...MATTEL VS HASBRO/BARBIE VS BABY ALIVE Abstract: The two highest toy companies, Mattel and Hasbro have various dolls that every little dreams of having. In this paper, I will compare and contrast the “old school” Barbie to the “new reality” Baby Alive and how both companies address the 4 P’s of Marketing. Barbie, America’s top and favorite doll of dolls for years is continuing to grow strong as a play toy or as a collection item. Barbie was launched in 1959 and has since been the famous in the United States. Barbie was started by a couple while watching their daughter play with a paper doll. Barbie has been about fun, fashion and friends, but in 2004 the company kept those qualities along with evolving girls wants today. The younger girls today want fairy and imagination, older girls want authentic fashion and real-world experience. Fairy’s, DVD’s/music videos and tween dolls. (Crews, 2004) Today, Barbie has much competition with Bratz dollz and Baby Alive along with many other dolls in the market. Baby Alive is the new, innovative, life-like doll for today’s society and children who like to play and feel they are caring for real-life babies. Mattel will need to become stronger and more assertive with their objectives and marketing techniques to stay ahead of Hasbro, Inc. Hasbro, Inc is right in the mainframe with Mattel in the toy industry. Both companies have strong marketing skills, knowledge and strategies to help with their own marketing shares. Mattel’s...
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...Spin Master Toys Case Study Final Exam IS 8100 Renu Ramnani Q1. What is the history of Spin Master toys? In April 1994, Spin Master business was founded by three university friends, Anton Rabie, Ronen Harary and Ben Varadi, who were graduated from the University of Western Ontario. These three friends decided to find out an opportunity in the corporate world and made Early Bird, and in just six months company sold 1.5 million of them, which was a great hit during that time period. Early Bird was a nylon stocking filled with sawdust and grass seed mounded into head, and after its immersion in water, the grass seed was sprouted which gave a head a crop of grass hair. In 1995, the company launched Spin Master Devil Sticks, which was made up of two hand-held sticks and was used to control the third one. This product was also a great success for the company and later on, the company was named after it, that is Spin Master Toys. By this time, the company covered the major retail segments in North America and also believed that the reason behind their success was avant-garde, grass root marketing savvy and a two tier distribution network. Also, for the following three years, the company produced products for the Canadian market with the use of very low technology and high margin toys. Spin Master never reached to the same success ratio as the Earth Buddy's sales. Later on, Spin Master mainly focused to build relationships with their retailers and investors and create research...
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...When America was first discovered, it was very much an unsettled land. There was no centralized government, no real established culture, and no official identity. Thus, it became the perfect place for people who were looking to start over. Many of the early settlers were younger brothers who hoped to claim the land that they could not inherit, religious pilgrims who hoped to be able to practice their beliefs, and floundering businessmen who hoped to create a fortune in a new land. What they all had in common was the idea that they could become something better, that in this empty land they could carve their lives into some fantastic image in their minds. Eventually, the ability to do big things in this country warped into the expectation to do something big with one’s opportunity in America. (And by “do something big”, it is meant that it is something big on societal terms.) This is the ideal that eventually became an important part of American culture. It resulted in entire generations growing up learning to measure their lives as the distance from where they were to some far off point in the horizon where they felt they should be. The late twentieth century showed the consequences of this kind of thinking. Due to a period of rapid technological and social change, America underwent a massive transformation in lifestyle. Thus, much of what had been built became obsolete, and the generation that spent their lives trying to become something suddenly found their entire life’s...
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...of us have shopped at Toys “R” Us whether we were just kids looking for toys or adults shopping for gifts. Toys “R” Us Inc. is the world’s leading dedicated toy and baby products retailer, offering a differentiated shopping experience through its family of brands. Toys "R" Us has in excess of 1500 superstores in the United States and Worldwide. It also owns the baby brand, Babies R Us that adds another 200 or more stores. Toys “R” Us is actually the second largest retailer in the United States making them a high revenue company touching approximately $13.646 billion dollars. They also help improve the world’s economy by employing 70,000 people across the globe. Toys “R” Us may have many strengths but every company has a few weaknesses so that they can improve and become better. These days, Toys “R” Us has no single and sustainable competitive advantage, other than brand. In the US, its traditional stronghold, the company has lost its number one position, as toy retailer to Wal-Mart. Being large may not be enough for them, when customers can just go to another large retailer and buy the same or similar items, for a better deal. Also with Toys “R” Us, sales depend upon the season and the product range is not that much attractive for the seasons other than Christmas. There are opportunities for joint ventures and strategic alliances. Toys "R" Us works closely with Amazon.com and its baby products category. This not only plays to the strengths of both companies, but also provides opportunities...
