Contents
1 - Judge Rules Samsung
Will Have To Reveal Device Sales Data In Ongoing Apple Case
Samsung will have to reveal its device sales numbers for its
various gadgets as revealed by a US district court judge Lucy Koh.
This is with respect to the follow up request made by Apple to its
$1.05 billion award from a jury August 24 regarding damages resulting from the
sale of Galaxy devices after a request to have them banned in the U.S. was
denied.
Both Apple and Samsung have been continuously trying to keep their
sales figures and other internal business information private. The judge did
grant a request from Samsung to delay the publication of a document that shows
per-unit operating profit on two of the company’s handsets, however, pending an
appeal by the Korean electronics giant.
Once again Samsung has to reveal sales numbers like it did back in
August when it showed 2010 – 2102 sales numbers for each of 24 of its devices,
including the Galaxy S II and Nexus S 4G.
It will be interesting to see how Samsung which rarely goes into
much detail about hard sales numbers of its handsets comes with these upcoming
numbers and also how Apple reacts.
2 – How to reinvent a store
The article speaks about how to reinvent a store and selling
tactics like Apple famously does. The following is the summary of the efforts
founder Steve Jobs and former head of retail, Ron Johnson took to revamp the
retail experience at the Apple Store:
1) Stop selling stuff:
Instead of asking “How will we grow our market share from 5 to 10 percent?”
Ask, “How do we enrich people’s lives?” Think about your vision.
2) Enrich lives:
enriching lives convinced Apple to have a non-commissioned sales floor where
employees feel comfortable spending as much time with a customer as the
customer desires. Enriching lives led Apple to build play areas (the “family
room”) where kids could see, touch and play on computers. Enriching lives led
to the creation of a “Genius Bar” where trained experts are focused on “rebuilding
relationships” as much as fixing problems.
3) Hire for smiles:
The soul of the Apple Store is in its people. They are hired, trained,
motivated and taught to create magical and memorable moments for their
customers.
4) Celebrate
diversity: Early in the Apple Store history, they also learned that former
teachers make the best salespeople because they ask a lot of questions. It’s
not uncommon to find former teachers, engineers, and artists at an Apple Store.
Apple doesn’t look for someone who fits a mold.
5) Unleash inner
genius: Teach your customers something they never knew they could do before,
and they’ll reward you with their loyalty. For example, the Apple Store offers
a unique program to help people understand and enjoy their computers: One to One.
The One to One program was created to help build customers for life. It was
designed on the premise that the more you understand a product, the more you
enjoy it, and the more likely you are to build a long-term relationship with
the company.
6) Empower employees:
Apple has a non-commissioned sales floor for a reason—employees are not
pressured to “make a sale.” Instead they are empowered to do what they believe
is the right thing to do.
7) Sell the benefit:
Apple Store specialists are taught to sell the benefit behind products and to
customize those benefits for the customer.
8) Follow the steps of
service. The Apple Store teaches its employees to follow five steps of outlined
by the acronym A-P-P-L-E. They are: Approach with a customized, warm greeting.
Probe politely to understand the customer’s needs. Present a solution the
customer can take home today. Listen for and address unresolved questions. End
with a fond farewell and an invitation to return.
9) Create multisensory
experiences. People enjoy being able to
see, touch, and play with products. Walk into an Apple Store upon opening and
you’ll see all the notebook computer screens perfectly positioned slightly
beyond 90-degree angles. The sense of touch helps create an emotional
connection with a product.
10) Appeal to the buying
brain. Clutter forces the brain to consume energy. Create uncluttered
environments instead. The Apple Store is spacious, clean, well-lit, and
uncluttered. Cables are hidden from view and no posters on placed on the iconic
glass entrances. Computer screens are cleaned constantly. Keep the environment
clean, open, and uncluttered.
Thus, the three pillars of Apple’s enchantment are likability,
trustworthiness, and quality. Apple’s engineers take care of quality, and the Apple
Store experience personifies likability and trustworthiness. 2013 International
CES
3 - Polaroid Announces
Plans to Launch at Least Ten Polaroid Fotobar Experiential Retail Stores in
2013
LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Polaroid will use the 2013 Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) as a platform to announce its plans for a series of experiential
retail stores where consumers can quickly and easily liberate their favorite
images from the confines of their digital devices and turn them into
museum-quality art. Polaroid Fotobar stores will be the first of their kind
retail destinations designed to capitalize on the meteoric rise in people
taking pictures. These cool, hip, experiential stores will make the process of
turning peoples’ best pictures into cherished pieces of art both rewarding and
fun.
“There are currently around 1.5 billion pictures taken every
single day, and that number continues to grow in tandem with the popularity and
quality of camera phones,” said Warren Struhl, founder and CEO of Fotobar, LLC.
