Introduction
The high level of competition and the rapid development of the business environment significantly impact the way companies evolve. In order to justify the reasons for an investment into a company, one should ensure that the company at hand effectively responds to the social, political, and business environments, as well as performs competitively in its respectful niche. This report is aimed at reviewing the business performance and environment of an American electronic cigarette company Juul Labs. The review identifies that the company occupies a significant share in the market of alternative smoking products, which is now a trending industry. It has a competitive advantage due to its strong scientific and technological basis. However, the social environment and governmental regulations related to adverse health effects of vaping induce negative stakeholder experience. While the dispute over the business’ mission triggers elevated social concern, Juul Labs invest in the scientific improvement of its products, thus increasing their quality. The report concludes with recommendations as per further business research.
Juul Labs Business and Purpose
Juul Labs is an American company with headquarters in San Francisco that specializes in producing and retailing electronic cigarettes. It is a relatively young company; it was co-founded by Adam Bowen and James Monsees in 2015. The purpose of the company is to apply industrial design and produce alternative cigarettes that would help adult smokers transfer from regular cigarettes to less harmful smoking products (“Our mission,” 2020). Juul Labs produces nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes that have become a popular alternative to conventional cigarettes. The business’s aim is to reduce the harm and encourage the elimination of nicotine smoking.
Juul Labs Stakeholders
Juul Labs cooperates with several investment companies. It is supported by its stakeholders on the basis of the technology-informed production processes that are capable of meeting the needs of a contemporary consumer. The team working in the company includes designers, engineers, scientists, and customer specialists who create a high-quality product that effectively competes in its market (“Our mission,” 2020). The main stakeholder of Juul Labs is an American company Altria, which has a 35% stake in Juul Labs (Feuer, 2020). Until recently, Juul had a positive financial impact on its main stakeholder by generating growing annual revenues. However, the recent legal issues around the harmful effect of smoking products have caused noticeable losses to Altria, about $4.1 billion in impairment charge (Feuer, 2020). Thus, the company’s cooperation with its stakeholders is controversial.
The shaping of Juul Labs Business Activities
The company has grown significantly since its founding and has expanded to a multinational chain of suppliers and stores. With the revenue growth, the company has faced a controversial perception by society, which predominantly considers that the business operations of Juul Labs have negative implications for their customers’ health. In the past year, the company has experienced several legal cases related to the mortality and morbidity related to vaping (Feuer, 2020). In response to such social environment particularities, the company has adjusted its marketing practices and overall business activities. It does not use promotional methods and does not cooperate with any advertisers limiting its non-promotional online presence to a few social media platforms (“Our mission,” 2020). Also, the company invests more in its technological and scientific processes to ensure the high quality of its products.
Business, Government and Society
Since the company produces a newly designed product that is relatively unknown to the general public, the business activities of Juul Labs are subject to an on-going dispute on the intersection of social and governmental perspectives. The company’s business goals are justified by the mission to pursue more healthy experiences for adult smokers. Thus, the company strives to improve the tobacco industry, which has multiple adverse effects (“Our mission,” 2020). On the other hand, it complies with the government’s regulations and explicitly states that e-cigarettes are available only to consumers who have reached legal age. However, multiple legal cases filed against Juul Labs have caused more strict regulations of its production operations from the government’s side. Also, these events have shaped the current reputation of a company as a non-stable business that provokes contradiction in society (Feuer, 2020). For example, as of the beginning of 2020, 60 deaths and more than 2,000 hospitalization cases related to vaping. Several lawsuits have been filed against Juul Labs that have led to Altria’s significant financial losses in impairment charges (Feuer, 2020). As a consequence, the company is considered to occupy an unstable position in the market.
Conclusion
To summarize, Juul Labs is a business entity that contributes to the technology-driven smoking industry and aims at eliminating the harm of nicotine consumption. The overall technology and alternative product trends in the business environment contribute to the company’s growth. However, despite its strict compliance with governmental regulations, health concerns troubling society lead to legal cases and stakeholders’ losses. Therefore, the presence of both positive and negative business characteristics around Juul Labs’ performance, it is necessary to engage in more in-depth research to validate the decision of investment.
References
Feuer, W. (2020). Altria stock craters after $4.1 billion hit from Juul investment, blames growing legal risk.
Our mission. (2020). Web.