Strategy and Changes
The primary focus of Foto Inc. (“Foto”) has always been to develop a winning competitive strategy. Foto’s strategy focused on growing the market share and capitalizing on the growing consumer interest in digital cameras. Such an effective strategy kept the company in the ranks of the industry leaders and allowed Foto to have consistent positive Times-Interest-Earned for each quarter, a positive ROE, a positive EPS, as well as maintain a Class B or better Credit rating. Foto, Inc. has an outstanding image indicator as well. On the contrary, the company had the poorest market share in North America at one point when compared to competitors, and has consistently struggled with market share in Latin America.
The company planned to increase its EPS by 8% annually through year 10 and by 4% annually after that. It planned to maintain an ROE of 15% or more annually, maintain a B+ or higher credit rating, and achieve an image rating of 70 or higher. The company consistently focused on maintaining profitability at each year end and maintaining stable to significant growth in each of its product types. The goal was not to incur debt for operations in any quarter other than the third quarter, which was necessary to meet increased production demands and cost of goods. Foto wanted to grow annually by 15%, and double in size in five years. By the end of the simulation exercise, the company hoped to have an increase of 20% in total profits. Total profits for
The rise in revenue was rapid starting from the year of operations. The key period of business was from April to September were revenues were equal to 65% of total revenue as the product was seasonal. The basis of forecasting for the year 1981 & 1982 is the expectations of sales by Mr. Turner & Mr. Rose. It is given that total sales were $ 15.80 million in first half of year 1981 and the total sales in 1981 to reach $ 30 million. Profit after tax was expected to be $ 1 million for 1st half and we assumed for the next half, profit will be in proportion to first half & expected to be amounting to $ 0.90 million. For year 1982, the sales expectation by Mr. Rose was around more than $ 71 million &
The Mission of the company is to produce world-class cameras marketed all over the world, produced at most optimum cost using best manufacturing practices, giving value for money to its customers and maximizing yield for its investors.
Our strategic goals of being the clear leader in market shares for entry-level cameras and maintaining higher growth market shares for our multi-featured cameras summed up Digital Allusion’s year eight balance sheets. We were able to create growth opportunities by anticipating competitive initiative from rival companies as well as establish growth in new regions globally. We earned this by meeting many of our goals like improving our credit score to an A rating, slightly increased over last year, we increase our earnings per share and increase our revenues as well as improving stock prices. Our price points were especially better in the multi-feature cameras, while we continue to shape the standard
Since quarter one was the first quarter of this simulation, I was unaware of how difficult it was going to be to make all the different decisions. Firstly, I had to choose a Company name. Because I was selling computers, I thought that the name “Dev-Tech” was a perfect fit being that this simulation was about development and technology. Next, I had to choose a target segment. I knew going into this simulation that it would be better to invest in the more expensive goods as it would benefit me in the end. The segment that didn’t care about price was Mercedes, so that is the segment that I made my first priority.
Kodak is known for providing the quality services, innovative products offering the best quality to customers. It developed competitive advantages and satisfied its customers during many years. Kodak has evolved different strategies in the field of traditional photography where it brought innovations and modification. Kodak has a successful history in the industry. According to the case study, the main reason behind the success of Kodak in the industry is its quality.
As the newly chosen CREO of K-Tai, Inc. there were multiple lessons that were realized through the simulation. During the length of the simulation there were decisions that could present a challenge for any CREO, regardless, if they were seasoned in the position or not. As in any position within a company, the goal is to advance your capabilities with each passing year. I feel that in most aspects, my work reflected financial advancement in the progression of the five years. My newness to the CREO position in the first year lead me to make a few less desired decisions that decreased my budget by two percent for the second year. After the second year my budget increased each of the remaining years. The sales increased by sixty-nine percent from year one through year five, starting year one at 9.188 billion and ending in year five at 13.148 billion. The net profit margin increased by 20.8 percent for the five year period. The share prices for the duration of the simulation increased each year. However, the largest increases happened from year two to
By charging a high price for a high quality product and keeping all unrelated costs low, such as administrative costs, labor, depreciation, we were able to triumph all other competitors at large profit margins with large market share in entry level and the best multi featured camera.
We aimed to win market share by appealing to cost-conscious or price-sensitive customers, which we felt that the majority of consumers consisted of. This would be achieved by having the lowest prices in the target market segment, or at least the lowest price to value ratio (price compared to what customers receive). To succeed at offering the lowest price while still achieving profitability and a high return on investment, it was evident that we had to be able to operate at a lower cost than our rivals. We aimed to achieve this goal though a combination of two methods, the first being achieving a high asset turnover. In the manufacturing of our cameras, we wanted to achieve the production of high volumes of output. In theory this approach meant fixed costs would be spread over a larger number of units of the product or service, resulting in a lower unit cost. We hoped to take advantage of economies of scale and experience curve effects[3]. We hoped and realised that higher levels of output both required and resulted in a higher market share, and created an entry barrier to potential competitors, who may be unable to achieve the scale necessary to match our low costs and prices.
For my project, I ran Coffee-Roma, a coffee shop located in the business district of a large city. My simulation ran for 60 days. Over this timeframe, I hired 7 employees and earned gross revenues of $89,984.20. From those revenues, my net profit totaled $14,046.83. Below are the details of how I attempted to best run my business.
Using the assumptions given in the case, all elements of income statement and balance sheet can be projected for next three years 2010, 2011 and 2012. Sales cycle of the products of the company is such that sales of a particular product increases initially for few years and then starts to decline as the new
The Corporate Finance course has helped me, as a student, gain intelligence to make informed decisions upon analyzing the details for Sunflower Nutraceuticals (SNC). These decisions will influence the company’s overall growth annually. In addition to various details of the SNC Company I have also made various decisions in each of the phases of SNC’s simulation which has an estimated values to figure out the results. This paper also explains how SNC’s decisions are influenced with regards to the working capital followed with the final step of evaluating the general affects associated with the limited
The Harvard Business Simulation asked that one act as the C.E.O. of Sunflower Nutraceuticals (which will be referred to as SNC throughout this paper). Within the simulation there were phase in which decisions were made to help SNC with the growth of the company. This paper will explain the decisions made will influence SNC to estimate the value of the company, the working capital of the company, and evaluate the general affects associated with the limited access of financial mix.
Nowadays, cameras are popular among the young generation. Moreover, government emphasises on the growth of private sector, which enhances Jessops’s competition. A recent industry research report from IBISWorld argues that the expansion of advertising and fashion markets will stimulate domestic demand for photography services in the next five years (PRWEB, 2011). These provide opportunities for Jessops to expand its market share.
In late March 1996, Ralph Norwood was faced with the task of restructuring Polaroid’s capital structure. In the past, Polaroid had a monopoly in the instant-photography segment. However, with upcoming threats in the emerging digital photography industry and Polaroid experiencing recent losses in their market share due to Kodak’s competition, Gary T. DiCamillo, recently appointed CEO of Polaroid, headed a restructuring plan to stimulate the firm’s performance. The firm’s new plan has goals such as to aggressively exploit the existing Polaroid brand, introduce product extensions, and enter new emerging markets such as Russia in order to secure Polaroid’s future.
To account for their miscalculation in film sales, Kodak is undergoing a massive digitally based shift. Kodak plans on building a stronger base in its consumer, medical, and profession imaging products. However, this shift does not come without a price tag. Kodak’s projected spending could reach as much as $3 billion in future investments to aid the shift. With these investments Kodak claims a tremendous turnaround in revenue. Kodak anticipates reaching $16 billion in revenue by 2006 and $20 billion by 2010. To pay