Stephanie Fung's Blog

I definitely agree with Andrea’s thoughts on the increasing need in our society to eat more healthy foods and live healthier lifestyles. However, everything is easier said than done. In the case of ice cream and frozen yogurt, it IS healthier to choose the latter, though some frozen yogurts are only marginally healthier than ice cream itself. However, for businesses, this is fantastic news. Now, they have a new marketing edge where they can label “70% less fat” or “low in calories” and it would naturally attract some customers. Qoola is a fairly new frozen yogurt franchise with a trendy cute theme, and a do-it-yourself frozen yogurt bar, which is appealing because one can design how much and what they want. The pricing is fairly expensive, as one small cup is the same price as a 4 liter bucket from SuperStore (for example, $4). They are very popular now, developing more and more branches, as they are indeed appealing to the “healthier lifestyle” that society seems to like nowadays.

It is easy to believe that some foods are healthier than others, but when we eat out, be it restaurants or fast food or sidewalk stands, there will always be more unhealthy ingredients than we’d like to believe. I believe the intent of healthy eating is definitely present, as it should be, but sometimes people may have to be careful in always believing what they see; it may not always be 100% truth.

(Source: https://blogs.ubc.ca/banzon/2012/09/22/the-next-best-thing-to-ice-cream/, http://s3-media1.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/zpmU_o8O2xJK52qVqEDPUw/l.jpg)

The fashion company of Zara is young and ambitious. They have an incredibly efficient supply chain management team which spews out fashion designs every two weeks, which includes everything from production quotes to estimates of fabric needed, from the overall cost of material to marketing, and in two weeks, this is a very impressive amount of time. Many companies have issues with broken communication between the marketing team and the supply chain management team simply because they have two very different goals in mind: marketing to look for the trends in the fashion world and the supply chain management team to actually produce these products. Every time a marketer changes their mind on a product, the supply chain management team must adjust accordingly and it is very hard to make the two see completely eye to eye, which is precisely why it takes on average 6 months for a product to, from becoming an idea, to the finished product.

Zara is a refreshing new company with a surprisingly efficient supply chain. How did Zara manage to keep their inter-function conflict to a minimum? And why is it so hard for other companies to follow? I think that Zara has an incredibly well-oiled machine where quantity is slightly valued over quality. They produce in mass production, but they do not dwell on any idea for too long and too heavily so as to not lose any profit. I think that Zara was bold enough to keep shooting out designs without really thinking about it too much. This risk was a bold one, but one that seems to work for Zara. Can other companies learn from this?

(Source: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2003/05/30/business/30ZARA.583.jpg)

Salem Kassahun is an indigenous woman from Ethiopia, and she has opened her own boutique and used her passion for crafts and jewelry for the good of others: it’s a win-win! Though it may not be much, her participation in the market is a vital part for Ethiopia’s economic movement and monetary flow. She provides an oasis in the middle of a barren highway, and offers a tourist attraction for travellers. I would definitely say that she is a social entrepreneur, as she is providing jobs for women and she is earning a profit as well. With the help of some Arc Initiative students from UBC, she was able to refine her business model to accommodate the increasing popularity of her crafts. Her kind of social good is helping others be employed, have a purpose and contribute to the local market. The inclusion of her website was a big step in her career because she is now able to reach the corners of the world with the Internet. She evens uses her profit to build more equipment and more room for more women to come and work, so that they will all serve a purpose. Her mindset is truly focused on social good and she is most definitely an entrepreneur, so I do believe that there are more cases similar to this in various parts of Africa, their own little support system.

(Source: http://global.factiva.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ha/default.aspx, https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5025/5595701629_c775aa570e_z.jpg)

One of the Sauder School of Business’s own students, Edward Yan is the creator of a new social networking app for iPhone and Android that makes connecting with relevant people easy. The key word being “relevant”, this app is intended for students or anyone to connect with people in their vicinity and to know about events that may be happening close by. However, this is only one of the many accomplishments by Edward. He is one of the founders of Peoplesapp Network Group Inc., which specializes in mobile application development. He invested in an office in Gastown, Vancouver, and is currently expanding to a more global scale. It is projected that this corporation will become very successful in the coming years.

Being such a young entrepreneur, Edward and many others alike, have to take risks and think opposite of any normal businessperson. Though a normal person’s main interests may be being as profit maximizing as possible, one may have to lose money before gaining money, hence the risk. Many people shy away from the prospect of starting a business because they are afraid of the consequences, because one must live with the actions that they make. Personally, I am one of those people, but then again, it is still possible for anyone to become an entrepreneur if they have an idea that they would be able to develop. The hardest part is taking the first step, which is what I learned from the Comm 101 Entrepreneurship class with the guest speakers.

(Source: http://mingoapp.net/tera/company.php)

TOMS Shoes has, in recent years, become a popular franchise  with its trendy footwear and slogan “One for One”, meaning that for every pair of shoes they sell, they will donate a free pair to a needy child living without shoes. This slogan is TOMS Shoes’s outstanding point of difference that launched the brand into the category of a social enterprise.

