Video Case Study - Export Success for Mining Tools Manufacturer
You might think that a UK manufacturing business that specialises in the mining industry would be struggling to survive. But here is an uplifting profile of a business that has successfully exploited export markets to both survive and now prosper. An excellent example of how investing in export markets and specialising in a niche can be a profitable business strategy.
Download student worksheet (pdf) and video link
Discount supermarket diversifies into travel
An interesting example of how a retail brand can extend its brand into a different consumer market…
read more...»How Drastic Cost-Cutting Can Bring Clarity to a Business Strategy
I have some painful memories of the summer of 2008. Anticipating the credit crunch and impending slump, we decided to cut overheads by 50% overnight and try to ride out the storm. Those decisions, painful at the time, brought a clarity to our strategy since. I was reminded of the benefits such difficult action brings when i read about house-builder Bovis Homes today…
read more...»Dominos Strategy Proves to be World Class
An excellent analysis of today’s impressive trading results from Dominos Pizza in the Independent. The success story that is Dominos in the UK will make great business stategy case study material for years to come. A really good article - well worth showing to A2 students and getting them consider the competitive advantages that Dominos enjoys.
A Devastating Blow for the Irish Economy
Dell’s decision to close its manufacturing capacity in Limerick and transfer production to a low-cost location in Lodz in Poland will come as a severe blow to the Irish economy….
read more...»Retailer Survivors Like a Deep Recession
A timely and thoughtful piece from Jeremy Warner in the Independent argues the case that retailers who survive the recession / depression / slump will emerge much stronger…
read more...»Video Case Study - Exporters Benefit from a Weaker Pound
This super video clip is an excellent example of how the recent weakness in the Pound can generate sales opportunities for exporters. With a price advantage of around 25-30%, exporters with the right product and a suitable promotional mix can win significant new business during 2009 (we need them to!). A great video too for explaining in simple terms how an exporter can hedge the risk foreign exchange fluctuations. Certainly worth showing to the A2 students…
Download student worksheet (pdf) and video link
Fixed-price retailing takes off in the UK
Another excellent piece on the changing nature of UK retailing - this time in the Independent - charts the rise of “fixed-price retailing”...
read more...»Can Fresh Management Save JJB Sports?
JJB is one of several struggling national retail chains. It has just appointed new senior management in a last-ditch attempt to recover profitability and generate enough cash flow to service its large bank debt burden.
read more...»SWOT analysis for Britain’s leading high street retailers
A great piece in the Independent this morning does some crystal ball-gazing for ten of the UK’s leading retailers. As the economic downturn bites with vengeance in the Spring, which of the retailers featured are best placed to take advantage of the opportunities arising in a tough retail environment? Which retailers face more threats than opportunities?
Diary of a Music Entrepreneur - The Story of Dolphin Music
I really like this recent piece in the Telegraph in which one of the co-founders of Dolphin Music outlines the key stages in the development of his business. Some great learning points in there, even though the article is relatively brief. You can learn more about Dolphin Music here.
Valuing Apprentices
Recessions put businesses under enormous pressure for example to cut back on training and marketing - but both can be costly mistakes in the medium term when an economy starts to recover…
read more...»Profits from protection - a great example of entrepreneurial skill
A fascinating, though brief article in The Sunday Times today about a Yorkshire entrepreneur who has created a stunning success story with a product much in demand in some of the most dangerous places on earth…
read more...»Hornby hoping for a Christmas present from Lewis Hamilton
£8 Ryanair Flights to the United States?
Ryanair has proven to be a fascinating business to watch over the last few years. It’s such a great case study for many issues in business. Even if you occasionally weary of oil price and credit crunch news stories (unlikely, I know) the dislikeable but strangely compelling boss of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, will come up with something else to make you sit up and take notice.
