Month: December 2010

As growing awareness of environmental issues, sustainability has become a trend. People will criticize companies that have environmental scandals. This hugely relates to a company’s image and will certain affect the sales of the company. Therefore, more and more companies are working towards environmentally friendly. Starbucks, announced that they will be working on the Cup to Cup recycling project, which means the cups will be made of 100% recycled materials. They will collaborate with Mississippi River, a pulp mill in US now, in 2011.They plan to achieve this goal in the next five years. By working on this environmental project, Starbucks will further strengthen their brand name.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS85995946320101202

When starting a business, it is very important to decide what market segments the business is going to appeal. There are several aspects that need to be evaluated regarding the market segment. First, the size of the market segment needs to be considered, so we are able to estimate how many people would be attracted. Also, the potential of this market segment to grow is also very important. The sales potential and expect profit margin also needs to be evaluated. When doing the group project, I found that our business plan is lacking a lot of information. There is no sufficient analysis of the market segment, which makes investors not able to determine the profitability of the company. The right target market would determine whether the business would be successful or not.

Source: http://www.netmba.com/marketing/market/target/

I believe that many people are fascinated by the realistic effect brought by 3D TVs; however, wearing the heavy glasses is just irritating and uncomfortable. But now comes the 3D TV that requires no glasses. Toshiba and Sharp have currently introduced a model of 3D TV without glasses. However, the technology is still immature and costly. It will probably take a few years before it can be available on the market. But firms that are selling 3D TVs are optimistic and they predict that the sales will exceed 4 million this year. On the other hand, Apple also got a patent for a no glasses 3D screen currently, which means Apple is also planning to join the 3D TV competition in the future. I believe that 3D TV will certainly be a trend in the future.

Sources:

http://vator.tv/news/2010-12-02-apple-gets-a-no-glasses-3d-patent-approved

http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/110264

I guess many people are familiar with online shopping now. People enjoy staying at home and shopping with just a click on the computer. EBay, as a large online shopping company, has millions of transactions going on every day. EBay introduces the payment system, PayPal, which they claim to be safe because it doesn’t disclose customers’ personal information when doing transactions. However, we can hear more and more complaints about EBay now. The customer service, and the confusion caused by PayPal are all problems of EBay. If we google eBay or PayPal, we can see all kinds of complaints and questions about them. Although online shopping is convenient and fast, customers have to be extra cautious when choosing who to do business with. EBay needs to find a way to solve the trust problem and improve customer service, or they will certainly face a downturn in the future.

This video talks about some complaints from eBay customers:

After reading the definition for entrepreneurship, the first company that comes to my mind is the Apple Inc.. Apple is a multinational company that sells personal computers, electronic devices and software, founded in 1976. The first entrepreneurial characteristic that Apple possesses is innovation. Apple has created the innovative idea of personal computer, the iMac. It’s well-known for its simple design and the new system, which attracts a large group of customers. It opens up a new market among the traditional PC market. Apple also has many other innovative products such as iPod and the recent iPad. While creating such innovative products, Apple has to undergo many risks. It’s difficult for people to understand and accept these innovative products. However, Apple eventually turns out to be successful. For example, the launch of iPad a little earlier this year, has been such a great success. Apple has sold over 3 million iPad in less than three months. From April to June, iPad has brought $2.17 billion to Apple. This demonstrates the amount and speed of wealth creation, which is another entrepreneurial characteristic of Apple.

Sources: http://www.doxtop.com/browse/e5ab3c6b/apple-ipad-trends-and-statistics.aspx