With Apple releasing revolutionary products like the iPhone and iPad it’s no surprise that there has been excessive hype over the company in the past five years. I noticed an amplification of this while begining my study of commerce to the point where it is a cliché. Apple is essentially the king of companies. With this ingrained in my mind it was quite interesting to read a Maclean’s article that discusses the company’s quickly declining stock value. It is down almost 20% from the peak price of $700 per share in September. In addition, the Samsung Galaxy S III is now number one in the smartphone market (partially because of supply problems with the iPhone 5). In terms of brand positioning, this is considered Apple’s niche. Analysts seem to be having mixed opinions on the future of Apple.

In my personal opinion, with the visionary Steve Jobs gone it will be hard for Apple to top anything it has accomplished to date. This can only lead to the conclusion that the company is on its long term decline. Nothing can be that big and stay that way forever. Its inevitable that something new and different will grab consumers’ attention eventually.

Kevin recently wrote a blog post on the topic of more and more companies becoming eco-friendly. He discusses the advantages this can have, not just for the environment but for the companies as well. This shift is largely due to consumers becoming more conscious about the health of the planet. In order to attract these consumers, companies needed to make adjustments to their business practices and become more ethical.

Some tactics companies are using to “go green” include cloud computing and digital storage, green outsourcing, low-footprint technology, and renewable energy. Cutting lighting and heating, using less packaging, streamlining transportation to save gas, and recycling more instead of throwing away are all ways to cut costs.

Kevin tends to think that so many companies becoming environmentally conscious is a good thing but it may not be enough. I agree with this. It’s great to see the business world make these changes but are they doing it for the right reasons? The slogan “sex sells” has become “green sells” and many companies are simply following government environmental policies. In any case, the business world is leading the way to a cleaner planet and I can only hope this green attitude will continue to spread.

Kevin’s sources:

Ethical Business: Are Companies Actively Avoiding the Green Way?

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/apr/24/twice-the-good/

Last summer 60 Minutes aired a story giving us an inside look on the truffle business. A truffle is a rare fungus that grows underground. Ounce for ounce, they are the most expensive food on the planet. France and Italy are well known for their high quality truffles. They are so highly valued that there is a black market for them. Truffles are stolen, trafficked like drugs, and there are even “fake” truffles. China produces truffles of inferior quality that are often sold at unjustified prices. These truffles can be mixed in with truffles from France and Italy, lowering the overall quality while increasing volume.

Urbani is an Italian based company that controls 70% of the world’s truffle trade. The truffles harvested go to the Urbani factory where they are washed and sorted and then either frozen or canned. A certain amount is flown fresh to upscale restaurants. Urbani currently has the problem of people adding Chinese truffles to their own truffles halfway through the supply chain. I think this can be fixed by improving operations management, tightening up the supply chain, and improving its security. The scarcity of truffles has driven prices high. Due to this shortage in supply there is little to no need for forecasting.

Photo source: http://urbani.com/catalog/product/gallery/id/54/image/989/

Peter Nowak wrote a blog post on the Canadian Business website discussing the shift from laptops to tablets in Universities. With a greater number of affordable tablets currently in the market, like the new iPad Mini, this option is becoming more appealing to students. In fact, there may be a noticeable increase in tablet popularity before the end of this school year. A recent survey conducted at the University of British Columbia showed that around 15% of students have tablets. 60% said they would be getting one within the next year. This is not so hard to believe with the holidays just around the corner.

I personally have not seen a single student around campus using anything but a laptop to take notes and do research. Owning an iPad myself, I have never considered using it to do my work with. I would consider it if I had an attachable keyboard, but in that case I may as well have a sleek ultrabook. Despite this, it would be a lie to say there aren’t advantages. Tablets are a lot smaller and more mobile. With eBooks, they also have the potential to eventually eliminate textbooks. This looming trend shift just depends on the majority of individual preferences.

The twenty third James Bond film, Skyfall, was released in North America on November 9th. Being the longest lasting and most successful film franchise of all time, there was quite a lot of publicity and excitement leading up to this. Much of this publication is due to the long list of companies using brand association with 007. Omega has released a special edition watch and claimed it to be Bond‘s official watch. Land Rover and Aston Martin once again make their standard appearances in the movie, and Daniel Craig is outfitted in Tom Ford suits. Sony has made the strongest connections of all with Q’s Vaio technology and the Xperia T mobile phone being “a phone good enough for Bond”. Sony, as well as Heineken, went as far as to air television ads featuring Daniel Craig. Oh, and Coke Zero is his new favorite soft drink.

All of these brands are attempting to position themselves in the consumer’s mind as products good enough for James Bond. This situation is unique because brand association is usually done with real-life celebrities rather than fictional characters. 007 is an easy target for this because he’s been around so long. Everyone knows him and companies can bank on his 50 years of success.

Check out the Sony commercial here!

