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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,047)
- News (342)
- Research (612)
- Events (1)
- Multimedia (7)
- Faculty Publications (339)
- 12 Jul 2010
- Research & Ideas
Rocket Science Retailing: A Practical Guide
of Pennsylvania, is codirector of the Fishman-Davidson Center for Service and Operations Management. An excerpt from their book follows our interview. Martha Lagace: In a nutshell, what is rocket science retailing? Ananth Raman: It means that View Details
- June 1981 (Revised August 1985)
- Case
Shopfair Supermarkets (A)
By: John A. Quelch
The marketing vice president of the leading supermarket chain in a major metropolitan area has to plan his 1981 strategy in light of increasing warehouse store competition. Considers relationships with major manufacturers who are supplying warehouse stores with deal... View Details
Quelch, John A. "Shopfair Supermarkets (A)." Harvard Business School Case 581-158, June 1981. (Revised August 1985.)
- 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.
- May 2013
- Case
Altius Golf and the Fighter Brand
By: Robert J. Dolan and Sunru Yong
Altius Golf is the clear leader in the golf ball market despite a long-term decline in the number of golfers and a drop in sales following the financial crisis. The firm has maintained its position by introducing generations of advanced, super-premium golf balls that... View Details
Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Competitive Advantage; Decision Choices and Conditions; Distribution Channels; Sports; Financial Crisis; Brands and Branding; Segmentation; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry
Dolan, Robert J., and Sunru Yong. "Altius Golf and the Fighter Brand." Harvard Business School Brief Case 913-578, May 2013.
- 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
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Gamze Yucaoglu. "KITEA (C): A Surprise Delay." Harvard Business School Supplement 719-488, March 2019.
- January 2005 (Revised April 2006)
- Case
Stonewall Kitchen
By: Myra M. Hart, Victoria Winston, Kristin Lieb, Kenna Wyllie Baudin, Alison Bell and Leslie Simmons
Jonathan King and Jim Stott, the founders of Stonewall Kitchen, started out in 1992 with a simple business selling jams and jellies at local farmers' markets. By 2004, they had grown the company into a $25 million organization with 250 employees. They expanded their... View Details
Keywords: Strategic Planning; Food; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States
Hart, Myra M., Victoria Winston, Kristin Lieb, Kenna Wyllie Baudin, Alison Bell, and Leslie Simmons. "Stonewall Kitchen." Harvard Business School Case 805-006, January 2005. (Revised April 2006.)
- 04 Jan 2012
- First Look
First Look: January 4
accelerate the decline of independents by increasing the attractiveness of smaller in-town store formats for retail chains. The causal impact of planning regulation is estimated using variation in local... View Details
Keywords: Carmen Nobel
- October 2013 (Revised January 2016)
- Case
J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (Abridged)
By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery
As he gets ready to release 2nd quarter 2012 results, Ron Johnson, the new CEO of department store J.C. Penney, is reconsidering the dramatic changes he initiated for the business model and brand image of his company. A new pricing scheme he put in place in February,... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Price; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States
Ofek, Elie, and Jill Avery. "J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 514-063, October 2013. (Revised January 2016.)
- April 2006 (Revised October 2006)
- Case
Best Buy Co., Inc.: Customer-Centricity
By: Rajiv Lal, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Irina Tarsis
With FY2005 sales of $27.3 billion, Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy Co., Inc. was the leading retailer of consumer electronics, home-office products, and related services in North America. Its operations included the distinct store formats Best Buy, Future Shop in... View Details
Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Operations; Business Earnings; Financial Crisis; Failure; Business Model; Leadership; Segmentation; Value Creation; Electronics Industry; United States; Canada; Mongolia
Lal, Rajiv, Carin-Isabel Knoop, and Irina Tarsis. "Best Buy Co., Inc.: Customer-Centricity." Harvard Business School Case 506-055, April 2006. (Revised October 2006.)
- July 2022 (Revised February 2024)
- Teaching Note
The DivaCup: Navigating Distribution and Growth
By: Ayelet Israeli
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-055. When the mother-daughter founders of DivaCup set out with a mission to disrupt the menstrual care industry with an innovative product form, they initially struggled to gain legitimacy and convince retailers to carry their unique... View Details
Keywords: Female; Female Ceo; Female Entrepreneur; Female Protagonist; Health & Wellness; Healthcare; Price Policies; Minimum Advertised Price; Differentiation; Positioning; Growth; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Price; Disruption; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Competitive Strategy; Competition; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; Product Development; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Advertising; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Social Issues; Social Enterprise; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Canada; United States; United Kingdom
- March 2019 (Revised April 2021)
- Case
The DivaCup: Navigating Distribution and Growth
By: Ayelet Israeli
When the mother-daughter founders of DivaCup set out with a mission to disrupt the menstrual care industry with an innovative product form, they initially struggled to gain legitimacy and convince retailers to carry their unique product. Fifteen years later, the... View Details
Keywords: Female; Female Ceo; Female Entrepreneur; Female Protagonist; Health & Wellness; Healthcare; Price Policies; Minimum Advertised Price; Differentiation; Positioning; Growth; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Price; Disruption; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Competitive Strategy; Competition; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; Product Development; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Advertising; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Social Issues; Social Enterprise; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Canada; United States; United Kingdom
Israeli, Ayelet. "The DivaCup: Navigating Distribution and Growth." Harvard Business School Case 519-055, March 2019. (Revised April 2021.)
