Sep
26
2012
Roughly 2 years ago, Target bought Zellers for almost $2 billion dollars. Why is this so shocking? Well, if you live in Canada, you know that Zeller’s is our 2nd largest chain of discount, mass merchandise, department stores. And it hasn’t been doing so well.
Why is it that brands like Zellers eventually fail, when retailers in the same market such as Costco, Wal-Mart, and Target flourish? What do these primarily US based business have that Canadian-based retailers don’t?
What is the difference between Zellers and Target? Essentially, they share many, of not all, points of parity and points of difference in their marketing scheme. Why is it that Target has been so successful in the states and Zellers is on its last legs? Lets consider:
– Logo
– Marketing
Walmart has catchy commercials. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Zellers commercial, and I’m Canadian. Additionally, even with the rumours of Walmart’s use of child labour, it is consistently one of the largest brands in the USA. Why?
Can Target turn this $1.8 investment into an economic success?
References & further reading:
http://business.financialpost.com/2011/01/13/what-target-can-do-with-zellers
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/01/13/target-zelles-takeover.html
Sep
12
2012
Like many of you, I have been following the Apple vs. Samsung case, in which Samsung lost, due to Apple’s patents on several touchscreen gestures and technology. Below is a summary of Apple’s argument:
In retaliation, Samsung is considering suing Apple for implementing 4G technology on the iPhone 5.
What constitutes a patent? Is there anything impossible to patent? Is it fair for a company to monopolize the 4G LTE speeds? Through evidence of email exchange in 2007, prominent members of Samsung were caught discussing which aspects of the iPhone to implement in the next Samsung phone: concrete evidence that Samsung had plagiarized Apple’s innovation. However, are greater network speeds and a larger screen as is inevitable in the iPhone 5 really as serious?
An idea is the most valuable currency in a world as fast-paced as today. The technology of 4G speed is indeed an idea per se, but is it not the next natural step in technology following 3G ? (Compare: A fully touchscreen phone amongst ‘dumbphones’ in 2007.) Should Samsung claim a monopoly on this technology, it must consider all the implications – This lawsuit is not probable, much less feasible.
Is Samsung truly protecting this ‘innovation’ or simply attacking its competition?
Additional reading:
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/blog/morning_call/2012/09/report-samsung-likely-to-sue-apple-if.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57510080-37/samsung-will-reportedly-sue-apple-over-lte-use-on-iphone-5/
