Who’s a Better Leader than a Goose that’s Canadian?

Posted on September 29, 2014 by VanessaTang

According to Emily’s blog post, Canada’s supreme Tim Hortons’ merge with the controversial Burger King has aroused national panic among Canadians. Canadians fight to distinguish themselves from Americans, but can we still do so with our top Canadian brand sold to our infamous neighbour? In response to Emily’s dilemma, Canada Goose is our hopefully our saviour. The internationally acclaimed Canadian brand for winter expedition jackets spearheads its core value, “We stay in Canada because that’s who we are”. Bingo! That is exactly what Canadians beg to hear. The company strongly insists to keep ALL production in Canada. By setting itself afar from the “made in China” or made in (insert third world country)” convention, Canada Goose has identified a highly effective marketing strategy. Alike other consumers, I would instill more trust in a product produced in a first world country – knowing the quality is finer and safer, and the good is produced without unjust labour.

Canada Goose’s robust brand image is exactly what the remaining Canadian companies need to evolve into. Tim Hortons made a mistake, but let’s prevent others from following so. Canadians should be valued, not only among ourselves, but on a greater scale – worldwide. We are exhausted of living under the American shadow. From Eaton to HBC and now Tim Hortons, Canada truly does not need further adoption from the US. It is about time we preserve if not differentiate our identity from America and Canada Goose may be our leader.

Image: Canada Goose Parkas

Olive Garden Becomes Oh Live Carbos!

Posted on September 16, 2014 by VanessaTang

Olive Garden caught my attention by its seemingly health conscious brand name. The combination of “Olive” – one of the world’s healthiest foods, and “Garden” – a plethora of fresh greens, led me to believe that Olive Garden is a healthy family diner OR a classy high-end restaurant. However, Olive Garden is the antithesis of my hypothesis but rather an Italian restaurant chain infamous for its unlimited servings of carbohydrates.

fettucine

“Fettucine Alfredo.” Darden Concepts, Inc., 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2014. <http://www.olivegarden.com/menu/fettuccine-alfredo/prod80168>.

Olive Garden employs the “everything refillable” concept, but this is a questionable business strategy. Apart from drinks, soups, salads, Olive Garden offers unlimited bread and PASTA on specific weeks. How does this benefit the company? This offer restricts the number of customers per day if everyone spends more time at meals to maximize their benefit of the offer. Customers who were initially attracted by the offer are driven away if table turnover is impossible. Also, customers are rapidly consuming the business’ inventory which pressures the company’s costs.

Olive Garden is putting stress on its revenue, quality control, and the well-being of their staff. As experienced by Holmes, an Olive Garden server is physically, emotionally, and mentally excruciating. In conclusion, seldom do restaurants promote “everything’s refillable” except for the buffet industry.

References:

Holmes, David. “Olive Garden Servers Have One of the Toughest Jobs in the Industry. Trust Me – I Used to Be One.” PandoDaily. PandoDaily, 16 Sept. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2014. <http://pando.com/2014/09/16/olive-garden-servers-have-one-of-the-toughest-jobs-in-the-industry-trust-me-i-used-to-be-one/>.

Baby Steps to Become the Business Leader

Posted on September 10, 2014 by VanessaTang

In response to customers’ resistance to tolerate businesses’ monetary interests over the well being of consumers, businesses now prioritize or appear to prioritize ethics in their image and platform!

The Forbes article “Fit For A Prince: How The Baby Food Category Went Premium” is an inspirational example highlighting the fruitful collaboration of loving mothers and Plum Organics’ compassionate businessmen. As listed on Forbes, this renowned company is now the most acclaimed brand of organic baby food and one of “America’s Most Promising Companies”. Behind the scenes, Plum fulfills the environment standards and proclaims to pay its lowest-paid employees 50% more than the minimum wage.

Plum wholly exemplifies Freeman’s Stakeholder Theory of a successful business through its ability to “create value for customers, communities, employees, financiers” and willingness to invest in the mutual interests of the consumers and the business itself. In addition, Plum’s president, Neil Grimmer, continually reinforces, “Our missing is to get the very best food to kids”. Having several voluntary recalls, Plum disregards public doubt but instead focuses on the safety of their products and reinforces the company’s mandate in prioritizing health over profit. Plum Organics is the kind of business leader we need.

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