...billion visitors use its website and visit the stores each year. Its 145,000-plus employees are committed to helping deliver the technology solutions that provide product value and knowledge to customers, further enhancing the overall shopping experience as well as promoting new technology that is educational, enjoyable, and useful in the daily lives of the public. On April 30, 2013, Best Buy announced plans to sell its 50% ownership interest in Best Buy Europe to Car phone Warehouse Group PLC. This transaction was completed on June 26, 2013. As a result of the decision to sell, Best Buy Europe was presented as discontinued operations beginning in Q1 FY14. The discontinued operations presentation for Best Buy Europe will be applied retroactively, so prior period financial statements will reflect Best Buy Europe as discontinued operations, along...
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...Final Exam Questions Course 62.601 (Customers and Markets) Fall 2014 / Professor Tao (Tony) Gao Question 1: I recommend CDT to introduce accessories for music, movies and video game fans as a new category of products. These accessories include posters, clothes, cups, and so on. These accessories related to a specific movie or famous star, for instance, a T-shirt with a theme of Star Wars. As CDT is a store for music lover and movie lover, this new category can attract these customers’ attention when they looking for their entertainment products. Based on the customer survey, 56% of customers are between 18 and 36 years old, these young customers more like to purchase the accessories for collecting. The accessories for music and video are a new trend that more and more famous singers and movie companies like to release some accessories about their music and movies to earn more money. It provides a new way for CDT to compete with these mass merchandise stores. These merchandise stores are only sell CDs and movies, they do not sell these accessories. In addition, these accessories are high profit products. If CDT introduces this new category, it will bring high profits to CDT. It is a good category for CDT’s long-term business. The digital downloading and piracy significantly affect the sales for CDT’s traditional business. However, the new category will not affected by digital downloading and piracy, so it may be a good way for CDT to focus on it. Question 2: 1. Introducing...
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...Get Content. Get Customers. How to Turn Prospects into Customers with Content Marketing a complimentary eBook by Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett Get Content. Get Customers. Joe Pulizzi • Newt Barrett How to Turn Prospects into Customers with Content Marketing What You Will Learn By Reading This eBook • • • • • • • • • • The 3 reasons traditional marketing isn’t working. Content marketing is the biggest industry you’ve never heard of. What content marketing really is and why it is important. Why using the B.E.S.T. strategy can be the litmus test for your content marketing efforts. Why you must think like a publisher today! The 6 reasons why you can communicate with buyers directly. The 11 biggest benefits of content marketing. The 7 deadly sins of content marketing. What MindJet, Best Buy and ThomasNet are doing to drive business through the use of great content. What content channels are available to launch content marketing efforts and when to choose the right one. and much more… 2 Get Content. Get Customers. Joe Pulizzi • Newt Barrett How to Turn Prospects into Customers with Content Marketing If you answer ‘Yes’ to these questions, this eBook is for You • Are you disappointed with results from traditional marketing efforts? • Do you have difficulty proving a return on your marketing investment? • Are you spending a lot of money on your marketing and you’re not sure if it’s working? • Do your marketing materials...
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...Case Analysis Dell Inc. in 2008: Can It Overtake Hewlett-Packard as the Worldwide Leader in Personal Computers? Executive Summary This case analysis contains an evaluation of Michael Dell’s corporation, Dell Inc. The year is 2008 and is a turning point for the IT product and service provider that is in need of a necessary revamp. The curtain state, pluses and minuses of the company, and what problems, options, and what solutions that should be evaluated are highlighted throughout this piece. Environment: -Dell exists in economic conditions that are currently spread out over the map, and that are at a considerable standstill. There are people and organizations that cannot afford to make any significant purchases at this time, and there are people and organization with disposable income that can purchase anything their heart desires. The high-class citizens apparently are becoming richer, and the middle-class and below seem to be getting poorer. It is a tough market currently, and a niche, a product or service that offers something unique to consumers is quite necessary at this time to capture sales. -Stylish, popular social trends such as iPhones, Apple, and being perceived as wealthy is the in at the moment, and consumers want to be it everyday. Looking beautiful, while possessing attractive items is the upmost desire. Companies are trying hard everyday to keep up with the current market, and are constantly trying to create new styles, and trends for each season...