Check out the Heineken commercial here!

Sources:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/oct/23/skyfall-marketing-james-bond

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/the-many-brands-of-bond/article5185772/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/video/video-will-sony-score-with-new-bond-phone/article5226827/

Despite the incredible amount of damage and devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in New York City and the surrounding area, this may turn out to be a good thing for certain businesses. Eli wrote a blog post on a Macleans article discussing the impact that the hurricane will have on the Canadian lumber industry. Resolute Forest Products, based in Montreal, expects a large increase in sales during the second and third quarters of 2013 as repairs begin.

I agree with Eli in the fact that it does not seem appropriate to hear that businesses are “celebrating” while New York continues to suffer loss and destruction. In a sense it is actually a win-win for both sides. New York receives the resources it need to make repairs  and companies increase their revenues. This scenario shows that business does not only depend on human behaviors, but nature’s behavior as well. It’s interesting to see how an event in one part of the world can have such an influence globally and economically, further proving the significance and importance of our global village. With the aftermath of the hurricane I believe that there is not only potential for large corporations, but for social enterprises as well.

Yesterday my favorite television news program, 60 Minutes, aired a story about Luxottica Group. This company (which few know about) produces, designs, and sells pretty much every brand of glasses and sunglasses on earth. What was once a small tool shop making frames out of goat horns in Agordo, Italy, is now the biggest controller of the eyewear market. Luxottica turned glasses around from being an uncool medical device to being fashionable face jewelry. In 2011 they made 65 million pairs of sunglasses and raked in eight billion dollars. Some of the brands Luxottica produces for include, but are not limited to, Prada, Chanel, Dolce Gabbana, Versace, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany, and Bulgari. The company owns two brands itself, Oakley and Ray Ban. They also own LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Oliver Peoples, Sunglass Hut, and several boutique chains. They also run Target Optical, Sears Optical, and the largest eye care organization in the United States, EyeMed.

This news story took me by surprise. It seems there isn’t exactly a free market in eyewear. The variety of brands and choice is simply an illusion and the prices are completely controlled by Luxottica. This isn’t exactly appealing to me as a consumer.

See the video here: Sticker shock: Why are glasses so expensive?

Picture from here

In Comm 101 we have touched on a few issues and news items related to the auto industry. It is widely known that the “Big Three” or “Detroit Three” (General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford) have suffered drastically from diminishing sales due to a rise in fuel prices. This mainly took place in the past four years. It is just recently that these giants are making a significant recovery. A Globe and Mail article by Greg Keenan points out some significant increases in sales. Despite a still relatively weak US economy, September was the best month for some manufacturers in over a decade. The Ford Focus Compact sales rose by 91% from a year earlier, helping Ford to reach the number one spot in the Canadian sales race. GM’s sales of fuel efficient cars rose 97% leading to a 12% increase overall. Chrysler reported a 12% increase in sales while car sales alone rose 42%. It seems that these auto makers are finally catching up with consumer demands. With the gas price around $3.80 US a gallon, people are looking for more fuel efficient vehicles. It has taken the Detroit Three a while to make adjustments but change is here and now.

Sources:

Article here

Picture here

Has anyone else noticed how popular the color blue is with social networking sites? For example, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Reddit, Skype, Formspring, and (previously) MySpace all have a shade of blue as their main, defining color. Upon further research, I discovered this is no coincidence. It turns out different colors have different psychological effects on people. Of course everyone will perceive colors a bit differently but this article outlines the general feelings and ideas that each color evokes. These implications, if used correctly, can be a great tool when it comes to marketing a product or service. It turns out blue is the most popular favorite color in the world. Perhaps this is because so much of the world is blue, like the seas and skies. Blue is associated with calmness, restfulness, steadfastness, dependability, wisdom, trust, and loyalty. However, too much blue or certain shades of blue can represent an uncaring coldness. This concept of color in marketing is another example of how complex and subconscious marketing really is.

I recently came across an article on the Canadian Business Magazine website titled “Samsung, Chinese workers, and labour rights”. The article highlights a few issues relating to the treatment of labourers.

Samsung, an international electronics brand, produces everything from smart phones to washing machines. Many of their factories are located in China. The following points are some of the accusations being made regarding labour:

–        Employees working overtime up to 100 hours a month

–        Factory workers that are under 16 years of age

–        Failure to provide safety clothing and equipment

–        The lack of a system for workers to make complaints

All of these issues need to be addressed and made a priority. However, things get a little hazy when it comes to the issue of overtime hours. Although working overtime is voluntary, perhaps wages need to be raised so this isn’t as necessary. Working excessively can lead to fatigue, boredom, and even sickness. This may lead to inefficiency within the company which is a weakness in accordance with the concept of SWOT analysis. It also endangers the safety of those working overtime and their coworkers. The main ethical issue here is the rights and dignity of workers.