jruivo

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With so many different apps to choose from when it comes to having a healthier lifestyle, Weight Watchers’ only chance of survival is building on its reputation and brand awareness. Weight Watchers took too much time to enter the digital market, but I do not think it is impossible for it to recover. The company had a network of fans before the “digital era” and should leverage on that network to support its new app. In order to succeed, it is crucial for the app to be perfect – Weight Watchers should partner with tech firms who specialize in app design, and ensure its app is the best you can find in this sector. After that, it should continue to develop relationships with people like Oprah to help market this app. I am sure that previous Weight Watchers fans will be ready to support the company if its app is as good (or better) than competition!

On November 20, 2016, jruivo commented on Hasbro Is Not Leaving Monopoly to Chance :

Hasbro has done a good job so far in adapting to a new digital world. However, I believe this apparent success is mainly related to people who had played Monopoly as a board game in the past and loved it, and who wanted to try new, digital versions of the game. I am not sure whether Hasbro is doing a good job capturing the new generations who no longer know the classic Monopoly, and I wonder whether Monopoly will survive in the next 20 years. I think that Hasbro should do more to involve the younger generations, leveraging on social networks to achieve this goal.

On November 20, 2016, jruivo commented on Amazon Dash: Riding the Data Wave :

I understand why customers are concerned about privacy in a variety of industries nowadays. However, in the case of Amazon, I do not quite understand why Amazon Dash increases that concern. In fact, Amazon has been gathering significant information about its customers, and using it to its advantage, in particular trying to market additional products to its customers. Amazon already knows what you are looking at, what you are buying, when you are buying, where you are shipping to, etc. Does the repeated purchase system really increase the risks related to privacy? If you already are an Amazon customer, which most of us are, I don’t think so.

On November 20, 2016, jruivo commented on Sport retailer knows how to swing the racquet :

Decathlon is for me one of the brands that has built the strongest reputation for its white label products. However, my experience at the store has not always been the best – huge “warehouses” in which it is hard to find what you are looking for, with few employees available to help you. I am skeptical about the effect of using RFID will have on the customers’ experience, as I expect even less employees to be around as this technology spreads to all Decathlon’s stores, and I wonder what was the true reason behind Decathlon’s investment in this new technology. In my opinion, investments that would improve the customers’ experience in the store would have more impact.

As a customer, I have had good and bad experiences using Airbnb, but continue to look at it when travelling abroad. However, I have witnessed the impact that Airbnb has had on the housing market in my home city, and I am worried about its future consequences. With the number of tourists visiting Lisbon growing significantly in recent years, many property owners are using Airbnb to make some additional revenue. One of the consequences of this shift has been the decline of the number of properties available for long-term rental, especially in the city center. With lower availability, rent prices have risen significantly, making it virtually impossible for the average Portuguese to rent an apartment in the city center. This is changing the city’s landscape, and I wonder what the role of local authorities should be in this case.

On November 5, 2016, jruivo commented on H&M: Environmental Steward or Greenwashing Marketer? :

H&M has, as far as I know, innovated in the fast-fashion market, with its Garment Collecting Program that enables customers to recycle their old clothes and home textiles at store. As it is mentioned in the post, this is also a clever way to promote more sales to these customers, through the distribution of coupons. However, I believe that this measure, combined with an increase in the usage of “green” raw materials, can have a significant impact. I deem that, in the process of returning their old clothes and buying new, more sustainable ones, H&M can raise awareness for the importance of being “green”. By promoting “greener” customers, H&M will also be able to influence how these customers behave regarding other fast-fashion brands, and thus have an impact that exceeds what it is doing individually at H&M. The question is – will H&M live by its message and continue to work with an increasing proportion of eco-friendly raw materials.

On November 5, 2016, jruivo commented on Nike’s Path to Sustainability :

I agree with this post, as Nike has made significant efforts to become “greener”. However, I deem that as an industry leader, Nike must not only serve as a mentor to its supply chain partners, but also as a mentor to its customers. A company with the brand awareness that Nike has is able to influence a very significant number of people once it publicly supports a given cause, in particular if it gets one of its athletes to join that cause – see the example of LiveStrong, which was able to sell 80 million bracelets to help fight cancer with the help of Lance Armstrong and Nike, among other partners. I believe that, if Nike truly values the fight against climate change, it should promote campaigns that raise awareness and/or funds at a global level, leveraging on its athletes – Cristiano Ronaldo offered to help his native Madeira island after last summer’s forest fires significantly destroyed the area; a campaign with Nike and Cristiano Ronaldo about climate change would have an enormous impact on the awareness of the world for this issue, could easily become viral, and be able to raise funds to help fighting climate change.

On November 5, 2016, jruivo commented on Shake Shack – Please, give us the burger of the future. :

We cannot deny the impact that agriculture, and livestock in particular, has on climate change.
However, I do not agree that Shake Shack is leading the way in “writing the next great chapter of the hamburger”, not do I think it would have the ability to influence how the industry functions as a whole. In my opinion, non-beef menus have the objective of targeting a different customer segment that was not previously able to enjoy Shake Shack, sourcing regionally is related to the trend seen in the quick service restaurants sector in which customers are looking for more authentic products, and the “Good n’ Green” initiatives sound like a Social Corporate Responsibility line without real impact.
There is a need to educate the consumer, but especially a need to ensure it can find affordable, green alternatives. Only when those alternatives are available will we be able to see changes in the majority of the consumers’ behaviors.

On November 5, 2016, jruivo commented on Another red bus goes green for London :

I think TfL is doing a good job trying to get Londoners to go around in a more sustainable way, being it through greener buses, promoting cycling, or reducing energy consumption in the underground system. However, having lived in London, I cannot avoid remembering the chaotic traffic that I often encountered in the city center. Although the city has imposed charges on cars entering the city, I believe that is not enough. The new mayor Sadiq Khan is considering measures such as reducing, or even banning, traffic in some of the most polluted areas of the city, such as Oxford Street. However, perhaps more radical measures should be taken – Paris tried a “day without cars”, which resulted in a 30% reduction of NO2 levels in the Champs Elysées. I believe mayors of major European cities should consider trying more radical measures such as this one in order to try to control pollution levels and contribute to reducing the impact on climate change.

On November 5, 2016, jruivo commented on As the Maldives sinks, the world plays the fiddle :

The situation in the Maldives is particularly striking to me. The Maldives are one of the countries that will be most affected by climate change, but, given their small dimension, any actions they might take are only trying to limit the consequences on their islands, having little effect on the root causes of climate change. It is urgent that the world’s largest economies and their leaders realize the responsibility they have regarding climate change and take the appropriate measures to ensure that the root causes are tackled. Countries like the Maldives should lobby in international organizations and ensure their voice is heard, pressuring global leaders to impose stricter measures regarding climate change.