Topic: Hudson Bay Acquisition

Order Description

Question:

Examine the June 15, 2015 announcement of a U$2.73bn acquisition by Hudson’s Bay (which also owns “the Bay” in Canada and Sachs-Fifth Avenue, among other brands in the U.S.) of Metro’s Galeria Kaufhof (of Cologne-based German high-street brand name) with the aim to expand business in Germany and Belgium.

Questions:

1. In your opinion, what International Business issues should the Hudson Bay Company be taking into consideration in developing its future strategy for the new division Kaufhof?

2. Should Hudson Bay be looking to expand the Kaufhof’s brand into U.S. and Canadian markets? If so, where and how might this expansion occur? And, at what rate (in terms of number of new locations opened)?

3. In your analysis consider the differences in culture, business ethics and political outlook across the three countries; and how these might affect your recommendations for the new combined company?

FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!:

The objectives of the case analysis is to generate “learning” discussions and to allow you to apply theoretical concepts to real life situations facing international business executives. This is an interactive approach which students generally find more enjoyable than listening to long lectures. All students should be prepared to discuss the case in class. You may be randomly selected to present either the analysis, the findings or conclusions. Others
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will be asked to provide a critique, followed by class discussions. Note as an aside you need to be prepared to discuss all cases raised during the course including those which are aimed specifically to engage class discussions.
One important distinction for this course vis-à-vis the way that cases are prepared in some other courses relates to the use of the ‘Status Quo’ (or the ‘do not do anything’ alternative) as an alternative solution. In the case studies in this course you are permitted but not required to include the ‘Status Quo’ as an alternative. For those who are not familiar with the case study method, the purpose is to provide students with “real-life” situations that require managerial action. Completing a case study is intended to develop managerial capabilities within students, at least as it pertains to the decision making process. Cases can be from 1 to 30 pages long and provide an assortment of facts, details and issues for students to consider in coming to a decision regarding: (1) if the company faces a problem that requires action on the part of managers, (2) the nature of this problem, including both direct and in-direct causes of the problem and (3) the specific actions that should be taken in order to improve or rectify the situation that the firm faces. Students are typically asked to role-play by assuming that they are either an individual identified in the case or an individual being asked to provide specific advice to the central organization in the case study.
The case study assignment follows a format that is similar to those used in other Telfer courses. Specifically, students will be provided with a case study document that recounts a real management challenging facing a manager/management team. Students are to then analyse the situation by defining the Primary Problem, developing Alternative Solutions, and creating an Implementation Plan that covers the short/medium/long term.
The case study is an individual assignment. However, students are encouraged to work together in preparing their reports. This said, the written portions of each case study should be the unique work of the student submitting the assignment. The Case Study must follow the following structure. Marks are assigned per section and omission of a section will result in those marks not being awarded.
? Executive Summary (omission reduces presentation marks)
o One page, using bullet-form where appropriate
o Includes a statement of the Primary Problem
o Lists numerically the alternative solutions developed
o Identifies the recommended solution and provides a brief justification of this choice
? Primary Problem – 5 marks
o Should be as concise as possible
o Clearly identifies the decision that needs to made
o Should not be framed as a question
o Will be the basis for action for each Alternative Solution
? Secondary Problems – 5 marks
o Identifies all other (i.e. non-primary) problems that the organization and personnel are facing
? Implications on the Organization – 5 marks
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o Future oriented
o Explains what will happen to the organization if the primary (and secondary) problem(s) is not partially or fully rectified
? Implications on the Personnel – 5 marks
o Future oriented
o Explains what the impacts will be on the personnel (executives, managers and other employees) if the primary problem is not partially or fully rectified
? Implications on the Environment – 5 marks
o The Environment includes the natural (or physical) environment as well as the social environment (people and/or groups of people)
? Alternative Solutions – 50 marks (divided equally over solutions)
o All alternatives must be feasible
o Should be realistic, creative, considerate of costs
o Evaluated in terms of the extent to which the alternative solves the Primary Problem as identified by the student previously in the assignment
o All alternatives should be titled and numbered sequentially
o Each alternative must begin with a short description of what actions the alternative will include – i.e. what changes will be made to the strategy or operations, by whom, where and when.
o Must include a bulleted-list of Advantages and Disadvantages associated with the proposed alternative
o Each alternative should be considered in isolation from the other alternatives
o You may consider including the ‘Status Quo’ as an alternative, but only if you believe that the primary problem is of a highly transient nature (i.e. it is likely to be resolved without any intervention on the part of the organization) or the problem cannot be effectively addressed through actions of the organizations
? Recommended Solution – 5 marks
o Will clearly indicate which alternative, or possibly combination of alternatives, is being recommended for implementation
o Provides a well argued justification as to why this alternative, and not another of your suggested alternative, is the most appropriate
? Implementation – 10 marks
o Separated between the Short Term (now to six months from now), Medium Term (six months to a year from now), Long Term (over a year from now) and possible Very Long Term (over 3 years from now)
? Presentation – 10 marks
o Includes issues of formatting, spelling, grammar etc.
o Also involves the clarity and strength of your arguments