Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,382)
- Faculty Publications (1,120)
- June 2009
- Case
Manchester Products: A Brand Transition Challenge
By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham
In January of 2005, Manchester Products Inc., a longtime leader in office furniture that only recently entered into the home furniture market, acquired Paul Logan's Furniture Division (PLFD). The acquisition of PLFD made Manchester an instant market leader in household... View Details
- June 2009 (Revised January 2011)
- Case
Target Corporation: Ackman versus the Board
By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan and James Weber
After 15 years of great performance, Target's faltering performance during an economic downturn led an activist shareholder to initiate a proxy fight. Target Corporation, the second largest discount store retailer in the U.S., had competed successfully against industry... View Details
- June 2009 (Revised March 2010)
- Teaching Note
Finland's S Group: Competing with a Cooperative Approach to Retail (TN)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Jordan Mitchell and Samuli Skurnik
Teaching Note for [709409]. View Details
- April 2009
- Case
Supply Chain Optimization at Hugo Boss (A)
By: Ananth Raman, Nicole DeHoratius and Zahra Kanji
We evaluate the impact of a supply chain pilot implemented at Hugo Boss. This pilot entailed altering the way in which Hugo Boss orders from its suppliers. We explore the challenge of assessing the impact of supply chain change, the link between operational performance... View Details
- April 2009 (Revised March 2013)
- Case
Lawson: Becoming the Community Store of 9,000 Japanese Communities
By: Linda A. Hill, Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, Masako Egawa, Emily Stecker and Mayuka Yamazaki
- April 2009 (Revised December 2015)
- Case
Dot.com: Online Pet Retailing
By: Tom Nicholas and David Chen
From 1995 to 1999, the U.S. experienced a period of tremendous growth in its information technology (IT) sector. The IT industry, although it accounted for less than 10% of the U.S. economy's total output, contributed disproportionately to economic growth. One market... View Details
- March 2009 (Revised December 2009)
- Supplement
Relational Investors and Home Depot (B)
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Kaitlyn Simpson
- March 2009
- Case
The Home Depot: Leadership in Crisis Management
By: Herman B. Leonard, Marc J. Epstein and Melissa Tritter
Examines the challenges The Home Depot faced in the aftermath of natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Andrew. By providing 40,000 to 50,000 items sold by knowledgeable associates, The Home Depot became a destination place for customers in need of... View Details
- February 2009
- Case
HP: The Computer is Personal Again
By: Rajiv Lal and Cathy Ross
In September 2008, Todd Bradley, executive vice president of Hewlett-Packard Company's Personal Systems Group (PSG), gathered his thoughts before a meeting with his top executives and managers for product design and marketing. On the agenda was a discussion of... View Details
- January 2009 (Revised February 2010)
- Case
Gucci Group in 2009
By: David B. Yoffie and Renee Kim
The Gucci Group had transformed itself into the world's third largest luxury retailer with multiple brands. The company had performed well even after the departure of star designer Tom Ford and former CEO Domenico De Sole. However, the challenging global economic times... View Details
- January 2009 (Revised October 2009)
- Case
GLOBALGAP: Food Safety and Private Standards
By: David E. Bell and Mary Louise Shelman
In response to new laws governing liability and several food safety scares in the 1990s, European retailers drove the creation of a universal production standard based on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for fresh fruit and vegetables and a third-party certification... View Details
- January 2009
- Case
Marks and Spencer: Plan A
By: David E. Bell, Nitin Sanghavi and Laura Winig
Marks & Spencer initiated a comprehensive approach to sustainability (reduction of waste, carbon emissions, fair trade) called Plan A. Does it offer a competitive advantage? View Details
- 2009
- Chapter
Entry, Exit and Labour Productivity in U.K. Retailing: Evidence from Micro Data
By: Jonathan Haskel and Raffaella Sadun
The paper investigates the U.K. retail sector using store and firm-level data between 1998 and 2003. First, we present the first exhaustive description of the U.K. retail sector using micro data sources. Second, in the spirit of Foster, Haltiwanger, and Krizan (2002),... View Details
- August 2009
- Article
Mental Accounting and Small Windfalls: Evidence from an Online Grocer
By: John Beshears and Katherine L. Milkman
We study the effect of small windfalls on consumer spending decisions by comparing the purchases online grocery customers make when redeeming $10-off coupons with the purchases they make without coupons. Controlling for customer fixed effects and other variables, we... View Details
- December 2008 (Revised October 2009)
- Case
Wal-Mart Stores in 2003 (Abridged Version)
Examines Wal-Mart's development over three decades and provides financial and descriptive detail of its domestic operations. In 2003, Wal-Mart's Supercenter business has surpassed its domestic business as the largest generator of revenues. Its international operation... View Details
- November 2008 (Revised January 2009)
- Case
The Restructuring of Daiei
In 2004, the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan (IRCJ) was given the task of restructuring Daiei, one of the largest Japanese retailers and the country's most prominent zombie companies. The IRCJ was a government-sponsored organization that was funded with... View Details
- October 2008 (Revised May 2009)
- Supplement
Kmart and ESL Investments (B): The Sears Merger
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott
Supplement to 209-044 View Details
- October 2008 (Revised February 2012)
- Case
Amazon Web Services
By: Robert S. Huckman, Gary P. Pisano and Liz Kind
Considers the development of Amazon Web Services (AWS), a division of Amazon.com, Inc., specializing in the provision of web-based storage and computing services to web developers. The case focuses on the issues facing Andy Jassy, the head of AWS, in 2008 as AWS faces... View Details
- September 2008
- Case
Harrington Collection: Sizing Up the Active-Wear Market
By: Richard S. Tedlow and Heather Beckham
In the wake of slumping sales and sagging profit margins, a leading manufacturer and retailer of high-end women's apparel, Harrington Collection, must evaluate an opportunity to expand into the high-growth active-wear market. Sara Huey, Vice President of Strategic... View Details
- August 2008 (Revised June 2010)
- Case
Concha y Toro
By: Rohit Deshpande, Gustavo A. Herrero and Ezequiel Reficco
Chile's largest wine producer faces a price versus value positioning problem. Its highest quality wines are not priced competitively at retail because "Made in Chile" connotes great value and low price. View Details