Selling outdoor equipment and clothing, Patagonia rivals other brands such as The North Face and REI. The main factor that sets Patagonia apart from the rest of the brands is it’s highly ethical business model. The company’s founder, Yvon Chouinard (“mountain climber turned business man”), believes in a high level of standard when it comes to producing all-natural clothing and equipment.

One of the most significant parts of their business model is tied to how they collect feathers used for their down products. As opposed to other companies, Patagonia is the only clothing manufacturer that refuses to use the plucked feathers of live birds. Instead, all of their down comes from birds that lived in unrestricted environments, and were plucked following their slaughter.

This is an extra inconvenience to the company, and is a tedious process that rivaling companies don’t dare to bother with. To me, this is what makes Patagonia such a unique brand. As a consumer, I can tell that their business is run by an ethically sound board of members. I think that when it comes to ethical dilemmas like this, Patagonia leads by example by supporting a just cause that might not necessarily give turn the most profit.

-Timmy

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Apple’s current business model focuses on the task of bringing fast, new technology to the homes of every individual. Primarily known for their production of computers and smart phones, Apple is redirecting their efforts into creating a smart car. By joining the automotive industry, Apple is taking an extremely large risk. Devices like iPhones, which have proven to be hugely successful, will be getting less attention from the company, possibly resulting in a drop in sales.

In a way, Apple almost didn’t even change their actual business model. I believe the company’s strategy can be defined as a differentiation strategy; most of their efforts are allocated towards product uniqueness. Since Apple is expanding into the car industry, this fits the same strategy. Although they are creating an entirely different product, their motivation is driven by the same creative force that brought smart phones to where they are today.

Apple does face competition however. Companies like Google are already in the process of making their own cars, equipped with unique features that could potentially outsell Apples model. Apple announced the car to make it’s debut in 2019, and we are all excited to see how it turns out.

-Timmy

Reference: From iPhones to iCars

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Toshiba Corp, the Japanese based electronics manufacturer , recently had their CEO Hisao Tanaka resign from his position. This was all a result of a financial accounting scandal which reported that Toshiba’s earnings we hugely inflated. This is one of the biggest account scandals to ever take place in Japan. Toshiba stated that their profits since 2008 make up 151.8 billion yen ($122 billion).

The issue with this scandal is pretty straight forward. If you inflate your yearly earnings, you are tricking the market into believing that your company is worth something that it’s not. Not only will this damage the company’s earnings, it will ruin there reputation, preventing them from gaining support in the future.

Interestingly enough, despite Tanaka’s resignation, the company’s stock has gone up 6%. I find Toshiba to be very lucky that a scandal like this has not scared away investors. With regards to their consumer’s interest, I hope that Toshiba is able to maintain it’s growth in the stock market, hopefully benefiting the economy.

-Timmy Drabble

Reference:Toshiba just lost its CEO to a huge accounting scandal

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