Sproxil: Brand Identification and Differentiation at Its Best

Companies in all industries pour considerable amounts of resources (i.e., manpower, money and time) into brand identification and differentiation as well as in product research, development and sales. But the global issue of counterfeiting has made the investments on brands and their products in jeopardy; counterfeiting is an $800-billion dollar industry.

Enter Sproxil with its award-winning Mobile Product Authentication technology designed to combat counterfeiting, among others. The technology provides for excellent levels of brand and product protection wherein consumers can verify the genuineness of the products purchased. Companies, of course, benefit from the technology because their sales are not eaten into, so to speak, by counterfeiters.

Sproxil also provides for other services. These include the Stolen Product Investigator, which provides leads to catch counterfeiters; Track & Trace, which installs checkpoints for product verification; and Connect, which creates effective channels of communication between consumers and companies.

In the future, counterfeiting can be stopped in its tracks with the efforts of Sproxil and similar companies.

Making Life More Fabulous With FAB

What began as a social network with emphasis on gay men and their friends in February 2010 soon became a site for daily design inspiration among its members in November 2011. And so FAB was born into its present-day incarnation, a highly popular website where members have the opportunities of posting, sharing and purchasing their fashion and design inspirations with fellow members.

FAB is obviously an e-commerce company dealing with products on virtually all price points, thus, making it an ideal hunting ground for bargain hunters and fashionistas on the hunt for designer items. Members have several departments to choose from, such as furniture, kitchen and dining, home, bed and bath, art, jewelry, and personal accessories.

Think of FAB as giving the likes of Amazon a run for their money while also adding value to the entire purchasing process. Members, after all, can be inspired and give inspiration via their savvy styles in personal fashion and interior design, thus, making each purchase worth the investment.

Such inspired approach to selling items (i.e., each item is presented as a part of an fashion or design whole) continues to make FAB popular among Netizens. The numbers speak for such success - membership grew from 175,000 in June 2011 to 7.5 million in September 2012 and then over 10 million in December 2012, a growth rate higher than Twitter, Facebook and Group. Such growth is, indeed, saying something about the power of fashion and design on the popular imagination. When coupled with the 6 million unique visitors each month, FAB is truly making a killing in the industry.

FAB is one of the most notable successes of the use of social commerce for good reasons. Members can upload and share their designs on the Inspiration Wall as well as share what they are purchasing, tweeting and sharing via the Live Feed. Truly, social e-commerce at one of its best.

Walter Energy: World’s Leading Manufacturer of Metallurgical Coal

Walter Energy is a publicly traded company that is engaged in the production of metallurgical coal commonly used in the steel industry. Generating more than $2.6 billion of annualized revenue, the company is considered as the world’s leading producer of “pure play” metallurgical coal.

The company has operations within the United States and as well as in Canada and in the United Kingdom. Other products of the business include anthracite, coal bed methane gas, metallurgical coke, steam coal and industrial coal. The mined coals of the business are coming from their site in the Blue Creek seam in Alabama and their three mines in British Columbia, Canada. In addition to these facilities, they also have a project in Wales, United Kingdom.

Prior to focusing into the mining business, Walter Energy was once known as the Walter Construction Company and has several businesses under its management. These businesses were later on divested so the company can focus on their energy and coal mining business.

WCI Communities: Providing Florida the Ultimate Lifestyle Experience

Considered as one of the most successful home builders businesses in America, WCI Communities, Inc. has been around since 1995. Though the company is fairly new in the industry, it has created its name in the market and is now generating more than half a billion dollars every year.

Based in Bonita Springs, Florida, the company’s strong focus is on the development of home communities within the state. Their operations include title businesses, mortgage and realty. They also manage several restaurants, marinas, clubhouses and golf courses within the community they develop. Their offerings are mostly just between single family units and condominium homes. In addition to home building, they also extend their services to include community management services, marketing, financing, construction, design and land purchases.

