fashion - Publications - Faculty & Research

11 Dec 2014
News

Fashion's Retail Revolution

department stores, but it was rare to find them in customer-facing positions, the fashion piece of the fashion retail business. To learn more about these seven HBS Alumni trendsetters, click on their photos... View Details

Keywords: April White; fashion; Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Finance

May 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Predicting Consumer Tastes with Big Data at Gap

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

CEO Art Peck was eliminating his creative directors for The Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic brands and promoting a collective creative ecosystem fueled by the input of big data. Rather than relying on artistic vision, Peck wanted the company to use the mining of big... View Details

Citation

Educators

Purchase

01 Dec 2014
News

Customizing Couture Online

“fashion’s fairy godmother.” It’s easy to remember a time when women didn’t buy high-end fashion online—it was barely a decade ago. Magnúsdóttir watched the birth of the online fashion industry as a retail... View Details

Keywords: April White; fashion; Professional Services

01 Jun 2014
News

A Look at Olook

She just graduated from college a few years ago. She's middle class. She drives a Fiat Uno. She's very socially active. And she loves social networks. And she's into fashion blogs," says Beisert. "We sell to everybody in practice, but... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; fashion; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade

01 Dec 2014
News

Instilling Production with Principles

Dressing by Number Karen Moon Making Big Data Fashionable Making Big Data Fashionable Ivy Ross Creating the Shopping Experience of the Future Creating the Shopping Experience of the Future Imran Amed... View Details

Keywords: April White; fashion; Manufacturing

November 2011 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Rent the Runway

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Laura Winig

Two months after a successful launch in November 2009, the cofounders of Rent the Runway (RTR), a website that rented designer dresses, are debating whether to grow their startup at a measured pace and focus on improving operational effectiveness, or raise a new round... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Electronic Commerce; Fashion; Expansion; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Fashion Industry

Citation

Educators

Purchase

January 2015
Case

The Blonde Salad

By: Anat Keinan, Kristina Maslauskaite, Sandrine Crener and Vincent Dessain

In 2014, Chiara Ferragni, a globe-trotting founder of the world's most popular fashion blog The Blonde Salad, and Riccardo Pozzoli, her co-founder and business partner, had to decide how to best monetize her blog as well as her shoe line called the "Chiara Ferragni... View Details

Citation

Educators

Purchase

01 Dec 2014
News

Dressing by Number

individual client and the “client in aggregate” becomes. And better data means better-dressed shoppers, says Lake, noting that 70 percent of Stitch Fix’s clients return for a second “fix” within 90 days. Next: Karen Moon (MBA 2008) — Making Big Data View Details

Keywords: Christine Lejeune; fashion; cosmetics; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Hennes & Mauritz, 2012

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2012, Hennes & Maurtiz (H&M) was the second-largest specialty apparel retailer in the world. Sales for fiscal 2012 were $18.1 billion and operating profits were $3.3 billion. H&M operated 2,776 stores, 93% of them outside its home base of Sweden. Over the past... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Strategic Decision Making; Strategy; Supply Chain; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Fashion Industry; Europe; Sweden

Citation

Educators

Purchase

April 2012 (Revised May 2012)
Case

EILEEN FISHER: Repositioning the Brand

By: Anat Keinan, Jill Avery, Fiona Wilson and Michael Norton

Well-established fashion brand Eileen Fisher has traditionally appealed to older women. However, to drive growth, Eileen Fisher's management team wants to target a younger demographic and has revamped its Fall product line to offer more fashionable styles to appeal to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Market Segmentation And Target Market Selection; Retailing; Fashion; Corporate Social Responsibility; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Segmentation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Growth and Development Strategy; Social Media; Fashion Industry; Fashion Industry

Citation

Educators

Purchase

November 2013
Case

Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance?

By: Mukti Khaire and Hannah Catzen

Ministry of Supply is an entrepreneurial venture in the apparel sector. The firm focuses on a specific segment—'performance professional wear'—within the sector, specializing in clothes that use fabrics with high-tech performance features (such as moisture-wicking,... View Details

Keywords: Fashion And Creative Industries; Entrepreneurship; Fashion Industry

Citation

Educators

Purchase

October 2015 (Revised October 2016)
Case

Paez

By: Jill Avery, Maria Fernanda Miguel and Laura Urdapilleta

Paez, an Argentine start-up fashion brand, sold traditional alpargatas, a sleepy shoe category that suddenly woke up when U.S. company TOMS borrowed the traditional alpargata design, covered it with fashionable colors and prints, and tied it to a social cause. Paez's... View Details

Keywords: Brands; Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Entrepreneurship In Emerging Markets; Retailing; Fashion; Competitive Strategy; Marketing; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Competition; Fashion Industry; Fashion Industry; Argentina; Spain

Citation

Educators

Purchase

01 Dec 2014
News

Creating the Shopping Experience of the Future

Inc., and Coach, among others, is focused on the style angle. Glass is, she says, “fashionable eyewear with integrated technology.” How fashionable? Diane von Furstenberg and Oakley are designing partners. Those fashionable frames are... View Details

Keywords: Christine Lejeune; fashion; technology

26 Feb 2014
News

The First Five Years: Morgan Hermand-Waiche (MBA 2010)

friends and family complain about the options for buying lingerie in the United States. I found that there was a huge opportunity to disrupt the intimate apparel space. People are so tired of high prices and slow fashion from Victoria's... View Details

Keywords: online shopping; fashion; Apparel Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade

December 2018
Case

Choosy

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2017, Choosy is a data-driven fashion startup that uses algorithms to identify styles trending on social media. After manufacturing similar items using a China-based supply chain, Choosy sells them to consumers through its website and social media pages.... View Details

Citation

Educators

Purchase

August 2014
Case

Rent the Runway (Abridged)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Brent Goldfarb and David A. Kirsch

Two months after a successful launch In November 2009, the cofounders of Rent the Runway (RTR), a website that rented designer dresses, are debating whether to grow their startup at a measured pace and focus on improving operational effectiveness, or raise a new round... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Electronic Commerce; Fashion; Expansion; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Fashion Industry

Citation

Educators

Purchase

19 Sep 2012
News

On a Sound Track

customers that you don’t burn out. At least I haven’t yet! Sharing the Passion Skullcandy sponsors leading surf and skate teams and partners with prominent athletes, such as NBA stars James Harden and Kevin Durant, and nationally known DJs, View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; audio equipment; fashion; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

19 Dec 2018
News

Online Retailers Aim to Shake Up the Wedding Market

Keywords: online retail; weddings; fashion; e-commerce; Retail Trade

May 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Case

Improving Repurchase Rates at zulily

By: Thales Teixeira and Sarah McAra

In February 2015, zulily cofounder and CEO Darrell Cavens faced a major challenge in his business, a Seattle-based daily deals site that catered to moms. The more he spent to acquire new customers, the less he retained them in the form of repeat purchases. This was an... View Details