Publications

April 2013
Case

Sterling Household Products Company

By: William E. Fruhan and Craig Stephenson

Sterling Household Products manufactures and markets a broad line of consumer goods from laundry soap and cosmetics to cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing products. The company has many highly regarded brand names and consistently reports impressive sales and... View Details

June 2003 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Pension Policy at The Boots Company PLC

By: Luis M. Viceira and Akiko M. Mitsui

In early 2000, the trustees of the pension scheme at Boots considered a proposal to move 100% of the pension assets into a bond portfolio, which would be passively managed. The Boots Co. PLC was a leading retailer of cosmetics and toiletries in the United Kingdom, and... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Employees; Asset Management; Capital Structure; Investment Portfolio; Consumer Products Industry; United Kingdom

June 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

Revlon India's Turnaround: Navigating Online-Offline Decisions Using a Balanced Scorecard

By: Tatiana Sandino and Samuel Grad

Revlon India was founded as a joint venture in 1995, pairing the industrial conglomerate UMG with the global beauty brand Revlon, Inc. to bring international color cosmetics to India. After growing rapidly and pioneering the Beauty Advisor (BA) model in India, the... View Details

March 2014
Case

Jurlique: Globalizing Beauty from Nature and Science

By: Geoffrey Jones and Andrew Spadafora

Considers the marketing and strategic challenges faced by natural beauty brands using the case of Australian-based Jurlique, which was acquired by Pola of Japan in 2011. The case opens two years later in July 2013 when Sam McKay, the chief executive officer, on a visit... View Details

Keywords: Australia; China; Environmental Strategies; Green Business; Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; China; Australia; United States

22 Apr 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Audit Quality and Auditor Reputation: Evidence from Japan

Keywords: by Douglas J. Skinner & Suraj Srinivasan

24 Oct 2023
HBS Case

From P.T. Barnum to Mary Kay: Lessons From 5 Leaders Who Changed the World

Jackie Robinson. “They wake up every morning and see the glass as half-full not half-empty. People are attracted to optimism and hope in leaders.” Here, Simons discusses five leaders and what made them management legends. Mary Kay Ash: Praise is powerful Growing up in... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

19 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

The History of Beauty

the world. As for decorative cosmetics, the story of lipstick is really interesting. While the use of lipstick, like many cosmetics products, reaches back far into human history, in the early 20th century it was still a product associated... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics

26 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

Lipstick Tips: How Influencers Are Making Over Beauty Marketing

And, in a video tutorial on YouTube, in which Hughes starts with a scrubbed-clean face (revealing some of the same splotchy spots many of us worry about), she demonstrates how she applies layer after layer of creams and cosmetics to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Beauty & Cosmetics; Beauty & Cosmetics

25 Jan 2017
HBS Case

How Should Advertisers Respond to Consumer Demand for Whiter Skin?

In India, where many people consider fair skin more desirable than dark, the cosmetics industry has responded by producing a wide range of skin-lightening products—and with great success. But, when these companies pitch their creams in... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Beauty & Cosmetics

07 Jun 2023
HBS Case

3 Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage Now: Lessons from Amazon, Chipotle, and Facebook

the same customers. The Ordinary reduces costs. The no-frills cosmetic brand eschews the kind of product customization and coveted celebrity endorsements often seen in the industry, cutting research and development and advertising costs.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Web

Named Fellowship Funds - Alumni

observer of Tory Burch and a former director of Too Faced Cosmetics and Barteca Holdings. Previously, he was on the investment team at Advent International, where he served on multiple boards, including those of Bojangles and Five Below.... View Details

January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community

By: Jill Avery

Glossier’s proclaimed strategy was “born from content; fueled by community.” The digital-first, direct-to-consumer beauty brand had experienced rapid growth, with sales up 600% in 2017 and a customer portfolio that grew by threefold. But, its founder, Emily Weiss, was... View Details