Default Category
-
North Dakota Trade Office: Advising a Pasta Exporter
Derek Lehmberg; Jaeha LeeCase IVEY-W25445-EStrategyIn September of 2020, an international business executive at the North Dakota Trade Office was asked by a client company, Dakota Growers Pasta Company Inc., to advise it on how to increase pasta exports to South Korea. Like many other firms in North Dakota, the client faced a number of hurdles to building successful export businesses. These included limited exposure to foreign markets and limited expertise in trade-related regulations and process...Starting at €8.20
-
Ambuja Cements and Holcim India Merger
Pitabas Mohanty; Tina Stephen; Supriti MishraCase IVEY-9B16N056-EFinance, StrategyOn July 24, 2013, the management of Ambuja Cements Limited announced the merger of Holcim (India) Private Limited with Ambuja Cements in a two-stage process. First, Ambuja Cements would buy a 24 per cent stake of Holcim (India) from Holderind Investments Ltd. of Mauritius for ?35 billion. Subsequently, Holcim (India) would be merged with Ambuja Cements. The management of Ambuja Cements projected huge synergy from the merger, whereas proxy firm ad...Starting at €8.20
-
Maruti Suzuki: Good Company or Good Stock (A)
Pitabas Mohanty; Supriti MishraCase IVEY-9B17N014-EFinance, StrategyOn January 28, 2014, the management of Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) surprised the market by announcing that its plant in Gujarat would be operated as a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Company of Japan, MSIL’s parent company, rather than by MSIL. The stock price fell by 8 per cent that day. The days following this announcement were marked by justifications by MSIL management about the benefits of the new structure and allegations by some analysts...Starting at €8.20
-
Boots PLC: Japan Market Entry
Derek LehmbergCase IVEY-9B12M048-EStrategyIn 1998, Boots PLC was in the midst of planning to enter the Japanese retail drugstore market. Boots, a household name in the United Kingdom and a fixture in traditional English shopping areas known as High Street, had an impressive lineup of Boots-branded health and beauty products. Boots developed, manufactured, marketed, and sold these products through its chain of Boots The Chemists stores. Management was convinced that the markets for health...Starting at €8.20
-
Sharp Corporation: Beyond Japan
Derek LehmbergCase IVEY-9B11M007-EStrategyFaced with major losses from operations, Sharp Corporation’s young and unconventional president questioned the company’s long-standing operating model. Sharp was a leader in the area of liquid crystal display (LCD) technology and manufacturing. It also held strong positions in several categories of consumer electronics in the Japanese market. Although Sharp had been increasing its involvement in overseas markets, it had yet to replicate its succe...Starting at €8.20
-
Pioneer Corporation: The NEC Plasma Opportunity (A)
Derek LehmbergCase IVEY-9B11M093-EStrategyIn 2004, Kaneo Itoh, president of the consumer electronics firm Pioneer Corporation, was considering acquiring the plasma display operations of another Japanese firm, NEC. Pioneer had decided some years ago that plasma display panel (PDP) technology was a good strategic area in which to invest. Recently, Pioneer had been selling increasing numbers of plasma television sets using PDPs. While the company was building a new PDP production facility t...Starting at €8.20
-
Pioneer Corporation: The NEC Plasma Opportunity (B)
Derek LehmbergCase IVEY-9B11M094-EStrategyThis case, a supplement to Pioneer Corporation: The NEC Plasma Opportunity (A), is set in 2009.Starting at €5.74
-
Ratan Tata Or Cyrus Mistry: Tata Steel Shareholders’ Dilemma
Pitabas Mohanty; Supriti MishraCase IVEY-9B19N016-EFinanceIn October 2016, the board of Tata Sons, a company in the Tata Group, India’s largest business group, decided to remove Cyrus Mistry from the chairmanship of its board. Subsequently, Tata Sons appealed to the shareholders of the other Tata Group companiesStarting at €8.20
-
McDonald's Japan (A): The Shanghai Husi Debacle
Derek LehmbergCase IVEY-9B15M083-EStrategyIn July 2014, the expatriate CEO of McDonald’s Japan (MDJ) faced a crisis after a video was broadcast accusing one of the company’s China-based food suppliers of serious health and sanitation violations. Although MDJ was the biggest brand in Japan’s fast food industry, the company’s sales had been falling since 2008, and its profitability had deteriorated dramatically since 2012. The CEO, who had recently taken over at MDJ, urgently needed to tur...Starting at €8.20
-
McDonald's Japan (B): A Crisis of Trust
Derek LehmbergCase IVEY-9B15M084-EStrategyThis case is a supplement to 9B15M083. In February 2015, the sales of McDonald’s Japan had continued to slide, despite the implementation of new pricing and the introduction of new food items. The company posted a loss for 2014, citing costs in dealing with the Shanghai Husi debacle and the impact it had on sales. However, numerous reports of foreign objects in McDonald’s food items had resulted in the loss of consumers’ trust. How should the exp...Starting at €5.74