Company

The green initiatives relates to diverse efforts being put into place to ensure that environmental conservation efforts are a success. Sustainable technologies such as solar power, wind power, geothermal power, and other supplementary sources of energy are used to enhance accessibility and energy output. Coca-cola Company has unique green initiatives that ensure reuse, reduction in energy consumption, and recycling of waste products (Marc 2009). The company has its presence in more than 2000 countries in which it operates in and it aims to become the global leader in water and forest management by the year 2015.

Green Initiatives Implemented By the Coca-Cola Company Water is the basic ingredient for Coca-Cola soft-drink manufacturing company. Water stewardship strategy of the company aims to ensure that in-depth streamlined water utilization efforts are put into place. The ‘Learn from the Forest’, the ‘Green and Lean’, and the ‘Climate Savers Program’ initiatives are among other green initiatives used by the company since 2000 to push forward its efforts to conserve water catchment areas (Marc 2009).

Though commonly known as the environmental initiative, the company’s green initiatives have been designed to support a much healthy and sustainable production processes. Protection of soil and natural resources are aimed at sustaining flora and the overall welfare of the consumers through the support of healthy water sheds. Provision and usage of alternative energy sources is another initiative used by the company while at the same time reducing the greenhouse gas emissions, recycling of wastes, and use of renewable sources of energy.

Additionally, the efforts implemented by the company shrinks the operational energy footprints. The company’s green initiatives have mainly been focused on the future water needs and energy availability. Afforestation and reforestation efforts and nature walk activities have therefore been continuously practiced. According to Marc (2009), recycling of production materials through its rolled out initiatives and utilization of renewable sources of energy and the use of eco-friendly materials in the company’s business operations have also been undertaken.

According to the coca-cola company 2002 environmental report, the spring 2010 recycling bin grant program clearly demonstrates the extent to which utilization of the environmental management systems whose core purpose is to ensure that conservation efforts have been put into place in order to ensure that production, sales, transportation, and recycling of the company’s beverage products is done. For instance, the eKOsystem is aimed are continuously reducing the environmental impact that is generated at various business process stages.

The system also reduces water wastages through increased efficiency and cost effectiveness in water usage (Marc 2009). Collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is another initiative currently being utilized by the company. It involves fresh water resources conservation efforts aimed at addressing efficient water utilization through combined funding of $3. 75 million. The initiative is also targeted at conserving the world’s seven most critical water basins.

The collection of $ 20 million by the Coca-Cola Company and WWF initiative was intended to enhance efficiency and water conservation. The initiative is also related to the energy related initiatives that are focused on reducing the CO2 emissions from the company business production processes. For instance, the Coca-Cola Japan Company’s green initiative, through the use of the ‘Cool Biz’ and the ‘Team Minus 6%’ initiatives targets to reduce electricity consumption, cleaning the air, and enhancing durability as is reflected in the planting of the Hedera canariensis.

Furthermore, the green initiative, through the waste related initiatives targets maintain zero emissions status at the plants while at the same time reducing the volume of tea leaves used (Coca-Cola Environmental Initiatives 2009). The Company’s vending machines and the commercial coolers have been designed to rely heavily on HFC-free with 40-50% efficient. The Driving Forces behind the Green Initiatives

The need to reduce the environmental impact while at the same time increasing the company efficiency and ensuring that long term profitability of the company is the core driving force for Coca-Cola Company’s efforts to implement its green initiative. Enhancing success in the market by operating responsibly and addressing global issues such as water scarcity and climate change, realize the success, sustainability, and prosperity of the communities within which the company operates.

Secondly, the global need to address the global warming challenges has continued to be a core driving force that has compelled the Coca-Cola Company to continue with its green initiative. This has also been enhanced by the need for the implementation of cost effective business operational strategies through the reduction of business expenses. The need for all companies to adhere to the International Organization for Standards (ISO) 14000 Protocols is another factor that has influenced the company’s decision to implement the green initiative.

The green initiative being implemented by the company through the Coca-Cola Management System (TCCMS), which is Coca-Cola system’ s global management system, is in line with the ISO 14000 protocols. According to the company’s activity report for 2008, the Coca-Cola Company system has continued to convey the importance of preserving forests and other water catchment areas. In line with this strategy, the company uses the cogeneration systems, which effectively use waste heat that is produced when electricity is being generated. Coca-Cola Company has in other instances been compelled by other external forces to implement the green initiatives.

