Case Teaching Package
A case teaching package, written by Bill Bygrave, is available for this case. It includes strategies for case presentation, key concepts, solutions to the assignment questions in the case, and suggestions for the most effective ways to work this case into your course.
Length
This case is 22 pages in length and its case teaching package is 8 pages.
Abstract
Toni Randolph-Norman, a veteran African-American entrepreneur in the retail and wholesale clothing industry, and her son Alexander Norman, a recent graduate of Babson College, have an opportunity to become the source of all Wal-Mart's Afro-centric products. When their Karibo line of African-American women's careerwear fashions was introduce in Wal-Mart's stores in 1995, it was an instant success and it has continued to grow in popularity. It has aroused the interest of executives at other major stores including Sears, Kmart, and Caldor, who are interested in having Alex and Toni create brands for their stores. The decision facing Alex and Toni is whether to put all their eggs in one basket and deal exclusively with Wal-Mart or to play the field.
Alex and Toni's company, Ranor Inc., is a virtual corporation: It owns the Karibo brand name; it controls the design of the Karibo line of fashions; it is responsible for merchandising of the products; but it has cleverly structured its agreement with Wal-Mart so as not to carry any working capital risk—especially inventory.
- Location of the company: Manhattan
- Years spanned by the case: 1995 through 1996
- Industry segment: Women's fashions sold in discount department stores
- Stage of the company: Pre-startup, startup, and early growth
- Age of the entrepreneurs: early 20s and 50s
Study Questions
- Trace Toni's career before she and Alex began their negotiations with Wal-Mart. What were the important things that she learned from her experience?
- How did those lessons influence how she and Alex structured their deal with Wal-Mart?
- What are the pros and cons of the agreement with Wal-Mart?
- What is the biggest risk for Ranor?
- How valuable is the Karibo brand name?
- Should Ranor deal with Kmart, Caldor, and Sears?
Key Words
finding opportunities, creativity, developing, marketing, and selling a new product, brand names, ethnic markets, fashions, department stores, entrepreneurial careers, minority and female entrepreneurship, family business, ethics, virtual corporations
The downloadable file for this case is an self-extracting WinZip file. After downloading, find AlexNorman.exe in Windows® Explorer and double-click the file to decompress. The case file itself is in Microsoft® Word 7.0 for Windows®.
If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can download the free Microsoft® Word Viewer 97 right here: For Windows 3.x For Windows 95
©1996 South-Western College Publishing, All Rights Reserved webmaster@swcollege.com