- May 2013 (Revised March 2014)
- Case
Benetton Group S.p.A., 2000
By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin
In 2000, Benetton was one of the leading mass fashion competitors in the world with approximately $1.9 billion in sales across 5,500 stores in 120 countries. But the company's fortunes seemed to be on the wane. Operating profits had fallen 9% from the prior year to... View Details
Keywords: Fashion; Strategic Change; Strategic Management; Globalized Firms and Management; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Performance Consistency; Management Teams; Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Italy
Wells, John R., and Galen Danskin. "Benetton Group S.p.A., 2000." Harvard Business School Case 713-510, May 2013. (Revised March 2014.)
- June 2005 (Revised April 2008)
- Case
Whole Foods Market, Inc.
By: John R. Wells and Travis Haglock
Can a short-sleeved, sandal-wearing, college dropout create a company manifesting love, joy, and happiness? Chainsaw John Mackey did. This CEO took a five-month sabbatical to hike the Appalachian Trail. More credentials: Sales-per-square foot of $690 and rising. Hiring... View Details
Keywords: Management Style; Motivation and Incentives; Food; Management Practices and Processes; Groups and Teams; Success; Leadership Style; Management Teams; Business Growth and Maturation; Emerging Markets; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry
Wells, John R., and Travis Haglock. "Whole Foods Market, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 705-476, June 2005. (Revised April 2008.)
- 13 Dec 2011
- First Look
First Look: Dec. 13
Internet channel to a retail store channel should produce different effects than adding a retail store to the Internet channel. To test our... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- 22 Feb 2016
- Research & Ideas
The ‘Mother of Fair Trade’ was an Unabashed Price Protectionist
pharmacists did, their cut-rate prices on popular brand-name packaged goods posed a major threat to mom-and-pop businesses like Gleason’s. So she and other traditional retailers began arguing that pineboards practiced predatory pricing,... View Details
- 15 Nov 2016
- First Look
November 15, 2016
hiring (in this study, by the head office of a U.S. retail chain) or decentralized hiring (by store managers) leads to higher quality employee-company matches. While centralized hiring can ensure that enough... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- March 2018 (Revised July 2018)
- Case
Whole Foods Under Amazon
By: Dennis Campbell, Tatiana Sandino, James Barnett and Christine Snively
In August 2017, Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion. Whole Foods was struggling with high costs and faced growing competition from traditional supermarkets offering more organic products. Prior to the acquisition, Whole Foods began rolling out a new... View Details
Keywords: Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Employee Relationship Management; Acquisition; Change Management; Retail Industry; Retail Industry
Campbell, Dennis, Tatiana Sandino, James Barnett, and Christine Snively. "Whole Foods Under Amazon." Harvard Business School Case 118-074, March 2018. (Revised July 2018.)
- March 2006 (Revised October 2007)
- Case
The Parisian Revival
By: Rajiv Lal and Carin-Isabel Knoop
In mid-2005, George Jones had two jobs: head of Saks Inc.'s 41-store Parisian department store chain as well as president and CEO of the Saks Department Store Group (SDSG), an umbrella for seven chains with a total of 182 stores across the United States. In 2003 Jones... View Details
Keywords: Profit; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Improvement; Sales; Retail Industry; United States
Lal, Rajiv, and Carin-Isabel Knoop. "The Parisian Revival." Harvard Business School Case 506-035, March 2006. (Revised October 2007.)
- 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).
- January 2021 (Revised April 2022)
- Case
Best Buy's Corie Barry: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic
By: William W. George and Amram Migdal
This case examines the leadership of Corie Barry, the new CEO of Best Buy, with a focus on actions the company took in 2020 to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case includes a history of Best Buy’s strategy and leadership, including the transitions between the... View Details
Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Change; Disruption; Volatility; Communication; Competency and Skills; Customers; Decision Making; Ethics; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Finance; Cash Flow; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Goods and Commodities; Corporate Governance; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Executive Compensation; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Jobs and Positions; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Job Design and Levels; Job Interviews; Job Offer; Labor; Employment; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Law; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Succession; Management Systems; Management Teams; Risk Management; Operations; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Personal Development and Career; Retirement; Work-Life Balance; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Science; Strategy; Retail Industry; North and Central America; United States; Minnesota
George, William W., and Amram Migdal. "Best Buy's Corie Barry: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic." Harvard Business School Case 321-073, January 2021. (Revised April 2022.)