in the past half-decade and companies lacking innovation and strong research and development are being left in the dust.

Ironically, Research in Motion (RIM) has seen decreased profits and is facing massive competitors such as Apple and Samsung, which it is unable to rival due to its lack of innovation. It would seem that RIM has only a matter of time before it is consumed by its competitors.

One popular feature that keeps Blackberry users loyal is the coveted BBM application that users (for some reason) love. Blackberry has just announced that it will be adding “BBM Voice” to this enhanced chat messenger, allowing users to talk over wifi. The wifi only limitation was created so as not to “alienate wireless carrier partners anxious about losing voice revenue”, but it may alienate RIM, as many of its rivals offer similar services over a cellular data network.

This addition to the successful BBM application will likely change little to the motivations of potential Blackberry customers. With the ongoing, more significant innovations in companies like Samsung and Apple within a similar price range, what is encouraging them to buy a blackberry?

Research in Motions’s lack of research in motion with regards to the current markets have led to this eventual decline, and future inevitable peril.