The Greenpeace movement is widely known to be in the forefront in challenging the Coca-Cola Company, under the KO-Fortune 500, to get rid of the unfriendly environment conventional coolers, inefficient compressors, and vending machines. Furthermore, the need to safeguard the company’s reputation and ensure that it is viewed as human-friendly with great care to human needs and the global environmental climatic challenges are great driving force for the green initiative by the company (The 2006 Environmental Performance 2006; Coca-Cola Environmental Initiatives 2009).

Based on the requirements of the ISO protocols that demands that a company should have very sound environmental processes and protocol policies and its ten areas of standardization, it is evident that Coca-Cola Company, through its Green Initiatives has adhered to the ISO 14000 standards. Through the diverse initiatives and adherence to the ISO standards, the operations of the company have continued to be more cost effective, led to very positive impact to the global warming and hence a better world to live in.

The overall cost of running the company has also drastically reduced and the operations streamlined and made more efficient and cost effective (Coca-Cola Environmental Initiatives 2009). Conclusion In accordance with the above analysis of the Green Initiatives for the Coca-Cola Company, it is evident that various driving forces have continued to compel the Coca-Cola Company actively participating in the green initiative with the core intention of ensuring that the international organization for standards based on the ISO 14000 protocol are adhered to.

Contrary to the common norm of most manufacturing and production companies, Coca-Cola’s green initiative does not directly involve the planting of trees, but rather putting into place strategic mechanisms that are aimed addressing the root causes of deforestation (Coca-Cola Environmental Initiatives 2009). References Coca-Cola Environmental Initiatives. (2009). The Supplement to the Coca-Cola 2009 Sustainability report.

The eKO-System. <http://www. cocacola. co. jp/positively/pdf/2009/eng_additional. pdf>. Marc, G. (2009). Coke, The green thing, Coca-Cola is an environmentalist, but making the company sustainable is harder than it looks. <http://money. cnn. com/2008/04/14/news/companies/coca_cola. fortune/>. 2006-Environment Performances. (2006). The Coca-Coca Company, Verification statement, a management summary.

In a wide-ranging interview Wednesday night,  CEO Elon Musk said that he expects Apple to have a car available to the public by 2020 — and there’s only one company whose use of artificial intelligence potentially worries him.

Musk’s comments came during the Code Conference in Rancho Palo Verdes, California.

In a recent publication by HR. BLR Magazine, it was reported that Wal-Mart employees were awarded 78. 5 million$ dollars in back payments for over-time of which they were never compensated. The verdict was the result of a class action suite that involved more than 187,000 employees that worked for Wal-Mart between 1997 and 2006. The lead plaintiff, Dolores Hummel, said she regularly had to work during rest breaks and after store hours to meet work demands, and estimated that she worked between 8 and 12 unpaid hours each month during her 10 years of employment at Wal-Mart.

“One of Wal-Mart’s undisclosed secrets for its profitability is its creation and implementation of a system that encourages off-the-clock work for its hourly employees,” Hummel said in the lawsuit (October 16, 2006 HR. BLR). On top of the company implementing a unsaid work ethic to motivate its employees, it was reported in the same issue that Wal-Mart has been receiving much criticism for being open on Sundays. While similar retail super stores in other countries like France and Germany make a point to refrain from doing business on these days.

Despite their questionable practices pertaining to ethics, many corporations are now following the trend of adopting an ethical code. What is the organization’s culture? In their article Corporate Ethics Programs as Control Systems: Influences of Executive Commitment and Environmental Factors Gary R. Weaver, Linda Klebe Trevino and Philip L. Cochran study the new trend occurring with so many corporations applying codes of ethics to their business routines. In their report they reveal a large number of upcoming corporations that are spending more than $1 million a year on ethics departments and issues.

