Achieving no success in its market, Blackberry PlayBook has started to cut its prices. The company’s major downfall has prompted new strategies to create a market for the PlayBook. Canadian electronic stores have been reported to cut down prices for PlayBook due to the low demand for the item.

It seems that the company has overvalued the PlayBook, following the success of the Blackberry smartphones. It should probably differentiate the product, in a way that suits at least the Blackberry users, as the product is competing with such major competitions like the Ipad and Android. Aside from the competition, the PlayBook has features that apparently do not suit most of the demands, including a smaller screen with a same selling price as the Ipad.

As implied in Maggie Kong’s Blog, the way consumers view or value a product or a change (as Maggie explained) provides a significant impact. Consumers may not view the PlayBook highly currently, yet it does not mean that the product could not achieve success. RIM may as well change the features of the product to target a new market segment, in order to survive the market.

Source:

Electronista Staff(2011), Blackberry PlayBook cuts start, as low as $250 in Canada, Electronista (online). Available at: http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/09/23/canadian.stores.cut.playbook.prices.first/ (27/9/11)

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Bottled Water has contributed double-digit growth for Nestlé, and has become one of the reason for the company’s success. However, environmental concerns are starting to escalate regarding the use of plastic bottles, energy for transportation, as well as the issue of water scarcity.

Many have opposed Nestlé’s plans to tap 100 million gallons of water annually in Cascade Locks, Oregon. Environmentalists argue that the demand for bottled water has decreased over the last few years, and so there is no reason for Nestlé to tap new sources of water. In addition, the area is known for being a habitat to the endangered species, the Idaho Sockeye, hence many worry Nestlé’s actions would jeopardize the existence of this species.

This issue remains a dispute between two parties, as Nestlé will be able to employ 53 workers as the bottling plant operate, thus obtaining the favor of the local government. Even so, its actions might aggravate the mentioned issues above that have caught the attention of many environmentalists. In the end, Nestlé must choose whether to proceed with its previous plans and able to provide workforce, or to obtain the favor of the environmentalists by leaving the local water supply unharmed.

Ball, D. (2010), Bottled Water Pits Nestlé vs. Greens, Dow Jones & Company, Inc. (online). Available at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704414504575243921712969144.html (14/9/11)