Case Questions

(Please use these questions as a guide for analysis, not as a guide for writing your report. Your
Case Analysis Report should follow format(s) recommended in the Case Analysis Coach)

LL Bean

1. How successful has LL Bean been?

2. What are the reasons for LL Bean’s success (or failure)?
3. What is happening to the business, both positively and negatively?
4. How would you respond to the questions Mr. Gorman poses at the end of the case?
5. Which (if any) new avenues for growth should LL Bean pursue?

Starbucks Renewal

1. What were the most important factors behind Starbucks’ decline in 2007 and 2008?
How much of this did Schultz see in 2007? In 2008? Which factors were less obvious?
2. What were the most important aspects of Starbucks’ transformation? Why did these
matter to the survival and transformation of the company? How generalizable are such
initiatives in the broader context of business turnarounds?
3. What do you think Schultz means when he says that Starbucks is “redefining the role of
a for-profit company? What do you make of Schultz’s take on corporate responsibility
and its impact on the bottom line?

Calyx and Corolla

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Calyx & Corolla formula?
2. What steps should Ms. Owades and her associates take next to fully develop the Calyx &
Corolla concept?

Cialis

1. What are the most relevant dimensions along which to segment the patient market for
ED treatment? Of the segments identified, which would you target initially with Cialis?
2. What is Viagra’s positioning in the marketplace in 2002? How would you characterize
the Viagra Brand?
3. What would be the most effective way to position Cialis in the marketplace?
4. What marketing mix activities should accompany the launch of Cialis? What would be
the most important messages to communicate to target patients? To physicians? To
partners?
5. What competitive response do you expect from Pfizer? From Bayer-GlaxoSmithKline?

Optical Distortion Inc

1. What characteristics of the ODI contact lens are likely to make it appealing or
unappealing to different types of chicken farmers? How do new ideas like this spread?
2. In what geographic areas should ODI focus its efforts?
3. On what market segments should ODI focus its efforts?
4. What pricing policy should ODI adopt? Why?
5. What level of marketing efforts should ODI be considering? In particular, what
information, incentives and technical assistance will be required to induce (a) trial and
(b) repurchase?
6. What’s a realistic goal for ODI by 1978?

If there are questions here for a case that is not included in your course outline, please ignore
them. If there are no questions for a case in your course outline, please try and figure out on
your own what would be good questions.