Former Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky holds a Surface tablet with skateboard wheels attached to show the strength of the device during the launch event for Microsoft Windows 8 in New York, Oct.25th, 2012

Two weeks ago, Steven Sinofsky, the chief of Windows, helped Windows introduce its latest system Windows 8 and its Surface tabletS. But he unexpectedly announced his departure on November 13th. “Microsoft shares fell by 3% to $27 in early trading on Tuesday as the news reverberated around the web, leaving “Microsofties” themselves stunned as they tried to digest what the change will mean for the company. Sinofsky was “a tremendous talent,” one said on Tuesday.”

Mr Steven Sinofsky has always been viewed as a visionary in Microsoft. He is the leading force in the development of Windows 8 and his success in the Windows division has led many to believe that he would take the place of Microsoft’s CEO.”By leaving, Mr. Sinofsky has drawn negative speculation – not only of tension within Microsoft’s upper ranks, but also of the positioning of Windows’s future within the brand.”

This is supposed to be the big time for Microsoft since its newest product Window 8 and Surface tablets have just faced the public yet this news is failing people’s expectations about Microsoft. What surprises me is that many people are still buying Microsoft’s stocks despite the shares are now dropping. And why is that? (the video below:” bad news for Microsoft is also good news for investors” provides an explanation for this phenomenon)

This reminds me of the COMM 101 finance class that we had recently. In the COMM 101 class, we discussed the Google stock-price case. The early release of Google’s earning caused its share price to drop tremendously. This is because the price of the stock is not heavily determined by investor’s expectations about the future earnings. More importantly, the price of the stock is determined by the company’s cash flow. And news on Cash Flow will turn cash flow into prices; Google missed its estimate on its earnings! (Earnings and cash flows are related) So if the earnings is less than expectation then the cash flow of the company is very likely to fall in the future. As a result, people do not want Google Stock anymore. Investors buy stocks for the future possible value and they bet on the future growth in stock price. That’s why Google’s price went down after the early release of the financial report; it was not up to the expectations of the investors.

In this case, Microsoft is a huge company and it is gaining profit at a fast speed from its newest Windows 8 and Surface Tablets. At the same time, it has a temporary low stock price due to departure of Sinofsky. What time is better to purchase its shares than now? It is estimated by many analysts that Microsoft’s stock price will go up soon in the recent few weeks and now would be the perfect time for investors to purchase the share in this large company.

 Microsoft’s performance in recent years

News Source: Microsoft stock sheds 4% after Windows boss departs(the Globe and Mail)

News Sources:Windows chief Steven Sinofsky pushed out of Microsoft

VIDEO:Bad news for Microsoft is good news investors

VIDEO:Microsoft CEO sees new era with Windows 8

The Google Toronto office is the headquarters of advertising sales for all of Canada, among a host of other things. The tech juggernaut also has offices in Ottawa, Montreal and Kitchener-Waterloo. At Google Inc’s Toronto new office, many designs and settings of this new office wow people. Not only does Google has set up a small kitchen with many snacks and drinks for employees on each floor but Google also has all kinds of entertainment settings like indoor-gyms,a music room,a  luxury lounge, game rooms as well as outdoor mini-golf field as shown by the pictures below.

 Google’s Toronto Office’s mini-golf fieldThe game rooms inside the officeThe amazing indoor-gyms

Google has always been dedicated to the design of each of its offices in order to motivate its employees to interact and communicate with each other. Employees tend to talk more often when they are relaxing in the luxury lounge and having snacks in the kitchen. Also, Google’s employees even get free massages, isn’t that great! This shows how much importance Google places on its working environment and atmosphere.

While many people say that would love to work at a place like Google some say they would not because the office settings make them stay in the office longer and ignore their families. “While Google employees do pull long hours, at least it’s in an enjoyable work space. But there is an argument to be made that no amount of toys will allow you to  buy innovation.”

