Ivey Business School (Canada)
-
Little Short Stop: Creating Strategy for a Shifting Industry
Meredith Woodwark; Karin Schnarr; Gerry BesCase IVEY-9B20M076-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn early 2019, the general manager of Little Short Stop Stores, a chain of local, family-owned convenience stores in southwestern Ontario, Canada, was projecting a loss for that year. The loss was due in part to a provincial minimum wage increase to CA$14.00 that came into effect on January 1, 2018, increased from $11.60 in 2017 and $11.40 in 2016. Before this change, the store chain had been exceeding the average industry growth rate by 5 per ce...Starting at €8.20
-
Heritage Chickens: The Challenge of Genetic Sustainability
Joel Gehman; Marni Devlin Moses; Leanne HedbergCase IVEY-9B17M057-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyThe Poultry Research Centre at the University of Alberta farm was an internationally recognized research, development, and learning hub. It began the Rare Poultry Conservancy Program in 1986 as a way to maintain heritage chicken breeds. In 2009/10, as a result of the global financial crisis, university funding was reduced, and every campus department needed to cut programs or find creative ways to finance them outside of the traditional methods. ...Starting at €8.20
-
Edmonton City Centre Airport: A Sustainability Challenge for a Growing City
Joel Gehman; Neetu Sharma; Kristel Owens; Graham Graff; Trent Nabe; Poonam RandhawaCase IVEY-9B17M076-EStrategyIn 1995, many of the flights at Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA) were being diverted to Edmonton International Airport. By 2008, ECCA’s two runways required an estimated CA$10 million in capital upgrades and CA$35 million in additional maintenance costs over the next 10 years. In light of these facts, in November 2011, Edmonton’s city council had begun to consider whether maintaining ECCA was feasible or if other alternatives would put the lan...Starting at €8.20
-
Transcend Coffee: Local Sustainability Challenges in a Global Industry
Joel Gehman; Nicole Neufeld; Dasha Smirnow; Siddharth Agrawal; Danielle Sandberg; Manav DeolCase IVEY-9B16M130-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn 2014, Transcend Coffee—an independent coffee shop and coffee bean roaster with several locations in Edmonton, Alberta—was selling premium coffee to a loyal base of customers. While it had taken several years to establish its presence in a marketplace that was filled with coffee retailers, Transcend Coffee's success was in part due to its direct trade supply chain strategy. By working closely with its coffee bean farmers, Transcend Coffee was a...Starting at €8.20
-
Loblaw Companies Ltd.: EDI and Strategic Growth
Joel Gehman; Kylie Heales; Jennifer Sloan; Gordon Wickstrom; Cianna Elwin; Marion Mwanganyi; Talha ZafarCase IVEY-W29386-EStrategyIn 2019, Loblaw Companies Limited, a Canadian grocery chain headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, was mired in controversy over the “ethnic food aisle,” which was a common feature in all its stores. The company was questioned about the aisle’s role in creating a sense of otherness and divisiveness among the culturally diverse individuals it served. These issues related to discussions sparked by the Black Lives Matter movement alongside the emergenc...Starting at €8.20
-
Sawchyn Guitars: Can an Old Business Learn New Tricks
Meredith Woodwark; Matthew WongCase IVEY-9B13M084-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyAWARD WINNING CASE - Laurier School of Business and Economics Best Case Award 2013. The owner of Sawchyn Guitars makes fine handmade acoustic guitars and mandolins. After 40 years of operating from a two-storey backyard garage, he contemplates a shift from a solely custom-order business to a storefront location. Although his custom-order business is still strong, the owner sees the opportunity to realize his dream of providing a full-service musi...Starting at €8.20
-
Somebody Stop the Radio Star: Jian Ghomeshi at the CBC
Karen MacMillan; Meredith WoodwarkCase IVEY-9B16C008-ELeadership and People ManagementIn 2012, the executive producer of the hit radio show Q and the director of Network Radio at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) faced employees’ complaints against the show’s star host, Jian Ghomeshi. The employees alleged that Ghomeshi’s treatment of employees was problematic and contrary to the corporation’s values and policies. A few years earlier, a female employee had also alleged mistreatment by Ghomeshi but no disciplinary action ...Starting at €8.20
-
Rocky Mountain Soap Company: The Move Toward Sustainable Packaging
Joel Gehman; Jennifer Sloan; Jennifer Liu; Yi Wu; Leanne Hedberg CarlsonCase IVEY-9B19M082-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn late 2017, the co-owners of Rocky Mountain Soap Company in Canmore, Alberta, faced an important challenge. Their company produced and retailed toxin-free, 100 per cent natural bath and body products, and they wanted the product packaging to reflect theStarting at €8.20
-
Earth’s General Store: Balancing People, Planet, and Profit in Organic-Food Retailing
Joel Gehman; Ashton Paulitsch; Maninder Pardais; Bernard Streeper; Brian Ballman; Taylor Love; Leanne HedbergCase IVEY-9B17M099-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyThe owner and operator of two stores that sold organic groceries and fair-trade goods in Edmonton, Alberta was proud of what he had built; however he was worried about the financial sustainability of his downtown location. Since its opening in 2014, the downtown store had constantly struggled to remain profitable in the face of extremely high overhead costs. The original Whyte Avenue location of Earth’s General Store, highly popular with its loya...Starting at €8.20
-
Seaworld: Are Animal Shows Sustainable after Blackfish
Joel Gehman; Kelly Lester; Patrick Ng; Jen McEwen; Qiang Wei SongCase IVEY-9B16M227-EStrategyOn July 19, 2013, the documentary Blackfish was released. The movie claimed to have uncovered a series of animal abuses at SeaWorld and alluded to the negative impact of captivity on orcas, known as killer whales, which had resulted in the harm and even death of whale trainers. Whether real or alleged, such negative publicity threatened to affect the company’s image, stock prices, profits, and many of the company’s corporate relations. SeaWorld n...Starting at €8.20