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...Investing in Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer would seem to be a “no brainer” because of the great history and success of the company. Sam Walton had a vision to achieve higher sales volumes by keeping sales prices lower than his competitors by reducing his profit margin. His mission "to help people save money so they can live better" (Walmart, 2012), has proven to be the culture of the company that began from a single store to an empire. Today, Walmart operates more than 10,000 retail units under 69 different banners in 27 countries. Walmart employs more than 2 million associates who serve 200 million customers and members every week (Walmart, 2012). Walmart’s strengths lie in their high technological information systems monitoring worldwide product activity at a single glance, they manufacture they own branded goods as well as supply goods from local suppliers and other major brands not to mention their buying power. The weaknesses of Walmart include having control of such a huge organization and being responsible for and managing a great number of employees. Having pressure from suppliers with regard to price and their ability to supply when required. Becuase of the low prices customers often question and are concerned at the quality of the goods.This is offset to some extent by the satisfaction guarantees offered. The opportunities for Walmart include worldwide expansion, creating Walmart convenient stores and home delivery of goods purchased via internet to rural...
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...The Analysis of PlayStation of SONY Corporation NAME: Mei Zhang Yixuan Yao Zhaorui Liu Yong Zhang In this case we choose the SONY Corporation. SONY Corporation (NYSE: SNE), commonly referred to as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues. SONY is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics products for the consumer and professional markets. The Game is an important industry, SONY launches "PS3" in the middle of 2006, and it also strengthens self-developed video games software. We focus on the PlayStation of SONY Corporation to analysis the market structure and the competitors (XBOX of Microsoft, WII of Nintendo) A. Nature of demand 1. The buyers currently go about buying existing products of SONY considering the number of stores shopped, the consumers will feel that the more stores sell one item, the more popular the product is. For example, there are many different types of SONY Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera, but most stores only sell α35,α390, buyers may propensity to buy this two types. Buyer will buy SONY`s products when they are sold in different stores. The buyers also consider the industrial sources, as a consumer, we all want to the best raw material, intermediate material and final material, thus the industrial sources is the key factor. The display screen...
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...Apple Inc. Executive Summary Apple was not just innovative; the company was disruptive. The ability of the tech giant to go from an electronics company on the fringe of obscurity to creating an ecosystem of “must-have” products has been nothing short of amazing. The company did it by being disruptive. When Apple launched the iPod, Steve Jobs created a device that changed not only how the consumer listens to music, but also how he or she communicates, takes pictures, reads, or just passes time. Apple took smartphones to a new level, creating something sleek and innovative. Jobs created a cool new music player for “cool” people. The company established a high-cost narrow-focused market segment (Baltzan, 2011). The iPod and Apple would end up with a high perceived-value that meant, while the consumer always paid a premium price, he or she also always received an operationally superior product and great customer service. Applying Porter’s Five Factors Model, Apple demonstrates its superiority in the smartphone/tablet industry. While the company does not dominate the global market, it does dominate in profits. As a result of large profits, Apple has more financial leverage in negotiations with suppliers and manufacturers. Rivalries and substitutes are generally not an issue among existing Apple device users. Brand loyalty is extremely strong among Apple users. The examination of Apple through Porter’s lens reveals a company that is sustainable. Do you agree...
