KW's Profile

Thank you for your article, Toby Johnson! Relative to other articles I’ve read on the Isolationism topic, Constellation Brands response to the threat of NAFTA renegotiation talks reminds me how unsure political action is and how smart it is for Constellation to remain confident in pursuing its original strategy and to wait it out before new policies are actually implemented. In response to other articles, nevertheless, I agreed with your suggestion to take preventative measures and begin building factories in the US in the event the threat of isolationist policies are real.

Thank you, Jason! I thought the most interesting aspect of your article came at the end when you began speculating about the future of the automotive industry beyond efforts to use more renewable energy and create more electric powered cars. Will private ownership of vehicles decrease in the future? Your point that electric rid shares will be 4-10 cheaper than buying a new car by 2021 completely shifts my understanding of what the automotive industry may look like in 10 years. This may be particularly true in congested cities like New York or Los Angeles. Your point about how cars sold in the US sit idle for more than 95% of the time reminded me our discussion of Airbnb in class this week how hotels are only utilized at select times, while Airbnb allows properties to have higher utilization rates. Perhaps the Airbnb model could be successfully applied to the auto industry, as it has to other industries such as the restaurant industry (OpenTable, Resy). I do disagree, however, with your point that factories could become obsolete and the focus of auto companies will be for maintenance rather than new production. We can’t assume that the next shift in innovation will be the last one.

Thank you for the article, Isabel! I’m shocked to learn that Nike may be exposed to a 45% tariff on shoes imported to the US from China. That would be devastating to Nike’s business. As we look ahead, I think Nike needs to prepare for both scenarios you outlined in your questions: (1) train workers in the US and invest R&D in materials manufacturing in the event policy becomes isolationist and (2) identify key countries offshore where it would be advantageous for Nike to have factories. A drastic policy change like increasing tariffs from ~10% to 45% is dichotomist outcome that Nike should be prepared for either way.

Thank you for the article, BH! Volvo committing to 100% electric cars in 2019 is ground breaking. I’m unsure how the market will react to the adaption at first, but ultimately believe Volvo is at a strong advantage being the market leader in this field. At my prior job, I worked with an automotive interior components supplier to OEM’S (such as Volvo) and am curious about how Volvo’s relationship with its suppliers will change. Given OEM’s often have long-term contracts (5-10 years) with their suppliers to cover the full life of a certain vehicle. Who are the suppliers that are prepared to take on Volvo’s new orders? What will be the terms of those contracts? Volvo could put itself at a clear advantage if it locks in the most attractive new contract terms given its first mover advantage.

Thank you for your article, Kat K! The concept of drop shipping is new and fascinating to me. We talked about cutting out the middle man in the case of Aqualisa Quartz whereby the producer cut out the plumber and instead marketed directly to customers through trade shows. Your article highlights an interesting online application of making a supply chain more efficient. Another component of the logistics system that I’m curious how well Nordstrom is equipped to manage is the volume of returns. I also wonder how the in-store shopping experience will change as the company shifts more towards an online model.

Thank you for your article, SJ! Prior to reading your article, I hadn’t thought about the challenges facing Birchbox in regard to using data analytics for consumer goods, particularly the challenges of tracking reviews. Perhaps Birchbox could leverage a conjoint analysis as discussed in MKT. To be more specific, a conjoint analysis is a conjoint analysis is a specialized survey design, which determines consumers’ preferences for individual features of a product. Conjoint analysis asks respondents to rank different bundles of features, and uses responses to assign a numerical value (called a “part-worth”) to each feature. Firms can then use these numerical values to predict consumer reactions to a product, and to decide what product features to offer. This could be a helpful tool to evaluate products rather than having customers provide feedback on an individual basis for all / none of the products included in a Birchbox.