After analyzing the concept of the use of ethics codes in corporations, the key finding of their study is that the top managers delegate responsibility for ethics management to others (Weaver, Klebe, & Cochran, p. 155). This can be seen as the core cause of much of Wal-Mart’s problems with ethics. This is a complete neglect ethical issues. In the Case of Lowry and Williams, we see the CEO’s are using the code of ethics to regulate their employees but not adhering to the code themselves. This can be directly inferred as the culture of Wal-Mart, in the sense that the CEO’s follow a hypocritical doctrine that they only apply to their employees.

What has the company done especially well in the past concerning ethical practices? If nothing stands out, you should describe what they could or should do and/or what they’ve done particularly poorly. How could their practices be improved? In sum, Wal-Mart’s ethical code can not be condemned because it attempts to maintain some aspect of moral conduct among a vast number of global employees. In truth, Wal-Mart is an extremely large brand. A company that has now grown over 3,000 stores in the United States and over 1,000 internationally, it’s still growing.

The more the corporation expands, it becomes only more likely that there will be more controversy over their practice of ethics. As Klebe, Weaver, and Cochran found in their study, that the main cause of this problem has to do with a hypocritical moral ethic being practiced by the CEO’s. As Wal-Mart expands into the international super power that it is becoming, if they maintain their hypocritical use of ethical code, it is only a matter of time before the corporation self destructs.

Work Cited

1. Berry, Leonard L. and Seiders, Kathleen (1993). Growing through portfolio retailing. Marketing Management, 2(3), 8-31.Financial Times (FT), (2006), retrieved 5th Nov 2006 from www. ft. com Staff Writer. “Fortune 500. “
2. CNN/Fortune. April 16, 2007. Retrieved on July 15, 2007 http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2007/full_list/index. html Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Statement of Ethics.
3. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Statement of Ethics. Apr. 200. 17 July 2007 ;http://members. aol. com/vtpa/wmethics. html;. Weaver, G. R. , Trevino, L. K. , ; Cochran, P. L. (1999). Corporate ethics programs as control systems: Influences of executive commitment and environmental factors. Academy of Management Journal, 42(1), 41-57. .

This paper posits that J&J appears to have chosen doing CSR activities because of its company Credo that is has adopted and whose influence permeates the whole organization’s way of doing its business. See Appendix A. This is evident in Johnson & Johnson’s commitment to the community that comes from a dedication to the principles defined 60 years ago by the then Chairman of the Board General Robert Wood Johnson in Company Credo.

Up to this time, the Credo could be considered still a living document, while has been translated into dozens of languages, and establishes the company’s responsibility to customers, employees, the communities in which the company operate and to the stockholders. The company determines the effectiveness of how these company’s policies fulfil these Credo responsibilities, when employees throughout Johnson & Johnson are periodically surveyed to be sure that the company conducts business in accordance with the Credo.

When one analyses when this concept of CSR has become a byword for companies, one could just see the earlier adoption of the concept by J&J 60 years ago as compared with other companies. There is therefore great evidence that company has known many years ago the requirements of its business to be able to serve various stakeholders. Through the company Credo, Johnson & Johnson is devoted to make the community better using a wide range of programs both in its home country (US) and outside as part of CSR activities.

Under this Credo, one will find evident the presence of contributor’s program and environment commitments as well company’s policies on equal opportunity, child labour and business conduct. Making declaration on these areas could be a way of making the people of J & J in their responsibilities Through its contributor’s efforts, the company is actively involved in supporting on going health care, educational and cultural programs. The company claims to be devoted to a healthy environment by reducing facility environmental impacts and participating to conservation projects.

J&J has also put in place high standards for health and safety of its workers. It has even extended the same with others in the around the community where it operate as not only as an evidence of it knowledge about the whole thing but out of a deep concern for the welfare for the community. It has its HIV/AID prevention and cure program where Johnson and Johnson’s provide a good amount of information how to stop the spread of said virus.

Johnson and Johnson feels proud that for having its stock in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DSJI) and the FTSE Good Index Series and this proves that the company is part of the those sustainability leaders in each industry. Its being one of the best sustainability leaders could ascertained by the fact the that DSJI companies after being group by industry group, get assessed against well designed industry criteria and then compared against several companies within industry.