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...Strategic Analysis and Recommendations for Jot Contents SWOT ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................................ 4 STRENGTHS ................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. WEAKNESS ................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. THREATS ..................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Opportunities ............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Current Ratios ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Quick ratio:................................................................................................................................................ 7 Net working Capital................................................................................................................................... 7 Debt Ratio: ......................................................................................................
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...Report title Jot toy – case study University Rusangu University Team members Dina Nchenesi Busiku Siagwelele Relson TABLE OF CONTENT 1.0 Executive Summary This report aims to prioritize, analyse and evaluate the current issues of Jot management. The report starts with te 4main issues Jot is currently facing, the issues have been categorised in two, (i) issues that threaten the business (ii) plans relating to expansion and market. For the first issue, which is late delivery of Christmas product, the team recommend that Jot should distribute to the product preferring the major customers over smaller retailers. The second issue, fault in new flying spaceship, insulation should be improved. Near soring to voldania, Jot should implement the proposal as manufacturing in China is expensive. Jot should also accept the proposal to launch a new product range. Finally, ethical issues are addressed and recommendations are made. Financial and strategic analysis have been added in the appendices. INTRODUCTION Jot was established in 1988, it is a company that is specialized in relatively small range of 34 products aimed at only 2 age groups (the children between 3-5 and the children between 5-8). 3.0 Industry background Toy market is a highly seasoned market with most sales occurring in pre – Christmas periods (October – December) 86% of the world’s toys are Prioritisation of issues facing jot The 4 main...
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...com/globalbusinesschallenge Jot – toy case study The date of the case is set at 1 November 2012 Industry background There is a large number of companies of various sizes which design and sell toys to retailers globally. Most toy companies outsource the manufacture of their toys and currently 86% of the world’s toys are manufactured in China. Most of the rest of the world’s toys are manufactured in other Asian countries, with only low volumes of products manufactured in Europe and the USA. The toy market is divided up into a variety of sectors, by children’s age range and the type of toy. There are different sectors with toys aimed for babies under one year old; children aged 1 to 3 years and pre-school children of 3 to 5 years. There is a further sector for children of school age of 5 years and upwards. Additionally the toy market is broken down into categories of toys. Research has shown that children aged 2 to 4 years old receive the most toys in quantity but that the most money is spent on toys for the 6 to 8 year age group. Toys sold in the market to those children aged between 9 and 11 tend to be more sophisticated. Some of these games need access to the Internet and most involve more complex programming. The other feature of this age group is that the ‘buyer’ tends to switch to the child from the parent. That is not to say that the child pays the money, more that the child drives the buying decision, always subject to the budget and final say so of the parent. The current trend in toy sales...
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...SUMMARY 3 2.0 INDUSTRY BACKGROUND 4 3.0 STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 4 3.1 Company Analysis 4 3.1.1SWOT Analysis (Appendix A) 4 3.1.2 Ansoff’s Growth Vector Matrix (Appendix B) 5 3.1.3 Porter's Generic Strategies (Appendix C) 6 3.2 Industry Analysis 6 3.2.1 PEST Analysis (Appendix D) 6 4.0 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS (Appendix E) 6 4.1 Profitability ratios 6 4.2 Liquidity Ratio 6 4.3 Activity Ratio 7 4.4 Debt Ratio 7 5.0 WHAT-SO ANALYSIS 8 6.0 SCENARIO ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATION 12 6.1 Near-Shoring Proposal in Voldania (Appendix F) 12 6.2 Launching New Range of Toys for 9-11 Age Group 12 6.3 Late Delivery of Christmas Product 13 6.4 Faulty New Flying Spaceship Toy 14 7.0 MAJOR ISSUE ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATION 15 7.1 Market Expansion 15 7.2 Reduce Debt 15 7.3 CSR Activities and Product Safety 16 8.0 APPENDICES 17 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report tries to prioritize the current issues of the management of Jot while discussing and advising upon them. Through strategic and financial analysis, the report analyzes the ins and outs of this firm and through a detailed what-so analysis thoroughly discusses the issues of the firm. For the near shoring proposal the team suggests to shift production to China based upon net present value of cost involved while launching new products in the 9-11 age group. The report provides multiple solutions for the late delivery and faulty toy cases and chose to prefer major customers over small retailers and...
