Socratix Case Study 2
The questions asked are:
1. What is your Strategy & action Plan for geographic expansion for Aaron’s within the U.S?
2. A) Should Aaron expand internationally?
b) if Aaron was to go for international expansion, what are the key things they must keep in mind or do?
3. Could rent-to-own work for goods beyond basic durable household items? Should Aaron offer additional products and service offerings/
4. In terms of growth, Loudermilk (CEO) viewed managerial talent as Aaron’s primary constraint. How they address this issue?
To analyze the questions asked and give logical and effective answers it is important to first understand the Rent-to-Own industry per say as well as find out what are the Strength and
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Cleanliness of Stores top priority
Income bracket reducing due to unemployment status increase which will further give boost to the Industry.
Regressive Cross Subsidy
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Brand Name “ Aaron Sales and Lease Ownership”
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Own manufacturer of furniture which gives it a cost advantage
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Flexibility in Payment Options and Fair collection Practices than Competitors
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Success parameter metric of a store consists of ‘Customer Count’
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Timely Delivery, Pick up and maintenance
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Aaron’s own ‘E-University’
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10 % projected growth rate till 2015
Pestle Analysis: Political + Economical + Social + Legal + Technological + Environmental
Political: The political Analysis of Aaron’s Business has been categorized into two main segments one being inside U.S. and one being International Market
Inside U.S.:
1. Criticism from Congressmen stating Nature of Industry is predatory as it targets weaker sections of economies which pay higher rates of interest for products than regular retail credit sales.
2. Regulatory uncertainty in U.S. as a federal law has still not been enacted to regulate the industry which may classify the business as credit sales thereby regulating and capping the rate of interest levied with that of retail credit sales thereby killing the industry.
3. Each state has its own regulations and law framed for rent to own
b.What are the amounts and timing of the acquisition investment’s free cash flow from 2013 through 2022?
* IKEA’s low cost structure has been the very core of its success. It’s low-cost and high-quality strategy fits with the current state of the economy. Offering convenience factors within IKEA’s stores would fit well with IKEA’s low cost structure. It maintains its low-cost business model by creating a different furniture shopping experience. IKEA supplies customers with all possible materials needed to complete their shopping when they enter the store (that are, measuring
Wilkerson’s competitors have cut prices on their pumps, in order to maintain market share, Wilkerson also cut the price of their pumps. This dropped Wilkerson’s GM by about 15%. At the same time, Wilkerson was able to increase the price of their flow controllers by 10% without a drop in demand.
When a law enforcement officer or other public employee is accused of potentially criminal conduct, they may face three different kinds of interviews or interrogations. If an officer is interviewed as a criminal suspect, they have the absolute right to decline to answer any questions, or to insist that they have a lawyer of their choosing to attend the interview. The first is type is during a criminal investigation; the second is during a disciplinary investigation and finally during the course of civil litigation where there has been damages. During a criminal interview, there is no professional, ethical or moral duty to participate especially without the assistance of an attorney to represent the officer under investigation. It has come to a surprise that many experienced officers will waive their right to silence and give the investigators an audio recorded statement. Some of the inexperienced criminals do not make incriminating statements. The motive for cooperation is to avoid unfavorable publicity.
Smiley, a buyer from Carrefour Fashions, entered the store of a rival firm, Boulevard Boutique. The reason for his visit was to find out about the latest lines that Boulevard was carrying. Once Smiley entered the store he was recognized by Maldini, the store manager of Boulevard, who immediately called the store detective and told him to keep an eye on Smiley. Maldini then called the police, notifying them that he had a shoplifter in the store. Smiley never tried to leave, believing that Rocco, the store detective, would not permit him to do so. Once the police took Smiley to the station he explained the situation and was released.
2. Evaluate Gordon Biersch's organizational alternatives to realize its growth ambitions. Recommend a course to follow?
-Dan failed to fully utilize high profile networks of Scott and Henry, who were both graduates of an Ivy League School (Did Scott graduate from Ivy League School?). Also, Dan did not try to reach out to his network he established while he was buying and selling airplanes. Even if there was no one interested in their direct network, perhaps someone in their network knew someone who might be interested. Scott later contacted his 100 alumni later but rather passively; instead of calling to actively initiate a conversation, he mailed out information.
After reading the chapter about Hanna Andersson, I noticed when the company discovered they had to continue to be competitive the Hanna Andersson company had to make a plan. Therefore, the company decided to promote from within to help lead the company (as cited in Principal of Management, Para 4). As well as, selling equity to gain capital in an effort to continue towards improving the business (para 5). Similarly, when having trouble staying competitive the Hanna Andersson company began selling product online (para 7). In addition, Hanna Andersson designed and implemented distribution through retail to facilitate the transformation of the company (para 7). While meeting the goals of the investors Hanna Andersson company held the same CEO that helped preserve the direction of the company that benefit the business goals and values (para 7). Ultimately, the planning when making changes or expanding to stay competitive helped Hanna Andersson reach a new goal without taking extraordinary risks.
3.) The estimated product costs for valves, pumps, and flow controllers using ABC for overhead activities (primarily Ex. 1 & 4) and direct cost data from the Exhibits are:
1. What types of decisions must Chad Thomas make daily for his company’s operations to run effectively? Over the long run?
This case discusses Cross-Border valuation of projects. This kind of analysis is common for companies that are operating in many countries. Groupe Ariel is one such company that is considering investing in a project in its own subsidiary in Mexico. The company manufactures and sells printers, copiers and other document production equipment in many countries. As far as, expansion into new markets is concerned, company is very slow in taking initiatives as compared to its competitors owing to the recent recession. But the management of the company believes that better durability and lower after-sales service costs of their products enable
1) What are the challenges that Ivan Guillen faces in his role as marketing manager of the RBG business?
In the past, the booming economy had allowed for year to year increase in their sales because people had larger discretionary incomes. But due to the recession, smaller independent retailers had to markdown their items in order to stay in business because designer outlet stores are getting more traffic; so will Harry Rosen follow in suit? Or in order to maintain the integrity of the quality products they offer, will they continue their higher pricing and settle for a lower market share?
When USAA started in 1922, they were a property and casualty insurance company however, with time they expanded their services to their members and became a financial institution.
Well-organized structure. There is clear defined stages and the fixed timetable to follow during the dispute settlement procedure. This dispute settlement system indeed become more effective than that of GATT 1947 (Food Fight n.d.), which is capable of dealing with complicated cases.