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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(650)
- News (106)
- Research (449)
- Events (1)
- Multimedia (2)
- Faculty Publications (257)
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- September 2014 (Revised June 2016)
- Case
Whole Foods: The Path to 1,000 Stores
By: David F. Drake, Ryan W. Buell, Melissa Barton, Taylor Jones, Katrina Keverian and Jeffrey Stock
The case examines the operations strategy of Whole Foods, one of the largest natural grocery chains in the United States. In late 2013, Whole Foods was expanding rapidly, with a publicly-stated goal of growing from 351 to 1,000 domestic stores by 2022. It was also... View Details
Keywords: Human Capital; Food; Expansion; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States
Drake, David F., Ryan W. Buell, Melissa Barton, Taylor Jones, Katrina Keverian, and Jeffrey Stock. "Whole Foods: The Path to 1,000 Stores." Harvard Business School Case 615-019, September 2014. (Revised June 2016.)
- March 2003 (Revised March 2004)
- Case
Noodles & Company
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; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Culture; Franchise Ownership; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States
Cyr, Linda A. "Noodles & Company." Harvard Business School Case 803-174, March 2003. (Revised March 2004.)
- October 2022 (Revised December 2022)
- Case
Aphro Beverages
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amram Migdal
This case focuses on distribution, sales, and product decisions as Aphro Beverages reaches an inflection point in its growth trajectory. In 2020, Aphro Beverages, based in Accra, Ghana, successfully launched its brand and brought two new alcoholic spirits products to... View Details
Keywords: Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Business Ventures; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Food; Geography; Geographic Scope; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Resource Allocation; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Digital Marketing; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Operations; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Product; Product Design; Product Development; Supply Chain; Sales; Salesforce Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Africa; Ghana
Cespedes, Frank V., and Amram Migdal. "Aphro Beverages." Harvard Business School Case 823-044, October 2022. (Revised December 2022.)
- January 2015 (Revised March 2015)
- Case
Wegmans and Listeria: Developing a Proactive Food Safety System for Produce
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Christine Snively
In July 2014, supermarket chain Wegmans received notification from supplier Wawona Packing Co. that its peaches arrived in Australia with a small trace of Listeria monocytogenes. While some countries such as Australia allowed low-levels of listeria to be present in... View Details
Keywords: Food Safety; Food Safety Standards; Grocery; Safety; Food; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Australia; United States
Goldberg, Ray A., and Christine Snively. "Wegmans and Listeria: Developing a Proactive Food Safety System for Produce." Harvard Business School Case 915-412, January 2015. (Revised March 2015.)
- April 2010 (Revised April 2010)
- Case
Mercadona
This case presents the predicament of a company trying to do right by its customers and its employees as the economic crisis of 2008 hits home. Fifteen years earlier, this Spanish supermarket chain had adopted its own version of total quality management, called the... View Details
Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Compensation and Benefits; Employee Relationship Management; Service Operations; Business Processes; Retail Industry; Spain
Ton, Zeynep, and Simon Harrow. "Mercadona." Harvard Business School Case 610-089, April 2010. (Revised April 2010.)
- June 1994 (Revised December 1997)
- Case
Safeway, Inc.'s Leveraged Buyout (A)
After years of deteriorating financial performance and eroding market position, Safeway, Inc., the largest public grocery store chain in the United States, found itself the target of a hostile takeover offer. Management decided to take the company private in a $4.3... View Details
Wruck, Karen, and Steve-Anna Stephens. "Safeway, Inc.'s Leveraged Buyout (A)." Harvard Business School Case 294-139, June 1994. (Revised December 1997.)
- January 2024
- Case
Sprouts Farmers Market
By: Rajiv Lal, Forest L. Reinhardt and Natalie Kindred
Sprouts Farmers Markets (Sprouts) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based chain of 400-plus natural foods stores in 23 U.S. states and $6.4 billion in sales as of 2022. In its product assortment, brand image, and store environment, Sprouts emphasizes freshness, health, innovation,... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Strategic Planning; Sales; Business Strategy; Expansion; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Competition; Retail Industry; United States; Arizona
Lal, Rajiv, Forest L. Reinhardt, and Natalie Kindred. "Sprouts Farmers Market." Harvard Business School Case 524-059, January 2024.
- August 2002 (Revised June 2006)
- Case
Great Dakota Bank: Online Banking
By: Frances X. Frei, Youngme E. Moon and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar
In 2002, Great Dakota Bank's retail division is considering how heavily it should be promoting the company's online banking service. A recent promotional campaign appears to have significantly increased enrollments in online banking, but it is unclear whether the bank... View Details
Keywords: Banks and Banking; Internet and the Web; Customer Relationship Management; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Technological Innovation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Satisfaction; Management; Service Operations; Banking Industry
Frei, Frances X., Youngme E. Moon, and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar. "Great Dakota Bank: Online Banking." Harvard Business School Case 603-011, August 2002. (Revised June 2006.)
- June 2022
- Case
Zalando: Becoming the Starting Point for Fashion
By: Antonio Moreno, Leela Nageswaran, Emilie Billaud and Federica Gabrieli
Born in 2008 as a small startup selling flip flops, by mid-2021 Zalando had turned into an online fashion company with an assortment of more than 4,500 international brands, 45 million active customers, and a presence in 23 European markets. An essential component in... View Details
Keywords: Transition; Customer Value and Value Chain; Digital Platforms; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Service Operations; Strategy; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Europe
Moreno, Antonio, Leela Nageswaran, Emilie Billaud, and Federica Gabrieli. "Zalando: Becoming the Starting Point for Fashion." Harvard Business School Case 622-070, June 2022.
