Month: November 2012

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