#14 20501036

Public service idea can be a business opportunity!

Summery -

Surviving in the saturated market is very difficult, if you don’t have competitively superior area on your business or idea.
In the article, however, he, the owner of the restaurant, makes remarkable success only with his idea. Actually the idea originally comes from social movement. The reason of movement was to create employment opportunities for blind and visually impaired people, and the first venture, the blindekuh in Zurich, opened in 1999 and is claimed to be the world’s first dark restaurant. Since then, the restaurant concept has been subsequently replicated elsewhere, including Paris, Berlin, London and multiple cities in Canada, United States, Russia and Australia, also in China. However, this dark restaurant (Whale Inside Dark Restaurant - Jujingdu Hei'an Canting; literally big whale stomach dark restaurant) in the central business district's funky Jianwai Soho complex, does not hire a blind people. He just thinks about the business, he took only the concept – meal in the darkness.

How he made success?

Right target and understanding of target market
Founder of the restaurant, he was not a person actually start this business. It was started by European country and they start it to get an experience suffering of disable people and give opportunity of work to the blind people . However, as he targets the young professionals who are willing to pay for special event, it would not be succeed when he just copy what European do, because Chinese relatively less interested in critical mind toward disable people.

As a business model to making a benefit, dark restaurants in china hired employee who has experience but who are not blind. So, when they serve the customer, they use night vision goggles so they can give a service in the darkness.
Conversion of idea and modification for targeted market can bring an opportunity to create new niche market.

http://spanish.hanban.edu.cn/english/China/195370.htm

http://events.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/travel/22surfacing.html

Entry #14 20300156

Companies keep cool on the cheap

June 11, 2008

Korean Air employees at company headquarters in central Seoul ditch their neckties to keep cooler without cranking up the air-conditioning as a part of a campaign to reduce energy costs due to the recent surge in fuel prices. Provided by the company

Every drop of oil means big money as surging energy costs hit local companies. Besides taking drastic measures, including suspending business operations and cutting airline routes to compensate for energy-related losses, companies are taking small but effective steps to reduce energy spending altogether.

Because wearing a necktie is said to keep a man’s body temperature 2 degrees higher, employees at Korean Air, the nation’s flagship carrier, are taking off their ties to save energy. The company announced that from yesterday until Aug. 31, all employees are encouraged to leave their neckties at home, except for employees like flight attendants, who must wear them for service reasons. Through the move, the company hopes to save on air-conditioning costs.

The Lotte Group is following suit. Lotte Mart and Lotte Department Store have both launched “Cool Biz” campaigns in which employees are encouraged to ditch their ties. Also, Lotte Department Store’s main branch in central Seoul has switched its energy operating system to include inverters, which are more energy-efficient.

“We plan to switch all energy operating systems in our 24 department stores to this new system by the end of the year,” said Oh Yong-suk, public relations manager for Lotte Department Store. “We can save an estimated 2.3 billion won [$2.2 billion] on energy per year if we use this new system in all our branches,” he added. Discount store Lotte Mart is raising its air-conditioning temperature by 1 to 2 degrees in all its branches as well as lowering its lighting wattage to save on energy.

Shinsegae Department Store and its affiliate discount store E-Mart also announced an ongoing “Energy Diet” campaign earlier this year. Temperature-control equipment in all offices and stores will be replaced to include fuel-efficient inverters and chiller control systems, through which sensors keep indoor temperatures at an optimal level. The company plans to invest 2.5 billion won in the program. Signs and advertisements will be lit for a few hours less every day. “In the short term, we are expecting to save money on energy but in the long run, we see this as our environmental campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and unnecessary energy spending,” said Yun Myeong-gu, director of the business ethics division at Shinsegae.

Convenience stores, which are open 24 hours, are joining the trend. The GS25 chain is also raising stores’ temperature by 1 to 2 degrees this summer and turning off unnecessary signs. To save energy used by refrigerated shelves, the company inserted “air curtains” to keep in the cool and put up deeper shelves so that products stay closer to the refrigerators. A “Transportation Management System,” which keeps delivery routes from suppliers to stores as short as possible, was implemented to save on fuel.

