Retailing - Publications - Faculty & Research

15 Mar 2016
First Look

March 15, 2016

intelligent software for efficient order delivery, and a customer friendly online interface. Ocado's customer base had expanded beyond the wealthy to include middle-income consumers; even with a delivery charge, grocery shopping through Ocado was, in many cases, as... View Details

06 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 6, 2007

findings to the retailer for comment, but received no response. While Wal-Mart did not respond, the company had taken several steps to strengthen its ethical standards worldwide in recent years. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

31 May 2023
Research & Ideas

With Predictive Analytics, Companies Can Tap the Ultimate Opportunity: Customers’ Routines

than customers who don’t use the service as part of a routine, the authors find. “Services from streaming video to online retailing might profit from using the model because detailed data can be closely tracked and parsed to detect... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Transportation

01 Jun 2016
News

Case Study: On the Table

consider a partnership with a bank, building your own payment gateway, or taking cash on delivery. A lot of e-commerce companies in India take cash on delivery for online orders. —Kiran Brahmandam (GMP 15, 2013) Partner with home goods View Details

02 Nov 2015
News

Making Higher Ed Accessible to Africans

ambitious and bold—both criteria that have framed Royster’s career from the start. His initial break with convention occurred after his first year in college, when he took a year off from Duke to work retail near his hometown, in Newton,... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

01 Jul 2021
Office Hours

Readers Ask: Which Companies Are Transforming Work?

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated workforce shifts that had been gaining momentum before the public health crisis, thrusting employers and workers into a new era within months. Joseph Fuller, a professor at Harvard Business School and co-leader of the School’s Managing... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail; Retail

19 Oct 2016
Book

Three Critical Mistakes Digital Businesses Make With Content

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail; Retail

May 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Lowe's: Improving the Total Home Strategy

By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Alicia Dadlani

In 2023, Marvin Ellison, CEO of Lowe’s, contemplated enhancements to the company’s Total Home Strategy to accelerate performance and grow market share. In the last five years since becoming CEO, Ellison had championed a turnaround of the company, completing a... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Competition; Brands and Branding; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; North Carolina

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December 1985 (Revised October 1986)
Case

J.C. Penney (A)

An assistant treasurer at J.C. Penney is looking at various alternatives for financing the company's $2.5 billion store expansion and modernization program. The case provides a listing of different ways/capital markets issues to obtain this financing. Designed to be... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Capital Markets; Financing and Loans; Retail Industry; United States

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March 2019
Supplement

KITEA (D): Further Changes

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in February 2016, when the official date of IKEA’s store opening (March 16, 2016) is announced after a five-month delay. It reviews the changes that Amine and Othman Benkirane had made to KITEA’s workforce in the extra five months afforded by the delay... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retail Industry; Africa; North Africa; Morocco

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March 2019
Supplement

KITEA (C): A Surprise Delay

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

This case describes the delay of IKEA’s store opening in Morocco in 2015. After Sweden ordered an internal review of its position on the independence of Western Sahara, a territory Morocco regarded as part of its own, the Moroccan government declared that IKEA did not... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retail Industry; Africa; North Africa; Morocco

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Article

Amazon's $15 Minimum Wage Might Cost Some Workers

By: Scott Duke Kominers

Keywords: Economics; Retail Industry; United States

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Read Now

June 2018
Supplement

Knowledge Sharing at REMA 1000 (B)

By: Tatiana Sandino and Olivia Hull

Supplement to HBS No. 118-007, "Knowledge Sharing at REMA 1000 (A)." Chief Human Resources Officer Tore Høylie was proud of REMA 1000 (REMA)’s strong employee engagement with Workplace, Facebook’s corporate social media platform; however, some users complained that the... View Details

Keywords: Social Network; Enterprise Social Media; Facebook; Workplace; Social and Collaborative Networks; Communication Technology; Problems and Challenges; Social Media; Retail Industry; Norway

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March 2018
Teaching Note

Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (A) and (B)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines the ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must determine how to... View Details

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May 2017
Teaching Note

Wal-Mart Update, 2017

By: David B. Yoffie

This Teaching Note is designed for the case, “Wal-Mart Update, 2017,” HBS No. 717-468. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Retail Industry

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January 2017 (Revised August 2019)
Supplement

X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: Is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (B)

By: Feng Zhu and Angela Acocella

Three years after launching his brick-and-mortar store, X Fire Paintball and Airsoft, Steve Herbert Sr. and his sons began selling products on Amazon.com’s third-party Marketplace and online sales expanded rapidly. Over time, X Fire noticed that products of which it... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Competition; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Small Business; Retail Industry; Canada

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October 2013 (Revised July 2025)
Teaching Note

Amazon in 2025

By: Sunil Gupta

Amazon launched its website in July 1995 to sell books online and by 2020 it has grown to become a digital giant with over $280 billion in annual sales. A large part of its growth came from expanding into a variety of businesses that some see as unrelated. Has it... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry

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