In 1971, three academics, English Teacher Jerry Baldwin, History Teacher Zel Siegel and writer Gordon Bowker opened Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spice in Touristy Pikes Place Market in Seattle. The three were inspired by entrepreneur Alfred Peet (whom they knew personally) to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment. The store did not offer fresh brewed coffee by the cup, but tasting samples were sometimes available. Siegel will wore a grocers apron, scooped out beans for customers while the other two kept their day jobs but came by at lunch or after work to help out. The store was an immediate success, with sales exceeding expectations, partly because of interest stirred by the favorable article in Seattle Times. Starbucks ordered its coffee-bean from Alfred Peet but later on the three partners bought their own used roaster setting up roasting operations in a nearby ramshackle building and developed their own blends and Continue reading
Business Analysis Case
Case Study: Corporate Social Responsibility of Starbucks
Starbucks is the world’s largest and most popular coffee company. Since the beginning, this premier cafe aimed to deliver the world’s finest fresh-roasted coffee. Today the company dominates the industry and has created a brand that is tantamount with loyalty, integrity and proven longevity. Starbucks is not just a name, but a culture. It is obvious that Starbucks and their CEO Howard Shultz are aware of the importance of corporate social responsibility. Every company has problems they can work on and improve in and so does Starbucks. As of recent, Starbucks has done a great job showing their employees how important they are to the company. Along with committing to every employee, they have gone to great lengths to improve the environment for everyone. Ethical and unethical behavior is always a hot topic for the media, and Starbucks has to be careful with the decisions they make and how they Continue reading
Case Study of Zara: A Better Fashion Business Model
Zara is one of the most well known brands in the world and is also one of the largest international fashion companies. They are the third largest brand in the garment industry and are a unit of Inditex. It their flagship range of chain stores and are headquartered in Spain. Zara opened its first outlet in Spain in 1975. The headquarters of the company is based in Galicia. There are more than 2600 stores across 73 countries in the world. The Zara clothing line accounts for a huge bulk of its parent group’s revenues. There are other clothing brands owned by Inditex such as Kiddy ´s Class (children’s fashion), Pull and Bear (youth casual clothes), Massimo Dutti (quality and conventional fashion), Bershka (avant-garde clothing), Stradivarius (trendy garments for young woman), Oysho (undergarment chain) and Zara Home (household textiles). Inditex owns all Zara outlets except for places where they are not Continue reading
Case Study of LG: A Global Success Story Through Continuous Innovations
LG Electronics is a global leader in the production of electronics, telecommunications products and chemicals. The organization was started in Korea with the name ‘Lucky Chemical Industries’ in the year 1947. The focus at the time was on the manufacture of chemicals. However, the organization ventured into the electronics industry and by the year 1958, it was the largest producer of radios, color televisions and fans. In 1959, it changed its name to Goldstar as it began producing plastic items. Goldstar was the first company to produce a radio in Korea and it went on to produce other household electronic products. In addition, the company produced soaps, detergents and other hygiene products under the Lucky brand. In the year 1995, the company was named ‘LG’, which was the abbreviation of ‘Lucky Goldstar’. The company also uses the tagline, ‘Life’s Good’ in marketing the products. Today, LG Electronics is a global organization operating Continue reading
Case Study of Walmart: Business Model Innovation for Sustainability
A business model is a plan or strategy that a company uses to attain its goals and objectives. The goals and objectives of an organization relates to the identification of the targeted customer base, identifying the sources of funds and the various areas for revenues. The goals for most companies are to maximize the profit and to make sure that the company expands and grows in the process. A business model is an abstract depiction of a company. It integrates the various processes of a company and highlights the various strategies and approaches taken by a company to achieve its objectives and goals in the process. A business model is developed by aligning the goals of an organization with the structure of an organization. There are various types of business models. Some of them are, “Bricks and clicks model”, “collective business models”, Direct sales model” etc. These are some of Continue reading
Case Study of Motorola: Brand Revitalization Through Design
When Motorola released its earnings report for the second quarter ending June 2005, analyst and competitors alike were stumped. The company posted revenues of $8.83 billion up from $7.4 billion a year ago and earnings of $993 million against a $203 million loss a year ago. Selling 34 million handsets, the cell phone unit accounted for 55% of the quarterly revenue and $ 498 million in operating earnings. Motorola’s market share increased to 18.1%, a gain of 3.3%, establishing itself firmly as the second largest manufacturer behind Nokia (33% market share). This was an impressive turnaround for a company that had seen market share decline from a high of 51% during 1996 to a low of 13% in 2004 pushing it behind the market leader Nokia and the South Korean rival Samsung. A key contributor to Motorola’s turnaround was the RAZR V3 (Razr), the thinnest phone ever developed. This ultra-slim Continue reading