Michael Lewis’s book Flash Boys, published in 2014, revealed to the public numerous controversial Wall Street trading practices made possible by advances in technology as well as regulatory changes that were (ironically) intended to improve pricing fairness in the financial markets. Lewis’s story focused on the man who blew the whistle: Brad Katsuyama, a Canadian banker who ran the New York trading desk for the Royal Bank of Canada. In 2010, he had .....more

In 2014, as large investments poured into the e-commerce space in India, there was a general expectation that the online retail (e-tail) industry was heading toward a consolidation that would squeeze out smaller players. While e-tailers in India focused on following a marketplace model and developing a brand for their online market platforms, fashion2go created a product brand that targeted a very specific segment of young customers. Fashion2go was .....more

Beyond Meat, a producer of plant-based meat substitutes, was founded in 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The company’s vision is for consumers to enjoy a meat-like taste and texture in their favourite dishes while avoiding the many chemicals used in processed meat and reducing the number of animals killed every year. Wanting to reduce global meat consumption by 25 per cent by 2020, the company works to educate consumers about the superior benefits .....more

This case describes the challenges faced by Jerry Richardson, the owner of the Carolina Panthers National Football League (NFL) team, following the arrest of one of the team’s star players on domestic violence charges. Domestic violence suddenly was a major issue in the NFL after a video became public depicting domestic violence by another famous NFL player. Richardson needs to decide how to deal with the Panther's star player. His considerations .....more

By the end of 2013, PC Financial remained one of the few successful no-frills banking providers in Canada. Since its founding in 1998, the company had grown into a significant competitor in consumer financial services with nearly three million customers and $644 million in revenue. The financial crisis of 2008 and the competitive situation in Canadian retail financial services had led to the acquisition and in some cases closure of several of its .....more

Arcelik, a member of the Turkish Koc Group, had grown from a leading manufacturer of household appliances (also known as ‘white goods’) in Europe’s largest emerging economy to a substantive international player. Yet the company faced new challenges in strengthening its positions in advanced economies, exploiting its competitive advantages across a wider range of emerging economies and in raising the profitability of its international operations. In .....more

The Children’s Place was a New Jersey-based specialty retailer of apparel and accessories for children up to age 12. Starting in fiscal 2013, the company was moving from a clearance-centre model, where it sold a variety of national brands, to a made-for-outlet model that emphasized its own brands. This was necessitated by intense price competition in its market. The new strategy involved developing, coordinating and controlling its own global apparel .....more

Just before the celebration of the 2014 Chinese Lunar New Year, Tencent, the world's fourth largest Internet company, launched a mobile application for its popular WeChat platform: the Red Envelope. By clicking on a virtual red envelope icon, gifts of money could be sent to or received from friends and family to celebrate this special occasion. Combining a Chinese cultural tradition with modern social networks, this simple initiative soon became .....more

The chief executive officer of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had the daunting task of sustaining a business that had suffered the tragic loss of two of its airliners in a span of just four months. Prior to this, a US$392 million loss, as well as the inability to compete with lower-cost carriers, had posed a great challenge to MAS. Management was planning to initiate a cost-cutting strategy to manage pricing and the competitive challenges of the aviation .....more

Kingfisher Airlines, a leading airline company in India, had incurred substantial losses and its net worth had been eroded. This news was widely covered by Indian and international press. Analysts and media were of the opinion that Kingfisher needed equity infusion to steer it through the distress. Because of its financial difficulties, the company’s stock was trading at near historic lows and its equity value was, in fact, negative. Yet company management .....more