Publications

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March 2004 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Paper and More

Provides a context and exercise for introducing retail inventory management, including cost optimization, service-level criteria, and forecasting in single and multiproduct settings. The owner of a single-location paper and paper products store considers the... View Details

Keywords: Management; Expansion; Logistics; Forecasting and Prediction; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

26 Nov 2014
News

Taking Apple’s Lead, Amazon Considers Getting Physical

August 2023
Case

Reimagining Hindustan Unilever (A)

By: Sunil Gupta and Rachna Tahilyani

In the fall of 2019, the CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm, is wondering what to do about their experiments to digitize distribution. Despite three years of intense efforts, their apps to empower retailers... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Leading Change; Distribution; Decisions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Consumer Behavior; E-commerce; Competition; Performance; Business Strategy; Marketing; Transformation; Consumer Products Industry; Asia; India

09 Dec 2015
News

As Office Depot merger falters, Staples’ next step won’t be easy

September 1995 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Philip Morris: Marlboro Friday (A)

By: Alvin J. Silk and Bruce Isaacson

On April 2, 1993 Philip Morris USA launched an elaborate integrated program of consumer and retail promotions of unspecified duration that effectively slashed the retail price of its flagship brand, Marlboro, by 20% in the U.S. market. This program represented a major... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Price; Marketing Strategy; Market Participation; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; United States

September 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Lifefont: The Case for RetailDriver

Examines how Lifefont (pseudonym), a multidivisional consumer packages goods company, develops a system to manage and measure the impact of promotional events in retail outlets. View Details

Keywords: Framework; Change Management; Compensation and Benefits; Cost vs Benefits; Growth Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Customer Relationship Management; Product Marketing; Salesforce Management; Advertising; Management Systems; Information Technology; Retail Industry

02 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

‘Retail Revolution’ Excerpt: The Scale of the Ecommerce Threat

book excerpt The Scale Of The Threat From Retail Revolution: Will Your Brick-and-Mortar Store Survive? By Rajiv Lal, José B. Alvarez and Dan Greenberg After years against the ropes, many retailers are... View Details

Keywords: Re: Rajiv Lal; Retail

September 2012
Supplement

United Capital Partners (B)

By: Paul A. Gompers, J. Daniel Kim and Vladimir Mukharlyamov

This case continues the discussion started in the (A) case about a proposed growth equity investor in a Russian fashion retail chain. View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Growth Equity; Private Equity; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Russia

December 2000
Case

Daymon Associates

By: Ray A. Goldberg

How does a firm act as a coordinater between the food retailer and manufacturer and satisfy both? View Details

Keywords: Food; Globalized Markets and Industries; Distribution; Production; Sales; Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry

June 1998 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Egghead.com

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Egghead Software, an entrenched traditional chain retailer specializing in computer software and peripherals, had established a nationwide chain of mall and shopping center stores and a well-organized national brand. In early 1998, management made a highly unusual, and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

July 2021 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Fynd

By: Ranjay Gulati, Kairavi Dey and Rachna Tahilyani

Fynd is a fast-growing venture that in 7 years since its founding has become India's largest omnichannel retail company with real-time access to over 9,000 stores' offline inventory. It started as a B2B business supporting retailers who didn’t have an online business,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business Model; Acquisition; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Web Services Industry; Technology Industry; Communications Industry; India; Mumbai

Kris Ferreira is the Edgerley Family Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Management (TOM) Unit. She teaches the Supply Chain Management course in the MBA elective curriculum and analytics in numerous Executive Education... View Details

Keywords: retailing

25 Apr 2013
News

The business strategy in plausible deniability

2025
Working Paper

Markups and Cost Pass-through Along the Supply Chain

By: Santiago E. Alvarez-Blaser, Alberto Cavallo, Alexander MacKay and Paolo Mengano

We study markups and pricing strategies along the supply chain. Our unique dataset combines detailed price and cost information from a large global manufacturer with matched retail prices collected online for the period July 2018 through June 2023. We show that total... View Details

Keywords: Markups; Pricing; Price; Supply Chain; Inflation and Deflation; Cost

Read Now

01 Nov 2013
News

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

July 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Eric Weston

Facing bankruptcy or keeping the doors open, Eric Weston assesses his continued survival in the retail garden supply business he has owned for seven years. View Details

Keywords: Acquisitions; Bankruptcy; Financing; Turnarounds; Liquidation; Negotiation; Entrepreneurial Management; Crisis Management; Entrepreneurs; Bank Loan; Career Planning; Financial Analysis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Entrepreneurship; Acquisition; Retail Industry; United States

April 2019
Case

Boxed

By: Laura Huang, Andy Wu and Jiayi Bao

Boxed.com (“Boxed”) is an ambitious e-commerce retailer start-up, founded by visionary CEO Chieh Huang in 2013. From starting in Huang’s garage in 2013, to winning Emerging E-Retailer of the Year in 2016, to having 4 operational distribution centers in 2018, Boxed used... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Business Startups; Leadership; Strategy; Success; E-commerce; Retail Industry

August 1998
Background Note

Selling Books Online in Mid-1998

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Provides an overview of the trends and predictions for the online book retail industry as of August 1998 and the current status of Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and other main players' online ventures. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Books; Retail Industry