Publications

May 1995
Case

Hannaford Brothers: Leading the Grocery Channel Transformation

The merchandising manager of a supermarket chain leads an effort to reorganize the process of buying and delivering products from manufacturers to their warehouse for further distribution to stores. The company is an early mover in implementing efficient consumer... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Supply Chain Management; Distribution Channels; Customer Focus and Relationships; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

September 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Yum! Brands, Inc: A Corporate Do-Over

By: Frances X. Frei, Amy C. Edmondson, James Weber and Eliot Sherman

Describes the successful turnaround of the restaurant company Yum! Brands after its spin off from PepsiCo and covers how the company's leadership planned and executed on virtually every dimension of the employee experience. The main dilemma centers on what the company... View Details

Keywords: Product; Brands and Branding; Service Operations; Expansion; Trade; Leadership Development; Business or Company Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2004
Supplement

Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc., The

By: David F. Hawkins

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

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February 2003 (Revised November 2003)
Exercise

McDonald's: Super-Sized Troubles (B)

This case is the second of two cases that describe the situation and poor performance at McDonald's Corp. in early 2003. This exercise directs students to employ a structured problem-solving process to evaluate the McDonald's strategy. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Decision Making; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

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February 2003 (Revised February 2003)
Exercise

McDonald's: Super-Sized Troubles (A)

This case is one of two cases that describe the situation and poor performance at McDonald's Corp. in early 2003. This exercise instructs students to employ an unstructured brainstorming process to develop strategic options for McDonald's. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Decision Making; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

31 Oct 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 31, 2017

heterogeneity in consumer sophistication could explain the prevalence and persistence of misconduct at such firms. Misconduct is concentrated at firms with retail customers and in counties with low education, elderly populations, and high... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

07 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: Dec. 7

the value of their information intermediation function. The Effect of Product Variety and Inventory Levels on Retail Sales: A Longitudinal Study Author:Zeynep Ton and Ananth Raman Publication:Production and Operations Management 19, no. 5... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 May 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 9

Kameda was the leading player in the Japanese rice cracker market and was looking to expand overseas to achieve growth, with the vision of becoming a global food company. Starting in 2008, it had tried to market its best-selling product... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

land and outgrowers for production, the addition of value-added processing to obtain premium prices, and the introduction of global certification to ensure food safety and meet retailer and consumer... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2014
Article

Making Charity Pay

By: Michael I. Norton and Jill Avery

Companies are increasingly experimenting with the use of philanthropy to enhance consumer loyalty, brand awareness, and sales. But even highly creative approaches that garner a lot of buzz often fall short of sales goals, leading many companies to conclude,... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy; Charitable Giving; Charity; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Advertising; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

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27 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

The Coffee Economy That Bloomed Out of Nowhere

example, the California-based Rogers Family Company exports coffee from its farm, Finca Peru Paris, and sells it at major retail outlets such as Costco stores on the west coast of the United States. Lurtz points out that the most... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage

16 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 16, 2010

wholesalers. Going forward, its two main strategic challenges are 1) deciding how much to rely on partnerships with large retailers for growth and 2) deciding whether to continue as a "merchant," i.e., buying and reselling goods... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 9, 2019

company. Purchase this case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/719456-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 518-038 Index In December 2017, Marc Freed-Finnegan and Jonathan Wall, the co-founders of retail technology company Index, had to... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

04 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 4, 2007

retail outlets, such that stores with membership fees are more popular even when they offer the same goods at the same prices as stores without fees. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-029.pdf Dynamics of Platform... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 5

KindredHarvard Business School Case 513-052 Patrick Coveney, CEO of Greencore, one of the top producers of private label prepared foods sold through UK grocery retailers, was assessing Greencore's growth options. Growth potential was... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Jan 2011
First Look

First Look: Jan. 18

has begun to grow kiwifruit outside of New Zealand in order to have the product on retail shelves year round. Is this the right strategy for the future? Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/511001-PDF-ENG Asian Agri... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Tuning Jobs to Fit Your Company

strategies. Consider Nestlé, a food company that reformulates its products in response to regional tastes for spices and sweets. In this "local value creation" configuration, the span of control for regional business managers is... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Showdown at Cracker Barrel

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Tim Gray

In the fall of 2011, activist investor, Sardar Biglari, has acquired nearly 10% ownership in the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain. He believes that the board and senior management have failed and the company has underperformed relative to its peers. When he is denied a... View Details

September 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

SMARTBITES (A)

By: Michael Roberts, Jeronimo Silva and Amar Bhide

The case describes a Turkish brother-sister team who are evaluating the option of acquiring and operating a franchise of a US bakery/cafe in Turkey. They are comparing this option to that of simply starting a similar business. View Details

Keywords: Franchising; Start-up; Franchise Ownership; Family Ownership; Business Startups; Cost vs Benefits; Multinational Firms and Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey; United States