Some goods are normal goods at lower income levels and inferior goods at higher income levels. One example is the fast food category in the US restaurant industry (e.g., McDonalds). In this case, lower income consumers will purchase more fast food if they earn small increases in income. However, the consumers will substitute other types of food and purchase less fast food as their income rises to much higher levels. Can you think of a second example from some other industry in the US or another country?

Suppose you are the marketing manager for a company that faces this sort of demand response from the customers of its major products. How would you develop an advertising program that adapts to this behavior over the growth (increasing income) and recession (declining income) stages of the macro economy? For example, would you change your pricing policy as the economy grows or declines, or would you change the target audience for your ads? Are there other things your could do in this situation?

1. Your company has a strong brand name in the United States, and you’re ready to enter Africa, especially West Africa. You decide to acquire a local company in Liberia. Considering your understanding of branding, would you use the existing US brand in Liberia? Would you use it in all of West Africa? Or would you use your strong US brand globally? Would you use both brands in the same markets? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various strategies, taking into account the trust factor of brands, the influence of local differences, and the country-of-origin effect.

Make sure the answers are correct, well explained, thoughtful, and have no grammar mistakes. DO NOT COPY answers from Chegg or other websites. The answer should be unique and original work. The answer should be no less than 300 words. Thanks in advance.

As an employee, doesn't have to be a retail employee for this DB mind you, what would motivate you most of the following and at least give me a sentence or two of WHY it is ranked there, in other words, put all 6 in your order of importance and WHY:

- Monetary compensation (salary, bonus, stock options, etc.)

- Time off (extra paid days off as in extra vacation or paid personal days to use, etc.)

- Being able to work from home occasionally/telecommuting ONCE Covid-19 is hopefully behind us at some point in the future

- Company Subsidized Gym access at work ONCE Covid-19 is hopefully behind us at some point in the future

- Company Subsidized Child Day Care at work ONCE Covid-19 is hopefully behind us at some point in the future

- Better medical/dental/vision plans, etc.

Then, for Store Layout, Design & Visual Merchandising:

- Tell the class a store layout you really think really is set up physically well (as in the aisles, layout, etc.) and WHY and then one you think is poorly set up and WHY.

- Tell the class a store atmosphere where color is used correctly AND one that isn't

- Tell the class a store atmosphere where music is used correctly AND one that isn't.

- Lastly, tell the class a store atmosphere where scent/aroma is used correctly AND on that isn't.

A U.S. bank has deposit liabilities denominated in euros that must be repaid in 2 years. The deposits pay a fixed interest rate of 4%. The bank took the money raised and converted it to dollars, whereupon it lent the dollars to a corporate customer who will repay the bank over the next two years in dollars at a variable rate of interest equal to LIBOR +3%. The interest rate earned may change every six months.

Design a swap that the bank could use to reduce their risks.

After several months of negotiations, the CEO of BIG Pty Ltd made the long-awaited announcement to board members that BIG Pty Ltd would be buying Melbourne based company, YAY Pty Ltd for $25m. The following persons were present at the meeting: Helen and Liam (Company Directors) and Tammy (Receptionist taking meeting minutes). News of the take-over would not be released to the public until the following week.
(a) Assume Helen owns 50,000 shares in YAY Pty Ltd . Discuss whether she would be breaching any duties if she makes a secret profit of $500,000 from the takeover. What can Helen do to avoid breaching any duties?

answer structure

Issue: Whether Helen would breach any duties…
Rule: According to Hospital Products Ltd v US Surgical Corp…
Furthermore: According to Aberdeen Railway Co v Blaikie Bros…
Analyze: Here, the facts tell us…
Conclusion: Clear that Helen would be breaching Duty __   … (remember to also mention what she can do to avoid the breach)

Construct EFE & IEF matrices for The British University . Apply any one
of the matching stage tools (SWOT matrix, SPACE matrix, BCG matrix, IE matrix, Grand
Strategy matrix) to formulate strategies for the British university. Calculate and suggest the relative
attractiveness of alternative strategies for the British university through the application of QSPM.

Consider Ghana Technology University College, of which the students are the product of the manufacturing process.

A. What will be quality from the producer’s perspective (producers in this case are lecturers) and administrator’s? at least five

B. What will be quality from the consumer’s perspective? Consumers in this case are Students. at least 5

C. What will be quality from the consumer’s perspective? Consumers in this case are employers. At least 5

It is believed that the proportion of female college students who friend-zone a study buddy is about 29%.

