Publications

October 2000
Case

CDNow (A)

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Christina Akers and Howard Reitz

With CDnow's acquisition of N2K's Music Boulevard web site, this case deals with capturing value in the music industry with online sales. CDnow has the advantage of being one of the exclusive music online retailers on AOL but faces fierce competition from Amazon.com.... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation

Find at Harvard

23 Apr 2015
News

The unusual and kind of brilliant way Pret A Manger thanks its customers

09 Dec 2014
News

The Discipline of Business Experimentation

12 Jan 2013
News

Striking a balance on money market funds

December 2022 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Iberdrola: Leading the Energy Revolution

By: Juan Alcácer and Emer Moloney

At the end of 2019, Ignacio Galán, the Chairman and CEO of the world's third largest utility, Iberdrola, reflected on his almost 20 years at the company. He managed a portfolio of three very different businesses, each with their own specific opportunities and... View Details

January 2018
Case

Trian Partners' Proxy Contest at Procter & Gamble

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher

In July 2017, activist hedge fund Trian Partners announced that it was launching a proxy fight at U.S. consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble. P&G would be the largest company ever subjected to a proxy fight, as Trian sought to have its CEO, Nelson Peltz, elected to the... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Corporate Governance; Institutional Investing; Investment Activism; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

July 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Mitchells/Richards

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Corey B. Hajim

Describes a small, luxury retail chain's operational sophistication achieved through the use of technology and high-touch customer service. A family-run business, Mitchells has built its success with a customer service strategy know internally as "hugging." The term is... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Expansion; Family Business; Attitudes; Organizational Culture; Luxury; Customer Focus and Relationships; Retail Industry

October 2009
Supplement

Don Soderquist: Negotiating the Wal-Mart-P&G Relationship (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

This case follows the A case and describes the negotiations and strategic choices of Don Soderquist, who as Chief Operating Officer of Wal-Mart, helped to forge a major partnership with P&G in the 1980s and 1990s. The case chronicles the challenging barriers to success... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Style; Partners and Partnerships; Leadership; Value Creation; Problems and Challenges; Distribution Channels; Distribution Industry

September 1984 (Revised February 1989)
Case

Benetton (A)

By: James L. Heskett

The world's largest manufacturer of woolen outerwear garments seeks to extend its retailing network to the United States from its base in Europe. A number of issues concerning marketing, manufacturing, and logistics strategy are raised by the proposed move along with... View Details

Keywords: Logistics; Brands and Branding; Networks; Production; Marketing Strategy; Globalization; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States; Europe

21 May 2014
News

Harvard Historian Nancy Koehn On The Cashless Society

October 2013
Case

Pearle Vision: Clearly Different?

By: Rajiv Lal and Natalie Kindred

Ohio-based optical retailer Pearle Vision, part of the vertically integrated Italian eyewear group Luxottica, sold glasses and offered in-store eye exams. Once the largest U.S. optical retailer, Pearle Vision, with 266 corporate stores and 356 franchised stores in... View Details

Keywords: Eye Care; Competitive Advantage; Market Participation; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Hennes & Mauritz, 2000

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2000, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) was the second-largest and most global player in the fashion retail business. It operated 682 stores, 80% of them outside its home country of Sweden, and achieved revenues of $3.0 billion and operating profits of $375 million. In 1999,... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Strategy Alignment; Strategic Planning; Fashion; Risk Management; Competition; Problems and Challenges; Management Teams; Globalized Firms and Management; Expansion; Distribution Channels; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Sweden

Shikhar Ghosh is a Professor of Management Practice in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit. He currently teaches in the elective curriculum and is the course head for 3 Technologies that will Change the World. Shikhar received the Apgar Award for innovation in... View Details

Web

Faculty & Research

the broader alternative industry facing pressure to find solutions for fundraising from "retail" investors, competitive pressures evolved rapidly. In this context, Moonfare considered creating an investment vehicle with an unprecedented minimum investment of 10,000.... View Details

Web

Employment Data

Products 4% Entertainment / Media 1% Health Care 5% Investment Banking 3% Investment Management / Hedge Fund 6% Manufacturing 6% Nonprofit / Government 5% Other Financial Services 3% Private Equity 17% Retail 1% Services 2% Technology 16%... View Details

December 1994 (Revised June 1995)
Case

Tiffany & Co.--1993

By: W. Carl Kester and Kendall Backstrand

The restructuring of Tiffany's retailing agreement with Mitsukoshi Ltd. in 1993 exposed Tiffany to substantial yen/dollar exchange rate volatility that it had not previously faced. This new exposure requires Tiffany to establish risk management policies and practices.... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Currency Exchange Rate; Management Practices and Processes; Risk Management; Agreements and Arrangements; Situation or Environment

08 Oct 2020
HBS Seminar

Ginger Jin, University of Maryland

February 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Staples.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joanna M. Jacobson and Gillian Morris

Staples.com, the online unit of the U.S. office supplies retailing chain Staples, faces a range of strategic and organizational issues as it accelerates its growth. Should it pursue only existing Staples customers or consumers who do not shop in Staples stores? How... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Business Units; Business Model; Growth and Development; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Business Strategy; Service Industry; United States