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...Jot`s risk assessment: 1. Unsuccessfully identify consumer preferences beside highly seasonal industry : There is continues changes in trends, media, fashion and technology that can affect play preferences of end users and cause sudden shift in demand of Jots products. According to what mentioned in TIE “The success of the toy sector is dependent on satisfying customer needs. As children’s wishes for toys change rapidly, the industry needs to constantly introduce new products to meet these changing desires. The toy industry invests heavily in market analysis, R&D and the protection of intellectual property. The toy industry is one of the most dynamic business sectors in Europe: approximately 60% of toys on the market each year are newly developed products. In 2011, more than 90% of toy companies operating in Europe put new products on the market. This compares to less than 40% in other industry sectors”. The current trend in toy sales is towards electronic toys and computer assisted learning, electronic toys and merchandise from popular films and TV programmes have seen reasonable growth. As level of sales depend on how customers will perceive the products the company`s level of sales will be negatively affected if it unsuccessfully anticipated those preferences. As result Jot will end up with underproduction of highly demanded toys and the overproduction of toys that do not complement with consumer play preferences. However, fashion trends are difficult to predict...
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...consultant to Jot, an independent toy company Prepare a report that prioritises, analyses and evaluates the issues facing the board of Jot. You should make recommendations where appropriate. Read all the information provided before you begin. ©The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Page 1 A variety of issues have arisen, on which the board would like your analysis and opinion: Near-shoring proposal in Voldania Jot has been considering outsourcing part of its manufacturing to Voldania, a country in Eastern Europe and the board has asked that you consider this proposal from a financial, strategic and operational viewpoint. Tani Grun has put together some financial information as below and she comments as follows: ‘The prices we can get for products made in China as opposed to made in Voldania are the same, so we can ignore the revenue side completely. However, I have researched the costs as thoroughly as I can, but inevitably there are many estimates included.’ Jot has a five-year planning horizon and so ignores profits and cash flows after that period and would review the situation again at some future point. The intention is that Jot would gradually switch production from China to Voldania in ever increasing quantities over the initial 5-year period. Financial information: Production in units Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 60,000 100,000 140,000 180,000 220,000 Notes: the ‘costs’ below refer to the charge made by the manufacturer to Jot and as such...
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...consultant to Jot, an independent toy company Prepare a report that prioritises, analyses and evaluates the issues facing the board of Jot. You should make recommendations where appropriate. Read all the information provided before you begin. ©The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Page 1 A variety of issues have arisen, on which the board would like your analysis and opinion: Near-shoring proposal in Voldania Jot has been considering outsourcing part of its manufacturing to Voldania, a country in Eastern Europe and the board has asked that you consider this proposal from a financial, strategic and operational viewpoint. Tani Grun has put together some financial information as below and she comments as follows: ‘The prices we can get for products made in China as opposed to made in Voldania are the same, so we can ignore the revenue side completely. However, I have researched the costs as thoroughly as I can, but inevitably there are many estimates included.’ Jot has a five-year planning horizon and so ignores profits and cash flows after that period and would review the situation again at some future point. The intention is that Jot would gradually switch production from China to Voldania in ever increasing quantities over the initial 5-year period. Financial information: Production in units Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 60,000 100,000 140,000 180,000 220,000 Notes: the ‘costs’ below refer to the charge made by the manufacturer to Jot and as such...