I thought the best important of business strategy is maybe making low cost. This policy is so interesting strategy and i thought it can cause increase effiency of working of employees. High price of oil made many policies of companies. There were so many bad effects. However, in other side aspect, there were good effects for naturl environment. For slow global warming, human should reduce oil consuming. I recomend that many company should change the think of this situation to positive -making 'Air curtain' is good idea for small company. If they did, they can make one more step than other competitors.

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# 14 Entry_ 20500297

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

'The Escalator Pitch'

Veteran entreplreneurs and financiers have long understood

the need for succinct pitches.

Enter the Twitpitch. It's not what you think.

　　　　　　　　　　
　　　　　　　　　　
　　　　　　　　　　

I. Have you heard Escalator Pitch?
Professor Lee once mentioned about 'elevator pitch' in class. I don't exactly remember whether it was in Marketing class or Business strategy class, but for me it was quite impressive. Escalator pitch is like elevator pitch, something you can say in 10 seconds while he's going up the escalator and you're going down the escalaror. Then what makes a good escalator pitch? Principal of FutureWorks PR says "brevity and relevance." It's about focus and precision, and it needs to be aligned and presented in a way that reflects who you write to and why it's beneficial to your readers. Sergey Brin and Larry page, two top Google guys, were good at this, explaining their business as 'access to the world's information in one click', which made investors understand Google's vision right away and willing to hear some more about it. With only 8 words!

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　
II. Products? IDEA!
Svetlana Gladkova, co-founder of Boyd, says that when you are actually talking about your product, it's your IDEA. "You will find the words, and if you can't, it may be a sign that your product is not distinct from compeititors." (quoted) Small, and unknown startups need to think of escalator pitches as their foundations for their brands. Introducing your business in a very short, but strong sentence is the key of attracting investors and customers interest. The real value is not how many sentences you say, but it's rather about how effective, how strong, and how impressive you are and what you say.
　　　　　　　　　　
　　　　　　　　　　

III. Personal Opinions
Business Strategy class was such a challenge for me. There were too many concepts to know, and this business world is more complicated than I expected. However, one thing I completely figured out is that how you approach to your customers is significant. As this article says, effective expression of your business or product like either elevator pitch or escalator pitch changes a foundation of your brand. You should have a short, strong, effective, precise, impressive, and powerful message to deliver your vision, mission, and commitment to your investors and customers. We have a tendency to neglect small things, but sometimes people are touched by a very little thing, like a note saying 'cheer up' or even just saying 'hi' with a big smile on your face. It can change your image and also the image of your company. Among lots of elements that you need to consider as you start your business, specific expression strategy that is able to convey what you really want to say should not be excepted.

　　　　　　　　　　
Both in Marketing class and Business Strategy class, professor Lee emphasized "differentiation" and "innovation". Being distinct from other competitiors, being more speicific from other competitors, and being more special and innovative than other competitors will make you succeed in any business. :)
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Annotaion: John Tozzi, The Escalator Pitch, Journal (Businessweek.com), May 16 2008

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Last entry (#14) by 20500297

Entry #13 20300156

Stars get in early on product design

Putting aside their mikes for a moment, the Wonder Girls, a popular Korean girl group, are showing off their creative streaks.The girls helped design the INNOWo MP3 player, which the companyInno GDN put on sale Tuesday at three online shopping malls. Commentingon the player, which is emblazoned with crowns, lips and stars, Kim Yeong-se, head of Inno GDN, said, “We wanted to make an MP3 player for teenagers and thought of the Wonder Girls.” He said the company did not alter the singers’ sketches and that in one day, the online shops attractedover 100 orders.Instead of settling on using celebrities as the face of their advertisements, companies are now letting them take a more hands-on approach and hiring them from the design process.

The fashion industry in particular is keen on this tactic with a tendency among the younger generation to follow styling decisions made by celebrities.Actresses and jeans seem to be one of the hit equations for this trend.Three online shopping malls this year showcased jeans that were designed in collaboration with local celebrities. Local online shopping mall Wizwid showcased limited edition jeans, which were designed jointly by American jeans brand James Jeans and Korean actress Han Ye-seul.

