competition

Lululemon’s Potential Competitor May Have An Advantage Due to Product Recall

Posted on by gina30111f14

kit

Lululemon for anyone that doesn’t know, is an athletic apparel store for, men and women, mostly dedicated to yoga-wear and workout clothing, but slowly moving into the day-to-night market as well. They have been extremely successful in the workout retail division, especially for women who enjoy yoga or wearing yoga attire. Lululemon is also known for having yoga, running, weight training and other fitness classes for the public to attend.

Although Lululemon has grown into a global business from one store in 1998 in Vancouver to over 270 locations worldwide, every company has it’s period of decline. For Lululemon it was when  in March of 2013 due to their recall on leggings for being too shear, this caused a large sales reduction for them and other issues as well.

A new company called Kit and Ace has been introduced into the similar market of Lululemon. The founders of Kit and Ace are entirely backed by the founders of Lululemon due to a large issue in the Lululemon board of directors. Kit and Ace is still in its introductory stage as a business, but they plan to grow globally and appeal to the same target market as Lululemon.

I found this article to be extremely relative to what we are learning in class when it comes to quality control and operations strategy in a global environment. Dealing with quality control is definitely a topic that relates to Lululemon and their product recall. We learned the importance of implicating quality for companies because it can help or hinder a company’s reputation, which in this case the lack of quality on hundreds of thousands of leggings has definitely hindered Lululemon. It caused many customers from all over the world to lack confidence in their product and be cautious when it comes to purchasing this product. Kit and Ace is definitely going to use the quality control issue of Lululemon to help improve their own quality control and it’s possible that customers will become more loyal to them instead.

One thing that Lululemon has over Kit and Ace without a doubt is their operational strategy with expanding their company globally. Lululemon has a globally known name, it’s not just a Vancouver store, it’s grown into a well known company in all different countries. Lululemon realized how important it was for them to globalize because they saw it would improve the supply chain, reduce costs, improve operations, understand markets, improve products, and attract and retain global talent. Rather than staying a locally known store, they now have facilities closer to unique resources in different countries. They have reduced costs with lower direct and indirect costs with foreign locations. Lululemon’s competitive advantage is definitely differentiation because they chose to use unique material to create their products which have attracted customers who are into not only fitness but comfortable everyday wear as well. Kit and ace will need to work on global expansion by using the experienced and professional operational strategy of Lululemon.

 

Have you ever had anything recalled that you’ve owned? If so, did that recall cause you to think differently about the company?

How important is quality control to a company?

Could there be a competition between Lululemon and Kit and Ace now with customers cautious about Lululemon products?

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2014/10/28/lululemon-founder-family-bets-on-casual-luxury-with-new-retail-venture-1029564423/

Google Now Knows What You Did Last Summer!!!

Posted on by spr1311pfudala
Heavy.com

Google Now is now a direct competitor to Apple’s Siri. Google Now is an intelligent virtual personal assistant similar to Siri. Recently Google Now became available on iOS for iPhones and iPads.

Google Now access a lot of personal information on someone’s iPhone/iPad. There are many privacy issues related to the use of Google Now. Google Now analyzes your browsing history, mail, calendar events, and other activity on your iOS device to “predict” information that you will need before you even think about needing it.

In order to begin using Google Now and iOS, you must first open Google Search, where Google Now appears at the bottom of the screen as a stack of cards. You swipe the stack of cards in order to access the main feature of Google Now, the “cards.”

Here is an example of how Google Now is your personal assistant: You have meeting scheduled for later today in Aurora. The meeting is scheduled in your Calendar app. Google Now accesses your calendar and from the information that it obtains, it creates a “card” that gives you map, directions, and current traffic conditions to the meeting. When you repeatedly search for a particular sports team’s score on the internet, Google Now automatically displays the previous night’s final score on a “card.” If Google Now detects that you are in a foreign country, it will provide a “card” with a translator and a currency convertor.

Readwrite.com
Google Now does allow you to select what information you share with Google Now. However, the less information you provide to Google Now, the less useful, reliable, and efficient it becomes.

Google Now can be a very convenient tool for everyone. However, Google Now on iOS does not allow you to send e-mails using only your voice and you cannot access with the push of the “Home” button like you can with Siri. Google Now also only works with other Google products, such as Google Calendar. It was also released with glitches and users have complained of battery problems when using Google Now.

While I can see how Google Now can be a great convenience for me, I cannot get past the fact of how much information it will obtain from my iPhone. That information could be stored on Google’s server for years and it could sell that information to advertising firms that would creep me out with very personalized ads. Perhaps if my information was kept on my phone and it never went through Google’s servers, I would be more open to using it.

Would you be willing to provide extensive amounts of information in order to use Google Now? Are you concerned with your privacy in this technological world? What can Google do to alleviate the privacy concerns of its customers? Should Google be competing directly with Apple’s Siri on Apple’s own products? Is this Google’s strategy to win over Apple consumers? Did Google release Google Now on iOS prematurely since it still has bugs and is only compatible with Google services?

