Tony Shen's Blog

According to Haley’s blog post, Starbucks is forever expanding its market horizons, opening magnificent stores in India to target the potential gold mine of a market there. Realizing the developing nation’s rapid lifestyle and bustling activity in large cities such as Mumbai, Starbucks sees the opportunity and sets up shop in the heart of India.

The entrance for Starbucks is very safe according to the Porter’s Five Forces, seeing as there is little competition on the international level to Starbucks, for it has already had experience going global. The local markets for coffee will provide a relatively stronger cultural experience, but Starbucks has gone to great lengths to decorate its Mumbai store with many unique characteristics of Indian furnishings. Coffee harvesting is also readily available within India, and because Starbucks’ demands will be so great when compared to other coffee companies in the area, it will likely have high buyer power and low supplier power.

To combat threats of substitutes, Starbucks could develop a regional menu with many traditional beverages that Indians have grown accustomed to. The combination of all these make Starbucks a strong entrant to the Indian coffee market.

Starbucks in India

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02373/starbucks-india_2373933b.jpg

As posted in Sharon Chien’s blog on how entrepreneurs can start successful businesses with as little as $8,000, I believe such a feat is largely accomplished through not simply observing possibilities, but also acting upon those observations. In this case, the two founders of barre felt a niche that had to be filled within the dancing industry – to provide proper nutrition for mobile and constantly on-the-go dancers.

The motivation in the company also stemmed from the hobbies of the entrepreneurs themselves – though they were students at the University of Pittsburgh, they shared the mutual hobby of dancing with a burning passion, and to seek improvement in the dance industry. I firmly believe that a huge portion of their success can be attributed to their marketing strategy, with a “by dancers, for dancers” attitude that few other competitors can match. Even on their website and wrappers, it is evident that their product is specialized with a narrow target market, specifically tailored to the needs of dancers, and not just the general athletic community whereas competitors such as Nature Valley may appeal to.

Ultimately, the success that barre has earned is imbued in the characteristics of the entrepreneurs themselves; observation, passion, and action.

How Two Business Students Created Nutrition Bars for Dancers

http://fortheloveofkale.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/20120615_143548.jpg

Apple, one of today’s most well-known tech giants has been such a hugely valued and successful company ever since the release of the iPhone in 2007. Its progress has only magnified with its introduction of the iPad, creating two entirely different markets in the tech industry. That was how it has always managed to maintain its predominant lead. However, as of mid-September, 2012, the company shares have started to drop. Once at $700, it now sits at $527 as of November 19, 2012. This 25% drop in share price can be seen as the effects of Apple’s stagnation in its product line. Instead of creating new markets, Apple has settled for making minor tweaks on existing products and rereleasing it with updated specs.

As the tech industry is always on the go, Apple has introduced the iPhone 5 and the iPad Mini, both with minor changes when compared to the iPhone 4s and The New iPad. Apple has introduced the wrong product to the right place at the right time and to the right market – however, Apple no longer holds reign over the Smartphone market as Samsung has sold the highest number of Smartphones since the first iPhone, nor does it hold sovereign over the tablet market as both Google and Amazon are fiercely competing for lower prices. The only way for Apple to move forward is to change the tech industry. Again.

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/tech/106441–apple-s-ipad-mini-dilemma

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/10/ipad-mini-1351017524.jpg

It is amazing to see what entrepreneurs have come out of UBC, and perhaps the epitome of entrepreneurs would be Brian Wong, one of the world’s youngest entrepreneurs to become a millionaire.

As a wildly successful entrepreneur, I believe Brian arrived at his current situation in life with a multi-million dollar company in his hands by focusing on what he believed was the most important in life. He did so by recognizing the futility of grade school and chose to enter UBC at the age of fourteen. His average was 77% by the time he graduated. Though he says himself that he could have done better, he realized that the effort involved in boosting his average was better used elsewhere – by developing his entrepreneurial skills so he could quickly be done with university and enter the real world as soon as possible.

This capability for learning, coupled with his recognition of optimization, led Brian to recreate the world of advertising, incorporating tangible rewards with game achievements. The bottom line? Grades aren’t everything.

http://ubyssey.ca/news/brian-wong-university-student-at-14-graduated-at-18-millionaire-at-20/

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Brian_Wong.jpg/582px-Brian_Wong.jpg

Though Toms has established itself as a staple for shoes with its motto “Buy-One, Give-One,” the model is not truly a social enterprise – it does not solve the problem it had first set out to resolve when it was founded by Blake Mycoskie to resolve problems that barefoot children had to experience in Argentina. Though the ultimate goal is to relieve the villages of poverty in which these children resided, the carelessness of the founder resulted in less than optimal ends.

The lack of research as to what economic imbalances charities and donations could cause to these third-world countries prevented local farmers and crafters to be able to lift the community out of poverty themselves. The introduction of donations drove these locals out of business and eventually put all progress to a screeching halt, due to the lack of sustainability in the long run.

