Krista Wilson's Blog

In response to Yan Gao’s blog post regarding Black Friday and if it is still effective as it was before the explosion of online shopping, I disagree with Yan and that weather or not people have shifted more towards online shopping and that majority of people are finishing their shopping before November. This does not mean though that by Macy’s opening their doors for Black Friday for the first time in 155 years is in any means hurt the company. Black Friday generates some of the most profits for companys, it is the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States.

For most people Black Friday has almost become part of the culture of where they grew up. As some people go and cut down a tree for Christmas, for some people Black Friday has become of the tradition of Thanksgiving. Yes Yan Gao is correct in saying the emerging generation is getting lazier and would rather shop from the comfort of home then driving down the street to the local Wal-Mart. This shift in the way consumers get their goods though well be a long and slow tradition. Macy’s can still reap the benefits.

Like so many people today, we have passwords for everything from bank accounts to MasterCard accounts. How does a person keep track of all the different passwords for all the different sites, along with the ever-growing demand from sites for more complex passwords? One man thinks he has found the solution; Daniel Robichaud has come up an idea of a company called “Password Box Inc.” The company’s main target is to create an app that can be a lock box for all a person’s passwords. Once a person downloads the app the first 25 passwords are free and then a fee of $1 for every month after that.

All the passwords are guarded in the app that can only be accessed by the use of a master password. Mr. Robichaud may have stumbled onto a million dollar idea with his latest entrepreneurship adventure. The Password Box would be a huge success on the older demographic and with more and more sites requesting more complex passwords and requesting the password gets changed every so often to avoid hacking, it would be as easy as 1,2,3 for a person to forget a password to their social media site or banking account. Mr. Robichaud may have stumbled onto the alternative to a thousand notes in a book of passwords.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-digital/innovation/montreal-entrepreneur-thinks-he-has-solution-to-internet-problem-too-many-passwords/article15410645/

In late 2013 there were nearly 88 million shipments of smartphones going into China, for the American smartphone giant the IPhone this could be their chance to finally crack into the China smartphone market like it has in North America. As Rosemary Westwood talks about in the blog China’s Apples Clone, a copycat called Xiaomi has emerged in the China smartphone market with a cheaper and more affordable for the average normal person living in China and Japan.

Xiaomi smartphones are more reasonably priced than most of the North American giants, the Samsung S4 is priced at $617 while the cheapest Xiaomi phones is retailed at $133. Xiaomi appears to have taken the lead ahead of Samsung and Apple in the China and Japan market but other countries looking to get in on the newest smartphone are cautionary to jump into the project. Investors have voiced concern regarding the delivery times for the phones as most consumers want their product here sooner than later and Xiaomi is a 1-2 week delivery time.

Rosemary states that Xiaomi is still a small company and has time to grow and fix the glitches that investors are cautious about. Xiaomi has already gained control over the largest smartphone user capital the potential for the company is endless.

This blog post is to build on Jessica Sanantha’s blog “Tom’s Continues to Strive to Create Shared Value.”  In Jessica’s blog on Toms shoes she brings up points on how Tom’s shoes is building its company towards a sustainable company in a world where many business are unable to reach this goal. TOM’s shoes ensure that the workspaces being used to produce the shoes are in good conditions and are a good environment to work in. Jessica also notes that by TOMS paying their employees a fair wage it acts an incentive for the employees to do the best job they can. Also noted is that TOMS hires local artists to design limited editions shoes. The third and last part Jessica mentions in her blog about the Triple Bottom Line is that they make their products from recycled materials. The three points Jessica brings up act as a baseline for TOMS to build a sustainable company but they also build on the company’s points of difference, which began as the one for one motto. TOMS employs local Haitian artists to design limited edition hand painted shoes. The points listed above aren’t strategically planned motives to raise revenue, they are direct reflections of the companies ideals.

Article source: http://www.caribjournal.com/2013/09/26/haiti-us-shoe-company-toms-to-open-new-factory-in-2014/

In 1998 when Starbucks was looking for a partner to help launch their widely loved coffee beans onto shelves of marketplaces, they entered into a deal with Kraft that was set to end in March 2014.

Back in 1998, no one would have guessed that if you fast-forwarded 13 years that Kraft would have split into two separate companies and Starbucks would be paying half of the company -$2.23 billion dollars in damages and another $527 million inattorney fees.

Should Starbucks have to pay the $2.23 billion for the early termination of the contract if Kraft was mismanaging the products? Kraft Inc. argues that if Starbucks wishes to switch suppliers of their coffee in such a small time frame that the company will not have time to salvage the damage of losing the largest coffeehouse company in the world. Kraft Inc. maintains that there is no proof of any breach of the contract and if Starbucks will not honor the contract until March 2014, Starbucks must compensate Kraft for the damages. With no proof of any breach in the contract Kraft Inc. should be compensated with the damages that will arise from having have to make up the deficits lost from the missing revenue regularly generated from Starbucks products.

