When it comes to luxury cars, several brands come to mind, such as BMW, Audi, Cadillac, and Mercedes-Benz. There has always been fierce competition between these brands, but Mercedes continues to pull ahead, especially with the release of their new CLA model. This model addresses two significant values at once; luxury and affordability. With a buying price of approximately $33,000, the CLA is cheaper than its rivals; the BMW 3 Series starting at  $36,000, and the Audi A4 starting at around $38,000. This new value proposition targets mainly a younger, less affluent crowd than Mercedes is used to.

Never the less, the company’s sales are up, according to Business Week, 6.7% this past month. Advertising played a crucial role in this, with celebrities Usher and Kate Upton on the Super Bowl advertisement for it. Mercedes has successfully adjusted to the consistently changing wants from consumers, and controls a new part of the luxury car market.

However, this is not the end, as it is extremely likely that BMW, Audi, Cadillac, and other similar brands will be introducing new models that will be as good as, or even better than the CLA. Mercedes will have to adjust once again to continue to dominate this ongoing battle.

Article: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-02/mercedes-cla-sedan-with-budget-price-outsells-high-end-models-in-u-dot-s-dot-debut

Image: http://i.auto-bild.de/ir_img/1/0/6/1/4/0/2/Mercedes-CLA-BMW-3er-Audi-A4-729×486-cfe8c55edf087626.jpg

Other links used:

http://www.bmw.ca/ca/en/

http://www.audi.ca/ca/brand/en.html

http://www.mercedes-benz.ca/

After struggling for so long, it seems like the sportswear brand Reebok is finally climbing out of its hole.  Despite the fact that Reebok is far from the position they were at before being bought by Adidas in 2005, it seems like the right strategy has been adopted to address their weaknesses.

For one, Reebok’s customer segment has been changed to individuals who care about their fitness. Programs such as CrossFit and other similar fitness “boot-camps” are sponsored by Reebok and are using the fitness gear. Another customer segment that Adidas has focused on for Reebok is fashion and luxury. Athletes and regular customers who want both performance and looks from their products will have both addressed by the release of Reebok’s new products, such as the AV 19+ shoe.

Despite the fact that Reebok has lost their contracts with the NFL and NHL, I still believe that they should attempt to achieve more popularity in these sports leagues. With names such as Sidney Crosby still sporting Reebok gear, they have a chance to target more customers and substantially increase their channels, and therefore their profits.

I predict that Reebok will be able to recover and thrive, but then again only time can tell.

Link to article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/02/us-adidas-reebok-strategy-idUSBRE9911BZ20131002

Link to image: http://www.tritonpromo.com/sites/default/files/product-images/reebok_logo__0.jpg

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2010, there have been a reported 219 million cases of Malaria worldwide, as well as roughly 660,000 deaths.  There has yet to be an effective vaccine for this infectious disease, but employees at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) claim that this can change in only three years. After three decades, GSK has managed to develop a vaccine that has been successfully tested to decrease the cases of malaria in children by half. Even Malaria experts have confirmed that this vaccine will be effective.

This discovery is bound to make the founders extremely wealthy. However, this is the problem; GSK will have to choose between either thriving as a corporation, or sacrificing profits to help those in need. While it may seem obvious to choose the latter, one must realize that substantial amounts of capital will have to be invested in order to produce the vaccine.

In my opinion, the vaccine should go towards the customer segments that need it the most (i.e. children in third world African countries), instead of those who can afford it. Profits should be sacrificed, so that the whole world can recover from a disease that has made people suffer for so long.

References:

Roland, Denise . “GSK malaria vaccine could be available in three years – Telegraph.” Telegraph.co.uk – Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph – Telegraph. N.p., 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/pharmaceuticalsandchemicals/10362319/GSK-malaria-vaccine-could-be-available-in-three-years.html>

“Malaria.” WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. <http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/>

Picture: http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/08/the-case-for-open-access/