In April 2012, TOMS Shoes launched a campaign called “One Day without Shoes” which was to spread awareness of all the children in the world who live without shoes. Their video was received with much critique, and rightly so. “One Day without Shoes 2012” though it raises awareness, promotes no action that should be taken other than not wearing shoes for one day. With the power and influence that the company has, shouldn’t they do more than just raise awareness? In addition to that, TOMS Shoes also disrupts the local market by giving free goods and stealing the sales of the local residents who sell shoes, making poverty even more prominent and rendering them more desperate for donations. In other words, should poor countries be taught how to be self-sustaining or forced to rely on outside aid forever?

In my opinion, TOMS Shoes provides a great service with a good intention, but perhaps they may be going about it the wrong way, and can use some new ideas building on their concept of just giving. Then, I would consider TOMS as an effective social enterprise.

Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/toms-shoes-founder-ends-apolitical-charity-work-with-focus-on-the-family-following-media-criticism/snapz-pro-xscreensnapz012-5/

In response to Janice Leung’s blog post, I would agree in saying that LinkedIn may not be the next big thing in the social media industry. When I first heard of LinkedIn, I thought it was exactly a mix of Twitter and Facebook, but with a professional twist. If they propose to have a feature where people can follow others as well, then on one hand, it would almost be exactly like Twitter, and also turn into a social hub for advertisements and promotions, or on the other hand, it would turn into Facebook; but since both these networks already exist, it seems as if LinkedIn would not be as popular as anticipated. Even though one could post resumes online, I would say that services within our own university could do that for us, such as COOL, and if not, is it really that hard to send a resume over the a desired job position? However, I think that there has not been an analysis of brand positioning for this new network and may have an impact on the social world. I also realized that the logo for LinkedIn resembles that of Facebook’s. LinkedIn has a long way to go…

(Source: http://www.executionists.com/blog/blog/battle-of-the-social-networking-sites-facebook-vs-twitter-vs-linkedin/, https://blogs.ubc.ca/janiceleung/2012/10/03/linkedins-tactics-to-increase-users/)

The ongoing competition between the two brands of Coca-Cola and Pepsi has simmered down over the past few years, and though there have been commercials in the past with hurtful messages directed towards their nemesis, those have ceased to air and now the respective brands just appeal to the loyalty of their customers. Every brand has competition, and even though Coca-Cola and Pepsi have extremely similar products, they differentiate mostly in consumer preferences. Though they advertise that one has less calories, or they rejuvenate brain cells, or anything else they may say to promote their own product, consumers soon forget which advantage is to which drink: so they pick the one they like best, or have been recommended. I feel like over the years, especially now, there has been a lack of uniqueness from both drinks, and that is why they are virtually the same product.

In response to a blog I read, Avoid the Overlapping Value Proposition, the author wrote that the two competing brands appeal to different customers: Coca Cola to older mature people, and Pepsi to the youth. He also said that both were able to avoid the rut of overlapping value proposition because they have different styles and marketing approaches. Personally I would predict that Coca Cola would always be the classic drink that everybody loves while Pepsi is always going to be living in that shadow, at least for the next while. What about you?

Here is also a comparison of the two brand logos over the years:

(Source: http://www.valueprop.com/blog/2010/08/avoid-the-overlapping-value-proposition/)

In the past month, the province’s new Parti Quebecois government has given into the relentless student led rallies protesting the “high” tuition costs that they must pay, which is a total of approximately $2000. The amount of typical Canadian universities is at least double that price. Just last Saturday, the a student body organized a march through the streets of the city claiming that free post secondary education is completely achievable. This ongoing and aggravating dispute is a prominent topic in the news, and it is now starting to hurt the city’s reputation and business revenues, especially in the tourism department.

Local businesses had gained less revenue in the past few months due to the riots and protests in the streets, which discourage people to roam outside as much. Tourism is also declining in profit rates because the province gained a bad reputation. Even with world inflation rates, the Montreal student body still insists on achieving free tuition. Personally, I’d like to ask if they have never heard of an opportunity cost: if you want to gain someone, you will have to give up something of value to be able to attain it. If this dispute goes on for too long, then the GDP of the province and even country will continue to decrease.

(Source: http://www.westerngazette.ca/2012/03/27/montreal-students-protest-tuition-hike/)

Cities across Canada have been mulling over the impending bylaw to have the shark fin soup delicacy removed from restaurant menus across the country. There has been an ongoing debate about the safety of various types of sharks, and their dwindling numbers since fishermen hunt them continuously to fulfil the large demand for this delicacy. On one hand, one should not hunt a species to near extinction; but on the other hand, some argue that the shark fin soup is a tradition and should not be banned from menus. David Chung, the President of the B.C. Asian Restaurant and Cafe Association, said that there is no scientific data that shows that shark fin soup is endangering the species. This ongoing debate has resulted in the majority of Canadian citizens saying that this delicacy should not be banned.

Though the impending bylaw has already passed in parts of eastern Canada, there are still  a number of small business and restaurants that may still sell this delicacy to customers under the radar. Reporters have disguised as customers wanting to “order a couple hundred servings of shark fin soup for a wedding dinner”, in order to prove that those businesses will still serve this popular Asian delicacy if the demand is still present, therefore capitalizing on the shark fins. So now the question is, would passing this new law really do any good in the long run?

(Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/08/14/bc-sharkfin-ban-vancouver-burnaby-richmond.html)