Goldcorp Essay
tC
MAPPING THE FUTURE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
No
ON PAPER, ROB MCEWEN WAS AN UNLIKELY CHAIRMAN
and CEO for Canadian mining company Goldcorp, Inc. With a background in finance, the small, soft-spoken man with the neatly-trimmed moustache preferred meticulous tailoring to industrial machinery. But despite his appearance, McEwen was a prospector at heart: he had a fascination with gold and grew up hearing tales from his father about miners, prospectors and grubstakes at the dinner table. So smitten was he with the industry that he hammered out
Do
op yo by Alonzo Canada
his own template for what he thought a 21st-century gold-mining company should look like, despite never having worked for one. In 1989, he made the leap, stepping into a takeover and becoming majority owner of under-performing Goldcorp. Some called him crazy for buying what was regarded as a rust bucket of a company. At the time, the gold market was depressed; the mine’s operating costs were …show more content…
Despite its broad appeal, Target views its business through the lens of one very important person, a single ‘ideal guest:’ she’s a 35-year-old suburban mom with two kids who needs to look out for value but aspires to give her family much more than what a rock-bottom price might offer. Everything Target does seeks to delight this woman, from its house-branded products to the design of its stores to the vendors whose stuff it puts on shelves, which together constitutes a reframing of the market. Wal-Mart has won by saying people should get what they buy at the lowest possible price; Target has managed to find its own way to thrive by saying that although low prices are important, discount retail is actually about getting more out of everyday household goods than mere functionality. That’s a very different view of the industry – and one as hard to copy as Wal-Mart’s legendary efficiency, because it plays to Target’s core strengths in marketing, design and trend
MAPPING THE FUTURE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
No
ON PAPER, ROB MCEWEN WAS AN UNLIKELY CHAIRMAN
and CEO for Canadian mining company Goldcorp, Inc. With a background in finance, the small, soft-spoken man with the neatly-trimmed moustache preferred meticulous tailoring to industrial machinery. But despite his appearance, McEwen was a prospector at heart: he had a fascination with gold and grew up hearing tales from his father about miners, prospectors and grubstakes at the dinner table. So smitten was he with the industry that he hammered out
Do
op yo by Alonzo Canada
his own template for what he thought a 21st-century gold-mining company should look like, despite never having worked for one. In 1989, he made the leap, stepping into a takeover and becoming majority owner of under-performing Goldcorp. Some called him crazy for buying what was regarded as a rust bucket of a company. At the time, the gold market was depressed; the mine’s operating costs were …show more content…
Despite its broad appeal, Target views its business through the lens of one very important person, a single ‘ideal guest:’ she’s a 35-year-old suburban mom with two kids who needs to look out for value but aspires to give her family much more than what a rock-bottom price might offer. Everything Target does seeks to delight this woman, from its house-branded products to the design of its stores to the vendors whose stuff it puts on shelves, which together constitutes a reframing of the market. Wal-Mart has won by saying people should get what they buy at the lowest possible price; Target has managed to find its own way to thrive by saying that although low prices are important, discount retail is actually about getting more out of everyday household goods than mere functionality. That’s a very different view of the industry – and one as hard to copy as Wal-Mart’s legendary efficiency, because it plays to Target’s core strengths in marketing, design and trend