1. a) Say? w?e s?elected? 15 ?random co?llege females?. I?s t?his? s?amp?le ?"lar?ge e???nough"? to us??e ?the Central Limit Theorem? What about 100? Check by using the assumptions for CLT.

2. b) Fill in the blank to write the sampling distribution when we obtain 100 females. Round to three decimal points if possible. ?̂~? (? , ?)

3. c) Find the probability that from the 100 females sampled, the sample proportion of friend-zoning a study buddy will be greater than 35%. Round to three decimal points.

Compare the ratios for each company against each other and draw a conclusion about each of the ratios. Interpret the meaning of the ratio in relation to your companies.

South West Airlines (2019) In millions

Payout Ratio = Cash Dividends on Common Stock / Net Income

= .372/2.3 / 2,300 *   = 16.17% ( cash dividend taken from cash flow statement)   

Return on Common Stockholder's Equity = Net Profit - Preferred Dividend / Average Common Stokholder's Equity

= (2,300 -0 ) / (17,945 +15,967)/2 = 2,300 / 16,956 = 13.56%

Times Interest Earned = Net income + Interest Expenses + Income Tax Expenses / Interest Expenses

= (2,300 + 118 + 779 ) / 118 = 27.09

American Airlines (2019) In millions

Payout Ratio = Cash Dividends on Common Stock/Net Income

0.40/3.80= 10.5% (cash dividend taken from cash flow statement)

Return on Common Stockholder’s Equity = Net Profit - Preferred Dividend / Average Common Stockholder’s Equity

= (1686-0) / (3,945+4,964)/2= 1,686 / 4,445.5 = 37.85%

Times Interest Earned = Net income + Interest Expenses + Income Tax Expenses / Interest Expenses

= (1,686+1,095+570) / 1095 = 3.06

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, stores are temporarily closed, but e-commerce growth in the market remains strong. Most of the growth we have seen in athletic footwear, for example, has come from the online channel. Provide your information technology strategy for short-term, mid-term and long term range planning. (Atleast 2-3 pages of word)

