You've Got Mail
By: Joanne Nguyen
The Shop Around the Corner
FOX BOOKS
Products & Services
The products they sell in the store
are typically BOOKS and TOYS
EXAMPLE: Customers would receive a toy for every purchase.
The products and service they offer is considered a want.
DEFINITION: "Things that are not necessary for survival, but add comfort and pleasure to our lives".
A service they offer is story
time to the kids.
EXAMPLE: In the movie, Kathleen can be seen reading to the kids.
Characteristics
This business is a SMALL
business.
EXAMPLE: This business is only located in a local town
A small or medium-sized business (SMB) can be classified by:
Employs fewer than 500 people
This business is a for profit
business.
DEFINITION: "a business that produces or sells goods and services for the purpose of making profit."
EXAMPLE: In the movie, Kathleen can be
seen making an exchange. In the exchange, the customer can be seen giving money to Kathleen
in exchange for the books she sells.
Their role in the community is
being a family-friendly shop that you
could go to no matter how old you are. They have a reputation for that kind of
environment at their location.
EXAMPLE: To provide the children with great books!
There are only a few people
working in The Shop Around the Corner (jobs).
EXAMPLE: The employees help around wherever they can. All of them are cashiers and all four employees can be seen helping Kathleen throughout the movie.
Impact of Competition
Kathleen discovers that the other store is friendly and relaxed, yet she points out the competition doesn’t focus on children’s books/environment like she does
Despite Kathleen focusing more on satisfying kids with her business, she is losing customers because everyone is now shopping at her competitor.
Kathleen is upset at Fox Books for opening across the street from her business which caused frequent arguments between Kathleen and Joe regarding their businesses.
EXAMPLE: "It's not personal, it's business".
Impact of Business on Community
More customers are attracted to Fox Books and start shopping there rather than the Shop Around the Corner.
Employees move on from working at the Shop Around the Corner to Fox Books because the Shop Around the Corner is going down hill.
Supply & Demand
When the Shop Around the Corner was the local bookstore in the town, demand was high for the products (books and toys) they were selling which results in supply increasing.
As soon as Fox Books open, they started to lose customers. This meant the demand was low and they had a lot of supply.
EXAMPLE: Because of this, they did a 40% sale because the shop needed money. They had to sell as much as they could to keep the store running.
Form of Business Ownership
This business ownership is a sole proprietorship.
EXAMPLE: In the movie, it is mentioned that the Shop Around the Corner is a family owned business and it was passed down to Kathleen. Also, it is mentioned a couple of times that her mother passed away and Kathleen's mother meant so much to her.
CHARACTERISTICS:
Owned by one person (proprietor)
Many different responsibilities within the business
Owns all the equipment in the store and might own the building
Money to run the business usually comes from personal savings, friends, family, or bank loan
ADVANTAGES:
If the business does well, the owner gets all the profits
Starting up and administering the business is easier and less expensive compared to other forms of business
Kathleen is her own boss
DISADVANTAGES:
If the business doesn’t do well, the owner is responsible for all the losses (may lose home and other personal belongings) also known as unlimited liability
Financing may be difficult
Owner may not be familiar with all aspects of business
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
LOVE AND BELONGING
(family & friends)
Throughout the movie, I can make an inference that the business is satisfying the level of love and belonging because of the bond it creates. This business brings people within the community together because the Shop Around the Corner is known as that local bookstore in their town.
EXAMPLE: At the beginning of the movie when it introduces this business, it is filled with happy family and friends enjoying their time together. The business has successfully created an environment that brings the community together.
Products & Services
The produtcs they sell are books which is a good because what they sell are physically tangeable.
The books they sell are considered a want and not a need.
DEFINITION: "Things that are not necessary for survival, but add comfort and pleasure to our lives".
Characteristics
This business is a BIG business.
EXAMPLE: Because it is a big business,
it has several hundreds of employees working. within different departments and positions.
There are a lot of people
working at Fox Books (jobs).
EXAMPLE: Because the store itself is really big and it has two floors, there must be employees working to occupy the spaces that the store offers. For example, there is a kids area separate from the cashier line so there needs to be more people working in those specific departments.
This business is a for profit
business.
DEFINITION: "a business that produces or sells goods and services for the purpose of making profit."
EXAMPLE: I know this is a for profit business because when Kathleen is exploring the store, there are shots of people exchanging money for books.
Their role in the community is to provide books for a wide range of audience at a cheap price.
The bigger the store, the bigger the inventory to occupy such space.
The way the store was finished had a modern look (at their time) inside and out . This appealed to the local community because where they were located wasn’t particularly in the big city.
Impact of Competition
The popularity that Fox Books had was replacing the reputation that the Shop Around the Corner was known for.
Because of this, the hate Kathleen had for Joe grew as the movie progressed because his business was putting her out of business.
Impact of Business on Community
This store was a highly anticipated shop because it was new and the community has never seen such shop before. Because of this, many people were excited to shop at.
The popularity of Fox Books grew and grew and it wasn't something Kathleen was ready for because soon, it almost put her out of business. The reason for this is because all of her customers were starting to shop at Fox Books.
Supply & Demand
The demand for books from Fox Books was really high. Again, this is because the business was highly antcipated. Since the demand was high, the supply was high too.
EXAMPLE: Fox Books had an estimated 150,000 of books in their inventory.
The price of the books were considered cheap and according to the law of deamnd, the cheaper the product is, the higher the demand.
Form of Business Ownership
This business ownership is a corporation
CHARACTERISTICS:
A business that has been granted legal status with rights, privileges, and liabilities that are distinct from those of the people who work for the business
Can be as small as one person or as large as a multinational/transnational
Most are own entirely by individuals, families, and small groups
Cannot be managed well if it is owned or funded by only one or two people (resorts to selling through a stock exchange for shares)
The more shares a shareholder owns, the greater the control
Shareholders have limited liability (not held responsible for the debts of the corporation)
ADVANTAGES
Limited liability is an advantage because it encourages people to buy shares
If the business earns profit, some of it may be used to expand the company
A publicly traded corporation may pay out the rest to shareholders in the form of dividend
Transfer of ownership is simple
EXAMPLE: If Joe were to pass away, the shop will continue to run as if he was alive.
DISADVANTAGES
If the corporations fails, the owners or shareholders lose only the amount that they’ve invested in
Timely and costly to start up
People who own only a few shares don’t have a lot of influence on how the company is run
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
ESTEEM
(self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of and by others)
Throughout the movie, the clips of Fox Books show people being happy whether they are in a group of friends or be themselves. I would classify this as esteem because it shows that Fox Books is providing an environment that make people comfortable and filled with confidence.
EXAMPLE: When Kathleen is discovering the kids area, there are kids playing and reading together which shows their confidence in reading and the respect they have for each other.