Sephora Marketing

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http://www.torontosun.com/2017/01/28/hmvs-closure-end-of-an-era

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/struggling-hmv-canada-goes-into-receivership-set-to-close-stores-1.3956302

Name: Shail Shah, 5810536

4. Topic: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Defective Batteries

Samsung is a multibillion dollar South Korean technology company that provides high-quality phones, tablets, and computers. Samsung’s well known for its ‘Galaxy Note’ product line. The Galaxy Notes are a series of high-quality, expensive phones that have developed a strong reputation. However, there have been several reported incidents of their Galaxy Note 7, where the batteries have been melting and exploding due to overheating and improper thermal management of the device. As a result, Samsung had to recall millions of devices worldwide, sent out updates to every device regarding the issue, and their stocks dropped significantly. The major marketing issues that Samsung currently faces is that the brand equity has been decreasing, there are hundreds of complaints (and some lawsuits) filed against the company (a tarnished public image), and finally, the company must find ways to improve their damaged reputation and to regain the lost consumers/brand loyalty.

Sources Used:

https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/09/21/samsung-sends-out-software-update-to-nag-note-7-users-to-replace-phone.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/samsung-galaxy-note-7-exploding-battery-1.3744107

http://fortune.com/2016/09/12/samsung-shares-fall-note-7-recall/

Group Member Name: Ritika Jain

5. Proposed Topic: Sears

Sears, Roebuck & Company, also known as Sears, is an American department store chain founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in 1886. In terms of domestic revenue, Sears was the largest retailer in the United States until October 1989, when Walmart surpassed the record. Sears was still one of the top retailers until, Chairman Ed Lampert fashioned a deal in which formerly bankrupt Kmart bought Sears in November, 2004. At the time, the company was valued at $11 billion and had 3,500 stores. Today, the company is valued at $1.6 billion (a decline of over 85%) and has just under 1,700 stores (a decline of 51%.) A Forbes Magazine article blames the Chairman Ed Lampert for destroying the company. Mr Lampert was a finance expert; he believed that if he had enough numbers, and he studied them long enough, company success would be ensured. He refused to follow trends as simple as making stores classier, different shelf positioning, and buying the latest products to keep customers satisfied. Mr. Lampert allowed no low to mid-level employees to convey their concerns. Instead they were forced to follow orders given by people completely out of touch with retail trends and customer needs. Due to the lack of customer satisfaction and keeping up with day-to-day trends, the company is assumed to soon go bankrupt.

Sources Used:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2016/02/11/the-5-ways-ed-lampert-destroyed-sears/ - 34526dae41de

http://www.searsarchives.com/history/