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...Extending the NATO Architecture Framework to Support Service Oriented Architectures Mr J Keefe – NATO AF Overview Dr I Bailey – SOA Views 23 May 2006 NATO NEC and the Decision Loop Understand Faster and better Cognitive Domain Knowledge Superiority Orient Information Domain Decide Better and faster Decision Superiority Decide Network Enabled Information Effects Capability Observe Act Superiority Superiority Physical Domain See first, more Act decisively NATO NEC will enable us to operate more effectively in the future strategic environment through the more efficient sharing and exploitation of information within the Alliance and with our coalition partners This will lead to better situational awareness across the board, facilitating improved decision-making, and bringing to bear the right military capabilities at the right time to achieve the desired military effect. Key Issues Clarity of vision Roadmap for change Dealing with complexity Legacy Environments – ‘stove-piped’ solutions Multiple Agencies New Technologies – SOA Information Assurance Multiple Customers Operators Operational planners Acquisition community Developers Framework and Methodology NAF Reality: Complexity of Defence Applications Reality: Complexity of Defence Applications inhibit agility inhibit agility Mainframe PC/NT apps Unix apps 3rd Party Interface AIS Reports Depository Banks Vendor Setup Budget ...
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...Introduction Our group choose Ipad Mini as the product discussed in the assignment. Ipad Mini is the newly released Ipad of Apple Company which is very special in the Ipad category because it is the first Ipad of only 7.9 inches screen and of the lowest price in Ipad series. Many spectators in the industry regard Ipad Mini as a powerful hit which can greatly expand the potential tablet market (such as female market, lower-ended market) because its lower price and smaller size. Ipad Mini is picked up as our topic not only because of its unique influence to the small-size tablet market and its strategic significance to Apple Company after the death of Steven Jobs, but also it falls into extended decision making progress, which involves a complete set of decision progress to discuss. Ipad Mini is relatively high in price compared with other small size tablets and it may greatly influence the entertainment aspect of owners’ life style, thus people would experience a complex progress of information searching, selection and evaluation before the purchase. This makes it high purchase involved and high product involved. 1.Define a target for your product. Explain, using relevant theory, the reasons for choosing this target market. Our group chooses target market to people of the age of 21-45, with incomes of $75k-100k interested in gaming, e-reading and surfing on the Internet. The reason that we choose people aged 25 to 45 years old partly is that this age group fall within...
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...Executive Summary Originally, data and information was intensively collected manually and periodically due to the volume. With the help of information systems, such intensive manual labor in my opinion is now almost a thing of the past. This is not to say that there are still no data or information that will need to be gathered manually. In this information age of ours, a period when information is power, technology is such an important part of most organizations. The use of technology is not only limited to technology companies to operate effectively as almost all organizations; small and large, struggles with the management of information systems on a daily basis in one way or another. Management information system is “both a business discipline that deals with the use of information technology—or computers, computer technology, or simply technology—and an academic field of study” (http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/). With the amount of information in existence today, Information systems have become a part of us. An information management system provides information that is necessary to the effective and efficient management of an organization, its activities and its people. Managers and senior level management must be able to first understand their organization before they can decide which information system will best suit their purpose and help in the achievement of their organizational goals and objectives. This means that information systems obtained in...
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...corporation “our mission is to provide a global online market place where practically anyone can trade practically anything, enabling economic opportunity around the world”. This mission statement simply states the goal of the company, it states the vision of what eBay has planned and will contribute to do for the buyers and sellers around the world. This gives the customers enough confidence in the company to make payment with trust and believe that the products will surely be safe. Situational analysis It is a method managers use to analyze things that goes on both internal and external in the business environment. Some of those analyses are SWOT method. Strength Steady revenue growth- eBay has been a huge success ever since it started operations, the company made a strong revenue growth in its review period. It had an...