In this regard, FTSE Good Index Series J&J inclusion of J&J must really be a reliable evidence how well the company is performing its CSR obligations in accordance with its Credo not because the are legal requirements upon which the company is made to comply with. J&J’s Governance Another evidence that could show the company’s choice of doing CSR activities is its declaration that that all levels the Johnson & Johnson employees are committed to the ethical principles outlined by the Company Credo which has guided the company for many years.

The company expects to carry on having set the tone for its philosophy (Johnson & Johnson, 2008). Although it may sound self-serving for the company to be making the declaration, the effect of the CSR will be shown later. Thus the company also declares that the Credo values extend to our accounting and financial reporting responsibilities. The company is of course part of the company commitment and dedication to serve and protect the interest of its stockholders and investors including the rest of stakeholders (Johnson & Johnson, 2008).

Because of this, of investors could put better reliance on company’s financial reports for decision making (Wilkins, 2003; Ocasio, 1999; Perry, 2001). Making this declaration could also assure investors that the company is doing good business and the financial information it is making to the public is reliable although it should have to pass through some audit requirement.

Lululemon Athletica is a yoga-inspired retail store that produces athletic apparel that promotes healthy and active living. Established in 1998, lululemon has been able to grow as an international athletic brand, with 124 stores across Canada, the United States, and Australia. Lululemon has consistently developed unique athletic products and demonstrated innovative marketing techniques to gain market share, in the highly competitive athletic apparel industry.

Dominated by large well-established corporations, lululemon has grown their niche by marketing their products to women that are both socially and physically conscious, that strives to create a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle. Lululemon has no significant changes in reporting principles between years. Financial statements are comparable and consistent. In terms of common shares, lululemon has diversified itself, which eliminates the chance of individuals controlling activities. Lululemon owns all of its trademarks however share its patents and intellectual property rights with their suppliers.

Lululemon has faced 4 class action lawsuits since 2007. Two of which were related to breach of employment contract and two of which were violations to the Californian Labour Code. Three external forces have been identified that influence the way lululemon operates: social trends through the increasing popularity of yoga, economic conditions due to the current instability in the United States economy, and charitable opportunities. Lululemon is active in building strong relationships with communities in which they are located. From 2006-2010 lululemon saw a growth in net income from $1,394,000 in 2006 to $58,281,000 in 2010.

In four years, this is a combined growth of $56,887,000. A direct link between lululemon and its end customer, without being a wholesaler, have resulted in fewer large credit sales, and a relatively low average collection period of 4. 5 days (average) between 2008 and 2010. The increase in average collection period can be attributed to the opening of franchise operations, creating larger receivables from stocking of the stores. Well-managed debt and expansion based of capital raised have kept financing at a minimum with a low-interest expenses.

Lululemon is performing consistently well in its profitability, solvency and liquidity ratios. The Company and Its Position in the Market Lululemon Athletica is an athletic apparel retail company that specializes in yoga, dance, and running wear clothing. The company designs and sells fitness tops, pants, shorts, jackets, and accessories through its own retail stores and franchises. Originally a women’s fitness apparel store, lululemon carries full lines of men, women, and children clothes that promote healthy lifestyle-inspired activewear.

The founder of lululemon athletica Dennis “Chip” Wilson opened up the first lululemon retail store in Vancouver, B. C. , after much success of his first sports businesses: Westbeach Sports and Chip and Pepper. Chip founded the dynamic, yoga-inspired athletic apparel company in 1998 with the mission to “create components for people to live longer, healthier and more fun lives. “1 The original store shared a space with a yoga studio and now lululemon runs 124 stores internationally; 45 in Canada, 70 in the United States, and 9 in Australia.

“Since [their] initial public offering in July 2007 until January 31, 2010, the price of [lululemon’s] common stock has ranged from a low of $4. 33 to a high of $60. 70 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and from a low of CDN $5. 60 to a high of CDN $58. 77 on the Toronto Stock Exchange”. 3 From the beginning, Chip Wilson’s vision of “elevating the world from mediocrity to greatness,”4 put lululemon in a unique position within the community that allows growth that extends beyond the four walls of its retail stores.

Building a legacy around the community in which lululemon stores are located is a vital part when choosing the locations of the stores. From in-office yoga classes to biking/jogging/walking to work, employees are encouraged to be active on a daily basis. Hosting in-store yoga classes and providing filtered water stations in all stores help its customers create the healthy and active lifestyle that lululemon is committed to promoting. Lululemon believes they “have been able to help address this void in the marketplace by incorporating style along with comfort and functionality into [their] products.

