The owner of a small home and garden shop in Chaguanas, Trinidad is faced with declining sales and the recent entry of a competitor offering similar products at competitive prices. In order to compete, he is thinking of moving to a larger location and expanding his business to capitalize on emerging opportunities, such as the demand for landscaping services by wealthy professionals. He is uncertain how his current customers would react to such a move .....more

In September 2009, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Rona Inc. was reviewing the company’s progress in relation to the ongoing economic recession. Rona was the largest retailer of hardlines in Canada. Rona had noticed definitive signs of slowdown in the third quarter of 2007 and had launched Strategic Plan 2008 – 2011 as a response. The two-phase program was nearing the completion of its first phase of Productivity, Efficiency .....more

In May 2007, the chief operating officer at TSC Stores in London, Ontario, asked the director of distribution to evaluate the company's supply chain strategy and make recommendations to the board of directors. The chief operating officer was concerned about the ability of the company's supply chain to support the corporate business plan, which called for 20 per cent annual growth over the next three years. Preliminary analysis indicated .....more

In March 2006, the divisional vice-president of enterprise information technology for Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) noted that the Business Intelligence (BI) system had not yet been implemented. Slow but steady steps were taken by his team but the implementation was one year behind. It was becoming evident that BI was not just about technology; the right people and processes had to be in place. The divisional vice-president wondered what his .....more

In March 2008, the vice-president of governance, architecture, and corporate and diversified businesses for Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) felt confident that the Business Intelligence (BI) system that had been scheduled to be implemented in 2005 was now ready for implementation. The right people and processes were now in place. With the right people involved at different levels in the organization and several process-related initiatives, CTC’s .....more

The office manager at the Garden Depot was growing increasingly concerned with the inability of the landscaping manager to handle his workload and subordinates. The landscape manager's poor management left the office manager to solve the division's problems. The office manager needed to take action to reduce her workload and to ensure she received accurate information from the landscaping division. The case is designed to introduce students .....more

The president of The Home Depot Canada (THDC), a subsidiary of U.S.-based The Home Depot Inc., had recently articulated her own vision for THDC: to become Canada's top retailer. To achieve this goal, THDC would have to continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of its customer base. The do-it-yourself segment, which THDC had nurtured, was giving way to the do-it-for-me segment. Attracting the female customer, towards whom The Home Depot Inc. .....more

In December 2005, The Home Depot Canada (THDC) rolls out its EcoOptions product line. The market for environment-friendly products has been changing in terms of vendor interest, consumer demand and competitive dynamics. THDC has been pushing that change with EcoOptions, which started off as a pilot project in March 2004. The project was driven by a larger vision of making EcoOptions the leading environmental brand in the global home-improvement market. .....more

An investor is deciding if she should invest in RONA Inc. RONA, a large Canadian hardware and renovation retailer headquartered in Boucherville Quebec. The company had experienced strong growth and had achieved considerable success. The investor was now prepared to analyse the financial data, provided as well as perform a size-up of the current and future direction of the company in order to maker her decision.

The owner of a large greenhouse is preparing a cash budget for the upcoming selling season. He has made projections regarding future sales and expenses and also mentioned what the effect of a late spring or early winter would have on his sales.