What Toms offers however, is the satisfaction that customers get when the customers know that they’re attempting to improve the lives of others with their purchase. However, behind the satisfaction hides a half-hearted attempt to improve the lives of those less fortunate.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1679628/the-broken-buy-one-give-one-model-three-ways-to-save-toms-shoes

https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/1105807567/LOGO.jpg

Ben and Jerry’s is a prime example of a company with great social awareness. The social entrepreneurship of the ice cream company lies under its choice to employ the disadvantaged youth to its workforce, providing jobs to those who are dependent on others, and aiding them out of poverty.

These workers may never find opportunities in other jobs, and these opportunities are exactly what Ben and Jerry’s offers. Greyston Bakery, a supplier of Ben and Jerry’s, was able to change the lives of over 2,000 annually. The company’s slogan embodies its values and its purpose of existence: “We don’t hire people to bake brownies. We bake brownies to hire people.”

Ultimately, this business strategy is very effective because what it offers consumers is the satisfaction of making a purchase, knowing that their money is going towards a good cause.

Ben and Jerry’s: Socially Responsible Ice Cream

http://helpinghandrewards.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/lowfat-chocfudgebrownie-opentub-729082.jpg?w=600

While many markets have stagnated into an edging competition as two who can offer slightly better specs like in the computer components market, very rarely do markets have sudden shifts in their product lines as to introduce products completely outclassing its competitors. Such is the case for LG with its exorbitantly large 84-inch HDTV. With fourfold the pixels of standard HDTVs on the market, this behemoth delivers eight million pixels in a single frame.

As there are few other competitors in the short run, among them Sony and Samsung, this TV is wisely priced at US$22,000, targeting an entirely different market as it is an inelastic good. Though in the long run many other manufacturers will join the fray and the price will eventually drop to an affordable level as technology ceaselessly progresses, LG has achieved a technological breakthrough and as a result, is capitalizing on the market.

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/100046–unwrapped-lg-electronics-84-inch-3-d-ultra-hdtv

I think Sharon Chien’s post on Topic: “Positioning”- Well.ca opens virtual store in Toronto is extremely interesting, because it shows how companies are thinking outside of the box in terms of marketing. Well.ca recognizes its target market primarily consists of customers that are not into watching advertisements, but would rather have the real thing in front of them.

Opening a wellness store in a subway station is no cheap task, but this creative advertisement has brought it stunningly close – by simulating it with a wall of goods made to look like goods on shelves. Customers simply have to scan a code on the shelf to have their goods delivered free of charge.

As the goods that Well.ca sells highly elastic, increasing quantity demanded will drive up revenue. Realizing this, the company extends to make shopping that much more convenient. Busy parents can now shop for necessities while commuting via subway, and this availability makes Well.ca much more attractive than its competitors in the eyes of this section of the target market.

https://blogs.ubc.ca/sharoncchien/2012/09/22/topic-positioning-well-ca-opens-virtual-store-in-toronto/

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wellca-brings-innovation-to-canadian-e-commerce-with-unveiling-of-product-subscriptions-167972216.html

In response to Haley’s post on iPhone 5 Glitches, Secrets, and Scratches Found Since Launch, I completely agree on the subject, and I feel that Apple needs to provide something fresh to its loyal customers if it wishes to maintain its market presence.

Apple was once a company of innovation, but it seems the death of Jobs and the rise of entrants such as Google and Samsung have brought up a serious question: how much longer can Apple hold on for?

Google sought for affordable but efficient phones, such as the Galaxy Nexus, while Samsung sought for something larger and faster, with their flagship phone, the Galaxy S3.

Despite the release of the iPhone 5,the Galaxy S3 sales have been largely unaffected. (Andrei Prescura) This is because Apple’s recent products only improve their existing products marginally, without offering much to customers.

This displays Samsung’s success by having established its own point of difference, for the iPhone 5 is on many levels very similar to the iPhone 4/4s, while the Galaxy S3 differentiates itself, leaving its sales intact. Apple either needs to introduce a new product line entirely, or leave its customers wanting.

https://blogs.ubc.ca/haley/2012/10/08/iphone-5-glitches-secrets-and-scratches-found-since-launch/

http://www.android.gs/samsung-galaxy-s3-sales-vs-iphone-5/

Primark, a UK-based fashion store, is widely known for its high-fashion, low-cost attire. How it manages to come out ahead of its competition as to offer cheap high-quality is no small wonder, as an investigation to Primark’s supplier sources revealed that the company had been getting goods from three Indian suppliers whom employed children.

A documentary revealed the conditions in which children had to work in. Long hours and mistreatment were the norm for these children. However, Primark, a well-known and respected company, realized that if the company did not put an end to these suppliers, it would soon be overwhelmed by an oncoming tide of negative publicity that would damage the company’s foundation.

Evidently, as the conglomerate sold nearly 10% of all attire in Britain, its reputation was much more valuable than the three Indian suppliers that had been using child labor to provide Primark with cheap goods. Fortunately, Primark’s quick response to firing these suppliers allowed it to maintain its high standing before the scandal blew up.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/22/india.humanrights

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7456897.stm