Publications

May 2007 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Dollar General (A)

By: Willy Shih, Stephen P. Kaufman and Rebecca McKillican

Dollar General Corporation (DG) operates one of the leading chains of extreme value retailers in the United States. 2006 revenues reached $9.2 billion, making DG the 6th largest mass retailer in the country. With revenues growing at 9% annually over the five-year... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Family Business; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; United States

The world of retailing has changed dramatically in the past decade. This edited book examines the challenges and opportunities arising from the shift towards omni- channel retail. We examine these issues through the lenses of operations management, emphasizing... View Details

Kris Johnson Ferreira

Kris Ferreira is the Edgerley Family Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Management (TOM) Unit. She teaches the Supply Chain Management course in the MBA elective curriculum and analytics in numerous Executive Education... View Details

Keywords: retailing

19 Jul 2010
News

How Mercadona Fixes Retail's 'Last 10 Yards' Problem

December 2015
Article

Does Planning Regulation Protect Independent Retailers?

By: Raffaella Sadun

Regulations aimed at curbing the entry of large retail stores have been introduced in many countries to protect independent retailers. Analyzing a planning reform launched in the United Kingdom in the 1990s, I show that independent retailers were actually harmed by the... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Competition; Retail Industry; United Kingdom

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October 2005 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Friona Industries: Delivering Better Beef

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Mary L. Shelman

CEO James Herring of Friona Industries, a leading U.S. cattle feedlot operator, has a history of leadership in the highly fragmented and often contentious U.S. beef industry. Friona has established relationships up and down the beef production chain to provide... View Details

Keywords: Production; Quality; Leadership; Price; Partners and Partnerships; Sales; Food and Beverage Industry; Texas; United States

Teaching

Overview

I am interested in teaching topics related to supply chains and retail operations. At Harvard Business School, I have served as a Junior and Senior Teaching Fellow for the first year required Technology and Operations Management course. I have also served as an... View Details

December 2004 (Revised December 2005)
Case

Nectar: Making Loyalty Pay

By: John A. Deighton

Loyalty Management UK (LMUK) manages British supermarket chain Sainsbury's frequent-shopper card program, called Nectar. LMUK uses Sainsbury's sponsorship as the magnet to attract other retailers into a profitable, multisponsor loyalty network. Examines the economics... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Business or Company Management; Supply Chain Management; Marketing Strategy; Networks; Marketing Channels; Advertising Campaigns; Outcome or Result; Growth and Development; Retail Industry; Great Britain

October 2000 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Li & Fung (A): Internet Issues

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Fred Young

This case looks at the issues facing a Hong Kong-based trading company, which links hundreds of factories in India and Asia with major customers like Gap and the Limited in Europe and in the United States. The company has recently launched a dot-com operation to allow... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Multinational Firms and Management; Distribution Channels; Logistics; Networks; Markets; Supply Chain; Retail Industry; Hong Kong; India; Europe; United States

October 1997 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Asda (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

In the mid-1980s, Asda was one of the most successful retail companies in the United Kingdom. By 1991, the chain of 200 grocery stores had a lack of direction, a demoralized workforce, declining profits, rising debt, collapsing stock price, and was facing bankruptcy.... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Crisis Management; Management Teams; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom

May 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Camposol

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

With $289 million in 2015 revenues, Camposol is a Peruvian grower, exporter, and marketer of fruits and vegetables, with a focus on the high-growth, high-margin blueberry category. Camposol aspires to become Peru’s first multinational branded produce company. It... View Details

June 1996
Case

Pathfinder Capital

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Two former consultants have raised a search fund and are looking for a company to buy and run. After eight months of looking at deals, they have just signed a letter of intent to buy the second largest book retail chain in Canada in a turnaround situation. They must... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Leveraged Buyouts; Financing and Loans; Venture Capital; Change; Decisions

Janice H. Hammond is the Jesse Philips Professor of Manufacturing. She currently serves as coursehead for the new MBA required course, Data Science for Managers. She serves as program chair for the HBS Executive Education International Women’s Foundation and Women’s... View Details

Keywords: retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing

January 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Index

By: Jose Alvarez and Julia Kelley

In December 2017, Marc Freed-Finnegan and Jonathan Wall, the co-founders of retail technology company Index, had to discuss the company’s direction as they entered 2018. Five years earlier, Freed-Finnegan and Wall had founded Index after observing the technological... View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Product Positioning; Sales; Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

Research Summary

Overview

The overarching goal of my research is to produce works that are influential and informative to both academics and practitioners in the field of operations management. To accomplish this, I collaborate with industry partners who provide knowledge about their field,... View Details

Research Summary

Current Research

I am interested in research on various topics in retail operations and supply chain management, including inventory management, product variety, distribution logistics, financial performance of retailers, and linking operational performance to... View Details

April 2020
Supplement

Luvo (B)

By: José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

This case, a follow on to HBS No. 517-049 "Luvo," provides a brief look at changes that have occurred at Luvo, now called Performance Kitchen, since the timing of the first case (mid-2016). Set in January 2020, “Luvo (B)” touches on developments such as the company's... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Nutrition; Food; Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Marketing; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States; Canada

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

October 1994
Case

Campbell Soup Company: A Leader in Continuous Replenishment Innovations

Campbell Soup, like most food manufacturers, faced grocery chain and wholesale demand for its goods driven by Campbell's own promotional pricing structure rather than retail consumer demand. Former policies to encourage overstock created huge swings in production and... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Supply Chain Management; Logistics