The R&R case study

The R&R case study is a detailed report of the risks and success of the game industry. The case study discusses Bob Reiss as the main character and highlights his entrepreneurial skills that helped create the successful TV Guide Trivia game. The study describes the development of Reiss’s interest in the game manufacturing industry after noticing the games sold in stationaries. The case also analyses the role of experience, contacts and aggressiveness in minimizing business capital costs. The following report describes the opportunities, risks and rewards and gives a personal opinion about the business decisions of Bob Reiss.

One of the major factors that created an opportunity for Bob Reiss and the TV Guide Trivia game was the success of the Trivial Pursuit game that was evident in Canada (HBS 1). This stirred up Bob Reiss’s interest as he thought that if the game was so successful in Canada, then it would be much more successful in the USA (HBS 2). The USA market was good for games. Another factor was the demand for the trivia products, which was considerably higher in US at that time. Bob also had key connections that would help realize of the project. He knew they could obtain equity from Kaplan and help with the production and shipping from the Swiss Colony whom Kaplan consulted for a long time.

The main risk was a potential decline in the demand for the trivia products in the near future before they would hit good sales. Another outstanding risk would be the competition from other game manufacturing companies and especially the Trivial Pursuit (HBS 7). Booming rewards from the Trivia game would ensure a repayment of the capital costs and a large profit margin for each business participant.

The approach would not work for the Parker brothers because they did not have the necessary knowledge, experience and connections that Bob Reiss had. The Parker brothers did not understand the dynamics of American market as well as the ways to manage them. Bob Reiss understood that getting American people to buy a product required television as a means of promoting the product since average Americans spent up to seven hours on television every day. Secondly, the Parker brothers were not as well conversant with the suppliers of these games as Bob Reis was. Bob Reiss had known these suppliers since he was manufacturing pencils (HBS 8).

If I were Bob Reiss, I would go ahead with the launch of the Whoozit. One of the challenges when launching any product is the need of capital. In this case, the production costs would be relatively low. Trivia Inc. was already established and it would produce Whoozit at an approximate cost of $5 per unit, which is quite low. Comparatively, Trivia game was launched at $50,000 generating a profit of $2,000,000. Producing Whoozit at $5 per unit would guarantee a good profit. Moreover, Reiss had enough experience to know the customer-specific requirements that would make Whoozit a success. The Whoozit design allows the customers to have some fun while playing. Thus, if I were Bob Reiss, I would launch the Whoozit game.

In conclusion, the R&R case study is one of the most informative entrepreneurial case studies I have recently read. It reflects on the possible risks of starting a business. The case provides a great explanation on the management of risks and obstacles when starting up a business. It also argues that good entrepreneurship comes with experience and observation of the market demands.

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