BUSINESS UPDATES
Levi's India Offers Jeans at EMIs
© 2009 ICMR. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a
spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic or mechanical—without permission. To order copies, call
+91-40-2343-0462/63 or write to the ICMR, Plot #49, Nagarjuna Hills, Hyderabad 500 082, India or e-mail: info@icmrindia.org.
Website: www.icmrindia.org
Yahoo's `It's Y!ou'
Marketing Campaign
© 2009 ICMR. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a
spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic or mechanical—without permission. To order copies, call
+91-40-2343-0462/63 or write to the ICMR, Plot #49, Nagarjuna Hills, Hyderabad 500 082, India or e-mail: info@icmrindia.org.
Website: www.icmrindia.org
CASE IN FOCUS
Apple's App Store: Strengthening the iPhone's
Competitive Position
-- V Namratha Prasad and S S George
The case discusses the role of Apple's App Store in increasing the demand for the iPhone. It begins
with a brief overview of Apple's history and the several innovative products it introduced into the
market. Later, it describes the launch of the iPhone, the subsequent development of apps for the phone, and
the creation of the App Store to distribute these apps. The case also discusses some of the reasons for
the amazing success of the App Store. The case concludes with an overview of the competition being
faced by the App Store and a brief discussion on its future prospects.
© 2009 ICMR. All Rights Reserved. For accessing and procuring the case study, log on to www.ecch.cranfield.ac.uk or www.icmrindia.org
OPERATIONS
Dyson Appliances Ltd. and
Its Approach to Innovation
-- Hadiya Faheem and Debapratim Purkayastha
This case discusses the innovation principles and processes adopted by Dyson Appliances Limited (DAL),
a market leader in the vacuum cleaner market. Experts felt that product design was a core competency at
DAL and the innovative designs of its product had enabled it to command a premium price in a market that
was previously known for price discounting. According to analysts, DAL's constant focus on innovation had led
to its cornering a market share of 32% and 46% in the US and UK vacuum cleaner markets in 2008.
Analysts attributed the success of the company to the innovation principles and processes institutionalized by
DAL's founder James Dyson (Dyson). They felt that Dyson was the source of innovation at DAL. He is himself
widely known as the inventor of the first bagless vacuum cleaner (DC01, DAL's first product) that took the
vacuum cleaner market by storm in the early 1990s. Since then, he and his team had churned out innovative
models of vacuum cleaners that had helped DAL gain a market leadership position. In addition to vacuum
cleaners, its other products such as The Contrarotator (a washing machine) and Dyson Airblade (a hand dryer),
were hailed by experts as being equally innovative. Analysts felt that DAL's deep-set culture of innovation gave it
an edge over its competitors.
The DAL approach to innovation drew inspiration from Thomas Alva Edison's (Edison) step-by-step
approach where he made a single change to the prototype at a time in order to perfect his invention. Inspired by
the thoughts of Edison, the engineering and design staff at DAL made a single change to the prototype that led
to the launch of an innovative product. The case also discusses the integrated approach to design and
development of new products adopted by engineers and design staff at the company, and how Dyson had fostered a
culture of innovation at DAL.
© 2009 ICMR. All Rights Reserved. For accessing and procuring the case study, log on to www.ecch.cranfield.ac.uk or www.icmrindia.org
MARKETING
The Oberoi Group of Hotels: Co-branding and Re-branding
of the Trident Brand
-- Varsha Sudhindra and Ramalingam Meenakshisundaram
In 2008, India's Oberoi group of hotels prematurely terminated its 15-year franchising agreement with
Hilton International to co-brand Trident as Trident-Hilton. This case discusses the motives of the partners when
they entered into a strategic alliances in 2003, and the reasons for the divergence in their interests over the
next five years. It also outlines the challenges faced by the Oberoi group in re-branding the Trident brand
and promoting it in international markets as a stand-alone brand.
© 2009 ICMR. All Rights Reserved. For accessing and procuring the case study, log on to www.ecch.cranfield.ac.uk or www.icmrindia.org
| 