“Premium quality combined with unique style is often difficult to find in athletic apparel. Products designed by athletes for athletes, as well as feedback from its ambassadors (people who embody the lululemon lifestyle), allow lululemon to stay ahead of the curve in innovation. Lululemon designs include many small details incorporating functional qualities such as coffins (built-in mittens to keep your hands warm on chilly mornings6) and emergency hair elastics. These small details and functional qualities provide added benefits to consumers when using and wearing lululemon products.

Pants, sweatshirts, jackets, and tops are designed as fashionable apparel to be worn before, during, or after physical activity. The durability, uniqueness and functionality are components of lululemon’s products, which directly allow them to compete with industry leaders in the athletic apparel market. Lululemon’s primary target consumer is a woman that is socially and physically conscious and one who acknowledges the benefits of leading a well-balanced healthy lifestyle. “She is increasingly tasked with the dual responsibilities of career and family and is constantly challenged to balance her work, life, and health.

“This target market is very dynamic and conscious of external environmental trends. Lululemon also focuses its products towards men and women who work, play, and share a common goal of living a healthy life. Lululemon “believes consumer purchase decisions are driven by both an actual need for functional products and a desire to create a particular lifestyle perception. “8 As direct competitors Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour are strong worldwide-recognized brands that are able to generate higher sales because of the broader line of products and customer bases.

For that reason, lululemon also competes against smaller yoga-inspired athletic clothing companies such as One Tooth Fashion, Tonic Lifestyle Apparel and Lotuswear. Lululemon “doesn’t advertise on television, preferring to market itself with community-based campaigns, including free outdoor yoga sessions. “9 Lululemon uses free local newspapers, community events, store openings, and word of mouth to promote and advertise their brand. When lululemon opened the Vancouver store on Robson Street, “it ran a contest that gave away free outfits to the first 30 people who showed up naked.

“This non-traditional marketing allows lululemon to stand out in an industry dominated by large, well-established corporations. Lululemon also created buzz for their company by taking advantage of the 2010 Winter Olympics, being held in Vancouver. Olympic knockoff apparel was popular with consumers, however, lululemon pushed the limits in producing Olympic-inspired apparel, despite not being an official outfitter or holding an agreement with VANOC for rights to the trademark.

Lululemon’s price point reflects their high quality, whereas smaller retailers produce goods for less, leading to lower consumer pricing. The high price point may deter shoppers on a tight budget and push them to buy from smaller or imitation retailers with lower quality. Therefore, any impact on the textile athletic apparel industry would be in the form of competitors lowering selling prices or decreasing their product and manufacturing costs.

Coca-Cola is the best-selling soft drink in most countries. In the Middle East, the only region in the world where Coca-Cola is not the number one soda drink, Coca-Cola nonetheless holds almost 25% market share (to Pepsi’s 75%) and had double-digit growth in 2003. Similarly, in Scotland, where the locally produced Irn-Bru was once more popular, 2005 figures show that both Coca-Cola and Diet Coke now outsell Irn-Bru. In Peru, the native Inca Kola has been more popular than Coca-Cola, which prompted Coca-Cola to enter in negotiations with the soft drink’s company and buy 50% of its stakes. In Japan, the best selling soft drink is not cola, as (canned) tea and coffee are more popular. As such, the Coca-Cola Company’s best selling brand there is not Coca-Cola, but Georgia.

According to the 2005 Annual Report, the company sells beverage products in more than 200 countries. The report further states that of the more than 50 billion beverage servings of all types consumed worldwide every day, beverages bearing the trademarks owned by or licensed to Coca-Cola account for approximately 1.3 billion. Of these, beverages bearing the trademark “Coca-Cola” or “Coke” accounted for approximately 55% of the Company’s total gallon sales.

According to Consumer Reports, in the 1970s, the rivalry continued to heat up the market. Pepsi conducted blind taste tests in stores, in what was called the “Pepsi Challenge”. These tests suggested that more consumers preferred the taste of Pepsi (which is believed to have more lemon oil, less orange oil, and uses vanillin rather than vanilla) to Coke. The sales of Pepsi started to climb, and Pepsi kicked off the “Challenge” across the nation.

