Introduction Vertu, headquartered in the UK, was established by Nokia –then the world’s largest mobile phone maker- as a subsidiary in 2002. Although the idea to create exclusive luxury phones was first conceived by Frank Nuova, the chief designer of Nokia, in 1995, it was several years before it took shape. “In 1995, Frank Nuovo, had an idea that mobile communication devices would one day be available not just in the mass market, but also in the luxury market. That idea was discussed and talked about for several years,”3 said Nigel Litchfield, president, Vertu. In August 2006, Vertu, announced that it was unable to meet the demand for its luxury phones and would increase its production capacity in the near future.
Glass and SoderquLt, CEO a nd COO, had been running thc company since February 1988, when Walton, retaining tlic chairmanship, turned the job of CEO over to Glass. Their record spoke for itself-the company went from sales of $16 billion in 1987 to $67 billion i n 1993, with earnings nearly quadrupling from $628 million to $ 23 billion. At the beginning of 1994, the company operated 1,953 Wal*Mart stores (mduding 68 supercenters), 419 warehouse clubs (Sam's Clubs), 81 warehouse outlcts (Bud's), and four hypermarkets. During 1994 WaleMart p l m e d to open 110 new W alDMxt stores, including 5 s uprcenters, and 20 Sam's Clubs, and to expand or relocate approximately 70 of the older Wal*Mart stores (6 f which would bc made into supercenters), and 5 Sam's Clubs. Salcs o were forecast to reach $84 billion in 1994, and capital expenditures were expected to total $3.2 billion.
Introduction As part of valuation and financial modelling course, we were required to realize the valuation of a company listed FTSE 350. I personally made the choice of a leading company in Pharmaceutical and Healthcare industry, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). GSK is a British company born in 2000 with the merger of Glaxo Wellcome Plc and SmithKline Beecham Plc, it researches and develops pioneering products in three major areas: Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare. In 2014, GSK has been ranked 7th world largest Pharmaceutical firm in terms of revenue (1st in the UK) by GlobalData. Source: GlobalData I- Competitive structure of Pharmaceutical industry In order to analyse the competitive structure of Pharmaceutical industry, I will proceed to a Porter’s Five Forces analysis.
In her Forrester Research report released Monday, Epps argues that when Amazon releases its tablet on the market, it has the potential to become the top competitor to Apple's iPad. The reason? It likely will be marketed at a significantly lower price. "If Amazon launches at a price point significantly lower than competing tablets--some sources suggest that it may be able to launch a 9-inch LCD touchscreen tablet for as low as $299--and has enough supply to meet demand, Forrester estimates that Amazon could sell as many as 3 million to 5 million tablets in Q4 2011 alone," Epps says--meaning Amazon's offering would leapfrog over competeting devices that have been on the market much
There was no such thing as an iPhone, although we act like we cannot live without our smartphones and tablets as few as ten years ago they didn’t exist. Can you believe it the iPhone turned the electronics world on its head? The iPhone was introduced merely seven years ago June 29th 2007 it seems like it has been around for twenty years. Prior to that the biggest smartphone maker and most successful was Blackberry. The first Blackberry device was introduced eight years prior the RIM 850 which was introduced as a two-pager in Munich, Germany.
Behavior & Communication Paper: Apple Chevy Mae C. Duque BCOM/230 Business Communication for Accountants December 15, 2014 Bryon K. Johnson Behavior & Communication of Apple Inc. Apple was first founded in 1976 to develop and sell personal computers. Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne incorporated Apple as “Apple Computer, Inc” but was later renamed as “Apple Inc.” in 2007, when it shifted its focus towards consumer electronics. Currently, Apple is the world’s second largest information technology company by revenue, and the world’s third-largest mobile phone maker. They are best-known for their products, the MAC computers, the iPhone smartphones, the iPad tablet computer and the iPod media player. The company has been led by different chief executives over the years that many say it has lost some of its original character.
With five other media companies, the corporation becomes an original investor in The Golf Channel. Following a bid in 1994 for $2.1 billion, Comcast increased its ownership of QVC from 15.5% of stock to a majority, in a move to prevent QVC from merging with CBS. Comcast later sold its QVC shares in 2004 to Liberty Media for $7.9 billion. In October 1995, Comcast announced the purchase of the cable operation of E. W. Scripps Company for $1.575 billion in stock, a deal making Comcast the no. 3 cable company with 4.3 million customers.
|Best Buy Inc. - Dual Branding in China Case Guide | | |Niraj Dawar, Ramasastry Chandrasekhar | | | | | | | | |Revision Date: May 11, 2010 | | | | | |Publication Date: Jun 10, 2009 | | | | | | | | | | | |Source: Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation | | | | | Description: A month after Best Buy Inc. (Best Buy), the largest retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, acquired Five Star, the third largest retailer of appliances and consumer electronics in China in May 2006, the management of Best Buy is weighing in on a branding option. Should Five Star lose its identity and be marketed as Best Buy? Or should Best Buy retain the Five Star brand and let the two brands compete with each other in the Chinese market? The option has a sense of déjà vu because, when it first stepped out of its home turf in January of 2002 by acquiring Future Shop, the largest consumer electronics retailer in Canada, Best Buy was facing a similar dilemma. The company had decided, at the time, in favor of dual brand strategy.
Relevant Facts * Olympus Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of optical equipment. The company is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and carries a ¥1,055 billion market capitalization (approximately $10.9 billion). Olympus employs 30,697 people worldwide and, while known for their cameras in the US, they lead the global market for endoscopes. * In 2008 Olympus purchased British medical equipment maker Gyrus Corp for $2.2 billion. The firm also spent $965 million purchasing three “small venture firms,” Altis, Humalabo and News Chef.
Prof. G. R. Beaudrie, University of Windsor | Daksh and IBM Case | Strategic Management 75-498 | | Sachin Malhotra | Summer 2010 | Keywords: Acquisitions, Business processes, Corporate strategy, Data processing, Emerging markets, Entrepreneurial finance, Entrepreneurs, Growth strategy, Industry consolidation, Industry life cycle, Industry turbulence, Outsourcing Setting: Geographic: India Industry: Information technology consulting services | In the April of 2004, IBM took over Daksh, one of India's leading BPO companies at an estimated amount of US$170 million. Daksh was quite attractive as a foreign investment due to the fact that for a foreign takeover, Daksh had it all: entrepreneurship, innovation, venture capital, wealth creation and a quick exit. Expanding on the post buy-out scenario, the case emphasizes a range of issues arising from mergers and acquisitions and provides a framework for a discussion on the various dynamic forces of acquisition integration. There are two underlying questions and concerns in this case: * Why did the soon-to-go-public Daksh had agreed to IBM’s offer of acquisition? and * What was the underlying intent of IBM in its decision of acquiring Daksh?