The Case Analysis : Renova

The purpose of this study is to explore three companies by focusing on how the brands have been performing as well as what the customers and other stakeholders are saying about the different brands. This study will also summarize the strategic issues that the companies and those they are likely to experience in future.

Blue Ridge’s competitive strategy appears to be cost leadership, focusing on a narrow product type and offering for sale only in the southeastern states. Blue Ridge’s limited offering of products, only a sports towel for limited use and distribution, give it an edge in determination as there are only so many materials, designs, and processes required for this one type of product. Though Blue Ridge does focus on just the sports towel, there are still some aspect of differentiation which causes the firm’s competitive strategy to also deviate a bit towards product differentiation. Blue Ridge offers variations of its sports towels aside from its three customary sizes (regular, hand, and midrange),

In order to increase the margin of the Low End products we would sell older aged products that have lower production. From the Segment info we see that consumers in the Low End market do not stress these two characteristics. Also, as we have learned the lower the performance and larger the size the lower the costs. We cannot increase

1.3. In order to estimate the peso discount rate, assume that the International Fisher Effect (IFE) holds. Groupe Ariel's Euro hurdle rate for a project of this type was 8%. Assume that inflation rates are expected to be 7% in Mexico and 3% in France.

During the second half of our trading period we focussed massively on the private label market and found our niche there. We had realized that the minimum cost of the product wins the market share so we started experimenting with S/Q Ratings and percentage of superior materials to come up with the best product with the least cost price. Adding minimum profit margin to the cost price we were able to seize a massive chunk of the private label market. Attached are a few snapshot highlighting our success in that market.

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?

Brand competitors and the diversity of choice that is available to consumers, puts brands under pressure to offer high quality products and service, excellent value and a wide availability (Clifton et al., 2009). Brands must differentiate themselves from the competition and create an unforgettable impression.

Two potential solutions were proposed at the Marketing and Operations Council meeting. Rita Sanchez, the sales lead, suggests a reduction in the price of current products by 40-50% or introducing a new lower-market brand reaching value consumers in order to quickly sell the excess inventory. Jim Hargrove, the Marketing Directory, strongly disagreed with either scenario arguing they would permanently tarnish the brand’s premium quality image. A fourth alternative could be to introduce a new premium line while dropping the price of the Gold line to maintain brand image.

I would consider lowering price points so I could tap into the more than 10% of consumers without becoming “Wal-Mart”. Now the company did do something to increase its’ position that I found useful. That was to decrease its’ overall lease space by 2%. (2010 shareholders meeting). This reduction in retail occupancy costs attributed to the 1 billion dollars the company enjoyed last year. I would also consider expanding the company’s customer base by broadening the product line to similar to Home Goods or Bed Bath and beyond who currently double the revenue of Williams-Sonoma. (Redistribute assets earmarked for traditional cataloging to online accesses. Not only will this save money, but will also impact paper usage. I believe advertising in this was has all but outlived its’ usefulness.

To understand the role of H-E-B’s Own Brands, we need to understand the role of private labels to a retail store. Retailers manufacture carry private brands since retail gross margins in the private labels are relatively high. Retailers are able to realize cost advantages since they do not have additional advertising and distribution costs associated with private labels. In addition to increasing profits, store brands help to attract and retain customers. Retailers however need the critical procurement revenue from national brands for ad space and displays on stores and hence need to maintain a balance between their Own Brands and national brands.

Since the demand for the brand has traditionally outstripped supply, the company can easily and without loss charge a premium from its customers. As mentioned the company sells its products at a 100% markup and which in turn translate into increased revenues.

The company was recently presented an opportunity by its largest retail customer to significantly increase its share in their private label manufacturing. The prospect of growth was risky, since it

The Big 3 had high advertising to sales ratios of 10-14%, also deterring entry, because average first year advertising cost for a new brand was over $20 million. We can conclude that total costs related to producing private label products are lower than new branded products. Private label products can offer greater margins to grocers and still sell at lower prices. They have a considerable competitive cost advantage over the new branded products.

Cross-functional teams are vital in many businesses, because it increases productivity, enhances communication between departments, and leads to overall success in a company. Boldflash is a company that has fallen behind on this front, and is thus struggling to keep up with its competitors. Roger Cahill, the new vice president of the Mobile Division, is faced with the challenge of finding a way to restructure the departments in his division in order to increase productivity and improve the product development process.

Mr. Alfaro Burgos, the vice president for sales of Dyners Corporation. It is a family firm that manufactures stainless steel and silver plated tableware. After some time, the inventory of the company showed a shortage. He discovered some mispacking of silver plated tableware in the warehouse of the corporation. He hired an industrial security firm to investigate the deprivation in the warehouse. It did not take long for the agent to discover the truth. Karlo Deles, the warehouse supervisor was the man behind the internal