Santa goes back to basics in attempt to reduce the cost of Christmas

A big hat tip to Sam Lavery on the EconomicsTeacher Twitter Group for spotting a useful topical piece in the Telegraph. The Toy Industry Association’s annual list of the top Christmas sellers (based on what they know toy shops to have ordered from suppliers) shows the average price of the toys in the basket has almost halved for Chirstmas 2009.  Electronic gizmos are out (along with their high selling prices); traditional favourites are back in.  However, there is still plenty of evidence of innovation - particularly amongst long-standing brands like Monopoly and Lego. 

Q&A - How are businesses affected by unemployment?

Businesses are affected in a variety of ways depending on whether unemployment is high or low, and rising or falling.

What business students can learn from how businesses have handled the recession

The actions taken by successful businesses during the UK recession provide a rich source of guidance for students wishing to improve their analysis and evaluation skills. 

Pricing strategies and tactics under investigation

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is to undertake a detailed investigation into methods of advertising and pricing goods and services online.  This should prove to be a really interesting report when it is published in the summer of 2010, making it essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the variety of advertising pricing tactics and strategies being developed online.

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Dyson launches a new premium product

James Dyson is at it again - launching a desktop fan at a price that is almost ten times the average price of a standard blade-based fan…

Ukraine 1 England 0 - A match to remember?

Whilst it might not have been the result we wanted, England’s match against the Ukraine on Saturday may become memorable for business reasons.

Whatever your view on whether England football matches should only be available to watch live on the internet, there is little doubt that there is plenty of scope for the topic to be used constructively in the business studies classroom.

Topics could include…

Napster - Trying to compete, or getting desperate?

It was the music download site that first caused major headaches for record company bosses when it was first launched as an illegal download site.  Ten years on, Napster is now a legitimate music site (and has been since 2002), but is facing a battle of it’s own.

V-Water - from start up to exit

The market space for enhanced water is getting crowded! Sales of ‘smoothies’ are down by more than fifty per cent this year but the volume of enhanced water bottles being bought is proving more resilient to the recession. And the growing amount of shelf space in the supermarket aisles given over to the likes of Firefly, Vitamin-Water, Just-Juice, Vitsmart and V-Water is testimony to the high margins these products generate. Chris Coleridge, co-Founder of V-Water gave a relaxed, entertaining and thoughtful presentation on the growth of his business to the Eton College Entrepreneurship Society on Thursday night. A large audience - fortified by a generous sample of the six flavoured drinks on offer - grilled Mr Coleridge on his business after he had taken time out to explode five myths about start-ups.

The lights go out for the nightclub market

Its bad news for shareholders of Luminar - but this news story is packed with rich potential for a business studies lesson…

Sony cuts the PS3 price to extend its life cycle

When Sony launched the original PlayStation 3, they intended the product to have a ten-year life cycle. The latest version of the PS3 has just been launched worldwide: a lighter and more powerful machine and, perhaps more importantly, it comes with a chunky price cut.  This video briefly examines the business strategy behind the latest extension activity for the PS3.