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...Toy Story - analysis of the Jot case study Adrian Sims of BPP Professional Education provides some initial analysis of the pre-seen material for the TOPCIMA Part B – Case Study exams on February 28th and May 24th 2012. I’m writing this article in late December 2011 to help candidates prepare for the March and May 2012 T4 (TOPCIMA) exams based on the pre-seen material for Jot- toy case. Some previous T4 cases have lacked fun, but toys are fun. I’m sorry, but I decided to combine this article with quotes from the three Toy Story movies (Disney/Pixar). The Toy Story quotes are in italics, a bit contrived, and probably of no use for the exam. They made me smile and gave me (and you) an excuse to watch the Toy Story movies again. But my newspaper today rather kills the joyful mood. It has the headline ‘Sales boom may not save High Street big names: analysts predict failures within days’. It reports that the December sales boom has been insufficient and has left many stores with unsold stocks and unable to pay their outgoings. This has afflicted markets as diverse as camping equipment and lingerie. This brings us to the heart of the Jot pre-seen material. Jot makes toys and is part of an industry for which November and December sales are critical. It depends on retailers to sell its products, but retail in Europe is facing terrible times as a consequence of the recession caused by the sharp reductions in government spending and collapse of bank lending. It has a perilous cash flow...
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...JOT LTD – CONSULTANCY REPORT Highly Confidential 2 Contents Fault in new flying spaceship toy. ........................................................................................................... 3 Near shoring proposal in Voldania:......................................................................................................... 5 Late delivery of Christmas product ......................................................................................................... 8 Launch of new range of toys for 9 – 11 age group ............................................................................... 11 Appendix I ............................................................................................................................................ 15 ` 3 Fault in new flying spaceship toy. Problem: Issue at hand is that the new flying spaceship toy which was launched recently has a defective insulation system around the electrical circuitry making it prone to overheating, releasing smoke and catching fire when left to charge for more than two hours. There have been 12 reported incidents so far on overheating and 2 incidents of smoke release. Overheating might lead to injure those handling the toy while a fire break out might lead to injuries to those around including fire breaking out in the nearby vicinity. Defects in the toy industry are not uncommon (e.g. Mattel recall -2007 due to lead paint) we can learn from them on how best to tackle the situation ...
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...Toy Story - analysis of the Jot case study Adrian Sims of BPP Professional Education provides some initial analysis of the pre-seen material for the TOPCIMA Part B – Case Study exams on February 28th and May 24th 2012. I’m writing this article in late December 2011 to help candidates prepare for the March and May 2012 T4 (TOPCIMA) exams based on the pre-seen material for Jot- toy case. Some previous T4 cases have lacked fun, but toys are fun. I’m sorry, but I decided to combine this article with quotes from the three Toy Story movies (Disney/Pixar). The Toy Story quotes are in italics, a bit contrived, and probably of no use for the exam. They made me smile and gave me (and you) an excuse to watch the Toy Story movies again. But my newspaper today rather kills the joyful mood. It has the headline ‘Sales boom may not save High Street big names: analysts predict failures within days’. It reports that the December sales boom has been insufficient and has left many stores with unsold stocks and unable to pay their outgoings. This has afflicted markets as diverse as camping equipment and lingerie. This brings us to the heart of the Jot pre-seen material. Jot makes toys and is part of an industry for which November and December sales are critical. It depends on retailers to sell its products, but retail in Europe is facing terrible times as a consequence of the recession caused by the sharp reductions in government spending and collapse of bank lending. It has a perilous cash flow...
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...manufacture was done by Jot in its home country itself, later due to bulk orders and popularity they outsourced manufacturing to China because of cheap labour 2) Over 80% of Jot’s product sales are sold to retailers for €20 or less. 3) Jot’s bank has been very responsive to the company’s needs for cash in order to fund its growth but has indicaJOT that at the present time it would not be able to provide any additional long-term finance. 4) As Jot builds up its inventory in preparation for higher levels of sales in quarters 3 and 4, cash flow is negative during the second half of the year. This is because outsourced manufacturing for the majority of all products occurs mainly from the end of quarter 2, during all of quarter 3 and the beginning of quarter 4. 5) Jot’s designers and sales team will have already decided on an indicative selling price, so the unit price to be charged to Jot by the outsourced manufacturing company is often the determining factor when making the decision of which outsourced manufacturing company to use. 6) Over 68% of Jot’s sales in the financial year ended 31 December 2011 were to these 7 customers based in Europe and the USA. The remaining 32% of sales are to distributors as well as small and medium sized retailers around the world. Jot currently has around 350 customers in total, including the 7 large customers. Strengths 1) Certified products 2) A good team. a) Own in-house team of designers who are involved in designing toys that are unique, innovative...
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