In the COMM 101 class, we have discussed the case of the Zappos, one of the most successful shoe sellers. We learned about the significance of people, culture and teams. In Zappos, the company focuses highly on building a enjoyable working environment for employees so as to motivate them and make sure they have the top-notch customer service, which will help them build more and more repetitive customers.

This applies to Google as well. Google is making effort to provide its employees incentive for them to work harder and love the place they work. Also, Google wants a harmonious working environment in which employees are like a big family. In the business world nowadays, we need to find creative ways to motivate our employees instead of just expecting them to be loyal and hardworking.

Google employees Jeff Bailey, left and Marc-Andre Decoste jam in the recording room at the new expanded Google offices in Montreal, March 19, 2012

Google employee Eric Dingle hangs out on the rock climbing wall at the Google offices in Montreal, Monday, March 19, 2012

Original News Source: Colour-coded lunches? Google pioneers a whole new office(the Globe and Mail)

Video:Autodesk’s Carl Bass on how companies can promote innovation

VIDEO: Inside Google Canada’s new Toronto headquarters

After reading Nikita Arora’s blog posts on “How Lululemon tripled its profits by improving its supply chain”, I found it very interesting and convincing but I have some disagreements toward the view that Lululemon has an efficient supply chain though it has made huge success in recent years.

Lululemon, the famous Canadian Athletic brand, ranks among the most productive chains in US, only running behind Apple and Tiffany, co.

“According to the ranking by U.S. research Retail Sails, Lululemon rakes in $1,936 (U.S.) per square foot, behind Tiffany’s $3,017 and the chart-topping $6,050 generated by Apple. Lululemon, which holds the No. 1 spot among apparel chains, and operates more than 100 shops in the U.S., has moved up one ranking from the last measure, swapping spots with Coach Inc. Rounding out the top five is Michael Kors Holdings.” 

Lululemon has been growing and expanding at a fast speed in recent years. What is different from Lululemon and Apple, Tiffany is that Lululemon also ranks 8th in the fastest growing annual change in store sales, which indicates its promising future. The sales of Lululemon has increased by 33% since last year.

With the growing sales and demand comes with increasing problems. Even though Lululemon’s retail sales are increasing annually, it still has one of the biggest problems unsolved. Lululemon’s supply chain management proves to be very inefficient and unresponsive , as we have discussed earlier in the COMM 101 class. The products of Lululemon get off shelves faster than new products arrive, resulting in a shortage of goods and loss of potential customers. Part of the reasons are Lululemon’s manufacturing partners’ locations. Lululemon’s manufacturing partners are based in Canada, the United States, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Peru, Israel, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam. However, most of its products are manufactured in countries far away from North America, resulting in a long time product-delivery and a inefficient supply chain. While some people may consider this as a good trend because Lululemon can increase the demand for its product when the supply is not enough, therefore making its products hot and desirable among customers, they clearly understate the significance of supply chain and logistics.

Lululemon has a high inventory turnover, which is a good thing meaning its products go out fast. However, Lululemon needs to enhance its control over its inventory and try its best to make the accurate forecast of its products’ needs in order to promote its retail sales. It is true that Lululemon will make money as long as it sells all of its products and it may get into trouble when some of its products are stuck in factory when it is producing too much. Yet the company needs to take opportunity costs into account and starts to consider improvements on its supply chain management so as to grow bigger and keep its revenue increasing. Supply chain management does make a difference in today’s retail world!

The optimistic behavior of Lululemon in the recent years:

Official Lululemon Website (Learn more about Lululemon!)

Original News Source:Lululemon among most productive chains in U.S. (the globe and mail)

Samsung has been the biggest rivalry of Apple since the release of its popular Galaxy smartphones. Samsung’s profit has been increasing tremendously due to the popularity of its smartphones. Although Samsung was involved in a patent dispute with Apple earlier, its brand value continued to rise. With the release of iPhone 5, Samsung still shows great future potential in the mobile world.

