Distribution - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Updating the Retail Experience with Interactive Mirrors

February 24, 2017

As e-commerce companies like Amazon become more and more popular, traditional retailers have scrambled to find ways to bring people back into stores. Along with placing scannable QR codes by items, brick and mortar outlets have also tried large internet kiosks that allow customers to browse their online stores. Despite retailers’ best efforts, though, these attempts at modernizing haven’t caught on with consumers. After all, who would walk into a place just to check its online store?

The startup Oak Continue reading →

Innovation, San Francisco, Smart Mirrors, Oak Labs, Clothing, Product Development, Retail, Fashion, Distribution

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Can Chipotle Recover from Its E. coli Crisis?

January 29, 2016

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Chipotle enjoyed years of rapid growth thanks in part to its heavily marketed commitment to fresh ingredients. However, that established image has crumbled over the last few months as the burrito chain grapples with a major E. coli outbreak at its restaurants. Chipotle’s problems began in summer 2015 when customers began falling ill in California and Washington. Attention then shifted across the country to more than 140 Boston College students who received food borne noroviruses from a local Chipotle. By Continue reading →

Branding, Marketing, Distribution, Ethics, Chipotle, Food, Supply chains, Safety

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Texas Plumber Sues Dealership for Shocking Truck Mix-up

January 20, 2016

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Last year we featured a post about the unfortunate case of Texas plumber Mark Oberholtzer. In need of a better truck for his business, he took his old Ford F-250 to a local dealership and traded it in for a newer model. The plumber didn’t give the transaction a second thought until about a year later when the complaints started rolling in. Due to the extraordinarily complicated nature of the global auto resale market, Oberholtzer’s truck somehow ended up in Continue reading →

Global, Texas, Ethics, Distribution, Cars, Supply chains, Transportation, Middle East

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter C: Managing Risk

Half Prices Books Thrives Against the Odds

November 25, 2014

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In a world of Amazon and e-readers, there’s just not much room for independent bookstores. Over the past five years, mom and pop bookshops have seen revenues decrease by an average of 3.2 percent annually. But not every company in this discouraging industry is feeling the squeeze. In fact, the Dallas-based retailer Half Price Books is growing at a rate of five stores per year. Revenues rose from $50 million in 1995 to $240 million in 2013, remarkably avoiding Continue reading →

Retail, Distribution, Resale, Half Price Books, Marketing, Entrepreneurship

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

[VIDEO] Supply Chain Reaction

November 15, 2014

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This video reveals some of the unpleasant origins behind the world’s most common products and highlights the importance of understanding supply chains.

Questions:

Have big companies improved work standards in their supply chains?

Should consumers be involved in making sure supply chains are managed humanely?

From We the Economy

Global, Ethics, Product Development, Distribution, Supply chains

Videos

The Red Menace of the Apple World

October 28, 2014

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For more than 50 years, the Red Delicious has dominated the American apple market. But while no one can dispute the fruit’s famous color, many consumers have begun to take exception to the “Delicious” portion of its name. Even though the U.S. still produces 54 million bushels of Red Delicious annually, production of the fruit has dropped 40 percent since 2000 as demand for other varieties has increased.

The Red Delicious began its ascent way back in the 1870s when Continue reading →

Food, Product Development, Branding, Distribution, China, Apples

Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price

Multi-Level Marketing: Safe or Scam?

October 5, 2014

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Since the onset of the financial crisis of 2008, millions of Americans have looked for ways to earn additional income. For some, multi-level marketing companies like Avon and Herbalife presented a good avenue for making extra cash. In these types of operations, individuals pay the company for a bulk amount of goods that they then sell to other people. According to multi-level marketing firms and their trade groups, the system allows consumers to purchase their favorite products at a Continue reading →

Ethics, Distribution, Direct Selling, Marketing, Herbalife

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter C: Managing Risk

The Gradual Return of American Manufacturing

September 23, 2014

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In the 1950s, more than 150 television manufacturers called the U.S. home. Today, not even component parts for TVs are produced on American soil. Still, that hasn’t stopped Wal-Mart from slapping “Assembled in the USA” stickers onto many flat screen TVs stocked in its stores. That’s because the company buys the televisions from South Carolina’s Element Electronics Corporation, which imports all their items from China.

That doesn’t mean Element is simply a middleman operation though. TVs that arrive at the Continue reading →

Global, Manufacturing, Distribution, Wal-Mart, Element Electronics

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution

TJ Maxx Defies the Odds with Sustained Success

September 17, 2014

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Although nothing in business is a sure thing, few industries are more volatile than apparel retail. In this unpredictable world, it can be almost impossible to guarantee success for a brand. For instance, Target and Kmart spent years dueling for dominance until the former won out with its more upscale marketing. However, long-term prosperity grants no safety net. Abercrombie & Fitch ruled the preppy clothing market for more than a decade, but now sales are falling as younger consumers view Continue reading →