Publications

23 May 2019
News

Marla Beck, MBA/MPA 1998

for cosmetics needed to be more customer focused, so in 1999 she launched Bluemercury, a retailer of high-end beauty products. Perhaps the most obvious evidence that Beck’s thoughtful strategy and hard work... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

January 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Joint Juice

Focuses on Joint Juice, a start-up in the new-age beverage category. The company has a patented formula for producing a glucosamine beverage, the only one on the market. (Glucosamine is a nutritional supplement believed to help rejuvenate joints and treat arthritis.)... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Corporate Strategy; Industry Structures; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Feb 2000
News

New Releases

Environmental Management, Associate Professor Forest Reinhardt argues that managers should treat environmental management as an integral part of corporate strategy rather than merely as an exercise in public relations. "Social... View Details

November 1993 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Marsh Supermarkets, Inc. (A): The Marsh Super Study

In response to recent trends in grocery retailing, Marsh Supermarkets has completed an intensive 65-week study of the activity at 5 superstores in the midwest United States. The study tracked the sales, profits, space, and promotion dynamics of the entire store: dry... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Analysis; Consumer Behavior; Retail Industry

01 Jun 2013
News

Brick by Brick

Case Study Illustration by Corbis/Matthias Kulka Sometimes, a company's history contains more drama than a Russian novel. A recent case, "LEGO," explores how the toy maker grew to global dominance from humble beginnings, the mistakes that led it near bankruptcy, and... View Details

Keywords: toys; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Miscellaneous Store Retailers

19 Mar 2016
News

Ex-McKinsey Analyst Finds New Path as Lavish Jeweler

Keywords: Nonstore Retailers; Nonstore Retailers

January 2014
Case

Maricopa, Inc.: Finding the Right Treatment for Growth

By: William A. Sahlman, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joseph B. Fuller and Shikhar Ghosh

The founders of Maricopa, Inc., a startup that sold proprietary hair-care products directly to salons, were preparing a board presentation to address the young company's inability to meet financial projections. While the products had caught on with customers, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financial Condition; Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Expansion; Planning; Fashion Industry; Iowa

August 2010 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Vitalia Franchise

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Beatriz Munoz-Seca

Cathy Hoffmann has rapidly grown her novel facilities for day care therapy for elders with mild cognitive and physical problems. But she needs to decide whether to franchise or own the next expansion. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Ownership Stake; Franchise Ownership; Expansion; Health Industry; Spain

January 2009 (Revised February 2013)
Case

Appellation Shanxi: Grace Vineyard

By: William C. Kirby, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Grace Vineyard was a rare family-owned, private winery in China that was set on establishing itself as a world-renowned, quality vintner. Judy Leissner, the second-generation company leader, was at a crossroads in how she wanted to grow the business that her father... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Growth and Development Strategy; Family Ownership; State Ownership; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; China

January 2009 (Revised February 2009)
Case

Grupo Bimbo: Growth and Social Responsibility

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Regina Garcia-Cuellar

Bimbo, headquartered in Mexico with 2008 sales of $7 billion, was one of the largest bakery companies in the world. Even as it had grown spectacularly in the last several decades, the company had earned a stellar reputation for its corporate social responsibility... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Reputation; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; Mexico

September 1999 (Revised June 2001)
Case

eBay, Inc.

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Kelley Porter

eBay was the world's largest and most popular person-to-person trading community on the Internet. In early 1999, the company was doing very well and seemed to have solved many of its early problems. However, on March 30, 1999, Amazon.com announced that it was entering... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Planning; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

12 Nov 2024
HBS Case

Inside One Startup's Journey to Break Down Hiring (and Funding) Barriers

building to 1,500 employers, 146,000 job seekers, and $3 million in investments from Midwest- and Rocky Mountain-based venture capital firms. Blakeman’s product should have a natural path to expansion by helping companies meet diversity,... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Employment

September 2023
Supplement

Accelerating with Caution: Forecasting and Managing birddogs’ Growth (B)

By: Mark Egan

As 2017 was drawing to a close, birddogs’ founder and CEO, Peter Baldwin, was working with his CFO Jack Sullivan to prepare for 2018. Their task at hand? To predict the demand for their product in the coming season, determine the appropriate investments in working... View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Forecasting and Prediction; Expansion; Production; Apparel and Accessories Industry

June 2009 (Revised March 2010)
Supplement

Hansson Private Label, Inc.: Evaluating an Investment in Expansion, Student Spreadsheet (Brief Case)

By: Erik Stafford and Joel L. Heilprin

Keywords: Present Value; Forecasting; Expansion; Valuation; Forecasting and Prediction; Capital Budgeting

January 2008
Article

The Value of a Broader Product Portfolio

By: Bharat Anand

The mantra "Every product must stand on its own bottom line" may no longer be the one to chant. Nowadays, broadening your portfolio can increase both your chances of a big win and the benefit your other products can get from a hit's popularity. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Development; Expansion; Value Creation