 

Sources:

Google Now Takes On Apple’s Siri by Rich Jaroslovsky: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-08/google-now-takes-on-apple-s-siri-rich-jaroslovsky.html

(Image) Google Now Opens Up To iPhone And iPad Users by Taylor Hatmaker: http://readwrite.com/2013/04/29/google-now-ios-iphone

Google Now for iOS: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know by Karen Tumbokon: http://www.heavy.com/tech/2013/03/google-now-for-ios-5-fast-facts-you-need-to-know/

GM + China = The New Largest Car Manufacturer?

Posted on by spr1312dlee

As technology advances, new cars continue to be introduced. Within the car industry, the multiple manufacturers make it a highly competitive market. Some of these manufacturers include: Ford, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Toyota, Volkswagen, General Motors, and many more. Each manufacturer has their personal strengths and weakness as well as targeting various segments of customers. As competition continues to increase, these manufacturers need to develop new strategies in order to obtain a larger share of the market. General Motor’s take on this new strategy is by increasing their capacity in China.

General Motor’s expansion in China will be a three year process. Within these three years, GM plans to open four additional plants, which will also create “approximately 6,000 new manufacturing jobs” (GM). With this expansion, GM and their joint ventures in China continue to increase in quality and quantity. Bob Socia, the president of GM China, stated that ““GM is a car company, but we are also a people company. You can’t build great vehicles without great talent.” GM and their joint ventures currently have 55,000 employees in China, and this number will continue to rise. By expanding in China, GM is able to find local talent “with a focus on design, engineering, R&D, manufacturing, purchasing, and sales and marketing” (GM). This emphasizes GM’s attempt to retain global talent along with learning to improve their operations with the help of China. By locating facilities globally, GM is able to provide better goods and services for their consumers as well as improving their supply chain.

Along with the increase in plants and employees, this partnership with China has pushed General Motors in a new direction. Over the next five years, GM plans to focus on SUV’s and luxury models. Bob Socia believes that

 this new focus along with the expansion in China will result in a positive reaction from consumers. Socia stated that “We expect Cadillac sales to go from 30,000 last year to 100,000 in 2015” (WSJ). Although this may seem very ambitious, the new global strategy of General Motors may end in a positive result. Along with the increase in sales, GM also plans on introducing 17 new and upgraded models in China.

This expansion allows GM to improve on their manufacturing capability through the new plants, employees, and other opportunities within China with their joint ventures. Although these articles don’t include all the parts of the strategic process, they emphasize on GM’s operations process for their new strategy. However, with GM being such a large car manufacturer globally, it’ safe to assume that the other parts of the strategic process which include marketing and finance/accounting are being handled properly as well.

Currently, according to “Spot On Lists”, General Motors is ranked second in the list of the top 10 biggest car manufacturers in the world. The Volkswagen Group is number one on the list. Will GM’s expansion in China allow them to overtake Volkswagen as the largest car manufacturer in the world? Is GM’s new strategy going to result as highly as they forecast? Although the details of their strategy may seem strong on paper, will this plan be executed correctly?

 

 

Source:  


http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/cn/en/2013/Apr/0420_Growth.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324493704578434393384075744.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://spotonlists.com/misc/facts/top-10-biggest-car-manufacturers-world/

Starbucks Cuts Prices on Bags of Coffee

Posted on by spr1321jcastiglione

As we discussed in Chapter 2, cost leadership is one of the keys to achieving a competitive advantage over the opposition.  Having the lowest cost, as perceived by the customer, without sacrificing quality, is the key to beating the competition.  Starbucks is attempting to do just that by cutting the price of its bags of coffee by $1 per bag this year.  This reduction in price would make the cost of their bags of coffee comparable to those sold by Folgers, Maxwell House, and Dunkin’ Donuts, all of whom cut their prices this year as well.  Ultimately, Starbucks’ goal is to draw sales away from their competitors, even if they aren’t making as much money per bag of coffee.

The rationale behind the cut in price is to attract a new demographic to purchase their product.  Currently Starbucks’ in-house coffees are among the most expensive, yet they continue to outsell the competition.  By selling their bags of coffee for about the same price as their competitors, they are able to attract the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder, as opposed to just the upper end.  Assuming they aren’t sacrificing quality, the Starbucks brand bags of coffee would be the best available option to these consumers.  Overall, they would be reaching a much wider market then their competitors.

In order to earn as much revenue on bags of coffee as they did last year, Starbucks would have to sell 65% more bags at the new price.  Starbucks knows they probably won’t achieve those numbers, but if they continue to steal customers from their competitors, they will eventually reach that number and eventually sell even more.

The move also forces Starbucks’ competitors to make a tough decision.  Either they can keep prices where they are at, or they can continue to cut their prices and trim profits.  Another possibility is that they can cut volume.  Either way, Starbucks walks away a clear winner.  At the rate they are going, Starbucks is slated to run its competitors out of business.

I think this is a great move by Starbucks.  It’s no mystery that a majority of Americans prefer Starbucks coffee to other brands, and by making it more widely available, they can increase their sales exponentially.  Sales won’t increase immediately, but in the long run they most likely will.  Once consumers realize they can get their favorite, high-quality coffee for the same price as lower-quality brands, odds are they’ll opt for the higher quality product.  And even though the profit margins won’t be as high for the bags of coffee, they will still be huge on the in-house brews.  In the end, Starbucks has the highest quality coffee on the market as chosen by consumers, and at its new low price, Starbucks will have the competitive advantage as well.

Source:  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-12/the-game-theory-behind-starbucks-big-coffee-price-cut#r=nav-r-story

Apple is Taking Over China

Posted on by jingjingw301s12

 

Throughout this quarter, I have learned how firms keep their OM decision areas in line with their completive strategy. That reminds me a firm from global market and it shows us how they do business in other countries.  This is an example from an IT legend-Apple.

 

 

On September 26th in 2011, Apple opens its first retail stores in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Apple realized that Taiwan, Mainland China and Hong Kong are the great market which has a lot of opportunities to expand Apple businesses. Because in Hong Kong, people have vey high demand of smart phones such as iPhone and most Hong Kong people like the Apple products as much as Americans do. However, there were no any Apple retail stores, so people can only buy the Apple products from other local retailers or online stores. Since Apple has slowed the pace of large-store opening in China because there are too many copycats’ stores in the region. Apple also found some fake retail stores in China, but those stores are still cannot impact the sales of Apple.

However, Apple has competitor such like Sony Ericsson, Samsung are the tough for Apple since they already have large market share in mainland China. Even though Apple is a very large company in the global market; they still struggle to expand their businesses in other countries where have too many competitors. In the economic environment, since the Apple retail stores open in Hong Kong, it affects the resellers businesses. It is because the Apple retail store is too powerful in the market. Therefore, the small businesses may be bankrupt because of the new Apple retail stores opened. Nowadays, Apple is one of the well-known and successful companies in the global market; they created many new products which people would follow their idea to develop their businesses. Apple is an example of licensing strategy. They are using the resources from Hong Kong and China such as human resources; Apple established the factories to produce Apple products in China. Moreover, in the sociocultural environment, Apple has a successful strategy to cater for the Hong Kong culture. Hong Kong people require higher demand of great quality services and problem solving efficiency. Thus, Apple provides fast respond for customers’ problems and quality warranty for any Apple products. The strategy of Apple reflected that they have a great sense of Hong Kong culture. In the economic environment, Hong Kong and Shanghai are the developed cities; there have a lot of opportunities for foreign companies. Since there have intense competitions, foreign companies have to face risks and challenges, but they still stand to reap huge benefits in the future. Apple is the one of the big company that wants to reap the benefits from China market.

If you are an operation manager of a famous firm, how could you expand the business in global market? What issue should you concern about? And what competitive strategy will you apply to the global market but except develops the location/competitive strategy, design of goods and services, supply-chain management and managing the quality of products, what else?

 

Source: The Wall Street Journal by Jason Chow, September 26, 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903703604576588351297817510.html

 

 


 

My friends..do you remember Nokia ?

Posted on by mohammeda502

 

 

My First Nokia Mobile Phone

 

 

 

Do you remember Nokia? Yes the mobile phone that was used by almost everyone five years ago. To most of us who were born in the 1980s, Nokia was our first mobile phone.  Nokia was dominating the market, everyone had Nokia. Nokia was very successful from 1998 up until 2008 when Blackberry and the iphone started to dominate the market and attract not only businessmen but also teenagers. Nokia lost a lot of its market share due to its weak forecasting of changing consumer tastes and preferences and its lack of sufficient research and development as well as its inability to compete with its competitors especially when it comes to adding innovative features and applications that are smarter and effective. Nokia lost its target market from all different ages whether it is the high school student or the university student or even the sophisticated business professional. It is sad to see that 5 years ago all my friends had a Nokia mobile phone and currently none of my friends have this mobile phone anymore even though it is still being sold in all our local mobile shops.

 

                We studied in our operations management class about Product Life Cycle that states that product goes through 4 stages: Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. Nokia is definitely now in the decline stage for many reasons. The first reason is Nokia’s poor product design which did not attract consumers  because they looked very dull and stale unlike the Blackberry and the iphone.  The second reason why Nokia reached its decline stage is that they were always one step behind their competitors mainly Blackberry and iphone especially when it comes to adding innovative features such as 3G and free chatting and social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter. A third reason why Nokia reached its decline stage is its strong dependence on its brand equity. Its dependence and reliance on its brand equity for a long time led the company to focus less on research and development and less monitoring of all existing and potential competitors. A fourth reason why Nokia reached its decline stage is the changing technological environment. Nokia was very famous for its simplicity however people have changed because they started demanding smarter phones rather than simple phones. They started demanding phones with many smart applications rather than few simple applications. Therefore, the change in the taste and preferences of the consumer led Nokia to the decline stage as consumer demand decreased significantly in the past couple of years.

My question is what should Nokia do now to restore its glory and fame? Can it regain its market leadership one more time and become the number one mobile phone by defeating Blackberry and i-phone or is it too late?