Latest Samsung Galaxy S3 Ad!! (Samsung implies in the ad once again that iPhone 5 is for old folks to gain more sales)

However, Samsung’s profit, which has been skyrocketing for the last few months, is likely to cease growing because Samsung spends so huge amount of money on Marketing and Advertising in order to do well among its abundant competitors that its expenditure starts to exceed its revenue.

This leaves to think about the following questions and connects me to the things I have learned in last week’s classes. Under what circumstances should we conduct Market research and how much budget should we give our researches? How can we make sure the market research is useful to the company to make it more profitable instead of influencing the company in a negative way? How can the company better influence consumer behaviors? In my opinion, Samsung should cut down its budget for Market research in order to stay competitive and gain more flexible asset. Also, Samsung should use more secondary market research to save money and gain efficiency on its decision-making process.

Original News sources

Samsung’s newest smart phone!

Some people have bad memories and definitely need to-do lists to help them finish their tasks on time. Thanks to the technology, now many cell phones have apps in which people can create their own to-do lists in it. But there are so many similar apps with the same function these days and it is important for consumers to choose wisely on the apps they decide to use in order to be more efficient and effective.

When it comes to the to-do list apps, the apps’ simplicity and tidy interface, which will remove many of the barriers to using it regularly, should be considered. Any.do emphasizes this feature and win itself many users because of that. There are also so many free to-do lists Apps on IOS. But it’s best if we try them all and decide which we like the best.

Almost everyone uses smartphones these day, so the App development has so many potentials. IT companies should choose specific targets and establish clear features as their App’s point of difference when designing these Apps in order to be memorable and profitable, therefore standing out among competitors.

News Source: For the Absent-Minded, a Few Forget-Me-Nots

How’s business in the fashion world these days? I don’t know much about fashion but clearly the fashion brand tyrant Burberry isn’t doing very well lately. Due to the economic slowdown in China, which is one of Burberry’s biggest revenue sources, and the decreasing number of investors, Burberry is making far less profits last year.

In order to lure back its customers and increase its revenue, Burberry starts to find new aspects of its product and high-quality service that will promote their sales. Not only does Burberry start to use “digital” concept in its latest design by using bright colors to create the feeling of future, but it also uses a system called “Customer 360” that can record every customer’s product preference for Burberry’s improvement. Also, when customers are fitting outfits, they can add accessories on a large screen to see how it matches with their outfit without actually trying it.

Will this strategy work out for Burberry? Can digital improvements win back its customers? Some say the high price of Burberry drives its customers away swiftly and Burberry should try to adjust its price to attract more buyers. However, Burberry has no intention to do so and remain targeting its consumer as rich luxury-lovers.

News source:  High Tech Fashion: Burberry goes digital

Video: Burberry womenswear spring/summer 2013 show  (we can feel the difference in Burberry designs in this show)

Last week, we learned about value positioning in the COMM 101 class. And the name of the product is extremely essential if companies want to establish their point of parity and point of difference. And the value of the companies can always be conveyed in their names. Pepsi relates us to young, energetic image while Subway leaves us the impression of comparatively healthy fast food. (Those are the examples we talked in class.)

In Dec, 2008, Georgette Kaplan and her two daughters founded the company called Ms.& Mrs, a personal-care company. During Ms& Mrs’s showcase on an ABC talk show, their name was misidentified as “Mr&Mrs ” on national television. By that time, they finally realized how easy it is to mispronounce their company’s name so they decide to change it to Pinch Provisions to make it easier to pronounce and they successfully embrace the “Pinch” idea in their latest advertisement. “In a pinch”, what a way to make their brand memorable! It has not been long since they changed their names but so far Pinch Provisions have received a positive effect. Indeed, companies’ and products’ names can make a difference in their future!

Latest Ad:Ms. & Mrs. Is Now Pinch Provisions

News Article on New York Times:If the Name gets in the way, change it

Sanlu Milk advertisement (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XOCYLxfRNU

News Report Link (Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cCyEMPQC4E

2008 Chinese Milk Scandal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal

Sanlu Company Introduction: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanlu_Group