SK Telecom’s shopping mall, 11st, showcased jeans that were a collaboration between another American jeans company, True Religion, and actress Jeon Ji-hyeon.Another online site, Interpark, had actress Kim Ha-neul designing for the French premium jeans brand, Taverniti So Jeans. The trend of celebritydesig ed jeans started last year when actress Kim A-jung designed the “A-Star Jean with Kim A-jung” for Guess and racked up sales of 6 billion won ($5.9 million) in six months.Luxury brands are no exception.

French handbag brand Longchamp initially hired Kate Moss as its spokeswoman, which led to Moss collaborating with Longchamp on its Legend Line with success. Also, French luxury brand Celine showcased the Song Hye-gyo for Celine bag, which the actress designed, and sold them as limited editions.Even though firms are now enjoying strong business with these collaborativeprojects with celebrities, some say the items are merely a “promotion show” with the products reflecting minimum celebrity input. “Many of these items have already been designed before the celebrity gets to see it.Oftentimes the companies just tack on the celebrity name after making the product,” said a fashion industry source.

Lim Mi-jin JoongAng Ilbo/ Cho Jae-eun Staff Reporter [jainnie@joongang.co.kr]

If you know who you are and who is your target or aim, at least you must not fail. It is not easy to know that consumer’s preference. However, if the consumer made product what whose want, it could be strong effect to consumer’s preference. Also, if the product was made by consumer who is super star, its effect would be more powerful to other consumers.

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Entry 13. 20501036

LG Wears Prada!

In the movie, Devil wears Prada, they represents women fanaticize on fancy and luxurious clothes or items. But the notion is not only limited on fashion business but also electronic goods industry too.

When we look back on the past time, company who wanted to get a better brand image, they usually lunch a new brand like Lexus of Toyota, Zipel of Samsung electronics’ refrigerator brand, Pavv in Samsung’s PDP TV brand. However, lunching new brand only to get separated brand perception with the original brand takes a lot of cost. So electricity companies find better and easier way to improve their brand image. That was joint venture with another company's brand which has power. Also there is couple of types of joint venture.

First, only borrow their brand name.

LG-IBM was the case. It produced by LG but they use IBM logo. Another case is Samsung Home plus. Tesco owning more than 94% of home plus. Tesco barrowed Samsung’s brand image (so they could reduce anti-foreign company mood).

Second, Use other luxury fashion designers brand’s design and reputation.

The reason they borrow other designers clothes brands' is the trend changes rapidly and build their own company for target need a lot of cost and risk. Because of The mobile market become like fashion market, customer became more consider about brand and design; of course, function would be the priority reason when they choose electronic goods. However, it is hard to compare which one has better performance, because they contain a lot of function in one product nowadays. Also people became less sensitive on the price. Prada phone, LG and Prada design and promote together, became one of most successes item in LG’s history with 800,000 cumulative sales even though it price over 700 ERUO.

Benefit of designers brands

Prada can be number one brand power Handbag Company but it’s almost impossible to be a top sales company, because they do not mess produce. They even use demarketing to keep the brand value. However, when they met LG, because of its characteristic as electricity, they could make win-win situation.

Other examples: Samsung-Armani phone and TV, Swarovski-Phillips USB drive, ASUS-Laborghini notebook computer

Beware

While many fashion brands making profit from licensing with other company, some company lose their brand value because of imprudent licensing like Pierre Cardin, Yves saint Laurent and Christian Dior.

http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=101&oid=001&aid=0002087133
http://bizi.tistory.com/entry/pradaphone-5
http://news.mk.co.kr/outside/view.php?year=2008&no=234297
http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2008060483931&sid=01040201&nid=000&ltype=1
http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/05/23/2008052300843.html

* Sources are just reference. This article worked by me.

Entry #13_ St. ID: 20500297

Power of Positioning*

How to distinguish yourself from the competition

to be sure you have a preferred place in your target customer's mind-

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

I. Positioning? Distinguising!

Many companies have difficulty in positioning. Positioning is very significant step in business because through this, the market would recognize your company, buy products from your company, and decide whether to maintain a relationship with your company. This acticle emphasizes the importance of positioning, defined as "the process of distinguishing yourself from competitors in specific ways in order to be the preferred provider for certain market segment." It's more like act of designing company's offer and image so that it can occupy a valued place in the targeted customer's mind.