In 1985, The Coca-Cola Company, amid much publicity, changed its formula. Some authorities believe that New Coke, as the reformulated drink came to be known, was invented specifically in response to the Pepsi Challenge. However, a consumer backlash led to Coca-Cola quickly reintroducing the original formula as Coke “Classic”. Overall, Coca-Cola continues to outsell Pepsi in almost all areas of the world. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan (Pepsi has been a dominant sponsor of the Pakistan cricket team since the 1990s) and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Prince Edward Island are three exceptions.

By most accounts, Coca-Cola was India’s leading soft drink until 1977 when it left India after a new government ordered The Coca-Cola Company to turn over its secret formula for Coke and dilute its stake in its Indian unit as required by the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA). In 1988, PepsiCo gained entry to India by creating a joint venture with the Punjab government-owned Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation (PAIC) and Voltas India Limited. This joint venture marketed and sold Lehar Pepsi until 1991 when the use of foreign brands was allowed; PepsiCo bought out its partners and ended the joint venture in 1994. In 1993, The Coca-Cola Company returned in pursuance of India’s Liberalization policy. In 2005, The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo together held 95% market share of soft-drink sales in India. Coca-Cola India’s market share was 60.8%.

Pepsi had long been the drink of Canadian Francophones and it continues to hold its dominance by relying on local  celebrities (especially Claude Meunier, of La Petite Vie fame) to sell its product. “Pepsi” eventually became an offensive nickname for Francophones viewed as a lower class by Anglophones in the middle of the 20th century. The term is now used as an historical reference to French-English linguistic animosity (During the partitionist debate surrounding the 1995 referendum, a pundit wrote, “And a wall will be erected along St-Laurent street [the traditional divide between French and English in Montr because some people were throwing Coke bottles one way and Pepsi bottles the other way”).

In the U.S., Pepsi’s total market share was about 31.7 percent in 2004, while Coke’s was about 43.1 percent. 6In Russia, Pepsi once had a larger market share than Coca-Cola. However, Pepsi’s dominance in Russia was undercut as the Cold War ended. PepsiCo had made a deal with the Soviet Union for scale production of Pepsi in 1972. When the Soviet Union fell apart, Pepsi, was associated with the old Soviet system, and Coca Cola, just newly introduced to the Russian market in 1992, was associated with the new system. Thus, Coca-Cola rapidly captured a significant market share away from Pepsi that might otherwise have needed years to build up. By July 2005, Coca-Cola enjoyed a market share of 19.4 percent, followed by Pepsi with 13 percent.

In the same way that Coca Cola has become a cultural icon and its global spread has spawned words like “coca colonization”, Pepsi Cola and its relation to Russia has also turned it into an icon. In the early 1990s, the term, “Pepsi-stroika”, began appearing as a pun on “perestroika”, the reform policy of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev. Critics viewed the policy as a lot of fizz without substance and as an attempt to usher in Western products in deals there with the old elites. Pepsi, as one of the first American products in the Soviet Union, became a symbol of the relationship and the Soviet policy.

We used PepsiCo’s Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2006. Also we included comparative data for the 2005 and 2004 financial years restated in accordance with the same rules. Several types of analysis can be performed on a company’s financial statements. All these analyses rely on comparisons or relationships of data because comparisons enhance the utility, or practical value, of accounting information. In data analysis we used three types of financial statement analysis: horizontal analysis, vertical analysis, and ratio analysis. To be most useful, ratios should be analyzed over a period of years to take into account a representative group of these factors. Any one, or even any two years, may not be representative of the company’s performance over the long-term. That is why we used three financial years for comparison. We analyzed the main financial statements, such as income statement and balance sheet. Horizontal, vertical and ratio analyses cannot predict the future, but knowledge gained by a study of ratios and related information can help the investors to make informed decision.

Abstract

Through the dawn of the Internet, numerous possibilities were presented in the world of the web in endless permutations. One of these includes the very successful industry of E-commerce. The Coffee Company, a Melbourne-based Gourmet Coffee and Tea Company, is distinguishing the various market opportunities in the e-commerce retail and service environment with the use of the Market Opportunity Analysis. It is an outline evaluation process which covers numerous concerns and issues of company business potency and ultimately determines whether a certain company holds the necessary tools to respond to market needs and customer wants.

