JMV's Profile

Such a great idea. With mobile apps and expectations of service we have as a generation, it seems obvious that this is the next step in the pharmacy business. I think your suggestion to patent its delivery service is spot on. This is something that CVS could easily replicate and at much higher scale. PillPack needs to establish a way to prevent competitor entry or hope for an acquisition.

I think the future integration with wearable devices is crucial here. Flywheel needs to continue to set itself apart as the digital, metrics-focused spin class. This is especially true because its largest competitor, SoulCycle, prides itself on being removed from the rest of the world, including technology. If Flywheel invests even more in becoming a digital workout experience, they’ll truly differentiate from competitors and be able to maintain their loyal fan base.

While personalization is definitely a huge benefit, the risks of StitchFix getting it wrong are huge. I personally had an experience with the company where I very explicitly asked for a certain style of clothing. I gave them access to my Pinterest, diligently filled out their questionaire, etc., but the clothes I got were not in line with anything I said. As a result, I never used them again. The potential gains from personalization done right are huge, but the risks are there as well.

At the same time, I love your suggestion of partnering with key retailers. This type of data analytics in retail should set the standard. There is no reason Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, etc. should not be using my personal profile to show me items when I open their app and website to shop. They’re really missing out on this opportunity and should learn from StichFix’s success.

Such a cool example of a global tech company adjusting to local markets. While Uber can sometimes be viewed as a behemoth who completely ignores regulation in local markets, the motorcycle taxis and the cash payment systems show how flexible the company can be. I truly believe that Uber’s business is a net benefit for each city it enters, and I think this is a great example that shows the impact on the local economy and even traffic congestion.

Such an interesting industry to think about digitization in. I think it will be particularly challenging to fully take advantage of the powers of digitization. So much of the success of artists depends on the state of curators, gallery owners and consumers. Will this really change the game? And, is it possible that the digitization of the art world actually hurts the industry? Sometimes it’s better to have asymmetric information and exclusivity in an industry.

What a great perspective, I love this post. I am surprised this hasn’t come up in the media as an example of Trump’s hypocrisy, but I suppose they were preoccupied with other matters.

There’s another post in Section H about eco-tourism. Perhaps this is something that hospitality companies, including Trump, can invest in to mitigate the impact of climate change on current properties. However, your points about the indirect impact of climate change, like political instability, will remain regardless. And I think for now, we’re going to need to rely on hospitality companies other than Trump Inc to set the example here, regardless of what happens on Tuesday.

Pasha, thank you for the funny and entertaining read! I always enjoy a good scoop of guac pun.

The comment above really resonates with me. How can Chipotle actually get its consumers to do something about climate change? I think they’ve clearly already started to set an examples as corporation, and that goes a long way. However, Chipotle could have huge impact if they actually encouraged their customer to do something to help. I think the sentiment you expressed at the beginning of the post — guacamole is something we all touch and see everyday. Chipotle has the unique power to engage people around a product they love, and they should use it! Chipotle could have enormous impact on our environment.

Thanks for the great post! Although, I think I may go binge on chocolate right now while I can ;).

The investment with competitors in cocoa suppliers reminds me a lot of our IKEA case on Friday. I think it’s a great move for these companies to invest in their supply chains. It provides diversification in their business and protection of their supply. I do wonder, if the chocolate companies could start investing in alternatives to chocolate. Will our food consumption habits change so much in the future that the market will demand something entirely different? It would be very interesting to hear how some of these companies are thinking about the future of food aside from protecting their current supply chains.

I had always thought of Blue Apron as an extremely indulgent service, and had not considered the positive impact of a reduction in food waste. Thanks for opening my mind!

I do have similar questions to those above, namely around transportation costs to the environment. Do you think that these outweigh the impact of a reduction in food waste? It’s possible that for now, transport costs are rather large as the business scales and the company tries to change consumer behavior. Perhaps in the future when everything is delivered by drone and self-driving car, the negative impact of emissions from transportation will be negligible. Is it worth the short-term negative impact?

Such a great topic for this assignment, thank you for choosing it! I really appreciated that you addressed how much stigma plays a role in companies lack of innovation in feminine products.

I had never even heard of Natracare, and I’m definitely going to look them up and see where I can buy their products. I think about how wasteful tampons are at least once a month ;). A few of the comments above touch on the need for a stronger marketing campaign, and I completely agree. Natracare should reinvigorate their marketing campaign, especially since sustainable and feminist issues are very popular in our culture right now.

One of my favorite innovations in feminine care is Thinx. They make comfortable, cute underwear that has a built-in absorption mechanism. They claim that the Thinx underwear don’t feel like diapers and really work. I love this solution, because it addresses both issues you mention — the need for innovation and open dialogue. Plus, Thinx has awesome, feminist, boundary-testing marketing. Check them out!