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...The Accuracy of Fingerprint Analysis Alejandro Ortiz III Strayer University English 215 Dr. Jeffrey Ebberson January 16, 2013 Abstract The main objective of this paper is to show how accurate fingerprint analysis really is. What are the standards that are being used? Have scientific studies been conducted to come up with a universal standard for every lab to use. Keywords: Introduction Best Buy is an electronics retailer based out of Richfield, Minnesota specializing in consumer electronics. The company’s products include in home-office equipment, entertainment software, appliances and mobile products as well as support for all their products. Best Buy has a global presence having operations in Europe, Mexico, China and Turkey (Datamonitor, 2011). The firm has successfully differentiated itself from other firms within this market by using a customer-centric approach having a focus on customer service. This approach has allowed Best Buy to take advantage of the high growth in China as well as sustain growth in the more mature markets in the United States and Europe (Datamonitor, 2011). How Best Buy differentiates itself Best Buy utilizes an overall customer-centric marketing approach using local demographics to tailor products and services. This creates customer loyalty and attracts more affluent customers that need advice as well as setup which cannot be offered by a discount online site. Best Buy has a technically savvy sales staff that can suggest products and services...
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...Writing Assignment: Financial Analysis Amazon.com by Angelo Fresco Strayer University FIN 534: Financial Management Dr. James Glenn March 11, 2013 Company Overview The company, its operations, locations, markets, and lines of business Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) is a leading global Internet company and one of the most visited Internet retail destinations worldwide. Amazon is one of the first companies to sell products at steep discounts by housing them in numerous warehouses and distributing products from many partner companies. Amazon directly sells or acts as a platform for the sale of a broad range of products. These lines of business include: an online bookstore, DVDs, CDs, MP3 downloads, software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. The company also produces consumer electronics—notably the Amazon Kindle e-book reader and the Kindle Fire tablet computer—and is a major provider of cloud computing services. The majority of Amazon’s sales are products sold by Amazon, although many are from third-party retail sellers and consumers that sell their products from the comfort of their own home using Amazon.com as a platform. Amazon was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It has direct international operations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Last year Fortune ranked CEO Jeff Bezos as its Businessperson of the Year on the back of the company's stellar growth, especially...
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...Brandon Arechavala BUAD 455 Dr. Ghoreishi Best Buy: Strategic Audit June 8, 2015 Current Performance: Best Buy’s historical advantage has always been pricing. However, now that other specialty electronics retailers have dropped out of the market with the fall of Tweeter and Circuit City, Best Buy now must compete with discount retailers such as Kmart, Wal-Mart, Target, Sam’s Club, Costco, as well as online retailers like Amazon. Consumers no longer have to go to Best Buy to purchase DVDs because buyers can get them through dozens of online sellers or stream them online via NetFlix or Amazon. You can buy a Blu-ray player or camera at a discount online. Televisions and appliances are the two products Best Buy sells that many people are less likely to purchase online because of their size and prohibitive shipping costs. If Best Buy wants to continue to be the number one seller of electronics and electronics related accessories such as games, DVD's, and electronic wiring, Best Buy needs to focus on shoring up television and appliance dominance to ensure sufficient foot traffic. Best Buy must also address the phenomenon of 'show rooming', which is the practice of shopping for merchandise in a brick-and-mortar store and later buying online at lower prices. In the past, Best Buy has provided only one week training sessions for new hires. However, as a first step...
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...Alternative Strategies. 1.0 Integration Strategies. Forward integrations, backward integrations, and horizontal integrations are sometimes collectively referred to as vertical integrations strategies. Vertical integrations strategies allow a firm to gain control over distributors, supplier and competitors. The degree to which a firm owns its upstream suppliers and its downstream buyers is referred to as vertical integration. Because it can have a significant impact on a business unit's position in its industry with respect to cost, differentiation, and other strategic issues, the vertical scope of the firm is an important consideration in corporate strategy. Expansion of activities downstream is referred to as forward integration, and expansion upstream is referred to as backward integration. The concept of vertical integration can be visualized using the value chain. Consider a firm whose products are made via an assembly process. Such a firm may consider backward integrating into intermediate manufacturing or forward integrating into distribution. Example Value Chain. 1.1 Forward Integration Forward integration is a type of vertical merger (vertical integration) in which a supplier acquires a manufacturer or a manufacturer acquires a distributor. Businesses engage in forward integration either to generate a higher margin from a key input which it owns or produces or to better market its...
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