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Showing posts from March, 2016

BUSS3 material (general)

Website with useful material for the BUSS3 course: http://economicsandbusinessstudies.weebly.com/buss3.html

BUSS4 material (general)

This website has numerous links to material useful for the BUSS4 syllabus. http://economicsandbusinessstudies.weebly.com/section-a---pre-release-research.html

Website with many useful Theme 2 resources

http://economicsandbusinessstudies.weebly.com/theme-2.html As per theme 1, browse the material her for ideas to use in application to Theme 2 questions.

Website with many useful Theme 1 elements

http://economicsandbusinessstudies.weebly.com/theme-1.html This valuable resource has articles, videos and links to resources for the Theme 1 material. Browse it for useful material to extend your knowledge and application of key concepts.

Cash flow & inventory management - Nissan

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Quite in-depth, but anyone who wants to look at how a real MNC handled a liquidity problem during the 2008/9 downturn, this tells a very full story. Very useful as an example in long answer questions: Source: http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/IR/INSIDE/INSIDE-SP/FCF/index.html In the latter half of FY 2008, Nissan, like other global companies, faced three challenges- the financial crisis, severe economic downturn and volatile exchange rates. However, Nissan continued investing and developing its brand, products and technologies, so that the company would be prepared for the post-crisis period and future. Nissan focused on free cash-flow management to address not only the current economic climate but also the major shifts occurring in the automotive industry, as a result of global environmental issues. Part 1: What is Free Cash Flow? The statement of cash flows is one of three financial statements, along with the balance sheet, the income statement. The cash flow statement rep...

Marketing, promotion, USPs, niche markets

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On a lighter note, how Starbucks is trying to steal a march on rivals; in the newspaper there is a poll at the end - do the poll to see whether the readership thinks it will work! Making money from new parents is like taking candy from a baby Starbucks has smartly sussed that ladies with babies, reluctant to relinquish old habits, are keener than ever to visit cafes and restaurants   Facebook 3 Twitter Pinterest 0 LinkedIn 0 Share 3 Email Sweet smell of success: Catering to parents with children makes good business sense.   Photo: Alamy         By Jemima Lewis   03 Mar 2016 Two things that Starbucks has sussed about mothers: first, our bodies are 90 per cent made up of milky coffee, which requires constant replenishing; and second, we very much want to be wanted. Hence, its new “pa...

Profit & loss, margin, cash flow - all in one article:

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BHS stores threatened with closure as troubled retailer seeks rent cuts BHS is battling landlords to reduce its rent costs Credit: ALAMY Christopher Williams , Chief Business Correspondent 3 March 2016   B HS has appealed to creditors for permission to enter a form of insolvency that could lead to the closure of dozens of stores and loss of hundreds of jobs, as the High Street stalwart fights for survival. The retailer has submitted proposals to the High Court for a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) in an attempt to drive down rent costs for 87 of its 164 stores. Preparations for the proposals, made by BHS on advice from KPMG, were revealed by The Telegraph last month . BHS said that under a CVA it would seek “substantial” rent reductions at 40 stores that will otherwise be closed after a minimum period of 10 months. KPMG said the retailer will pay 25pc of the rent due on the stores. The retailer’s attempts to negotiate cuts with institut...

China, change, and e-commerce:

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part of a larger article that can be found here: The New China Playbook - BCG Perspectives The Three Forces of Change           To understand the implications of the three forces that are changing China’s consumer economy, BCG and AliResearch analyzed the relationships of demographic, social, and technological trends and consumption. One key finding: a two-speed consumer economy is emerging in China. (See Exhibit 2.) High-speed growth is occurring in upper-income brackets, among the younger generation, and in e-commerce channels, but consumption growth is decelerating among lower-income and older-generation consumers and in traditional retail channels. The Rise of the Upper-Middle Class. During the past few decades, China’s consumer economy has been powered by the ascent of hundreds of millions of people from poverty to an emerging-middle class, which includes households with annual disposable income of $10,001 to $16,000, and to the mid...