Stock Market

Nissan is doing fairly well in the stock markets. Its current stock price has been rising over the past few days. As of 09/29/2010, Nissan closed with a price per share of $17.65. That is the highest price per share earning that the company has seen since 04/05/2010.

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=NSANY.PK+Interactive#chart3:symbol=nsany.pk;range=6m;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined

SWOT

Nissan strives for innovation in its products. The company prides itself on having a diverse group of employees as well as efficient and effective production lines.
Strengths:
-The company has a very strong and innovative team in the R&D departments
-By promoting innovation, the company is able to increase its product lines from cars to forklifts and boating.

Weaknesses:
-I wouldn't necessarily say that Nissan's marketing isn't good. But the company fails to advertise in the United States as much as it might in its home countries. Increased advertising might lead to even more sales.

Opportunites:
-Nissan could widen its new market segments in the marine/boating industry. There is much opportunity in this field. If the company would be as innovative with its boats as it is with its cars, it could be very profitable.

Threats:
-The most obvious threat is the slow economy in the United States. Although the company does sell to other countries, the slow economy has caused the company to miss out on potential revenues.
-Changes in demographic factors. According to an article on Yahoo.com, generation Y-ers who are 30 and under are putting a damper on car sales. Author Jim Ostroff spoke with president of Learning Resources Network Jim Draves on the  matter. “This generation focuses its buying on computers, BlackBerrys, music and software and views commuting a few hours by car a huge productivity waste when they can work using PDAs while taking the bus and train,” says Draves.

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/1523/generation-y-giving-cars-a-pass/

Vision/Mission Statement

  Nissan's vision statement "Enriching people's lives" and mission statement "Nissan provides unique and innovative automotive products and services that deliver superior measurable values to all stakeholders in alliance with Renault" are lacking in a few areas according to our text. The vision statement alone is very vague in it attempt to convey where the company is headed. How will it enrich people's lives? How can the company measure the level of success? Maybe the company should have stated how they will enrich people's lives, e.g "enriching people's lives by having a Nissan or Infiniti in every drive way". The mission statement does a slightly better job at conveying who Nissan is, what they do, and why the company is there. According to the text, it is important to have a strong vision statement to pass down to lower-level management and employees. The vision statement is often used as a motivational tool for the employees of a company, and to point them in the direction  that will lead to achieving the company's goals.

http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/COMPANY/MESSAGE/VISION/

Increasing Marketing Strength

  Nissan recently announced on its official website that it will begin the integration of its brand, marketing, and communication functions. The combinded functions will create a new organization to be further known as the Global Marketing Communications team. The company has decided to integrate these functions in order to refine and strenthen its global brands in markets worldwide. The leaders of these functions will come together beginning October 1, 2010, in the hopes that the Global Marketing Communications team will be fully operational by the start of the 2011 fiscal year. The alignement of these functions will help to increase the market strenth for the both the Nissan and Infiniti models.

http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NEWS/2010/_STORY/100921-02-e.html

Nissan Performance Proves Profitable

  Nissan has recently posted on its investors website that increased demand caused the company to increase production. The demand for its Altima sedan and Titan truck increased production by 1.1% in the United States alone. Overall the company saw a 17.9% increase with a production of 330,041 units in the month of July.
  The company experienced a 14.7% increase in sales in the United States. Globally, the company experienced a 12.6% increase in sales, an all time record for the month of July. Innovation and product design have led the company to its successful performance. This increase in sales coupled with production lead the company to achieve a net profit margin of 69%! Due to this success, Nissan has decided to not alter its 2010 financial forecast consisting of a global operating profit of $3.89 billion and net income of $1.67 billion.

http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NEWS/2010/_STORY/100729-01-e.html

Closing Stock Price

Nissan has seen a slight increase in its stock price over the past week. At the close of business on September 10, 2010 Nissan had a stock price of $15.90. This stock price could have been caused by the anticipation of Nissan announcing its pricing for the 2011 Altima.

Made to Order

  The automobile industry is a rapidly growing industry. It, like many other industries, has to adjust their production and selling behaviors according to the external environment in which they operate. Nissan is no exception to this behavior.
  In August, Nissan released a statement stating that the company will begin the order specification for the 2011 Nissan Leaf. The Leaf is the company's first 100% electric car. Nissan's consumers will be able to specify everything from the color down to the trim level. This type of product differentiation is done in the hopes of attracting more consumers.
  Environmental regulations have had a huge impact on the design of new models produced by the automobile industry. In order to reduce the amount of emissions given off by automobiles, the industry is beginning to head towards electric fueled cars. Although the electric cars will help reduce the effect of global warming, the design of the cars is not appealing to many consumers. Nissan will have to create a design that is not only appealing to its consumers, but also cost effective for the average consumer.