The main benefit of clear positioning; it controls how the market perceives you and helps make your products and/or service more attractive.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　


II. 5 Steps to improving positioning

1) Assess where you are right now: This is the first step of right positioning. You may ask your customers, or even competitiors and journalists how they describe your company, products, and overall images. Knwoing yourself is always the first thing to get finished in order to make some change.

2) Determing how you want to be perceived: It's an intentional act, the author says. Once you get to know where your company is, then you need to decide how you want to be thought of by your customers. Think of meaningful differences between you and your competitors.

3) Select your target customer: We usually define 'target customers' as anyone willing to buy that people sell. However, it's not true. You need to craft a strategy taking into account there questions: "How do those people choose among vendors?", "How does your target market define value?"... Focus on 'HOW' rather than 'WHAT'!

4) Factor in current trends: Figure out trends that are on the way that might tie in with your company. Which should you distance yourself from?

5) Formulate your four levels: "Your business objective drives your business strategy which drives your market strategy which drives your positioning strategy." If your business objective is to have fewer customers who spend more per sale, your business strategy must reflect this in the products or services you will be offering. Your market strategy will consist of how to find those new customers and how to communicate with them. Your positioning strategy will determine the messages you communicate to your target customer to drive sales of your more costly product line. (quoted) You're not happy with how people perceive your company? Or do you want to stretch to the next level? Then that's the time of REPOTISIONING!
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　


III. Personal Opinions

STP ANALYSIS*

Most of us have already heard of STP analysis. STP stands for segmentation, targeting, and positioning. All these three steps are important and need to be considered thoroughly, but probably positioning step is especially significant because it's the step where you can finally define your company's BRAND image and where you actually approach to your real customers. More importantly, positioning of products or brands in the CONSUMER'S MIND determines whether you would be able to maintain your relationship with them. Firms position their products and services according to several criteria, such as offering's value, (customers get a lot for what the product or service costs), symbols, or important attributes.


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
As I have started studying business strategy since the beginning of this semester, I found out that reading consumer's mind is a key thing of success in business. It's like ALWAYS. You should, even more 'must' know what consumers want and need. It's interesting that business objectives, business strategy, market strategy, and positioning strategy are all inter-related, which means that how you start determines your end.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Annotation: Christine Comaford-Lynch, The Power of Positioning, Journal (Businessweek.com) June 2, 2008

Entry #12 20300156

Hyundai Heavy eyes financials
May 29, 2008

Hyundai Heavy Industries Company, Korea’s third-biggest company by market value, is in talks to acquire holdings in two units of the CJ Group to manage assets and offer ship financing.“We are in detailed talks to buy stakes in CJ Investment and Securities Company and CJ Asset Management Company and will make an announcement when details are finalized,’’ the Ulsan-based shipbuilder said in a filing yesterday. The stakes are worth about 800 billion won ($770 million), the Korea Economic Daily reported yesterday, citing unidentified industry officials. Hyundai Heavy, the world’s biggest shipyard, and units Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Company and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Company have combined cash assets of about 6 trillion won, and are slated to report record earnings for a fourth year. The acquisition would allow Hyundai Heavy to fund expansions and help customers finance costlier ships, said analyst Lee Jae Kyu.“Hyundai Heavy may be interested in buying the financial companies to manage its abundant cash,’’ said Lee, who rates Hyundai Heavy a “buy’’ at Mirae Asset Securities Company in Seoul. The acquisition would be the first for Hyundai Heavy since 2002 when it bought rival Hyundai Samho Heavy for 100 billion won. Hyundai Heavy plans to seek board approval for the purchase tomorrow, the Korea Economic Daily said.Hyundai Heavy would be the latest entrant to the country’s 44.6 trillion won brokerage industry after regulators lifted entry barriers last year to increase competition. Hyundai Motor Company, Korea’s largest automaker, and its affiliates bought 30 percent of Shinheung Securities Company in March, which was renamed Hyundai IB Securities Company. Bloomberg

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