Beating the import threat - luxury furniture

I came across this super short case study in the FT (Oct 09) which is a great example to use to illustrate one strategy of dealing with cheap imports....

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Brompton Bicycles - Guardian Profile

Terrific news for Edexcel Unit 4a students - the Guardian has a feature article today looking at the growth and strategy of Brompton Bicycles.  Its a really useful article which focuses on the added value that Brompton provide to its growing customer base.  Some great examples in too there on the role and benefits of staff training, the challenges of retail distribution and on production capacity.

There’s a great quote too from the Managing Director:

“Our patent ran out nine years ago, and if we were making this bike in Taiwan, staff turnover would mean that knowledge would be lost. Years of love have gone into our staff,”

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. 

Michael Porter - Two Minutes on “What is Strategy”?

Here is a short, sharp two minute video clip from the strategy guru Michael Porter…

Strictly and X-Factor Drive Demand for Pizza

A hat tip to Gavin Chatterton for flagging this super news story that provides a neat alternative to the useful lesson on Dominos Pizza…

Todd Stitzer’s Strategic Test

A short, but terrific piece in the Times today outlines the strategic challenge for the CEO of Cadbury - Todd Stitzer.  Highly recommended for A2 students looking at business strategy…

Analysing the Market - Download Tim Richards CEO Presentation

Tim Richards, CEO of Vue Cinemas, gave a tremendous presentation on the growth and strategy of his business at the Business Teacher National Conference on 18 June.  Tim has kindly agreed to allow tutor2u users to download a copy of the presentation for educational use…

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WD-40 to diversify into…whatever customers want them to

A cracking story from the Times explains how icon cleaning brand WD-40 is looking to diversify into wholly different markets from its core positioning.  And what better way to determine the product/market strategy than to invite existing customers to suggest the new product ideas?  Ansoff’s Matrix can be quietly slid into the bottom drawer at the corporate planning office, whilst WD-40 management work closely with customers to determine the next move!  The article also contains a little-known fact that can be used to impress students - WD-40 is one of the few products to have actually been developed by rocket scientists

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.

Marketing Objectives in Action

A great article on Sainsbury’s strategy to accelerate its growth plans.  I used this article as an example of what Internal and External constraints their can be on a businesses Marketing Objectives, but it could also be used for the impact on Operations, HR or Finance.