Publications

July 2023
Case

Crocs: Using Community-Centric Marketing to Make Ugly Iconic

By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne V. Wilson

In 2022, the Crocs Classic Clog was the best-selling item of clothing on Amazon, the brand was one of the fastest growing brands in the U.S., and global net revenue had increased to approximately $3.6 billion. By most accounts, Crocs had become the “it” shoe. Crocs... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Development; Growth and Development; Customer Value and Value Chain; Digital Marketing; Digital Strategy; Segmentation; Advertising; Consumer Products Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

29 Aug 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Patent Trolls

Keywords: by Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun & Scott Duke Kominers

Teaching Interest

Doing Business in Africa

By: John D. Macomber

This course introduces frameworks and models for smart and focused investing and operations across sectors, nations, industries, and time frames in Africa. Students will learn tools and skills to help navigate the business landscape of Africa in terms of selection... View Details

Keywords: Africa

24 Apr 2023
HBS Case

What Does It Take to Build as Much Buzz as Booze? Inside the Epic Challenge of Cannabis-Infused Drinks

use bespoke strategies to navigate the splintered regulations. Are there ripe customer segments waiting to be tapped? Cann has prioritized larger marketing campaigns with the goal of raising overall awareness, but with mixed results.... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

16 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service

Amazon, last decade Best Buy began with a comprehensive segmentation of its customers. As part of this initiative, the company realized that although 55 percent of its customers were women, most of these women did not enjoy their shopping... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products

30 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Should Retailers Match Their Own Prices Online and in Stores?

value of the product is low and there aren’t too many undecided consumers, to offer the price match doesn’t give you much in terms of extra profits from the segment that comes to the store,” Ofek says. “By price discriminating across... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail

23 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Strategy-Focused Organization

weather that depressed sales of natural gas and home heating oil. As you know, this is also the first quarter we are operating with the Balanced Scorecard, so I can see performance across a broader set of indicators. Market shares in our key customer View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

December 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

21Seeds: Taking Shots at Breakout Growth

By: Elie Ofek, Julian De Freitas, Michael Moynihan and Nicole Tempest Keller

21Seeds, a female-founded flavor-infused tequila startup launched in 2019, had made inroads into the alcoholic beverage industry by focusing on an underserved consumer segment in spirits—women, primarily in their 30s and 40s, many of whom were moms—and by following a... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution Channels; Sales; Food and Beverage Industry

June 2014 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Focus Financial Partners and the U.S. RIA Industry in 2014

By: Luis Viceira and Emily A. Chien

In the Spring of 2014, Rudy Adolf, CEO and founder of Focus Financial, and the two other co-founders of the firm are considering alternative growth strategies to solidify Focus Financial's position as a leading aggregator of independent wealth management firms in the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Financial Services Industry