Alberta’s current slogan may in fact be “The Heart of the West”, although an increasing percentage of the Alberta based population would think it should be “The Place of Big Pay Cheques and diminishing middle class.” Many Canadians uproot their families and leave their lives behind and move to the province of oil in hopes of earning their riches. Eventually, many soon realize living in Calgary is nearly impossible due to economics. Households earning less than a six –figure income are increasingly under pressure to sustain an acceptable and/or minimum standard of living

According to the University of Alberta’s Parkland Institute as quoted by Kelly Cryderman in the November 11, 2013 globe and mail, “Calgary is Canada’s most unequal city, as the bottom 90 percent of income earners saw an average increase in pay of only $2,000 between 1982 and 2010.” The standard and cost of living is increasing each year while the majority of workers have not kept pace. This could lead to the collapse of the middle class in Calgary. It is estimated 14% living of Calgarians are living in poverty; unless you are fortunate enough to get a job in oil/gas or energy industry, living in Calgary is a struggle for many.

When we need to sell something in a fast, quick way or are wishing to purchase an item that can’t be found close to us, we head to the computer and the number one online action site in most consumers minds would be eBay. EBay has maintained their number one position in consumers mind by providing areas of specific demand and by having sub-sites to allow a more convenient auctioning experience for their customers.

EBay founder Pierre Omidyar wishes to take this same strategy he used to build the famous online auctioning site to his next venture.  Omidyar stated, “I developed an interest in supporting independent journalists in a way that leverages their work to the greatest extent possible, all in support of the public interest.” Omidyar was presented with the opportunity to purchase the Washington Post, which would be perfect for the mogul to begin his new venture. Omidyar passed on the purchase in order to create a the new media organization from the ground up, by doing this he can position the company any way he wishes. He does not have the lingering past perception from the Washington Post to be in his way.

After two years since it’s oil spill near Michigan, Enbridge is back in the news. Enbridge has been the stressor behind the protests and sit-ins at pumping stations, Enbridge recently announced that it will wish to reverse the flow of oil from its pipeline that runs from the Southern Ontario area up to Montreal. The reason for the proposal is that Enbridge wishes to increase the capacity that the pipeline can take.

Protesters are up on arms that the 831-kilometer pipeline that runs below some of Ontario’s most populated areas, the risk is that the pipeline has been in place for the past 40 years and may not be able to withstand the pressure from the more corrosive oil that is being claimed to be getting transported by the line. Enbridge may have a bigger agenda than just wanting to reverse the oil to increase capacity. If approved, many opportunities may arise like getting the oil to the Atlantic coast in order for it to be transported out of Canada. If approved for the reversal Enbridge has comforted environmental protestors by stating that if a leak were to occur they are equipped to handle the situation.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/enbridge-to-argue-for-reversal-of-ontario-quebec-pipeline-1.1928026

Telecommunication companies in Canada may wish to start looking at SWOT analysis for their own company if they wish to establish themselves as the firm number one company in Canada. As talk continues to bring in a fourth telecommunication company to in order to create more competition for the major three in Canada. Bell, Telus and Rogers lead the pack as the top three-telecom companies in the country.

Rogers has appeared to take the first step in seizing the opportunity to expand its company before the expansion of the competition on Canada increases. Rogers has been looking for an opportunity to expand their company and become a more dominant force across Canada. Rogers has announced it will be investing $700 million dollars to expand networks into Alberta, which is one of the highest paid provinces when it comes to cell-phone bills. Rogers hope to dominate in the oil-companies, by preparing to release a walkie-talkie feature in its phone to a walkie-talkie, which will be a selling point for the oil-patch section of Alberta. Rogers will also be increasing advertising by being a team sponsor for the Edmonton Oilers. Roger’s is increasing visibility and networks in Alberta before TELUS or Bell.

http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/news/bad-news-rogers-return-policy-now-15-days/

In 1996, Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the young age of 25. The years following his diagnosis Lance Armstrong began to realize that there was little to no support out there for people through and after the diagnosis. This marks the beginning of the LIVESTRONG foundation. As the years proceed and the foundation continues to grow, it develops the reputation as a beacon of hope that if the founder can beat cancer and continue to live his life others can follow in that path. In an interview with Oprah Lance admits to the doping allegations. This confession left the LIVESTRONG foundation with the problem of how to move forward. The foundation could go one of two ways either stick by their founder and have the face of their foundation forever be associated with the man who may not have been the only one who cheated but he was the best at it. The other option for the company was to drop Lance Armstrong as the face of the brand and try to do what many other companies have done when faced with an ethical scandal and begin to build up their reputation again.