There are currently 9 communities that the business is maintaining while they go about strategically expanding their portfolio. These communities are located in the cities of Tampa, Venice, Bonita Springs, Naples, Bradenton, Coral Springs and in Perdido Key. Before the real estate downturn in 2005, the business has seen very solid growth and generated a revenue of more than $2.6 billion. Back then, they have focused on luxury and second homes. Because of this attainment, the company was named as “America’s Best Builder” by both the Builder Magazine and the National Association of Home Builders.

More than 150,000 residents are now enjoying the communities that the company has created. These properties are populated with amenities that cater to the lifestyles of their residents. These master-planned communities are what sets the business apart from their competitors in the market. They have also partnered with large organizations like Wells Fargo and Audubon International.

The company was once traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange before it was reorganized as a private entity in September 2009. The initials WCI stand for Westinghouse Communities, Inc. where most of the foundation of the company was purchased from.

Universal American: Serving the Seniors and the Self-Employed

The senior and the self-employed are the target markets of Universal American, a Fortune 500 company that offers health insurance and also transacts dealings related to Medicare prescription drug benefits and Medicare managed care plans.

This Rye Brook, New York-based company is registered as an insurance, Finance and administrative services business and has offices across the United States. Heritage Health Systems, Inc. is a subsidiary of the company. The strategy of the business is to focus on the largest and fastest growing demographic in the country, the seniors. This strategic approach of the business made them the 3rd largest Medicare Prescription Drug Plan organization and is also listed as the 5th largest Medicare Advantage Private-Fee-for-Service organization in the country.

The company has fortified its place in the market by partnering with the federal government to continue offering its services to its intended market. As of, Universal American is listed publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol UAM.

Universal Statuary Corp: Makers of Well-loved Figurines

Step inside any household and you are most likely to see a piece or two of figurines made of chalkware or plaster. In the United States, one of the famous businesses that manufacture these products was Universal Statuary Corp.

Although the business no longer exists, the products they manufactured remains to be among the favorites of collectors. The company was created by the Lucchesi family who started their production in the late 1930s. They started out with piggy banks and then expanded their offerings to include plaques. Considered probably as their most valued pieces are the Indian statues that are usually produced by the hundreds. These products are created by immigrant artisans who are mostly from the country of Guatemala, where Jack Lucchesi’s wife came from.

Jack Lucchesi, together with his brother Leo were responsible for the family business and they never employed more than 100 workers at a time. Through their consolidated efforts, they were able to make a name in the industry of home ornaments. Advertising firms like Sears and Wards also offered them contracts for their display and promotional items. Their Early American Colonial Wall Plaques and Statues and as well as their Ornate Italian Wall Plaques are among their sought after items today.

Back then, they had two factory locations both in Chicago, Illinois. Their artists are not known outside the facilities of Universal and they kept the company profile as such until the brothers sold the venture to James L. Dorman in the 1980s. From the ownership of Dorman, the business was later on sold to another entrepreneur until the business eventually died.

Although the products today are not valued highly in monetary terms, collectors continue to scour antique shops and other stores for these antique items. Their products, especially those whimsical figures of animals and children still hold a charm that no other item in the market contains.

Jazzercise: Jazzing Up Exercise for Business Success

Jazzercise is a company offering a dance-based fitness program of the same time, a 60-minute routine featuring resistance training, jazz dance, yoga, Pilates, kickboxing, and Latin-styled movements set to today’s most popular music. The company started out in 1969, established by Judi Sheppard Misset. Today, the company has 7,800 instructors teaching in over 32,000 classes in 50 states and more than 30 other countries every week. Many Jazzercise instructors are also franchise owners so sometimes class hours and prices may differ.

In 2009, MSNBC ranked the company as one of its picks for top five franchises proven to provide growth opportunity. In 2011, Jazzercise made it to Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list, bagging the top spot in fitness franchises and 17th place overall. In 2010/2011, the company had its most successful run after being in business for more than 40 years, posting system-wide sales amounting to $97 million.