Month: October 2013

Image by Snapchat via DailyMail, hyperlinked video via Bloomberg

Since its inception two years ago, the Venice, California based Snapchat has seen explosive growth within the social media realm.

Recently in September, Snapchat announced that the company was “processing 350 million ‘snaps’ per day”, putting the social media giant on par with Facebook, which also counts approximately 350 million photos/video uploads per day.¹ Despite the lack of revenue streams, its great value proposition has enabled Snapchat to gain great exposure in the market: according insider sources, Facebook  “is willing to dig deep into its cash pile to reach young people” and has offered $3 billion to purchase the company.

Only four months after raising $60 million, Snapchat, the instant photo messaging company is rumored to be in search of a valuation of $3.6 billion. According to AllThingsD, Snapchat has yet to close the immense deal, but an Asian giant is rumored to be in the financing lead.¹

Snapchat’s ambitious plans may net them the capital they value, yet it may parallel a prior social-media giant. Snapchat’s somewhat high-valuation serves as a reminder of Facebook’s IPO mishap, in which ended up being the “biggest IPO flop ever.”² Thus, it is with only time that we will understand if Snapchat’s determined ambitions will serve to benefit them in the long run, rather than just the short run.

Sources: 

¹http://allthingsd.com/20131025/snapchat-is-mulling-another-huge-round-at-a-3-5-billion-valuation/

²http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/05/facebook-one-year-later-what-really-happened-in-the-biggest-ipo-flop-ever/275987/

Image by Andrew Biraj via The Star

After a series of protests and media scrutiny, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. has finally provided a framework for how it will compensate the victims of the deadly collapse of a clothing factory in Bangladesh, which was the supplier of Superstore’s ‘Joe Fresh’ clothing line.¹

Loblaw’s proposed plans of compensation have come 6 long months following the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building, which in turn resulted in the world’s worst industrial accident in nearly 3 decades. Leaving 1,128 people dead and countless others injured, the event provoked furious outcry around the world, prompting the clothing industry to begin looking into initiatives that will improve many suppliers’ safety standards.²

This story brings forth the issue of social entrepreneurship and shared value policies, and how most companies around the world continue to ignore many social and equality standards, adhering to profit maximizing strategies instead. As outlined in Alex’s blog post, the issue of ethic in business seems to be rarely addressed.

On Thursday, Loblaw’s spokesman Bob Chant encouraged other “brands that have been involved in production at Rana Plaza to participate in the provision of compensation to the victims of this tragedy.”²

Though eternally tragic, this catastrophic has the chance to change the views of thousands of companies around the world, in encouraging the growth of social enterprise, awareness and equality around the world.

 Sources:

¹http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bangladesh-garment-workers-to-get-compensation-from-loblaw-1.2223499

²http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/loblaw-to-compensate-victims-of-bangladesh-factory-collapse/article15041964/

Image by Joseph Pisani via The Associated Press

Twitter, the multi-billion dollar social media giant can’t seem to stray from stock market news.

With skyrocketing popularity among the general populace, advertisers and celebrities alike, Twitter has undergone massive growth over the past few years. Earlier in 2013, Twitter announced its plan to go from private to a public company, and is projected to sell its shares at between $17-$20 per unit.¹ However, “Tweeter”, a different company with a similar name was the source of this groundbreaking news.

Shares of Tweeter (a bankrupt and defunct US electronics distributor) which were previously valued at a penny per stock, surged more than 1,000% during the first 8 days of October, when excitement and anticipation surrounding Twitter’s imminent IPO stocks resulted in confused investors purchasing the wrong company’s shares.²

Bloomberg’s stock market analysts said more than 14.3 million shares of Tweeter were exchanged on October 4^th, the most since 2007.³

This astounding stock market fiasco is a striking reminder for investors, businessmen and consumers alike: to thoroughly research and be informed before coming to a decision on any matter.

 Sources:

¹http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article42811.html

²http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/tweeter-stock-symbol-changed-following-twitter-mix-up/article14751690/

³http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-04/twitter-look-alike-ticker-triggers-684-advance-in-penny-stock.html