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Giro Sport Design (A) Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Giro Sport Design (A) case study


At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Giro Sport Design (A) case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by James C. Collins. The Giro Sport Design (A) (referred as “Helmet Giro” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Growth strategy, Marketing, Succession planning.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment






Case Description of Giro Sport Design (A) Case Study


This case is available in only hard copy format (HBP does not have digital distribution rights to the content). As a result, a digital Educator Copy of the case is not available through this web site.Follows a very creative founder and his business in becoming major forces in the sport and industry of cycling. Looks at a creative and visionary individual, Jim Gentes, and some of the important questions he faced as his first product (a revolutionary new bicycle helmet) became a market success. Details Jim's start-up experiences, including his beginnings when he stocked inventory in his bedroom, used his garage as a manufacturing plant, and expanded by trading a helmet with his neighbor for use of his garage. Giro maintained the highest quality and eventually placed its superior product on the heads of the sport's most respected athletes. Giro leveraged this reputation as the "helmet of champions" as Gentes worked hard to maintain the company's standards. His helmet became well-known among cycling enthusiasts and marketers, eventually garnering a reputation as an extemely "hot" new product. Along with success, the business became increasingly more complicated, and an increasing number of issues required more attention.


Case Authors : James C. Collins

Topic : Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Related Areas : Growth strategy, Marketing, Succession planning




Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Giro Sport Design (A) Case Study


Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 6 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10014517) -10014517 - -
Year 1 3451473 -6563044 3451473 0.9434 3256107
Year 2 3964267 -2598777 7415740 0.89 3528184
Year 3 3959708 1360931 11375448 0.8396 3324647
Year 4 3238540 4599471 14613988 0.7921 2565227
TOTAL 14613988 12674164




The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2659647

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting


What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.




Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting


There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Net Present Value
2. Internal Rate of Return
3. Payback Period
4. Profitability Index

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Helmet Giro shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Helmet Giro have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.






Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Giro Sport Design (A)

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Innovation & Entrepreneurship Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Helmet Giro often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Helmet Giro needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.



Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 15 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10014517) -10014517 - -
Year 1 3451473 -6563044 3451473 0.8696 3001281
Year 2 3964267 -2598777 7415740 0.7561 2997555
Year 3 3959708 1360931 11375448 0.6575 2603572
Year 4 3238540 4599471 14613988 0.5718 1851646
TOTAL 10454054


The Net NPV after 4 years is 439537

(10454054 - 10014517 )








Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%


If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 20 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10014517) -10014517 - -
Year 1 3451473 -6563044 3451473 0.8333 2876228
Year 2 3964267 -2598777 7415740 0.6944 2752963
Year 3 3959708 1360931 11375448 0.5787 2291498
Year 4 3238540 4599471 14613988 0.4823 1561796
TOTAL 9482484


The Net NPV after 4 years is -532033

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9482484 - 10014517 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Helmet Giro to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.





Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Helmet Giro has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Helmet Giro can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Helmet Giro, then the stock price of the Helmet Giro should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Helmet Giro should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.






Negotiation Strategy of Giro Sport Design (A)

References & Further Readings

James C. Collins (2018), "Giro Sport Design (A) Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.


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