Microsoft purchased Nokia, for $7.2Billion on September 2^nd 2013. Nokia is the second largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world, according to IDC. Nokia and Microsoft have been partners since 2011, when Nokia replaced its operating system with Microsoft’s Windows Phone. Microsoft purchased Nokia in order to compete against the established players in the mobile phone industry such as Samsung and Apple Inc.

Unlike Blackberry, Nokia is headed in the right direction. The deal will benefit both the parties, whereby Nokia will not undergo bankruptcy nor will its 32,000 employees be made redundant. Microsoft will be able to retain the entire the entire chain, whereby it will be able to produce their own mobile phones, market them and sell them in their own stores, similar to Apple.

Considering that the $7.2Billion price tag for Nokia was lesser than the $8.5Billion for Skype, the deal seems to have a huge potential. Purchasing Nokia will give Microsoft an additional cost-advantage over its competitors such as Samsung, which relies on Google’s Android operating system for it’s smart phones.

Will Microsoft be able to compete with the pre-existing high barriers to entry and the proportionately large market share owned by Samsung and Apple?

Sources:

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/03/tech/nokia-microsoft-stuart-miles/index.html?hpt=ibu_c1

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/03/business/microsoft-nokia-ballmer/index.html

Image Sources:

http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/content/2013/0903-microsoft-buys-nokia/16878447-1-eng-US/0903-microsoft-buys-nokia_full_600.jpg

http://i.cbc.ca/1.463814.1378567714!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/image.jpg

After opening up over 28000 franchisees across North America, Europe and Asia. Yum! Brands –owner of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut is expanding its franchisee spread across to the less developed countries in Africa namely Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Yum! is looking to tap the middle class across these regions. It believes that the likes of KFC and Pizza Hut around the world will generate similar and/or higher profits in these regions.

Taking into account factors such as growing economic and political stabilities across these countries, Yum believes that it will have the first-mover advantage into these regions as it’s major competitors such as McDonald’s and Burger King still haven’t set foot into these countries.

It seeks to enter these markets through diversification, whereby they plan on entering these new markets with new products that cater to the specific needs of these African countries.

However, a major factor that Yum may not have taken into account is the incomes and purchasing power parity of the people in these regions whereby millions of people are languishing in extreme poverty and simply cannot afford such restaurants. Will Yum be able to generate the projected earnings with these factors taken into account?

Sites:

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/04/business/fast-food-giants-africa/index.html

http://www.snaptohealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Yum-Brands.jpg

http://gregorymancuso.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Dominos-pizza-recipe-in-box-with-delivery-guy.jpg

http://yum.com/investors/restcounts.asp

Though the Serbian economy is undergoing dejection, one company named ‘Bambi’ is experiencing a delightful success as the country’s EU membership negotiations approach.

Bambi is the biggest confectionery producer in Serbia, producing over 153 different confectionary products. The factories operate round the clock, 24 hours a day with three shifts of workers. The cost advantage that Bambi currently possess is the minimum wage of $1.36, legislated by the government is much lower than that of China ($2.05) or Philippines ($2.31).

One of the toughest challenges that Bambi will face in the near future will be the rising cost of production as a result of the EU membership whereby the minimum wage rate is higher; it may also see a large number of trained employees fleeing to better European economies.

The company is currently seeking to increase their customer-base by exporting their products to nearby countries such as Romania & Bulgaria however it doesn’t see the UK and Germany as potential markets as it deems them ‘Saturated’.

The question is, what’s in it for the future for Bambi? Is the sweet victory going to turn into a bitter end due to the EU membership?

Sources:

Article Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/04/business/serbia-bambi-biscuit-eu-accession/index.html?hpt=ibu_c2

Minimum Wage figures obtained from: http://www.wageindicator.org

Bambi Logo: http://www.invest-in-serbia.com/thumbnail.php?file=slike-news/BambiLogoLg_807665489.png&size=article_large

Toshiba, A Japanese electronics firm that produces a wide-range of products from kitchen appliances to high-end medical systems is likely to befall a similar fate as that of Blackberry and LG.

The Japanese based firm is halving the number of employees employed in its TV division to cut the costs and to achieve the number one goal of any organization – Survival. The reform came about after the company encountered an immense loss of 16.3bn yen ($166 million) last year.

Toshiba, though being established before its major competitors primarily Samsung and Panasonic, it is unable to improve its profitability or possess the resources that these firms possess. Toshiba is taking a giant leap of cutting sales in “unprofitable regions” such as in the European nations, making about 3000 employees redundant.
Toshiba believes that their new range of ultra high-definition (HD) 4K LCD TVs will bring them back to profitability and possibly bring up their share price from the drastic fall in its value in the past two months as illustrated by the chart below.

However Samsung and Panasonic recently released similar televisions into the market. So the question remains, will this withdrawal from the European nations be a boon or a bane for Toshiba?

Article Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24327491

Figure 1 Source: http://onetechcomputers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Troubleshooting-common-issues.jpg

Figure 2 Source: https://www.google.ca/finance?q=TYO%3A6502&ei=PI1KUvDOH8W5iwL2twE                                                                     As per:- 8:54 AM Tuesday, October 1, 2013 (GMT)