- March 2024
- Teaching Note
Madrigal: Conducting a Customer-Base Audit
By: Eva Ascarza, Peter S. Fader, Bruce Hardie and Michael Ross
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 524-046. This case presents a scenario where Madrigal, a U.S. retailer with a rich 20-year history and a solid loyalty program, faces a turning point with the arrival of a new CEO. This leadership change reveals a critical gap in... View Details
- March 2024
- Case
Madrigal: Conducting a Customer-Base Audit
By: Eva Ascarza, Bruce Hardie, Michael Ross and Peter S. Fader
This case presents a scenario where Madrigal, a U.S. retailer with a rich 20-year history and a solid loyalty program, faces a turning point with the arrival of a new CEO. This leadership change reveals a critical gap in understanding the customer base, prompting an... View Details
Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Analytics and Data Science; Growth and Development Strategy; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; United States
Ascarza, Eva, Bruce Hardie, Michael Ross, and Peter S. Fader. "Madrigal: Conducting a Customer-Base Audit." Harvard Business School Case 524-046, March 2024.
- 10 Jul 2018
- First Look
New Research and Ideas, July 10, 2018
development—such as case discussions, lectures, simulations, coaching sessions, live projects, etc.—in terms of their potential to develop executives for the future. We then examine the impact of the forces of digital disruption—the disaggregation and disintermediation... View Details
Keywords: Dina Gerdeman
- October 1996 (Revised April 1997)
- Case
Tweeter etc.
By: John T. Gourville and George Wu
In the early 1990s, Tweeter etc., a small regional retailer of higher-end audio and video equipment, faced increasing competitive pricing pressures from several large regional and national consumer electronics chains. In response, in 1993, they introduced "Automatic... View Details
Keywords: Advertising; Customer Focus and Relationships; Price; Market Entry and Exit; Supply Chain Management; Competition; Retail Industry; Retail Industry
Gourville, John T., and George Wu. "Tweeter etc." Harvard Business School Case 597-028, October 1996. (Revised April 1997.)
- March 2015 (Revised December 2016)
- Case
Evans Food
By: Sunil Gupta
In April 2014, Hector Guerra (GMP 16) was discussing his company's dilemma with his living group of the General Management Program (GMP) at the Harvard Business School. Guerra was Vice President of Operations at Evans Food, a $100 million company, which produced pork... View Details
Keywords: Food; Production; Cost Management; Supply Chain; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States
Gupta, Sunil. "Evans Food." Harvard Business School Case 515-095, March 2015. (Revised December 2016.)
- 26 Jul 2006
- Research & Ideas
The Strategic Way to Go to Market
more vehicles than they can sell and—unable to make money from new cars—turn to service and trade-ins to eke out margins. And at the bottom of the chain are customers trapped in high-pressure negotiations for a car that isn't the exact... View Details
Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne
- 10 Feb 2022
- Research & Ideas
Why Are Prices So High Right Now—and Will They Ever Return to Normal?
sheds light on a question vexing economists, consumers, and retailers alike: When will prices return to normal? The answer depends on the type of product, and how quickly each individual industry recovers, says Cavallo. When a product is... View Details
Keywords: by Rachel Layne
- November 2023 (Revised March 2024)
- Case
Infarm: Betting the (Indoor) Farm on Food Security
By: Elie Ofek
In the summer of 2023, the co-founders of Infarm, a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) company, were contemplating a major pivot going forward. While Infarm had successfully shown it could grow over 75 products—mainly herbs, leafy greens and mushrooms—in modular... View Details
Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Transition; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Europe; North America; Toronto; Northeastern United States
Ofek, Elie. "Infarm: Betting the (Indoor) Farm on Food Security." Harvard Business School Case 524-043, November 2023. (Revised March 2024.)
- July 3, 2020
- Article
Delivery Apps Need to Start Treating Suppliers As Partners
By: Scott Duke Kominers and Ian Macomber
Home delivery has shifted from a luxury service aimed at young urban professionals to a core part of many businesses, which is used by almost everyone. That upheaval has strained capacity of many delivery services and changed how they relate to the suppliers that they... View Details
Keywords: Service Delivery; Supply Chain; Performance Capacity; Performance Efficiency; Entrepreneurship
Kominers, Scott Duke, and Ian Macomber. "Delivery Apps Need to Start Treating Suppliers As Partners." Harvard Business Review (website) (July 3, 2020).
- June 2017 (Revised May 2019)
- Supplement
Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (B)
By: Doug J. Chung
Kjell & Company was a Swedish retail electronics chain founded in 1988 by brothers Marcus, Mikael and Fredrik Dahnelius. The company operated 84 stores, all company-owned, located mainly in the metropolitan areas of Sweden’s most popular cities: Stockholm, Gothemburg... View Details
Keywords: Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Change Management; Behavior; Electronics Industry; Sweden
Chung, Doug J. "Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 517-133, June 2017. (Revised May 2019.)
- 27 Feb 2023
- Research & Ideas
How One Late Employee Can Hurt Your Business: Data from 25 Million Timecards
The retail business is not for the faint of heart. Turning a consistent profit requires navigating many variables, such as hiring capable staff, ordering the right products at the right time, and complying with a litany of regulations.... View Details