Publications

May 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Case

Improving Repurchase Rates at zulily

By: Thales Teixeira and Sarah McAra

In February 2015, zulily cofounder and CEO Darrell Cavens faced a major challenge in his business, a Seattle-based daily deals site that catered to moms. The more he spent to acquire new customers, the less he retained them in the form of repeat purchases. This was an... View Details

Keywords: Zulily; Repurchase; E-commerce; Online Shopping; Fashion; Customer Relationship Management; Internet and the Web; Digital Marketing; Customer Satisfaction; Fashion Industry; Fashion Industry; Seattle

2018
Working Paper

Shipping Fees and Product Assortment in Online Retail

By: Chaoqun Chen and Donald Ngwe

Shipping fees are an important aspect of online retail for both consumers and sellers. A common fee structure is contingent free shipping, in which consumers are granted free shipping for basket sizes above a minimum value and are charged a flat fee for orders below... View Details

Keywords: Shpping Fee; E-commerce; Multi-category Demand; Search Costs; Shipping Membership; Spending; Consumer Behavior; Retail Industry

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15 Jun 2021
News

Elevator Pitch: Dress Code

Video Embed Animation by Drue Wagner and Troubadour Image + Sound The Yes Julie Bornstein (MBA 1997), cofounder and CEO; former COO, Stitch Fix Jennifer Koen-Horowitz (MBA 1997), head of brand marketing and PR Vision: The Spotify of View Details

Keywords: online shopping; fashion; mobile technology; entrepreneurship; startup; Nonstore Retailers; Retail Trade

07 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Online Retailers Should Hide Their Best Discounts

high-value customers.” It would almost be as if a high-end retailer such as Louis Vuitton or Gucci told people to go their outlet store first, Ngwe says. Huge gain in sales In a series of experiments involving a real online View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

11 Dec 2015
News

Analytics in Online Flash Sales: Demand Forecasting and Price Optimization

28 Feb 2017
Blog Post

Why I Love My Job: Sierra Smith Talks Her Fashion Startup Internship

be the online destination for luxury fashion by emerging designers. I met the founder, Catherine Smith, while she was giving a guest lecture on campus. What attracted me to the opportunity was the chance to... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

Winter 2016
Article

Analytics for an Online Retailer: Demand Forecasting and Price Optimization

By: Kris J. Ferreira, Bin Hong Alex Lee and David Simchi-Levi

We present our work with an online retailer, Rue La La, as an example of how a retailer can use its wealth of data to optimize pricing decisions on a daily basis. Rue La La is in the online fashion sample sales industry, where they offer extremely limited-time... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Price; Forecasting and Prediction; Revenue; Sales; Retail Industry

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January 2015
Case

The Blonde Salad

By: Anat Keinan, Kristina Maslauskaite, Sandrine Crener and Vincent Dessain

In 2014, Chiara Ferragni, a globe-trotting founder of the world's most popular fashion blog The Blonde Salad, and Riccardo Pozzoli, her co-founder and business partner, had to decide how to best monetize her blog as well as her shoe line called the "Chiara Ferragni... View Details

08 Nov 2013
News

Women in Business: Sarah Bryar, CEO of Rivet & Sway

Keywords: Fashion; Rivet & Sway; e-commerce; online shopping; Retail Trade

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Inditex: 2012

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In the 11 years since its public offering, Inditex and its flagship brand, Zara, had expanded into 86 countries, achieved $21.6 billion in revenue, and become the largest specialty apparel retailer in the world. In marked contrast to the general malaise of the Bolsa de... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Fashion Industry; Spain

September 2019 (Revised July 2021)
Case

Gap, Inc., 2019

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2000, The Gap, Inc. (Gap) was the world’s largest player in specialty fashion retailing, and companies such as Inditex of Spain, H&M of Sweden, and Fast Retailing of Japan were less than a quarter of Gap’s size. But after two decades of growth, Gap’s progress... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Change; Fashion; Multinational; Brands; Fast Fashion; Competition; Multinational Firms and Management; Performance Improvement; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Change Management; Strategy; Fashion Industry; Fashion Industry; Fashion Industry; Sweden; Spain; United States

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Hennes & Mauritz, 2012

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2012, Hennes & Maurtiz (H&M) was the second-largest specialty apparel retailer in the world. Sales for fiscal 2012 were $18.1 billion and operating profits were $3.3 billion. H&M operated 2,776 stores, 93% of them outside its home base of Sweden. Over the past... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Strategic Decision Making; Strategy; Supply Chain; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Fashion Industry; Europe; Sweden

01 Dec 2014
News

Taking Tailoring High Tech

Instilling Production with Principles Áslaug Magnúsdóttir Customizing Couture Online Customizing Couture Online Jamal Motlagh Taking Tailoring High Tech Taking Tailoring High Tech Katrina Lake Dressing by... View Details

Keywords: April White; fashion

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; Fashion Industry; Fashion Industry; Europe

May 2021 (Revised February 2025)
Teaching Note

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

By: Antonio Moreno and Anibha Singh

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 620-073 and 620-074. View Details

Keywords: Stores; Integration; Operations; Business Model; Strategy; E-commerce; Fashion Industry; Fashion Industry; Europe