O’Leary rubbishes environmentalists and pollsters who single out Ryanair as ‘the world’s least liked airline’. “Ryanair carries more UK passengers than any other airline because it has both lowest fares and the best punctuality and its passengers ignore irrelevant and baseless surveys,” the company famously once said. “The public votes with its feet.”
read more...»Return of the paperless office
For the more youthful of you, I might need to explain that the ‘paperless office’ is something of a joke. It’s a good example of our tendency to be pretty off the mark when it comes to predicting the future. The arrival of computers was thought to mean that we wouldn’t need paper any more. Of course, the opposite happened.
The Economist has a very interesting couple of articles on this topic. It’s a reminder that technological change often has the power to surprise us.
read more...»Pop stars fight back
It’s looking tough for many firms at the moment. But the credit crunch isn’t responsible for all woes. It’s now a year or more since the business blog ran a series of pieces about the financial crisis in the record industry – desperately struggling at a time in which the music business as a whole is thriving. (Look at the box office records for advance ticket sales for High School Musical 3).
read more...»Moonpig signs seals and delivers
Moonpig is a very British success story but, as Nick Jenkins remarked in his talk to the Eton College Entrepreneurship Society last night, there were moments and plenty of them when the survival of the business was on a knife edge.
read more...»Innocent Drinks diversifies into Veg
I forgot to blog about this excellent interview in the Times with Richard Reed of Innocent Drinks when it appeared at the start of the week. Much has been written about Innocent’s great success in the fruit smoothies market. Can the three entrepreneurs leading Innocent achieve a similar success with their new product - Veg Pots?
read more...»For sale: airport with 1 runway and 35.1 million customers
If you have around £1.8bn to spare, then can I interest you in an attractive investment opportunity? This is a rare opportunity to acquire a popular airport business in a much sought-after location…
read more...»Counting calories and the effect on food sales
I can remember being in New York ten years ago and regarding their smoke free restaurants and bars with amazement. It could never happen in the UK, I thought. Ten years later and another experiment: compulsory calorie labelling on all food sold in restaurants. Will it happen here? And if so, does the New York experience tell us how firms and consumers might respond?
read more...»Huge losses force Taylor Wimpey into drastic promotional activity
When shareholders approved the £5 billion merger of housebuilders Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey, they probably didn’t expect that by the end of August 2008, the combined business would be worth less than £500 million…....
read more...»Capacity management in action at Toyota
Students learn in operations management that one way of increasing the production capacity of existing fixed assets is to add an extra shift to the working week. Here is a good example of this action in reverse…
read more...»Economic environment - disposable income takes a dive
News of a really important economic development that business students will need to be able to understand. Consumer disposable income is falling under pressure from rising prices of essential items such as food and energy whilst wage rises are not keeping pace…
read more...»Here’s a business that wants energy prices to rise
Those of you who are aged 35 or less probably won’t remember the Miners Strikes and the rapid decline of the UK’s mining industry. It is easy to forget that Britain still has a coal mining industry. So I was interested in news from UK Coal about how rising energy prices are benefitting their business and future investment decisions…
read more...»Start-up case study - Tiffinbites
A fascinating interview in the Guardian tells the story of how Jamal Hirani set up and has expanded his niche food chain Tiffinbites. Some great materials in here for the new AS Business specifications and also students looking for an interesting case study for their strategy papers…
read more...»Working with suppliers - Matalan applies the squeeze
A good example to use in AQA AS Unit 2 (working with suppliers). Discount retailer Matalan has made itself unpopular with a group of small business suppliers by imposing another price cut…
read more...»A return to Zoom and Bust
Major creditors owed money by airlines have a particularly powerful option that isn’t available to other businesses - they can simply stop a plane from taking off…
read more...»8megapixel cameraphones threaten the digital camera market
Which gadgets did you pack to take on holiday this year? Chances are you took both a mobile phone and a digital camera. However, a new product development from Samsung may mean that you digital camera will soon be redundant…...
read more...»Cutting capacity to weather the housing slump
There was a great example last week of how to cut fixed costs and capacity to meet a sudden decrease in demand…
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