CASE STUDY
Source: The Star Online, New Straits Times
THE economy may be slowing and the retail industry is going through a rough patch, but Al-Ikhsan Sports Sdn Bhd believes this is as good a time as any for it to shine. “The economy is soft, even globally. I think Malaysia is fairly stable in that sense. When the economy faces rough weather, that’s when the true strength of retailers can be seen. “When the economy does well, everyone does well. You can hide your inefficiencies and all that. But if you can grow your business when the economy is down, it shows the strength of the company. As the economy gets tougher, Al-Ikhsan will become more relevant,” says chief executive officer Vach Pillutla. At a time when most businesses are looking to downsize their physical presence, Al-Ikhsan is looking at ways to expand its number of outlets. The company currently has 131 stores under five different retail models, namely, the Al-Ikhsan Sports chain (116 outlets), Sports Warehouse (4), Football Republic (6), Sneaker Street (2) and Factory Outlets (3). The homegrown sports retailer has carved a name for itself in the market by selling products from international sporting brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma and Umbro at an affordable price. Pillutla says it is planning to open 12 to 14 new doors every year, with 80% of its expansion plans focused on the entry- to mid-level concept. Although the retail industry has become increasingly competitive, he notes that the company’s advantage in staying ahead of the pack is its core mission to stay affordable.
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“Our core purpose will keep us going for the next few years. As long as we are able to communicate our core purpose properly to consumers, I think they will keep coming back,” he says. Tapping the bottom As consumers become a little more tight-fisted, retailers have been trying to diversify into either the more premium or niche markets to maintain margins and profitability. Pillutla notes that unlike most emerging markets, the local retail space has two very distinct segments: the high-end and entry-level segments. “Most emerging markets have a very big middle-class segment. It works like a typical pyramid, where the well-heeled consumers make up the smaller segment at the top and the entry level is much bigger. As the economy grows, the middle-class will expand and other consumers will aspire to move up the pyramid. “Malaysia is different in the sense that people are either at the top end or at the entry level. There’s very little middle-class. So brands and retailers who try to stay in the middle of the spectrum don’t do well because consumers who see a middle-class brand are either willing to trade up or trade down. So you either have to be at the upper-end or lower-end of the market, ” he explains. Hence, he believes that there is also money to be made at the bottom of the pyramid. “People at the bottom of the pyramid are also aspirational. They, too, want things and if you can make it affordable for them, you can tap that market. Consumers are the king. So we have to keep our brand focus and give them what they want,” he adds. Although margins may be thinner at the entry-level, Al-Ikhsan has a variety of retail concepts which can be pushed out to meet the needs of the market it is in and grow its volume. Pillutla says its Sports Warehouse brand, for example, which focuses on entry-level consumers, is a concept that still has legs to go, particularly in smaller towns. “Wherever that has a catchment of 50,000 people, we can do any one of our concepts. We started the Warehouse this year and it has shown very strong results so far. We can
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see another 35 to 40 Sports Warehouse outlets over the next three to five years. Our next position is to move down, deeper,” he says. That said, he maintains that Al-Ikhsan also has enough variety of products to cater to a wider range of consumers. “Our stores have products from different brands. We can have prices for certain products that go up to RM600. So while we make products affordable to consumers, we are also able to sell them at a certain level of prices if the brand can command that price. In that way, we can cater to a wider range. “But we always try to stay to our core purpose, to stay affordable. We are about making Malaysia fit and active since 1993 by making brands affordable to consumers. That is our strength and our core purpose. It cannot go away.” Al-Ikhsan was founded by Ali Hassan Mohd Hassan in 1993 in a small shop in Holiday Plaza, Johor. His entrepreneurial pursuit had started earlier on as a student in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia to fund his studies. He sold trinkets and such and managed to graduate with a diploma. When he started the business, he was diligent to ensure that he maximised every opportunity to keep sales going. He built a good rapport with his customers and kept his sports products affordable. Ali Hassan’s success in growing Al-Ikhsan was obvious when the retailer caught the eye of government-linked private equity firm Ekuinas, which bought a 35% stake in the company in 2016. Ali Hassan and his wife still holds the remaining 65% of the company and he has stayed on as its chairman. Pillutla thinks the company is only halfway through “what we are really capable of doing”. As long as the sports industry continues to grow, Al-Ikhsan will be able to grow in tandem. He adds that its retail concepts are also applicable to any emerging market, making it easier for it to expand overseas when the time is right.
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On the horizon Over the next three years, the company will continue to expand into tier-2 and -3 cities. It will also continue its focus on the entry-level concept stores like the Sports Warehouse. Another thing that the company will be paying close attention to in the coming years is its private label. Pillutla hopes to make its private label and licences more relevant to the masses as he views this as a good channel for Al-Ikhsan to have a deeper engagement with its consumers. “We want to create products that consumers want. I think our house brand can grow to be a significant brand pillar for us, maybe making up to 30% of the brands we have,” he says. With these strategies in place, the retailer is aiming to keep its double-digit growth every year – a target that Pillutla says is “absolutely achievable”. “That’s the job of professional CEOs like us. There’s a limit to what founders and entrepreneurs can do for a company because the thing about professional CEOs is that we don’t think from our hearts. “We see opportunities, we look at our current capabilities and we think in terms of how we can build that capability for future growth. We are a bit disconnected, so we don’t make decisions based on emotions. But that is not to say that one is right and one is wrong. It is just a way of working. “In business, you need data and experience to take a very informed action, so that you’ll have stronger chances of success. And we believe we have a formula here,” he says. “The challenge for us is more internal. We are no longer small. And we need to continue to drive and align our people towards our mission. As long as we understand our core, we can have market share,” he says.If all goes well, the company is eyeing listing plans in two to three years’ time. The company’s three concepts – Al-Ikhsan, Football Republic and Sneakers Street – are vital to promote sustainable growth for its retail sports business in order to mitigate the seasonal impact.
