Happiness Express, a toy company, was started in 1989 by Joseph Sutton and Isaac Sutton. The company took off quickly and was able to gain a share of the very competitive toy manufacturing market. In the first year of operation they earned a few thousand dollars in sales, but by their fifth year they had total revenues of more than $40 million. The business model for the company was designed to identify the latest children’s characters that would be most marketable in the United States. They accomplished this by relying on market research that would identify children’s areas of interest in new media. Happiness Express relied primarily on this research and through this research developed their motto, “In Kids We Trust.” Once the brothers had determined which media characters would become popular with children, they purchased the merchandise-licensing rights for these characters from the various studios and publishing companies. Happiness Express could then use these merchandising rights to manufacture the character’s figurines, shoelaces, toothbrushes, stuffed animals and an array of “back-to-school” items. After the products were manufactured, the brothers would then market these products to FAO Schwartz, Kmart, Target, Toys “R” Us, and Wal-Mart.
Happiness Express began their operations by purchasing the licensing rights to “The Little Mermaid” and “Barney”. The success of these lines made it possible for the company to firmly establish itself in the toy market. In July 1994, Happiness Express went public with an initial offering of $10 per share, and within a few months the company stock price had doubled. In 1995, Happiness Express was named the “#1 Hot Growth Company” by Business Week.
In 1994, the “Barney” merchandise ac...
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... been prevalent in the audit review included large amounts of receivables in the final month of the fiscal year 1995. The accounts of West Coast Liquidators and Wow Wee International Ltd. showed large credit sales in the final days of 1995. This was unusual for both of these accounts and Cooper & Lybrand should have taken steps to verify these sales beyond just a confirmation letter. If a confirmation cannot be acquired, then the audit team needs to review prior transactions that the company has had made with that particular customer to see if the large sales are regular or irregular. Because of Cooper & Lybrand’s deficiency in conducting a proper audit, insider trading information was provided to outside individuals who could profit from the deception. Cooper & Lybrand are liable for the damages to Happiness Express’s shareholders because of their ineffectiveness.
Overview of the Case: The Securities and Exchange Commission claims Mark D. Begelman misused proprietary information regarding the merger of Bluegreen Corporation with BFC Financial Corporation. Mr. Begelman allegedly learned of the acquisition through a network of professional connections known as the World Presidents’ Organization (Maglich). Members of this organization freely share non-public business information with other members in confidence; however, Mr. Begelman allegedly did not abide by the organization’s mandate of secrecy and leveraged private information into a lucrative security transaction. As stated in the summary of the case by the SEC, “Mark D. Begelman, a member of the World Presidents’ Organization (“WPO”), abused his relationship of trust and confidence and misappropriated material, non-public information he obtained from a fellow WPO member about the pending merger. It was the specific written policy of the WPO that matters of a confidential nature were to be kept confidential (Securities and Exchange Commission). Mr. Begelman maintained a relationship with a fellow WPO member, an insider with BFC Financial, who provided access to non-public information regarding the merger. Mr. Begelman used this information to purchase 25,000 shares of Bluegreen stock prior to the announcement of the acquisition. After the merger was made official and disclosed to the street, Mr. Begelman sold his stake for a net gain of $14,949. He maintained ownership of Bluegreen securities for fifteen days (Gehrke-White).
Disney is an iconic brand that is recognized internationally. The company is not only loved by children, but by people of all ages, races, and backgrounds. What makes Disney such a beloved brand? Although it is nearly impossible to pinpoint just one reason for their success, Disney’s core values is what makes this company stand apart from the rest. The founder and creator of Disney, Walt Disney, had a vision for the future that integrated imagination, creativity, freedom of expression, and a touch of magic. With all these values melted into one company, the possibilities for success became a reality to the Disney family. When Disney began to expand, so did the company’s philosophies. Keeping these core values rooted within the brand,
Madura, Jeff. What Every Investor Needs to Know About Accounting Fraud. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004. 1-156
Mattel wants to improve their execution of the existing toy business and globalize their brands; extend their brands into new areas; identify new trends, create new brands, and enter new industries; develop people and improve productivity by simplifying processes and maintaining customer service levels. Mattel wants to make a positive impact in children’s lives around the world by using unrivalled creativity and innovation to create high-quality toys that will be loved by children and trusted by parents.
The Business Lessons behind Disneys Magicalexperiences Comments. N.p., 06 July 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. .
These past few years haven't quite been all fun and games for John Eyler, chairman and CEO of Toys "R" Us. Shortly after joining the company in January 2000, Eyler set about revamping Toys "R" Us to better compete in the marketplace while brushing up the company's image. But a downturn in the economy together with the effects of 9/11, not to mention the West Coast port lockout, wasn't part of the plan.