“Unfortunately, even the very best of those pictures rarely ever escape the
camera phone with which they were taken to be put on display around our homes
and offices. Why? Because turning those pictures into something tangible,
creative and permanent is neither easy nor fun. Polaroid Fotobar stores are
going to change all of that.”
The company plans to open at least ten Polaroid Fotobar locations
in 2013, the first of which will be a 2,000 SF store in Delray Beach, Florida.
That store, which is slated to open in February of 2013 and will serve as a
model for all Polaroid Fotobar locations, has been in design and development
for the past 12 months. Every Polaroid Fotobar store will be explicitly
designed around the consumer experience, with the goal of helping people
release their “trapped” photos and display their cherished memories in the form
of premium quality art. Future store locations in 2013 include New York, Las
Vegas and Boston among others.
“Polaroid has always been about much more than just taking
pictures,” said Polaroid President and CEO Scott W. Hardy. “Polaroid is about
sharing life’s most precious and memorable moments. We have been, and continue
to be, about self-expression, creativity and fun. Polaroid Fotobar retail
stores represent a perfect modern expression of the values for which we have
stood for 75 years. We are very excited about the opening of these stores, and
the opportunities they will create for millions of consumers to have classic
Polaroid experiences.”
A patent-pending proprietary technology will allow in-store
customers to select their favorite pictures on their camera phones and
wirelessly transmit them to one of the store’s bar-top workstations for quick
and hassle-free ordering within seconds. This platform also allows customers to
locate their favorite photos and instantly upload them from popular social
platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Picasa and several others. Uploaded
photos can be enhanced on the bar-top workstations using photo-effect
technologies such as contrast, red-eye correction, brightness and filters
showing users the outcome as they work.
Once the images are uploaded, customers will be able to choose
from a wide variety of materials, substrates and framing options for their
individual works of art – all of which are handcrafted and shipped worldwide to
the consumer in just a few days. Images can be framed, matted, and/or printed
directly onto a variety of unique substrates including canvas, metal, acrylic,
wood and bamboo. The ability to see, touch and feel examples of artworks
produced using all of these unique materials is a critical aspect of the
customer experience. As such, each Polaroid Fotobar store will be a gallery of
its own, with creative, museum-quality pieces on display all around.
The stores will also be staffed by experienced “Phototenders”,
each of whom will be a passionate photo enthusiast trained to help guide
customers through the process from start to finish. The Delray Beach location
will also feature a “The Studio” multi-purpose room that will host photo
classes, private parties and include a studio location for portrait
photos.Polaroid Fotobar store creators envision the stores becoming a
recreational and entertainment destination in addition to a place to shop.
All products created by consumers at Polaroid Fotobar retail
stores (with the exception of certain poster products made on-site) are
handcrafted and shipped from the company’s state-of-the-art manufacturing
facility within 72 hours. Customers may then return to the stores to make
additional products for their personal use or as gifts, or use the same service
online at www.polaroidfotobar.com
5.) December 28 2012
BlueStack
Winner of Best App at CES 2012 Las Vegas presents Ms. Mac 2012 based on
its research to determine the most likely Mac user.
She is likely to be under 20, have freckles, and wear t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers, according to the infographic seen below.
“We’ve created a monster,” said BlueStacks marketing VP John Gargiulo. “But she is a very cute monster.”
She is likely to be under 20, have freckles, and wear t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers, according to the infographic seen below.
“We’ve created a monster,” said BlueStacks marketing VP John Gargiulo. “But she is a very cute monster.”
6.) Brand Update : Can
SRK save Lux ?
SRK first
promoted LUX in 205 when it was celebrating its 75 years of stardom. Reports suggest that Lux is
witnessing a de-growth thanks to competition from the likes of Santoor. Too
many variants shifted the HUL's focus from strengthening the core brand to
leveraging or rather squeeze the brand equity.
No amount of celebrity endorsement will work if the
brand is confused about its positioning. It had earlier focused on beauty oil
and now it is saying that fragrance is the key USP. This confusion is only
going to kill this brand. Other wise we are going to see the slow death of an
iconic brand.
BlueStack Winner of Best App at CES 2012 Las Vegas presents Ms. Mac 2012 based on its research to determine the most likely Mac user.
ReplyDeleteShe is likely to be under 20, have freckles, and wear t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers, according to the infographic seen below.
“We’ve created a monster,” said BlueStacks marketing VP John Gargiulo. “But she is a very cute monster.”
Brand Update : Can SRK save Lux ?
ReplyDeleteSRK first promoted LUX in 2005 when it was celebrating its 75 years of stardom. Reports suggest that Lux is witnessing a de-growth thanks to competition from the likes of Santoor. Too many variants shifted the HUL's focus from strengthening the core brand to leveraging or rather squeeze the brand equity.
No amount of celebrity endorsement will work if the brand is confused about its positioning. It had earlier focused on beauty oil and now it is saying that fragrance is the key USP. This confusion is only going to kill this brand. Other wise we are going to see the slow death of an iconic brand.