Publications

May 2019 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

By: William R. Kerr and Jordan Bach-Lombardo

Faced with intense competition from Amazon, Walmart began a transformation of its operations and workforce in 2015. The goal was to create an omnichannel retail experience for customers that seamlessly joined online and offline shopping. This case explores Walmart's... View Details

Keywords: Walmart; Managing The Future Of Work; Workforce; Automation; Ecommerce; Omnichannel Retail; Operations; Transformation; Employees; Training; Information Technology; Infrastructure; Disruption; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Information Infrastructure; Retail Industry

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Water, Electricity, and Transportation: Preparing for the Population Boom

By 2050, the Earth's population will likely exceed 9 billion people, up 30 percent from 6.9 billion today, according to projections from both the US Census Bureau and the United Nations. What's more, the population in the world's cities is expected to increase by 3... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

L'Oréal: Global Brand, Local Knowledge

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson

Worldwide, and in the U.S. marketplace in particular, the French cachet of L'Oréal was one of its most powerful marketing tools. However, with the opening up of emerging markets, L'Oréal had to cater to a diverse customer base: an aging population in the West, ethnic... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Change Management; Sales; Emerging Markets; Segmentation; Innovation and Invention; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; France; United States

25 Feb 2020
News

Alumni and Faculty Books for March 2020

You'll discover the simple joy of early chai and omelette at Kyani and Co., of dawdling in Horniman Circle on a lazy morning, of eating your fill on Mohammed Ali Road, of strolling on the sands at Chowpatty... View Details

28 Aug 2020
Video

Shahnaz Husain

Shahnaz Husain, the founder of Shahnaz Herbals, a natural beauty company based in India, discusses how her products need to adapt to local cultures, and explains why she sells creams facilitating light skin in India. View Details

April 1991 (Revised March 2017)
Teaching Note

Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (A) and (B)

By: Robert Simons

Teaching Note for (9-190-103) and (9-190-122). View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Salesforce Management; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

January 1983 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.: Marketing Communications

By: John A. Quelch

Marketing executives at the company are considering the merits of a variety of communications programs designed to increase the effectiveness of the company's sales force of beauty consultants. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Salesforce Management; Decision Making; Performance Effectiveness; Management Teams; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

Web

Building Iconic Brands and Brighter Futures: Interview with Glossier CEO, Kyle Leahy - Recruiting

brand to new heights. Since its founding in 2014, Glossier had disrupted the beauty industry, created a powerful community-driven brand, and was looking to build the business that would unlock its growth... View Details

February 2001 (Revised September 2002)
Teaching Note

Estee Lauder and the Market for Prestige Cosmetics TN

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Teaching Note for (4-801-362). View Details

Keywords: Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

10 Nov 2021
Video

Welcome Fall!

October 2005 (Revised July 2009)
Case

MD Beauty, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind

Describes some of the issues confronting the entrepreneurial team responsible for creating a highly successful natural beauty and skin care company. They are considering selling all or some portion of the company's stock. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Stocks; Financial Strategy; Management Teams; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

Find at Harvard

15 Aug 2017
Blog Post

Where Work Meets Passion: A Summer In Community Development

I’ve known for a while that I want to be a community developer, and I want to start that work in my hometown of Detroit. I desire to create beautiful spaces and experiences for... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: Geoffrey G. Jones

I currently teach the history of global entrepreneurship over the last 200 years. The 28-session course called Entrepreneurship and Global Capitalism has become one of the most popular second year electives in the MBA program at the Harvard Business School. The cases,... View Details

13 Apr 2023
Blog Post

Building a Village: Learning and Living at HBS

plans, a difficult stage of potty training, or a health scare. This support system has made me never want to live anywhere else. To know that over 40 families have my back is a beautiful feeling. And to... View Details

12 Mar 2020
Video

Ian Fuhr

Ian Fuhr, founder of Sorbet, the largest chain of beauty salons in South Africa, describes how he built the Sorbet brand through offering unconditional refunds and careful training of staff in the company’s... View Details

June 1995
Supplement

Dow Corning and the Breast Implant Controversy (B)

By: Willis M. Emmons III, Monica Brand and Greg Keller

Provides an update to the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry