Publications

April 2021
Case

Buy Online, Pickup in Store: Evaluating an Omnichannel Intervention in Retail

By: Antonio Moreno, Santiago Gallino and Amy Klopfenstein

In October 2018, fashion, wellness, and beauty retailer Sylvarella implemented a Buy Online, Pickup in Store (BOPS) program in an attempt to counteract a sales decline. While BOPS had the potential to meet customer expectations for a seamless order and fulfillment... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Service Delivery; Logistics; Infrastructure; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Analysis; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States; Canada

21 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 21, 2018

Antonio Moreno Abstract—Online channels generate frictions when selling products with nondigital attributes, such as apparel. Customers may be reluctant to purchase products they have not been able to try on, and those customers who do... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

20 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Open Source Science: A New Model for Innovation

successful solvers was two weeks, so that's fairly little in the scheme of things. Q: What motivated potential solvers to participate? A: Our findings about motivations are consistent with other distributed innovation communities. The big... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

10 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Look at Globalization Now

other, offering thirty channels of programming in eight languages. STAR's evolution indicates, first of all, the abiding preference—demonstrated in all regions around the world—for local TV programming, even if it costs much more than... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 2018
Teaching Note

Magpie: Developing and Using Buyer Personas

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-013. Magpie is a startup with a platform that allows publishers to natively tag the products discussed in their content and thus allows consumers to purchase those products without needing to leave that publisher’s web page. A key aspect... View Details

Keywords: Buying Process; Marketing; Sales; Distribution Channels; Segmentation; Entrepreneurship; Social Media; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; United States

November 1995
Case

The Benetton Group

By: James L. Heskett

The management of the Benetton Group includes senior executives advocating two different strategies: 1) expanding manufacturing to develop economies in order to grow Benetton's sales in those markets, and/or, 2)find ways to provide additional support to retailers, some... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Business Strategy; Global Strategy; Sales; Growth and Development; Distribution; Distribution Channels

January 2025
Case

Olive Young: Formulating Beauty Innovation

By: Rebecca Karp and Shu Lin

Sun-jung Lee, CEO of Olive Young, South Korea's largest beauty and health retailer, saw significant potential in the U.S. market and considered three pathways: replicating Korea's omnichannel model, adopting a digital-native approach with curated products, or relying... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy; Distribution Channels; Retail Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; South Korea; East Asia; United States

November 2017
Teaching Note

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-455. On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales.... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Technology; Hardware; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Search Technology; Software; Web; Web Sites; Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul

18 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

How to Use Free Shipping as a Competitive Weapon

discussion, says Ngwe. "Having a physical store is a much more cost-efficient distribution strategy than having to ship everything directly to consumers," he says. "I think a large part of what this work is about is... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail

2017
Working Paper

Intermediation in the Supply of Agricultural Products in Developing Economies

By: Kris J. Ferreira, Joel Goh and Ehsan Valavi

Problem Definition: Farmers face several challenges in agricultural supply chains in emerging economies that contribute to extreme levels of poverty. One common challenge is that farmers only have access to one channel, often an auction, for which to sell their crops.... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries; Agricultural Supply Chain; Intermediation; Multiple Cahnels; Walrasian Auction; Developing Countries and Economies; Supply Chain; Distribution Channels; Profit; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

Read Now

September 2008
Case

Steven Scheyer: Renegotiating the Newell Rubbermaid Relationship with Wal-Mart

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

In April 2001, Newell Rubbermaid's incoming CEO Joe Galli tapped Steve Scheyer to become President of Newell Rubbermaid's soon-to-be-created Wal-Mart Division. Scheyer had to renegotiate a partnership with Wal-Mart--Rubbermaid's largest customer--that had grown... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Distribution Channels; Partners and Partnerships; Negotiation Process

October 2000
Case

CDnow (B)

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Christina Akers

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation

Find at Harvard

04 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 4

These new establishments were concentrated in industries where women entrepreneurs have been traditionally active and the entry was mainly found among household-based establishments. We measure and discuss the extent to which this heightened entrepreneurship is due to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

October 2011 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Moda Operandi: A New Style of Fashion Retail

By: Mukti Khaire

Moda Operandi is a startup in the fashion industry. The firm organizes online trunk shows of designers' collections, allowing its members to directly order clothes from the collections shown in Fashion Weeks all over the world. Moda Operandi conveys the preorders to... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Internet and the Web; Design; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry

19 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Wrapping Your Alliances In a World Wide Web

concurrent data from all members of the supply chain, and the Internet-based technologies discussed above are rapidly proving to be the preferred channels for these data. In addition to enabling rich point-to-point links, the Internet is... View Details

Keywords: by Andrew McAfee

October 2000 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Z Corporation

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Matthew C. Lieb and Tom Clay

Tom Clay, president of Z Corp., and founder/CEO Marina Hatsopolous must decide between using a direct sales force or using a value-added reseller to begin selling the company's new 3-D printing prototype manufacturing system. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Salesforce Management; Distribution Channels; Conflict and Resolution; Technology Industry

January 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Technical Note

The Market Power of Platform-Mediated Networks

By: Benjamin Edelman

This note provides criteria to evaluate the power of a platform-mediated network. For a company considering building such a network or an investor considering funding such an effort, this analysis reveals the scope and desirability of the opportunity. Meanwhile, for a... View Details

Keywords: Intermediaries; Platforms; Platform Strategy; Business Model; Agreements and Arrangements; Distribution Channels; Networks; Technology Platform; Telecommunications Industry; Travel Industry; Financial Services Industry

August 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Reinventing Retail: ShopRunner's Network Bet

By: Benjamin Edelman and Karen Webster

ShopRunner considers adjustments to improve its online shopping service which offers no-charge two-day shipping as well as easy returns and other conveniences. Competitors' diverse pricing models and ancillary benefits raise questions about how to structure and price... View Details

Keywords: Shopping Club; Coop; Pricing; Shipping; Marketing Channels; Global Strategy; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; United States; China