Toys R Us founder Charles Lazarus opened the first Toys R Us store in Rockville in 1957. The company went public in 1978 and evolved into a powerful international toy vendor, with Kids R Us, Babies R Us and Toyrus.com. It operated 638 stores in the United States and 579 outside the country.
Disney’s long-run success is mainly due to creating value through diversification. Their corporate strategies (primarily under CEO Eisner) include three dimensions: horizontal and geographic expansion as well as vertical integration. Disney is a prime example of how to achieve long-run success through the choices of business, the choice of how many activities to undertake, the choice of how many businesses to be in, the choice of how to manage a portfolio of businesses and the choice of how to create synergies between those businesses (3, p.191-221). All these choices and decisions are made through Disney’s corporate strategies and enabled them to reach long-term success. One will discuss Disney’s long-run success through a general approach. Eisner’s turnaround of the company and his specific implications/strategies will be examined in detail in part II. Disney could reach long-run success mainly through the creation of value due to diversification and the management and fostering of creativity, brand image and synergies between businesses (1, p.11-14).
The Walt Disney Company’s mission statement is: “To make people happy.” Although the statement is only a one-liner it is supported by a set of values setting the performance standards and directs the implementation of the mission. Those values are: no cynicism; nurturing and promulgati...
His project manager, Oliver Freeman, changed the analysis. that Daniel submitted in order to get a clear opinion so that their firm may get an exclusive account. The. My decision was to report the incident so that the correct information would be supplied in the audit documents. The decision I chose may cost Baker Greenleaf to lose an important client and Oliver Freeman to lose his job, but it will uphold the integrity of the accounting profession and keep Daniel Potter safe from the liability of providing false information.
Weld, L. G., Bergevin, P. M., & Magrath, L. (2004). Anatomy of a financial fraud. The CPA
From a small community area within the suburbs of Chicago to the hills of California, Walter Elias Disney’s journey through life is considered to be, at least by myself, an incredibly inspirational story. Walt Disney was the epitome of an innovator during the era that he was alive for. His determination and resiliency to follow his dreams were never stopped as he created one of the most successful corporations in the world today. His lasting legacy has shaped The Walt Disney Company’s business strategies for the present and ongoing future. In terms of revenue The Walt Disney Company, otherwise known as Disney, is currently considered the second largest media firm in the world, only to be behind Comcast (“Global 2000”). It is my goal to break down Walt Disney’s story towards becoming the influential leader that he will always be remembered as. After touching up on his background story, I want to walk you through the very beginnings of the Disney Company all the way to the end of Walt’s life. The story will begin where all he had was a small cartoon named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and finish with Walt’s latest and greatest accomplishment, Mary Poppins. I will illustrate the difficult times and successful times throughout his almost 50 year reign within the media business. Notice how I only relate to Walt Disney’s life as a story; I do this because I firmly believe that his life was the greatest story of them all. He has brought so much joy to families with his revolutionary ideas and willingness to take risks because he wanted to share his imagination with the world. The story of Walt Disney’s life truly was a dream come true.
will happen. They say that after happiness is sadness, but after the rain there’s a rainbow right? How
This Toy Story 3 film starts off with Andy getting ready to go off to college. He is now seventeen years old. It is now time for Andy to make a decision on what he is going to do with the toys. Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Mr. and Mrs. Potatoe head and Jessie are all part of the toy collection that Andy needs to make a decision about. The toys hear Andy’s mom telling him that he needs to make a decision about what he is going to do with the toys. Will Andy give the toys away to the Sunnyside Daycare Center or will he store them in the attic? This question leaves the toys questioning their future. Andy decides to have the toys, except for Woody, put in the attic. Andy will take Woody with which leaves the rest of the toy questioning their future. Woody tries to convenience them they will be okay. The toys really don’t want to be stuffed in the attic and no one to play with them. The toys are so excited when Andy’s mother accidently gives them away to the Sunnyside Daycare Center. After getting to the daycare center their whole attitude changes because they are not treated very nicely. The writers of this film, with the help of the animated characters, show the viewer how with true friendship these toys make it through the tough challenges.
I never really thought the expression, “money can’t buy happiness”, was true. As an infant, just by observing the people around me, I observed when they would obtain money and a huge grin would spread across their face, the corners of their smile spreading from ear to ear. Whenever I would see that grin and a person’s face light up at the sight of a crisp, green bill it would make me believe that I had proved the famous expression wrong. Now that I’ve grown up and matured, my idea of that expression has changed. As of now, I am able to reflect on life more and look deeper into things and particularly into people more than I was able to do years ago. My ideas about this expression changed the most though because of the money situation my family had stumbled upon because of the failing economy. I remember being younger when the economy was doing well and waking up to twenty gifts for each of my three sisters and I. We used to believe that all of those presents, brought in because of money of course, were the best part of waking up on Christmas. Of course all of those toys and material items would make a child happy; however looking back it would only make them happy if it was given to them by somebody who bought it for them with love.