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“Our three concepts are catered for entry to mid-level consumers and up to high-end consumers. Football Republic is a specifically designed for personalisation or customisation of football’s boots and attire, targeting professional amateur players or fans”. “Sneakers Street category is a sports lifestyle concept that offers affordability for sneakers and accessories to consumers,” he said. Pillutla said the company aspires to have stability in its business earnings with promising growth for long-term sustainability, while adapting to the current market needs. “We want to aggressively expand our market reach, especially in East Malaysia and outside the country with about eight stores are expected to be opened this year. “For long-term expansion plan, we target to open up to 30 stores by 2021,” he said, adding that this would allow the company to reach about 145 Al-Ikhsan stores nationwide. Pillutla said the company also plans to open 15 Sneakers Street stores in the next three years, with initial four stores to be opened this year, followed by additional five Football Republic stores in the future from the current five stores. He said Al-Ikhsan is currently in the discussion with various parties to expand its business in other market in Southeast Asia region, while providing numerous choices to consumers. “We have ‘reasonable’ allocation for capital expenditure (capex) as it will be financed internally. The cost of each store will typically be depended on its size and location,” he said, citing that it is important for the company to have single-digit or lowest double-digit rent-to-sales ratio. Pillutla said capex should not be extremely high as the company on its self-sustaining mode to generate sustainable earnings, while reducing its debt. The company’s inventories is also important to keep its earnings healthily to avoid inventories not age beyond certain points. “We will also embark on digital platform – Omni Channel – to complement our existing retail stores. This allows customers to choose and buy our products virtually through
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mobile app or online platform. The initiative would also enhance our efficiency and productivity, as it easily helps us to monitor our inventories,” he said. "Our commitment is to keep Malaysia fit and active by making sports affordable for all. We also need to understand consumers well and must change ourselves based on what consumers want,” he said in a media interview here recently. Al-Ikhsan will launch a new e-commerce online platform (website) next month, a move that will help the company become a global player in the sports retail segment. “We are ranked 64th largest sports retailer in the world. Therefore, when consumers look at us, they don’t just perceive us as a Malaysian company but rather benchmark us as a global player,” Pillutla said. “I don’t think, even our founder Tuan Haji Ali, thought that we could reach this stage,” says Vach Pillutla, Chief Executive Officer of Al-Ikhsan from his office at Taman Tun Dr Ismail. The company, with its various concept outlets, is by far the largest sports retailer in Malaysia, commanding over 20 percent market share in the sports equipment, apparel and footwear segment. “Ten million people have walked through our doors every year. To put things into perspective, almost one third of the Malaysian population visited Al-Ikhsan stores.” He expects Al-Ikhsan’s e-commerce platform to contribute about 5.0 per cent of the total sales over three years. “In general, the overall retail sector grows about 4.0 per cent to 5.0 per cent annually, while the sports retail around 8.0 per cent to 9.0 per cent. “Globally, most markets are likely to remain stagnant but I think Malaysia continues to perform quite well in sports retail,” he said. He also said Al-Ikhsan continued to learn about consumers and offered products and services at prices preferred by customers. “As long as we continue to pursue it, we are not worry about competitions. For the next three years, we intend to open up to 14 stores annually in the Peninsular Malaysia with
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concepts including Football Republic and Sneakers Street, depending on the market and catchment to match consumers’ demand,” he said. He did not divulge further on how much capital the company would invest, saying that it had sufficient money to fork out internally. As stated earlier, Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) acquired a 35 per cent stake in Al-Ikhsan in July 2016 for RM68.6 million. Ekuinas chief executive officer Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir said the first two years since the partnership with Al-Ikhsan were about stabilising the company, in particular improving its back-end support. “We need to ensure that we have strong back-end processes before exploring growth. We focus on effective resource planning - an inventory software system - as well as execute strategic business plans, recruit the right talent and strengthen existing brands under us,” he said. Syed Yasir Arafat said it was important for the government-linked private equity fund manager to strengthen Al-Ikhsan’s foundation and expand in certain areas, while offering different products not only active brands but promoting in-house products. “We have about 30 brands under Al-Ikhsan. We employ around 1,200 staff and command about 30 per cent local market share in multi-retailer segment.” Syed Yasir added that since Ekuinas invested in Al-Ikhsan, the former had managed to more than recoup its investment. “From Ekuinas’ perspective, Al-Ikhsan has strong liquidity and sufficient cashflow to grow, with good inventory management. Hence, Al-Ikhsan doesn’t require further capital injection to expand further,” he added. Al-Ikhsan founder and chairman Ali Hassan Mohd Hassan believes the sports retail business was growing with abundance of opportunities locally. “We are investing about RM1mil in each new outlet, inclusive of renovation and stocks.” Ali Hassan said strengthening the company’s position in the local sports goods retailing segment would discourage foreign companies from taking over the domestic market.
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He said it was important to stop these companies from expanding in Malaysia, as local players should be given the opportunities. He said prospects for sports goods in Malaysia were bright as the goods sold here were the second cheapest in the world after the US. Ali Hassan said by having a formidable presence in the urban and rural areas, it would be almost impossible for foreign sports goods retailers to gain a strong footing here. He said the company catered to customers who were serious in sports and those who were into sports fashion. He said Malaysians were brand conscious and more customers were willing to spend money on branded items. “Previously, there was a huge pressure from the sports brand principals as they demanded for growth based on the global trend. “Similarly, they expected growth from Al-Ikhsan in Malaysia due to opportunities in sight. Hence, we decided to partner with Ekuinas to support our future growth and become more competitive,” he said. Through the partnership, Ali Hassan said Al-Ikhsan had undergone due diligence exercise to evaluate the company’s weaknesses and strengthens. “Ekuinas had helped us to find new team members, while consolidating our stores and improving the back-end processes.
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