Digital Winners and Losers

February 11, 2020

Read The Full Prompt

Digital technologies are upending many industries and companies. Think about Uber’s impact on the taxi business or Amazon’s impact on retail stores.

For this assignment, we would like you to identify companies/organizations that you think are winning or losing. Just work on either winners or losers. Please focus on just one organization. Tell us why they are a winner or loser. Discuss elements of how they create and/or capture value that is leading you to call them a winner or loser.

Create an approximately 750-word post to make your contribution on digit.hbs.org by 6pm on Feb 11. Please create appropriate tags for your post including if it is a “winner” or “loser.” Please also respond to and comment on three other posts. Feel free to use graphics, data, videos and links to other sites to corroborate your points.

Selected posts will be discussed in class.

Submitted (79)

PayTm- Disasters are Subjective!
Krish Sreedevi
Last modified on February 11, 2020 at 2:33 pm
"I always tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity"- John D. Rockerfeller. This is the story of how Paytm turned one of India's most recent economic disasters -Demonetization- into the reason for its unicorn status!
Macy’s Store Closings, Layoffs a Sign of Struggle in Omnichannel Retail
ka
Last modified on February 11, 2020 at 4:28 pm
Macys is unable to deliver on competitive pricing, differentiated customer experience, and unique product offering. Its historical competencies leave it ill-equipped to compete in the omnichannel retail market.
Why Netflix is winning the entertainment battle
Miguel Dysenhaus
Posted on February 11, 2020 at 2:47 pm
Why the rise of Netflix has changed the landscape in the entertainment industry for producers distributors and consumers of content, and what has been Netflix competitive advantage that enabled it to disrupt a 100 year old industry.
Plaid: A $5.3 Billion Winner
Elisa
Posted on February 10, 2020 at 10:21 pm
Visa recently announced plans to acquire Plaid for $5.3 billion dollars. How did this company become one of fintech’s biggest winners in only a few years?
Mattress Firm: Losing by betting on bricks in the age of clicks
HZ
Posted on February 10, 2020 at 9:16 pm
Mattress Firm the largest US mattress retailer continues to struggle because of pressure from D2C players and its miscalculated expansion strategy.
The Swiss watch industry under pressure, loses share against smartwatches
Walter Mitty
Last modified on February 11, 2020 at 5:12 pm
The hardware and the software will come from Silicon Valley. But the watch case, the dial, the design, the idea, the crown, that part of the watch will, of course, be Swiss ~ Jean-Claude Biver [1]
A Storm is Coming for Blizzard Entertainment
Austen Eliot
Posted on February 11, 2020 at 9:49 am
Blizzard struggles to innovate even though it boasts a high profile lineup of gaming franchises. As the competition heats up with new entrants from Apple and Google, Blizzard is not set up to survive for long.
Breaking Bad – The Iowa Democratic Party’s failure to transform mobile voting
r cai
Last modified on February 11, 2020 at 4:35 pm
What happened during the Iowa Caucus? How did trying to create a simple app for voting create so many issues for the Iowa Democratic Party?
(Turn) Off the Press: The New York Times is Winning with Digital
SR2020
Posted on February 11, 2020 at 4:25 pm
The New York Times has used digital innovation to maintain its quality and reached new subscription highs despite significant headwinds in the newspaper industry.
Mercari the ‘selling app’ – Japan’s first unicorn taking e-commerce by storm
K Fukagawa
Last modified on February 11, 2020 at 5:11 pm
In a country dominated by traditional companies, Mercari is Japan's first unicorn, and an e-commerce sensation.
GoodRx: Winning in the Prescription Drug Market
Jennifer Yang
Last modified on February 11, 2020 at 2:38 am
In the US, rising prescription drug costs have left many Americans struggling to afford their medications. GoodRx seeks to reduce the cost burden of prescription drugs.
SendWave: Plugging into Africa’s Mobile Money Web
dknab1892
Posted on February 10, 2020 at 7:42 pm
What sets SendWave apart in the innovative, highly competitive, and constantly evolving fintech environment in Africa?
Self-disruption at Airbus: doubling down on flying cars with digital ridesharing platform
RLT
Last modified on February 11, 2020 at 12:44 pm
Airbus controls 45% of the global helicopter market. Low industry growth and the development of Urban Air Mobility or flying cars represent an important long-term threat to the survival of the helicopter industry as we know it. Airbus is trying [...]
Dollar Shave Club: using digital channels to challenge established FMCG brands  
MZ
Last modified on February 11, 2020 at 2:45 pm
The market share of Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) brands has grown significantly in the last 10 years. There were several new brands that challenged and disrupted the market of existing and established ones, that have enjoyed high market share and profitability throughout [...]
Stack Overflow – a Winner at a Turning Point
London L.
Posted on February 11, 2020 at 2:07 pm
Stack Overflow has been running well for over a decade - but it may fall apart soon...
Visa and Mastercard are LOSING fast to Indian alternatives
panda
Posted on February 10, 2020 at 8:43 pm
With the aggressive push towards UPI and Rupay by the Indian Government, global giants Visa and Mastercard are losing their dominance as Digital Payments Ecosystem in India proliferates.
When Life Gives You Digital Transformation, Make Lemonaid
I'm Not A Robot
Last modified on February 11, 2020 at 5:15 pm
Software is eating the world, and some healthcare appointments are on the menu. Would you rather get your birth control or erectile dysfunction drugs from a clinic visit, or by texting a doctor through an app?
Paypal: Growing Through Partnerships
Anuj Lohia
Last modified on February 11, 2020 at 5:04 pm
Paypal has been able to sustain its strong growth through the introduction of various partnerships across the payments and commerce space.
Please Buy Our Paper, Anyone But Wall Streeters
Jack Q Ma
Posted on February 9, 2020 at 4:06 pm
When is the last time you read, or even came across, a copy of a local newspaper? Local journalism is dying in front of us, and Wall Street vultures are watching.
Winner – AutoStore: Shaping the Future of Warehousing
Loti de Esteban
Posted on February 11, 2020 at 11:52 am
In order to meet market needs of increased order accuracy, speed and operational efficiency, warehouse digitization has become a must in the manufacturing ecosystem. AutoStore is a world-leading robot technology company that has revolutionized e-commerce fulfillment with its cube-based AS/RS.
Sweat: How to win in the crowded space of digital fitness training
Jona Babi
Posted on February 11, 2020 at 8:43 am
Sweat became the number one most downloaded fitness app in the world by using the power of digitalization and social media to create a loyal community and clearly winning in this highly fragmented market.
DataDog: underdog to cloud monitoring champion
Paul-Emile Landrin
Posted on February 9, 2020 at 3:50 pm
DataDog, a NYC company launched 10 years ago, is now one of the major player that offer tools for companies to monitor their cloud computing activities.
Digital Art Collective TeamLab
Dora Du
Posted on February 11, 2020 at 6:38 pm
teamLab, founded in 2001, is a collaborative, interdisciplinary creative group that brings together professionals from various fields of practice in the digital society: artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians, architects, web and print graphic designers and editors. Referring to themselves [...]
Delta Airlines – competing on quality and winning on the price
Alexander Levinskiy
Last modified on February 12, 2020 at 12:29 am
Delta airlines has been one of the most innovative travel companies in the past few years. The company has implemented more than a dozen tech-enabled initiatives – more details on those below – aimed at four key goals: cost-cutting, increasing [...]
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