In early 2024, The Body Shop International Ltd. (Body Shop) filed for administration, the UK equivalent of a bankruptcy. Aurelius Group (Aurelius), a private equity firm, owned Body Shop and, soon after acquiring it, filed for Body Shop’s bankruptcy. Experts have criticized private equity firms for destroying the value of firms, especially in the retail industry. The FRP Advisory Group (FRP), which Aurelius appointed to oversee the administration, .....more

Teaching note for product # W37303.

In March 2023, Gopuff, a player in the quick commerce (Q-commerce) industry, was experiencing intense competition and was also unprofitable. Gopuff’s vertical integration model was different than other e-commerce or marketplace companies like Amazon or Instacart, as it purchased products directly from consumer product companies and wholesalers and stored them in micro-fulfillment centres for quick delivery on demand. The company intended to achieve .....more

In March 2024, Boeing Company’s (Boeing) chief executive officer, Dave Calhoun, and chair of the board, Larry Kellner, announced their departure from the company by the end of 2024. Their resignations came in part owing to several safety issues experienced by Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, and the decline of Boeing's market capitalization owing to internal and collaborative problems with suppliers like Spirit AeroSystems and regulators. Experts advised .....more

By August 2023, Byju Raveendran, chief executive officer of Think & Learn Private Limited (doing business as BYJU'S), was facing corporate governance and ethical challenges, resulting in regulatory authorities scrutinizing the company. BYJU'S valuation also declined from a high of $21.2 billion in March 2023 to $5.1 billion by June 2023. Critics accused Raveendran of leveraging aggressive growth strategies, resulting in a decline in the .....more

Teaching note for product W35238.

By early November 2022, Elon Musk, the new owner of the social media platform Twitter, had fired approximately 75 per cent of the company’s workforce. The decision regarding which employees to dismiss was based both on low performance criteria and unwillingness to commit to a new demanding corporate culture. Twitter had mainly incurred losses since its launch in 2006. Musk acquired the company after several glitches in the purchase agreement regarding .....more

By January 2022, approximately 100 employees from Microsoft Corporation’s (Microsoft) HoloLens division, which had pioneered augmented reality (AR), quit. Most joined Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly Facebook), despite the company’s recent controversies. Meta was seeking talent for metaverse technology that required AR and virtual reality (VR) expertise. Metaverse talent was scant industry wide. Meta offered double salaries to poach talent from Microsoft, .....more

Teaching note for product W27698.

On October 28, 2021, Mark Zuckerberg, founder, chief executive officer, and chair of Facebook Inc. (Facebook), announced Facebook’s name change to Meta Platforms Inc., reflecting his vision for the company’s transition to metaverse technology. At the same time, Facebook was plagued by multiple scandals related to a data privacy breach, the spread of misinformation on the social media platform, employee whistle-blowing, and surveillance-style marketing .....more