Case Study Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Case Study Analysis - Essay Example The movie industry is in a stage of transition. The transition has resulted in various developments in the sector. The technological advancements are offering entities in the film industry new channels of distributing movies. Therefore, the entities have to make the required changes to the distribution strategy to benefit from the changes that are sweeping the industry. This article analyzes the above scenario using three organizations operating in the sector. The entities include Blockbusters, Netflix and Redbox. The entities face distribution uncertainty owing to changes in the movie rental sector. The changes primarily pertain to clients’ distribution channel preference. Blockbuster is an organization, which has suffered terriby owing to changes in the distribution of their products (Chopra 4). Initially, Blockbuster earned majority of its income via store rental services. However, in years leading to 2010, its revenues were decreasing. Addressing such a major drop in incom e required drastic measures. The measures would entail the Blockbuster adopting other means of distributing movies. The dip in Blockbuster’s profitability emanated from industrial changes. Therefore, the movies sector posses a higher risk to the firms, which distribute products resulting from the industry. In the evaluation of industrial risks, firms in the film sector would have higher-level relative organizations in other sectors. The entity relied heavily on stores renting DVDs. However, the technological advancement allowed the clients to access films via other means without requiring purchase or renting of discs. This resulted in the dwindling of Blockbuster’s fortunes since they relied heavily on the two channels. Failure to adapt to the changes in customers’ preferences culminated in the dipping of the entity’s finances (Chopra 5). Recommendations Netflix has demonstrated in numerous dimensions what Blockbuster should undertake to revive its compet itiveness in the currents market. First, the entity should offer its clientele additional means of accessing movies. Netflix distributed movies through several methods, which included rental, mail, and digital downloads. Contrary, Blockbuster only offered two channels of distributing films. These methods were being overtaken by other cheaper and efficient methods, which were mail delivery and digital down loads. Blockbuster sought to position itself appositely owing to the changing customer preferences. Therefore, it undertook various measures, which included offering delivery of discs via post. Additionally, Blockbuster switched entirely to distributing movies in DVDs form which was cost efficient. The entity also offered online services by launching Blockbuster total access program. This enabled the clients to rent movie online or down load. Therefore, the entity was adhering to the changing customer preferences. In this industry, it is vital for the entities to analyze the mergin g trend since they seem to transform the industry rapidly. Failure to inculcate such trends in the product design would be detrimental. Netflix has advanced its online services. The clients have countless options. This made its online services more popular. Nonetheless, Blockbuster’s online program provided their clients with a much-reduced variety. Its searching system was inefficient. Owing to the changing industry coupled with dwindling finances, the entity had to change several things. The entity closed

Mergers and Acquisitons Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Mergers and Acquisitons - Case Study Example A merger actually refers to a business combination of two or more firms in which only one firm survives and the other firm or firms go out of existence. In a merger, the surviving firm acquires the assets and liabilities of the other firm(s). A relevant example here is the recent merger of HDFC Bank and Times Bank. After the merger, Times Bank will go out of existence and expanded HDFC Bank will continue to exist. A merger takes place when the firms involved in the combination are of unequal size. The larger or stronger firm continues to exist because of its stronger bargaining power and the smaller or weaker firms go out of existence. Four periods of economic history have witnessed very high levels of merger activity, which are called a merger waves. These periods are characterized by cyclical activity i.e. large number of mergers followed by relatively fewer mergers ((ICMR), 2003). The current period is called as the fifth wave. In the first three waves, merger activity was concentrated in the United States of America. The fourth and the fifth waves were global in nature though the impact of the wave is most pronounced in the United States of America. The current merger wave began in 1992. This wave is marked by a large number of mega-mergers and cross-border mergers. Prior to this, there had been four different waves of mergers and acquisitions happening each being predominantly different. A famous example of the acquisition in the fourth wave of merger and acquisition row is the acquisition of Safeway, Britain's fourth largest supermarket group (Sky News, 2003) by William Morrison Supermarkets which operates in Central London and England (Arla Foods, 2003). The major drivers for the current wave are deregulation, globalization and technology. The increasing levels of deregulation are enabling companies to enter or expand their operations in areas which had significant regulatory barriers. The sectors where the impact of the wave is most visible are telecommunications, entertainment and media, banking and financial services. Safeway PLC was going through a troubled phase of business and was also struggling to cope up with the competition from the other retail giants in UK. As part of this struggle to compete, Safeway has also started experiencing the decline in its brand equity. All these struggles of Safeway were despite its strong national portfolio of having almost more than 450 outlets all across the United Kingdom. Going ahead, though William Morrison is a regional retail player in the United Kingdom having its strength in Midlands and in Northern Europe. Though William Morrison PLC is a regional player, the main strength of the company is its brand image and reputation in the market. One of the fundamental motives that drive mergers and acquisitions is the growth impulse of firms. Firms that decide to expand have to choose between two generic growth strategies, one is the organic growth and the other being the acquisition driven growth. The former one is a slow,