Publications

August 1983 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Nineteenth Century Retailing and the Rise of the Department Store

By: Richard S. Tedlow

Discusses changes in retailing in the nineteenth century. View Details

Keywords: History; Distribution; Change; Retail Industry

May 2017
Teaching Note

The Container Store

By: Tatiana Sandino and Kyle Thomas

“The Container Store” teaching note describes how the case can be taught to MBA or executive education students who are interested in developing a strong culture, implementing strategy, and managing growth. The authors wrote the case for teaching MBA courses such as... View Details

Keywords: Retail Chains; Growing Organization; Culture; Organizational Culture; Management Systems; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Employee Relationship Management; Retail Industry

Winter 2016
Article

Improving Store Liquidation

By: Nathan Craig and Ananth Raman

This paper introduces methods for increasing the efficiency of retail store liquidation, which we define as the time-constrained divestment of retail outlets through an in-store sale of inventory. The retail industry depends extensively on liquidation, not only as a... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Operations; Investment; Retail Industry

2013
Working Paper

Improving Store Liquidation

By: Nathan Craig and Ananth Raman

Store liquidation is the time-constrained divestment of retail outlets through an in-store sale of inventory. The retail industry depends extensively on store liquidation, not only as a means for investors to recover capital from failed ventures, but also to allow... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Financial Condition; Operations; Retail Industry

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May 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Supplement

Zara: An Integrated Store and Online Model (A) and (B)

By: Antonio Moreno and Anibha Singh

Keywords: Stores; Integration; Operations; Business Model; Strategic Planning; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Europe

March 2017 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Walmart: Navigating a Changing Retail Landscape

By: Michael E. Porter and Jorge Ramirez-Vallejo

As the largest company, by revenue, in the world, Walmart has been a lightning rod for criticism. However, in an attempt to stay ahead of traditional and digital retailers, and keep customers satisfied with evolving demands, the company is strengthening its competitive... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Strategy; Department Stores; Sustainability; Social Responsibility Of Business; Value Creation; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Retail Industry

April 2021
Article

A Model of Multi-Pass Search: Price Search Across Stores and Time

By: Navid Mojir and K. Sudhir

In retail settings with price promotions, consumers often search across stores and time. However, the search literature typically only models one pass search across stores, ignoring revisits to stores; the choice literature using scanner data has modeled search across... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Search; Multi-pass Search; Price Search; Store Search; Spatial Search; Temporal Search; Spatiotemporal Search; Dynamic Structural Models; MPEC; Price Promotions; Store Loyalty; Consumer Behavior; Price; Spending; Marketing; Mathematical Methods

SSRN

March 2002 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Apple Stores

This case reveals the genesis of the Apple Stores, a revolutionary retail concept launched by Ron Johnson, Apple Computer's senior vice president of retail. In January 2002, Apple Computer was at the eve of one of the most stunning commercial successes ever known in... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Marketing Channels; Consumer Behavior; Innovation and Invention; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

fall 2007
Article

Store Manager Incentive Design and Retail Performance: An Exploratory Investigation

By: Nicole DeHoratius and Ananth Raman

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Management; Design; Performance; Information

September 1990 (Revised July 1992)
Case

May Department Stores Co.: David Farrell's Search for Retailing Excellence

April 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

The Container Store

By: Tatiana Sandino, Zeynep Ton and Aldo Sesia

The Container Store (TCS) is a Texas-based retailer of organization and storage solutions. The company prides itself in taking care of its employees first, and its cofounder and CEO Kip Tindell practices Conscious Capitalism. Since its beginnings in 1978, TCS grew to a... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Conscious Capitalism; Merchandising; Customer Focus and Relationships; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Service Delivery; Going Public; Performance Evaluation; Performance Productivity; Retail Industry; United States

January 2015
Case

Eataly: Reimagining the Grocery Store

By: Sunil Gupta, Michela Addis and Ruth Page

Within a few years of its operations, the Italian-based supermarket Eataly created a lot of buzz and excitement among consumers and media. Eataly's initial success was even more impressive in an industry known for its intense competition and low margins. How did Eataly... View Details

Keywords: Customer Engagement; Innovation; Retailing; Supermarkets; Agribusiness; Customers; Entrepreneurship; Food; Marketing; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Europe; Asia; North and Central America

29 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Why Do Outlet Stores Exist?

having these stores and just having a sales rack in the back?" As a doctoral student in economics at Columbia, Ngwe was fascinated by the incredible range of products that retailers offer to consumers,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail; Retail; Retail

10 Jul 2014
News

Birchbox Store Opens in NY

Keywords: bricks and mortar; retail; customer engagement; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Miscellaneous Store Retailers

February 2015
Teaching Note

Eataly: Reimagining the Grocery Store

By: Sunil Gupta and Michela Addis

Within a few years of its operations, the Italian-based supermarket Eataly created a lot of buzz and excitement among consumers and media. Eataly's initial success was even more impressive in an industry known for its intense competition and low margins. How did Eataly... View Details

Keywords: Customer Engagement; Innovation; Retailing; Supermarkets; Agribusiness; Entrepreneurship; Food; Customers; Innovation and Invention; Marketing; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Europe; North and Central America; Asia

29 Sep 2014
News

Why Do Outlet Stores Exist?

November 2012 (Revised July 2013)
Supplement

The Great East Japan Earthquake (B): Fast Retailing Group's Response

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi, Kenichi Nonomura, Dena Neuenschwander, Meghan Ricci, David Roth, Kate Schoch and Sergey Vartanov

A few hours after the earthquake hit on March 11, 2011, CEO Tadashi Yanai of Fast Retailing was eating sushi at a restaurant near his office. He was confident that his store managers would be able to decide for themselves the best action to take in the midst of this... View Details

Keywords: Japan; Earthquake; Fast Retailing Group; Decisions; Natural Disasters; Crisis Management; Retail Industry; Japan

November 2013
Article

Adding Bricks to Clicks: On the Role of Physical Stores in a World of Online Shopping

By: Jill Avery, Thomas Steenburgh, John A. Deighton and Mary Caravella

Buying a product has never been easier. Consumers can shop online, over the phone or via mail order, from home or on the go, and if they want to experience touch and feel, they can also visit a "real" store. Often, one and the same retailer offers several of these... View Details

Keywords: Channel Management; Retailing; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry; United States