Applying Blue Ocean Strategy in the Philippines: The case of Krispy Kreme

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Krispy Kreme Applies Blue Ocean Strategy


It has been seven years since W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne came out with a book called The Blue Ocean Strategy.  In the Philippines, it is still relatively new.
It is rather odd that a few companies have invested in adopting a strategy that would allow them to get out of a situation where many businesses are competing in the same market with very similar products, where profits are eaten up by the costs of competition.  This situation is called a Red Ocean.
In their book, Kim and Mauborgne  chart out in detail how businesses can achieve high growth and profits by creating new demand in an uncontested market space, or a “Blue Ocean”, rather than by competing head-to-head with other suppliers for known customers in an existing industry.
Most would think that applying [...] Continue Reading…

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Finding a “Blue Ocean” for Philippine Business

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Ben Kritz recently wrote about how Philippine business is adrift on a “red ocean”, which is a metaphor for a situation wherein businesses are in the thick of battling it out for market share.

“We are facing ever-increasing competition, and we have to reduce our prices and increase our advertising just to keep up.”
The Philippine business environment is characterized by something which is playfully referred to as the “Shawarma Effect”: Back in the mid-1990’s, “shawarma” (the Filipino version bears only a passing resemblance to the Levantine original) became a popular snack and shawarma stalls sprouted like mushrooms all across the country.
The fad is repeated every few months or so when new ideas hit the marketplace and is not necessarily limited to the lower, consumer end of the business spectrum; while micro- and small-business entrepreneurs play “monkey see, monkey do” with neighborhood [...] Continue Reading…

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Willie Can Do Better If He Wants To

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If you haven’t heard Willie Revillame’s rant over this Willing Willie Jan-Jan Controversy, here’s the video:

(For the full transcript, go to Gelo Lopez’s blog.)

First of all, let’s state the obvious. Revillame had every right to say whatever he felt he should say to defend himself. No problem there. We are all just exercising our rights to speak out.

On the matter of whether or not Revillame’s rant held valid points, well, that would entail a bit more analysis. If we are to listen carefully to his statement what he said can be broken down as follows:

I have done nothing wrong.
This is the handiwork of those who want to put me down specifically ABS-CBN.
I can afford to retire from the industry. It is my followers and my staff in the show who stand to lose if I go off the air.
I [...] Continue Reading…

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Willing Revillame goes on leave after advertisers pull-out

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Last night, Willy Revillame launched into a monologue where he basically portrayed himself as a hero do-gooder who is being victimized by people who are jealous of his success and want to tear him down.  Then, at the end of his monologue, he told the audience that he would go on leave for two weeks to re-think everything and consider whether it would be worth going back to the show.
Here’s a portion of Willy Revillame’s monologue:

Ngayon po, nakipagusap po ako sa presidente ng  TV5, Atty Rey Espinosa. Nagusap kami na hanggang ngayon na lang po ako sa Willing Willie. Magpapahinga na muna po ako, hindi po ako magpapaalam. Starting po today ang live namin , bukas ho nakatape na po kami. Lalabas ho yon mapapanood niyo. Starting ho ng Monday hanggang Holy Week, pagiisipan ko ho kung ako po [...] Continue Reading…

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Unilever suspends advertising in Willing Willie and other TV game shows

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(Note: Since last year, I’ve been talking with Mr. Chito Macapagal, Unilever Philippines VP for Corporate Affairs, about his company’s zero solid-waste program and other possible solutions to eliminating the scourge of plastic pollution in the Philippines.  It was my experience with 2009′s Ondoy that had driven me to write him last year and inquire into what Unilever Philippines is doing to ensure that the plastic packaging of its products does not clog or pollute our country’s environment.  The conversations I’ve had with Mr. Macapagal with regard to solid-waste pollution have been enlightening and we are currently working together on a possible solution to a solid-waste management solution model which can be adopted by communities across the country.
Two or three weeks ago, I caught the beginnings of what would turnout to be a fairly large online outrage movement over [...] Continue Reading…

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Commenter Urges Parents To Guide Kids On Business Transactions

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Someone left a comment on my post “Pyramid Scams: Two Things To Watch Out For” and I think it deserves a space of its own.
There are some companies actively targeting the youth market. Visit their offices and you will see that most of the people attending their seminars are kids as young as 16 years old.

Starting kids early in business is good but there’s a problem in this particular situation. What if the companies I described above are actually engaged in an unethical and possibly illegal scheme?

On the surface, the marketing approach of these companies seem harmless. They market to kids specifically college students because they see this demographic as “hyperactive.” According to their analysis of the market, college-level kids are the best group to market to because they spread information [...] Continue Reading…

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Monique Wilson Calls On Fellow Artists To Do The Right Thing

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(This is from Monique Wilson’s Facebook page.)

A CALL TO MY FELLOW ARTISTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
by Monique Wilson on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 12:12am

The debate is no longer whether it was child abuse or not. The facts are plain to see. No one with a sense of respect for another human being can dispute that. The discourse now is how we, as Filipinos, as artists involved in the same industry that created Willy and shows like his, could have allowed this to go on for as long as it has. And what is our individual and collective participation in it?

Let’s talk honestly about our TV networks. The culprit now is TV5 – with its’ blatant lack of decency by even hiring someone like Willy Revillame – a callous, insensitive individual who preys on the needs of poor, [...] Continue Reading…

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Willing Willie Jan-Jan Controversy: The “Apology”

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Here’s the video of Willie Revillame’s “apology” over this Jan-Jan controversy.

That’s how you get out of trouble when you’re in a country where STUPID rules. Just appeal to the lowest sensibilities. That’s what Willie Revillame did, no doubt about it. And as before, he depicted himself again as a victim.

What Willie clearly did — probably on the advice of some crisis management expert — was to let the blame shift from himself to the father.

The sad thing is a lot of people bought this sorry excuse for an apology.

It’s clear now. Willie is God. The god of a clueless nation.

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Willing Willie Jan-Jan Controversy or Why Philippine TV Sucks

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This country’s broadcasting industry should start looking deep within itself and check if it’s doing this country a lot of good or a lot of harm.

It may be difficult to establish a clear correlation between many of our country’s ills and the influence of broadcast media especially television, but it’s quite clear even to the casual observer that most TV programs today do not promote proper values and that can certainly pose a problem down the road.

Take the case of the ever-popular show of Willie Revillame. What does it provide its viewers, really? Obviously, it’s all entertainment.

Now the problem isn’t so much that Willing Willie showcases nothing but entertainment. People do need the occasional diversion from life’s more serious aspects. The problem really is the crassness of it all.

Of course, those who enjoy this type of entertainment could easily [...] Continue Reading…

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Run Against (Human) Trafficking: Another race-for-a-cause or is it?

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Support Zonta Club of Makati Ayala and The Visayan Forum THE RUN AGAINST TRAFFICKING Race Sunday, 13 MARCH 2011 1K, 3K, 5K, 10K McKinley Hill, Taguig City Assembly 5:00 AM Gun Start 5:50AM Registration Sites: R.O.X and Chris Sports For more info call: Ida Ayesa 0916-418-7257


Over the past year, I’ve seen all sorts of races being run for all sorts of causes and while I generally brush off these events as gimmickry or as a poor substitute to direct action.
I am not a big fan of big showy, celebrity driven calls for mass actions that get blasted on TV, Radio, and Print.  It’s the Holden Caulfield in me that gets me snarking about such ‘events’.
However my almost automatic prejudgment of  ’events for a cause’ was challenged last week [...] Continue Reading…

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