The Coffee Company: A Successful E-Business to an Existing Storefront

The Coffee Company, belonging to the retail and service industry of the gourmet coffee and tea sector, holds key opportunities to consider. Sustainable growth and success for the business may be obtained by these opportunities being identified to be available and viable. In definition, “a marketing opportunity is an area of buyer need and interest in which there is a high probability that a company can profitably satisfy that need” (Kotler, 2006, p. 55).  Through the use of the Market Opportunity Analysis (MOA), there are five main points to identify, all of which present an evaluation process in determining promise and possibility (Kotler, 2006). First, “Can the benefits involved in the opportunity be articulated convincingly to a defined target market(s)?” (Kotler, 2006, p. 55). Second, “Can the target market(s) be located and reached with cost-effective media and trade channels? ” (Kotler, 2006, p. 55). Third, “Does the company possess or have access to the critical capabilities and resources needed to deliver customer benefits?” (Kotler, 2006, p. 55). Fourth, “Can the company deliver the benefits better than the actual/potential competitors?” (Kotler, 2006, p. 55). Lastly, “Will the financial rate of return meet or exceed the company’s required threshold for investment?” (Kotler, 2006, p. 55).  The questions stand; Can The Coffee Company address all these concerns?

Read also about Threshold Capabilities

Through capitalizing on the strong reliability of e-commerce, The Coffee Company holds the capability to service customers who are not only coffee and tea enthusiasts and prefer in-store purchases, but also those who rather choose to enlist their orders online. Having established a website, The Coffee Company offers its customers a wide array of information. With just a few clicks, customers can access the company background, the coffee bean and tea selection in terms of stock with description and tips, coffee and tea hardware and accessories, and news and current updates, which are all important in their decision making (The Coffee Company, 2004b). Having also incorporated a secure system gateway payment arrangement, The Coffee Company does not only offer assured convenience to its customers, but it also guarantees that the credit card information they disclose are only used per transaction basis. This addresses a particular market which consists of customers who favor browsing the website first for research then purchasing after, and/or those who are unable of in store-visit and purchase, which accounts for a significant part of the company’s revenue. Since the company’s main venue in servicing the customers is through the use of its website, maintenance and optimum performance of the website are indeed crucial to communicate and secure the customer needs. Securing anti-virus software also keeps the website free from any web distraction that could hinder business relations with the customers. Hence, considering the services the company offers and resources that it has, The Coffee Company answers Questions 1 and 3 of the Market Opportunities Analysis. The firm has the ability and capability to deliver benefits to its specific target market all through their website.

The company’s profit and loss statement reflects relatively low cost outlay, thus answering Question 2 since the website proved to be a truly cost effective medium for garnering sales profit. Addressing the concern in Question 5, the over-all return in investment came to $74,400, which show that the firm incurred minimal costs which include establishment, on-going costs, upfront expenses, and operational expenses amounting to $2000, $400, $3600, and $2000 respectively, translating to a very promising financial rate of return (The Coffee Company, 2004, n.p.). Improving the website in terms of detail content and in listing Internet Search Engine for increased web traffic answers the concern in Question 4, for the firm realizes possible challenges in improving its website and its visibility among present and potential customers while still keeping that competitive edge among its competitors.

The Coffee Company uses the wonders of e-commerce to its full potential. The ability to read opportunities and needs of the market has been their secret for success.

References

1. Kotler, P., Keller, K.L., Ang, S. H., Leong, S.M., Tan, C.T. (2006). Marketing Management:
2. An Asian Perspective, Fourth Edition. Singapore: Prentice Hall.
3. The Coffee Company. (2004a). The Coffee Company Case Study. Retrieved September 17,
4. 2008 from http://www.mmv.vic.gov.au/uploads/downloads/ICT_Projects/eCommerce/TheCoffeeCompany.pdf
5. The Coffee Company. (2004b). The Coffee Company Accessories. Retrieved September 17,
6. 2008 from  http://www.coffeecompany.com.au/Accessory_Categories.php