Case Name :      Cole and Parker: Socks that Start Businesses

Authors :           Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Amy Shuh

Source :             Ivey Publishing

Case ID :            W14128

Discipline :        Marketing

Case Length :    09 pages

Solution Sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

The co-founders of a company that markets brightly coloured, high-quality and boldly designed men’s socks had just heard from the producers of a popular Canadian reality television show, Dragons’ Den. They had been chosen to pitch their business idea to the show’s venture capitalists in hopes of receiving investment funds. Since they were at the cusp of their business development plans, with an innovative business model and product design, the co-founders still had some key marketing decisions to make before their on-air pitch to the “Dragons” in a month. The partners’ concept of the company was innovative: for every pair of socks sold, 20 per cent of their sales would be donated to Kiva, an organization that facilitated microfinance lending. The sale of each pair of socks would aid entrepreneurs around the world who were starting their own businesses.