Ivey Business School (Canada)
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Bio-Vert: Green to What Limit
Raymond L. Paquin; Catherine Bedard; Genevieve GraingerCase IVEY-9B12A035-EMarketing, StrategyBio-Vert is a leading Canadian brand of eco-cleaning products manufactured by Quebec-based Savons Prolav. Run by a brother and sister team, Savons Prolav bases its products on their vision, which includes eco-friendliness, affordability and effectiveness. Demand for Bio-Vert’s phosphate-free detergents has increased dramatically since the 2007 blue-green algae bloom outbreaks in Quebec’s waterways and subsequent legislation restricting phosphate ...Starting at €8.20
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Entomo Farms: Are Canadians Ready to Eat Insects?
Raymond L. Paquin; Iryna Sushko; Shannon LloydCase IVEY-W26996-EMarketing, StrategyIn January 2021, Entomo Farms (Entomo), a family-owned Ontario-based Canadian cricket producer, received additional funding to support its growth and prepare for the entry into Canada of what would be its biggest competitor. As Canada’s largest and only organic cricket supplier, Entomo generated most of its revenue as a supplier of crickets as raw material to food manufacturers; however, due to anticipated industry changes, Entomo was increasing ...Starting at €8.20
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Alvéole: Growing the New Urban Beekeeping Market
Cheryl Gladu; Raymond L. PaquinCase IVEY-9B19M132-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyAlvéole was an urban beekeeping start-up in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 2012, Alvéole offered beekeeping services and products in support of its social mission of educational outreach surrounding issues related to the natural environment, food security,Starting at €8.20
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McGill St Laurent: Growing a Commodities Trading Firm
Jesse Prent; Gwyneth Edwards; Raymond L. PaquinCase IVEY-9B20M116-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn May 2018, Philippe Boisclair, business owner and president of McGill St Laurent (MSL), sought to grow the firm and increase annual profitability by CA$35 million by 2020. MSL was a medium-sized commodities trading firm with interests in wood, grain, and energy. Founded in 2009 by two business school graduates and veterans of the lumber industry, MSL had enjoyed significant growth. The company had not only expanded into grain and energy trading...Starting at €8.20
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Effet Boomerang: A Brand-Repositioning Dilemma
Raymond L. Paquin; Rania Bou Jaoude; Michel GreicheCase IVEY-W30025-EMarketing, StrategyOver two decades old, Effet Boomerang is an advertising agency based in Quebec, Canada. In recent years, it has found it harder to win client contracts, which has been partially due to changes in the industry. This has left its co-founder and president examining her options for repositioning the agency. This case provides an interesting opportunity to introduce students to internal and external analyses by having them examine how a small firm may...Starting at €8.20
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Kombi Sports Inc.: Staying Ahead of the Curve
Heather Calvert; Raymond L. Paquin; Rajshree PrakashCase IVEY-9B21M063-EMarketing, StrategyIn January 2020, Kombi Sports Inc. was at a strategic crossroads in a changing industry. The Montreal-based firm had evolved from a niche provider of alpine performance gloves to a premium Canadian winter apparel brand. Its success could be attributed, at least in part, to its strong collaborative stance and interesting partnerships. However, increasing competition in the industry, particularly among brick-and-mortar retailers, raised questions f...Starting at €8.20
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Blacbiblio: Hold Steady or Change Course
Raymond L. Paquin; Bharathram Sivasubramanian; Rajshree PrakashCase IVEY-9B20M050-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyBlacbiblio.com, Inc., an educational materials start-up in Montreal, Canada, launched its first and only product, the ABCs of Canadian Black History Kit, in 2016. The product received strong positive reviews at the time of its launch, but its initial price of CA$2,500 per kit left it out of reach for most of its intended customers. The company founder, a historian and educational content creator, shifted to a flexible pricing strategy, offering t...Starting at €8.20
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Kitimat Clean Ltd.
Rebecca A. Grant; Saul KleinCase IVEY-9B15M094-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyA successful business executive and avid sailor had been thinking about new solutions to an old problem: safely transporting oil products. In late June 2014, the Canadian government had just approved a pipeline to carry bitumen from Alberta to the British Columbia coast. The immediate reaction from First Nations and environmental groups was extremely negative. Against this backdrop, the executive had put forward a radical proposal to refine the b...Starting at €8.20
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Vancity: Doing Good, Doing Well
Saul KleinCase IVEY-9B10M069-EStrategyThe case describes the situation facing Vancity in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, in an environment where monetary policy was being used to stimulate the economy. The immediate decision facing the CEO was whether to raise interest rates on loans to make up for falling interest income. With close to zero per cent interest rates being advocated by the Bank of Canada, the spread between deposit and loan rates had narrowed to unprecedented le...Starting at €8.20