First Class Trading Corporation
Christopher A. Ross, Professor, John Molson School of Business, wrote this case. It is partly based on a student group report that was submitted in the fall of 2006. The members of the group were Jenviev Azzolin, Monique Chalifour, Colin
Kim, Elissa Morrissette and Tanya Saba. This case is to be used for discussion purposes only. It is not designed to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative or commercial situation. Some of the information in this case may have been disguised but essential relationships have been retained. August, 2009. ©2009
In November 2006 Jeffrey (Jeff) Morahan and David Sciacca were wondering if they were on the right path to grow their fledgling company, First Class Trading Corporation (First Class). They had committed their strategic plan to paper but they were still evaluating whether they had a winning and sustainable formula. First Class, a Montreal based company, had been incorporated in 2003 and completed its first year of operation in 2004. Jeff, the founder of the company, after evaluating the school supplies industry, had identified an opportunity which involved marketing a fully stocked school bag to schools and parents.
The school bag was filled with the various items that a child needed for school as determined by a given teacher’s requirements. The company also offered dictionaries and other reference materials. The company’s slogan was “Your partner in education” and according to David the goal was to “create fluent learning environments that render the education process more effective and efficient.” Essentially, First
Class partnered with schools in order to simplify the school supplies purchasing process of parents and schools. First Class’s strategy was to target elementary and secondary private schools in the greater Montreal area with elementary schools being their initial target. To date, the owners had generated sales through