Publications

October 2014 (Revised June 2015)
Case

Quiet Logistics (A)

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This two-part case focuses on how to identify and manage strategic uncertainties in an innovative, entrepreneurial start-up company. In the (A) case, students learn about Quiet Logistics, an e-commerce fulfillment company working with high-end apparel retailers such as... View Details

March 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

The Market and the Mountain Kingdom: Change in Lesotho's Textile Industry

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Regina M. Abrami, Noel Maurer and Aldo Musacchio

In Maseru, the capital of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the stirrings of industrialization and modernization were promising, and more than 50,000 workers, mostly women, were employed in the textile sector; the figure reflected more than a threefold increase in just a few... View Details

Keywords: History; Labor Unions; Trade; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Financial Crisis; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business and Government Relations; Decision Choices and Conditions; Foreign Direct Investment; Developing Countries and Economies; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Lesotho

April 2018 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Coco Chanel: From Fashion Icon to Nazi Agent

By: Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean

This case describes the career of the iconic French fashion designer Coco Chanel who created a transformational business during the first half of the 20th century. Beginning in her early adulthood, Chanel leveraged relationships with acquaintances, friends, and... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Biography; Entrepreneurship; Relationships; Brands and Branding; Ethics; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

September 2020
Article

Customer Supercharging in Experience-Centric Channels

By: David R. Bell, Santiago Gallino and Antonio Moreno

We conjecture that for online retailers, experience-centric offline store formats do not simply expand market coverage, but rather, serve to significantly amplify future positive customer behaviors, both online and offline. We term this phenomenon “supercharging” and... View Details

Keywords: Retail Operations; Marketing-operations Interface; Omnichannel Retailing; Experience Attributes; Quasi-experimental Methods; Operations; Internet and the Web; Marketing Channels; Consumer Behavior; Retail Industry

February 2010 (Revised June 2011)
Case

SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool

By: Mukti Khaire and Kathleen L. McGinn

The case is about the decision to convert a not-for-profit organization into a for-profit company. SEWA Trade Facilitation Center (STFC), which is part of a larger non-profit organization—the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA)—works to improve the livelihoods of... View Details

Keywords: Cooperative Ownership; For-Profit Firms; Gender; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Nonprofit Organizations; Arts; Entrepreneurship; Economic Growth; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; India

May 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Nike Football: World Cup 2010 South Africa

By: Elie Ofek and Ryan Johnson

Nike's Football division needs to devise a strategy to excel at the 2010 World Cup games in South Africa. Nike has gone from a niche player in the market for football apparel and footwear in 1994 to a formidable competitor to Adidas in 2008 (with revenues of over $1... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Business Divisions; Communication; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Planning; Competition; Apparel and Accessories Industry; South Africa

Winter 2016
Article

Analytics for an Online Retailer: Demand Forecasting and Price Optimization

By: Kris J. Ferreira, Bin Hong Alex Lee and David Simchi-Levi

We present our work with an online retailer, Rue La La, as an example of how a retailer can use its wealth of data to optimize pricing decisions on a daily basis. Rue La La is in the online fashion sample sales industry, where they offer extremely limited-time... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Price; Forecasting and Prediction; Revenue; Sales; Retail Industry

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19 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 19

Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53214 Harvard Business School Case 517-075 Mavi: Fashioning a Path to Brand Growth This case examines the strategic choices and business model with regards to branding at Mavi, a leading Turkish... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

How SHEIN and Temu Conquered Fast Fashion—and Forged a New Business Model

business trade publication estimates that between July and December 2021, SHEIN added 2,000 to 10,000 items per day to its app. Sheng Lu, an associate professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware, estimates that... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton; Fashion; Retail; Consumer Products

October 2018
Article

The Operational Value of Social Media Information

By: Ruomeng Cui, Santiago Gallino, Antonio Moreno and Dennis J. Zhang

While the value of using social media information has been established in multiple business contexts, the field of operations and supply chain management have not yet explored the possibilities it offers in improving firms' operational decisions. This study attempts to... View Details

Keywords: Machine Learning; Information; Sales; Forecasting and Prediction; Social Media

18 Apr 2022
HBS Case

Dick’s Sporting Goods Followed Its Conscience on Guns—and It Paid Off

at Dick’s. They decided they needed a comprehensive communications strategy to minimize potential negative reactions and win support from others for the company’s plans, which included a gradual phase-in of the ban at stores and replacing gun products with... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

26 Apr 2024
HBS Case

Deion Sanders' Prime Lessons for Leading a Team to Victory

reviewing uniform, merchandise, and apparel designs. “No one questioned if he sat in on a meeting about pedestrian traffic for an upcoming football game, reviewed a working design of a commemorative poster to be handed out to fans, or... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

29 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Why Do Outlet Stores Exist?

usually located in rural areas near the factory and selling damaged or irregular clothing, often to employees themselves. Even though most apparel manufacturing has long ago moved overseas, outlet stores have continued to exist—despite... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Apparel & Accessories; Apparel & Accessories; Apparel & Accessories

27 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

Religion in the Workplace: What Managers Need to Know

monkeybusinessimages How to handle religion in the workplace is a contentious and litigious issue that many business leaders struggle with. The subject is so third-rail hot that even Harvard Business School has devoted relatively few courses and case studies to it.... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories; Apparel & Accessories

02 Sep 2015
What Do You Think?

What's Wrong With Amazon’s Low-Retention HR Strategy?

This past month, a New York Times report on Amazon’s personnel strategies prompted several days of intense debate. A number of questions can be raised about the article itself, given the fact that much of it was based on interviews with those who had left an... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Apparel & Accessories; Apparel & Accessories; Apparel & Accessories; Apparel & Accessories; Apparel & Accessories

01 Jun 2023
HBS Case

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

At age 32—feeling far removed from the violent street crimes that had consumed his teens and 20s—Larry Miller just knew he was nailing a job interview with a senior partner at Arthur Andersen. That is, until he came clean about his troubled past. Seventeen years... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories

Research Summary

Overview

Downstream businesses that utilize global suppliers frequently use auditing programs to monitor their suppliers’ working conditions and are often deployed to address reputational concerns associated with procuring from unregulated suppliers. Despite their widespread... View Details

Keywords: Audit Quality; Remote Work; Outsourcing; Econometric Analysis; Switching Costs; Service Operations; Performance Effectiveness; Retail Industry; Service Industry

September 2009
Article

Virtue out of Necessity? Compliance, Commitment and the Improvement of Labor Conditions in Global Supply Chains

By: Akshay Mangla, Richard Locke and Matthew Amengual

Private, voluntary compliance programs, promoted by global corporations and nongovernmental organizations alike, have produced only modest and uneven improvements in working conditions and labor rights in most global supply chains. Through a detailed study of a major... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Ethics; Supply Chain; Governance Compliance; Globalization

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December 2010
Case

Leadership, Culture, and Transition at lululemon

By: Michael Tushman, Ruth Page and Tom Ryder

The case examines leadership and organizational change within a strong culture context through a multimedia study of lululemon, a specialty retailer of high-end athletic apparel. Video segments trace the company's history from its founding in 1998 as a single retail... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Transition; Growth Management; Management Teams; Organizational Structure; Governing and Advisory Boards; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Vancouver; United States