Publications

October 2008
Case

The Talbots, Inc., and Subsidiaries: Accounting for Goodwill

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

In 2006, Talbots, Inc., a specialty women's retailer, purchased a competitor, J. Jill. The transaction created a large goodwill account along with accounts for trademarks and other intangible assets. Using prevailing accounting standards (Statement of Financial... View Details

Keywords: FASB; Intangible Assets; Standards; Financial Statements; Goodwill Accounting; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

August 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Whole Foods: Balancing Social Mission and Growth

By: Christopher Marquis, Marya Besharov and Bobbi Thomason

In 2009, Whole Foods stands at a crossroads. Their incredible growth over the past 25 years has vaulted them into the ranks of the largest US supermarkets and they have arguably led to the widespread acceptance of natural and organic foods in the United States. Yet... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

March 2007 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Nike Inc. - Heading Toward 2012

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

This is a short case (2 pages), which can be distributed and discussed in class as an update through 2006 of the Nike case series. It follows Nike, Inc.: Entering the Millennium (Case #299-084). View Details

Keywords: Business History; Brands and Branding; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

March 2005 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Noodles & Company (Abridged)

By: Linda A. Cyr

Aaron Kennedy has successfully grown Noodles & Co. from a single global noodle shop to a chain of 58 restaurants spanning six states in seven years. In the face of increasing competition, Kennedy has plans to roll out 240 new stores in the next four years. He must... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Entrepreneurship; Franchise Ownership; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

2007
Working Paper

Mental Accounting and Small Windfalls: Evidence from an Online Grocer

By: Katherine L. Milkman, John Beshears, Todd Rogers and Max H. Bazerman

We study the effect of small windfalls on consumer spending decisions by examining the purchasing behavior of a sample of online grocery shoppers over the course of a year. We compare the purchases customers make when redeeming a $10-off coupon they received from their... View Details

Keywords: Spending; Consumer Behavior; Mathematical Methods; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

Read Now

August 1991 (Revised December 1994)
Supplement

Marks and Spencer Ltd. (C)

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

Describes post-acquisition activity in Brooks Brothers and Kings Supermarkets from 1988 to 1991. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

March 1999 (Revised August 1999)
Case

Coop, The: Market Research

By: Ruth Bolton and Youngme E. Moon

Daryl Buckmeister, CEO of The Chicken Coop, must decide whether to invest in market research, how much money to spend, and which programs to fund. His two vice presidents (of quality and marketing) have presented very different proposals. View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Cost; Research; Markets; Quality; Decisions; Management Teams; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

May 1978 (Revised June 1978)
Case

Campbell Warehouse Supermarkets

By: Walter J. Salmon

Keywords: Retail Industry; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

October 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Asda (A1)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

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

November 1990 (Revised June 2004)
Case

McDonald's and the Environment

McDonald's decides to withdraw its polystyrene plastic packaging for sandwiches and hamburgers after years of defending itself against environmental critics. The decision occurs in the midst of a six-month Joint Task Force study, with the nonprofit Environmental... View Details

Keywords: Announcements; Change Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

21 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Good Banks, Bad Banks, and Government’s Role as Fixer

Most books about the nation's financial crisis tell us what happened. In his new book, HBS senior lecturer Robert Pozen tells us how to fix the system. A financial industry veteran and chairman of MFS Investment Management, a Boston firm... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

01 Sep 2013
News

Who Are We?

and complex amino acids.) 683 alumni work in the agriculture industry 1957 HBS professors Ray Goldberg (MBA 1950) and John H. Davis (MBA 1941) coin the term agribusiness 236 alumni work in the food and beverage View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Julia Hanna; Dan Morrell; social media,; Twitter; SodaStream; consulting; consultant; CEO; farming; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Agriculture; Food Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Rail Transportation; Transportation

01 Jun 2014
News

Screen Saver

take a company rooted in its history, in one kind of business, and develop a strategy and execution around migrating that experience from the traditional venue of our retail stores into new business areas and channels of distribution,"... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Arts, Entertainment

21 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 21

Target's faltering performance during an economic downturn led an activist shareholder to initiate a proxy fight. Target Corporation, the second largest discount store retailer in the U.S., had competed successfully against View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Jun 2016
First Look

June 28, 2016

pressure for antitrust revision came from the states. A perhaps unlikely leader, Edna Gleason, organized California's retail pharmacists and coordinated trade networks to monitor and enforce Resale Price Maintenance (RPM) contracts, a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 2, 2010

Greenwich, Connecticut, that is considering offering a wholly new line of product to retail investors, namely the ability to invest in the price phenomenon known as momentum. There is a large body of empirical evidence supporting momentum... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Career Coach

Annette Rodriguez-Ferrer

I Corp (NASDAQ: SDAC). Notable board roles during her tenure at Warburg Pincus include Gabe’s, TriMark, Outset Medical (NASDAQ: OM), Silk Road Medical (NASDAQ: SILK), Glansaol and Wencor Group. She was also actively engaged in portfolio companies Neiman Marcus,... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail

August 2022
Supplement

Zalora: Data-Driven Pricing Recommendations

By: Ayelet Israeli

This exercise can be used in conjunction with the main case "Zalora: Data-Driven Pricing" to facilitate class discussion without requiring data analysis from the students. Instead, the exercise presents reports that were created by the data science team to answer the... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Pricing Algorithms; Dynamic Pricing; Ecommerce; Pricing Strategy; Pricing And Revenue Management; Apparel; Singapore; Startup; Demand Estimation; Data Analysis; Data Analytics; Exercise; Price; Internet and the Web; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Singapore

September 2020 (Revised July 2022)
Supplement

Spreadsheet Supplement to Artea (B) and (C)

By: Eva Ascarza and Ayelet Israeli

Spreadsheet Supplement to "Artea (B): Including Customer-level Demographic Data" and "Artea (C): Potential Discrimination through Algorithmic Targeting" View Details

Keywords: Gender; Race; Diversity; Marketing; Customer Relationship Management; Demographics; Prejudice and Bias; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States