Publications

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

19 Dec 2011
News

Death Knell for the Category Killers?

August 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Magrabi: Fulfilling the Vision for the Future

By: John Beshears, Alpana Thapar and Boris Tsimerinov

In 2018, Magrabi was the leading retailer of eyeglasses, sunglasses, and other optical products in the Middle East, and it was embarking on a major shift in strategy, transitioning from a brand focused on clinical expertise to a brand that combined technical excellence... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Transition; Luxury; Sales; Service Delivery; Strategy; Employees; Recruitment; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Middle East

26 Nov 2014
News

Taking Apple’s Lead, Amazon Considers Getting Physical

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

Research Summary

Current Research

I am interested in research on various topics in retail operations and supply chain management, including inventory management, product variety, distribution logistics, financial performance of retailers, and linking operational performance to... View Details

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

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

01 Nov 2013
News

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

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

Antonio (Toni) Moreno is the Sicupira Family Associate Professor in the Technology and Operations Management Unit. He teaches courses related to technology and operations management in the MBA, executive, and doctoral programs. Before joining HBS, he was an... View Details

Keywords: retailing; retailing; retailing

February 1996
Case

Spartan Stores Incorporated: Reengineering for Efficient Consumer Response

Describes an effort to rationalize operations at a leading grocery wholesaler, enabled by information systems. Spartan Stores, Inc., is cooperatively owned by its 238 retailers and, through training, consulting, systems support, and cost of goods efficiencies, strives... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Restructuring; Information Technology

Find at Harvard

11 May 2016
News

Judge’s ruling is death knell for Staples-Office Depot deal

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

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

04 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Attention Medical Shoppers: What Health Care Can Learn from Walmart and Amazon

In order to get its financial and management woes under control, the health care industry might want to peek at the playbooks of retail giants like Walmart, Google, and Amazon.com. This was a key conversation point at "Perspectives... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

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