Publications

17 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 17, 2007

system with periodic review, constant leadtimes, infinite supply, full backlogging, linear holding and penalty costs and no ordering costs. Forecasting ARIMA time series requires tracking forecast errors... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2020
Teaching Note

Kraft Heinz: The $8 Billion Brand Write-Down

By: Jill Avery

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-076. On Friday, February 22, 2019, following an unexpected and disappointing earnings report, The Kraft Heinz Company’s stock price fell 27%, wiping out $16 billion in market value. CEO Bernardo Hees had announced that the company had... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

February 2008 (Revised September 2010)
Case

LeapFrog Enterprises

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Elizabeth Collins

Explores the success factors leading to the company's rise to the number three ranking in the aggressively competitive toy industry. LeapFrog has made the strategic decision to expand beyond the toy industry and enter the educational technology and services industry.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

10 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 10

What was the future of TV? The case considers Samsung Electronics TV Group's product development processes, as the company's mobile and TV offerings increasingly converged and View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2016 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Selling on Amazon at Tower Paddle Boards

By: Thales S. Teixeira and David Lopez-Lengowski

By June 2012, Stephan Aarstol felt that he had successfully passed the first critical stage of his ecommerce business. As the founder and CEO of a standup paddleboard (SUP) business, he had built a strong relationship with Asian manufacturers, built a small warehouse... View Details

Keywords: Tower Paddle Boards; Amazon; E-commerce; Online Shopping; Distribution; Internet and the Web; Business Growth and Maturation; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

08 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Everything Must Go: A Strategy for Store Liquidation

a different approach in the case of store liquidations," he says. "That's because you can close stores at different times; move inventory between stores; and take different markdowns in different locations. There's also a huge... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

November 1985 (Revised December 1994)
Background Note

Major Home Appliance Industry in 1984 (Revised)

By: John R. Wells

Analyzes the major home appliance industry in the U.S. in 1984 and gives a profile of the key competitors. May be used with Major Home Appliance Industry in 1988 and Maytag in 1984. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Consumer Products Industry; United States

March 1996
Case

New Product Development at Canon: The Contact Sensor Project

By: Joseph L. Bower and Michael Partington

Canon is one of the leading innovators in the world. This case describes the processes by which Canon manages the flow of ideas from basic science to new products, and how it harnesses product innovation to a strategy of diversification. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Strategic Planning; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Diversification; Success; Consumer Products Industry

September 2009 (Revised April 2020)
Case

VIZIO, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Elizabeth A. Kind

William Wang, CEO of VIZIO, Inc., was proud of his company's success in providing affordable flat screen TVs. Since its founding in 2002, VIZIO had grown to over $2 billion in revenue and was one of the top three flat panel TV brands, along with Samsung and Sony. Faced... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Financing and Loans; Price; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

21 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Lessons for Retailers from the Rebirth of Indie Bookstores

reputation as “the everything store” can sometimes work against it, overwhelming consumers with too many options and an impersonal experience. Convening: Indie bookstores are increasingly serving as points... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Entertainment & Recreation

Research Summary

Overview

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Rayport focuses his teaching and research on launching and scaling technology ventures, with emphasis on digital media, e-commerce, and multi-channel retail. View Details

May 1986 (Revised January 1989)
Case

Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (A), The Creative Problem

Presents the first of two cases describing the struggle to solve creative problems on the Dry Idea antiperspirant brand introduced in 1978 by the Gillette Co. and its advertising agency (Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne). Provides company and industry background plus... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Advertising; Product Marketing; Consumer Products Industry; United States

14 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 14, 2009

which can be indexed by the number of varieties consumers purchase in equilibrium. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-095.pdf Smith and Rawls Share a Room: Stability View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2003 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Kodak (A)

By: Giovanni M. Gavetti, Rebecca Henderson and Simona Giorgi

The introduction of digital imaging in the late 1980s had a disruptive effect on Kodak's traditional business model. Examines Kodak's strategic efforts and challenges as the photography industry evolves. After discussing Kodak's history and its past strategic moves in... View Details

Keywords: History; Business Model; Leadership; Disruption; Industry Growth; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

December 1993 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Manville Corporation Fiber Glass Group (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Sarah Gant

Manville Corp.'s senior managers must decide how to respond to a new scientific study suggesting that fiberglass, the source of 75% of the company's profits, may be another asbestos and must act under conditions of great uncertainty. In particular, when should a... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Health Disorders; Risk Management; Marketing Communications; Product; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Safety; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

31 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Bypass Marketing: Are Docs Influenced?

Until the close of the last decade, health consumers received much of their knowledge and advice about prescription drugs from their physicians or other health care professionals. Today, pharmaceutical... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

April 1989 (Revised November 1998)
Supplement

Masco Corp. (B)

By: Michael E. Porter and Cynthia A. Montgomery

Describes Masco's initial entry strategy and is designed as an in-class handout. View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Diversification; Consumer Products Industry