Publications

August 2021
Case

Wymsee

By: Julia Austin, Sarah Mehta and Tom Quinn

Wymsee was a company that aimed to develop a mobile application (app) that would allow television audience members to identify and purchase clothing or accessories worn by characters in the program they were watching, with the Wymsee founders taking a percentage of... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Plan; Business Startups; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Acquisition; Product Positioning; Opportunities; Adaptation; Mobile Technology; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; New York (city, NY)

November 2021
Case

Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive: Fashion for All

By: Elizabeth A. Keenan, Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

In Fall 2017, Tommy Hilfiger launched Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive, a line of adaptive and inclusive fashion apparel intended to make dressing easier. Now, Tommy Hilfiger is planning to launch Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive internationally in early 2020. The prospect of making... View Details

September 2015 (Revised September 2020)
Case

Gap Inc.: Refashioning Performance Management

By: Joshua Margolis, Paul McKinnon and Michael Norris

In 2014, clothing retailer Gap Inc. rolled out a new performance management process for headquarters staff that did away with a traditional rating and ranking system. The new process involved informal monthly meetings between managers and their reports, and it more... View Details

Keywords: Performance Management; Retail; HR; Motivation and Incentives; Performance; Management; Human Resources; Performance Evaluation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

21 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 21, 2018

products. Prior to the acquisition, Whole Foods began rolling out a new order-to-shelf (OTS) inventory management system that many observers believed had led to shortages. For years, store team leaders at Whole Foods were empowered to... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

January 2008
Case

Parks Capital - Investment in US Retail, Inc.

Parks Capital acquired a Children's Apparel Manufacturer , American Child Clothing Manufacturers, Inc. (ACCM), in 2001. Two years later ACCM's largest retail customer, U.S. Retail, Inc., decided to evaluate strategic alternatives due to financial difficulties. Parks... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Value and Value Chain; Private Equity; Vertical Integration; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

March 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

The Market and the Mountain Kingdom: Change in Lesotho's Textile Industry

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Regina M. Abrami, Noel Maurer and Aldo Musacchio

In Maseru, the capital of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the stirrings of industrialization and modernization were promising, and more than 50,000 workers, mostly women, were employed in the textile sector; the figure reflected more than a threefold increase in just a few... View Details

Keywords: History; Labor Unions; Trade; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Financial Crisis; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business and Government Relations; Decision Choices and Conditions; Foreign Direct Investment; Developing Countries and Economies; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Lesotho

December 2017 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Armarium: Luxury Fashion Brands for Rent

By: Jill Avery, David Fubini, Natasha Dossa and Devon Stewart

Armarium, a two-sided online platform that offered consumers the opportunity to rent the most coveted, current season high fashion clothing and accessories from the top global luxury brands, had emerged from its first sales season with two distinct customer segments:... View Details

October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Dulcie Madden (A)—Growth or Exit?

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Christopher Payton and Shweta Bagai

This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the... View Details

March 2004
Case

L.L. Bean: A Search for Growth

By: Rajiv Lal, Walter J. Salmon and James Weber

In mid-2003, CEO Chris McCormick felt L.L. Bean was in a good position to begin to grow again. For nearly 90 years, the company sold clothing and gear for outdoor enthusiasts through its catalogs and a single retail store in Freeport, Maine. In the three decades prior... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Restructuring; Growth and Development Strategy; Cost Management; Sales; Performance Improvement; Diversification; Distribution Channels; Resignation and Termination; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry

August 2007 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Texas Pacific Group--J. Crew

By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Lauren Barley

Describes Texas Pacific Group's purchase and operation of J. Crew, the catalog and specialty clothing retailer. Highlights the issues involved in financing such a transaction, and then focuses on the operational challenges of turning around the business, and of TPG's... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Investment; Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

June 2020
Teaching Note

Armarium: Luxury Fashion Brands for Rent

By: Jill Avery and David Fubini

Armarium, a two-sided digital platform that offered consumers the opportunity to rent the most coveted, current season high fashion clothing and accessories from the top global luxury brands, had emerged from its first sales season with two distinct customer segments:... View Details

Keywords: Luxury Brand; Fashion; Sharing Economy; Two-sided Marketplace; Target Market; Customer Selection; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Two-Sided Platforms; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Customer Value and Value Chain; Fashion Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; North America

September 2013 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Rana Plaza: Workplace Safety In Bangladesh (A)

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

On April 24, 2013 the Rana Plaza factory building collapsed in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Over 1,100 people were killed in the worst industrial accident since the Union Carbide plant gas leak in Bhopal, India. Most of the victims worked for garment factories,... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Public Health; Safety; Workplace; Human Rights; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Bangladesh

April 2018 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Coco Chanel: From Fashion Icon to Nazi Agent

By: Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean

This case describes the career of the iconic French fashion designer Coco Chanel who created a transformational business during the first half of the 20th century. Beginning in her early adulthood, Chanel leveraged relationships with acquaintances, friends, and... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Biography; Entrepreneurship; Relationships; Brands and Branding; Ethics; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

October 2024
Case

Sacoor Brothers: From Co-Family CEOs to No Family CEOs?

By: Lauren Cohen, David Ager and Alpana Thapar

Sacoor Brothers, a luxury clothing retail company, was founded in 1989 in Lisbon, Portugal, by four brothers—Malik, Salim, Rahimo, and Moez. After establishing a strong presence in Portugal, the brothers were drawn to the rapidly growing retail markets in the Middle... View Details

01 Apr 2001
News

Jimmy Lai Chee-ying: Rags, Riches, and Risk

his way up the job ladder at a garment factory, in due course becoming plant manager. By speculating in the stock market, he turned bonus money into enough cash to start his own clothes-making operation, which eventually became Giordano, a wildly successful casual... View Details

Keywords: Alejandro Reyes; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores

01 Apr 2001
News

William Fung: E-Commerce and Efficiency

Ask fund managers covering the Hong Kong market about smart technology plays in these days of crashing dot-coms and you’re likely to hear one company name repeated often. Li & Fung has become the firm to watch for post-frenzy investors.... View Details

Keywords: Alejandro Reyes; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores

May 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Gap, Inc., 2000

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

From humble beginnings as a Levi jeans store, by 2000 Gap, Inc. had grown to become the world's leading specialist clothing retailer. Its CEO, Millard S. Drexler, the "merchant prince," was credited with transforming Gap into a global empire, leading the company... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Change; Fashion; Risk and Uncertainty; Competition; Performance Consistency; Problems and Challenges; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States