Publications

January 1995 (Revised November 1996)
Case

Avalon Information Services, Inc.

By: Lynn S. Paine and Wilda White

The Privacy Review Committee of Avalon Information Services must decide how to deal with concerns voiced by its retail supermarket customers about the privacy of consumer data collected through Avalon's point-of-sale data collection program. One customer is proposing... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Safety; Demand and Consumers; Rights; Analytics and Data Science; Information Technology; Ethics; Information Industry

October 2024
Case

Sacoor Brothers: From Co-Family CEOs to No Family CEOs?

By: Lauren Cohen, David Ager and Alpana Thapar

Sacoor Brothers, a luxury clothing retail company, was founded in 1989 in Lisbon, Portugal, by four brothers—Malik, Salim, Rahimo, and Moez. After establishing a strong presence in Portugal, the brothers were drawn to the rapidly growing retail markets in the Middle... View Details

October 1998 (Revised August 1999)
Case

Amazon.com--Going Public

By: William A. Sahlman and Laurence E. Katz

Amazon.com, an early pioneer in electronic commerce, prepares its initial public offering in the face of turbulent market conditions. Joy Covey, Amazon.com's CFO and the case protagonist, discusses the risks and opportunities of going public and the nature of... View Details

Keywords: Going Public; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Model; Financial Strategy; Business Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Electronics Industry; Electronics Industry

Gunnar Trumbull is the Phillip Caldwell Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Professor Trumbull’s primary area of expertise in political economy, with a focus on climate change. His current research and teaching focuses on... View Details

Keywords: retail financial services; retail financial services; retail financial services; retail financial services; retail financial services; retail financial services; retail financial services; retail financial services; retail financial services; retail financial services

Career Coach

Erika Beisler

Erika Beisler (Yale School of Management ’99, Dartmouth College ‘93) is CPD's industry lead for Consumer Products, Hospitality, and Retail & Luxury Goods, coaching students interested in these areas.... View Details

September 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Pricing Strategy

By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery

As a he gets ready to release 2nd quarter 2012 results, Ron Johnson, the new CEO of department store J.C. Penney, is reconsidering the dramatic changes he initiated for the business model and brand image of his company. A new pricing scheme he put in place in February,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Consumer Behavior; Management Teams; Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Price; Brands and Branding; Decision Making; Retail Industry; United States

November 2004 (Revised September 2007)
Case

The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards

By: Amy C. Edmondson, John A. Davis, Corey B. Hajim and Kelly Mulderry

Describes a small, luxury retail chain's operational sophistication achieved through the use of technology and "high-touch" customer service. A family-run business, Mitchells has built its success with a customer service strategy known internally as "hugging." The term... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Customer Relationship Management; Knowledge Management; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Expansion; Information Technology; Retail Industry

November 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Chongqing Tiandi

By: Arthur I Segel, Nicolas P. Retsinas, Joshua A. Katzin, Nadeem Meghji and Cindy Yan

In late 2000, Vincent Lo, a prominent Hong Kong developer was invited by the Deputy Mayor of Chongqing, China to undertake a major redevelopment of the urban core. Lo had previously successfully developed the landmark Xintiandi retail and entertainment district in... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; Chongqing (municipality, China); Hong Kong

Career Coach

Andrea Kimmel

banking prior to HBS and then led to consumer and retail brand marketing and finally to the start-up she began in the childcare industry in 2011 which she has grown to 2 locations and soon to be a franchise.... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail

June 2010 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Hang Lung Properties and the Chengdu Decision (A)

By: John D. Macomber, Michael Shih-Ta Chen and Keith Chi-Ho Wong

A residential real estate developer competes in a heated auction for a prime retail development site in the interior of China during the 2009 boom. Total project cost might be in excess of $1 billion U.S. for over 4,000,000 square feet of building. Hang Lung Properties... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment Return; Geographic Location; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Infrastructure; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; Chengdu

December 2005 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Canyon Johnson Urban Fund

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Alexa Arena

Basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson and K. Robert Turner, managing partner of Canyon Johnson Urban Fund (CJUF), raised $271.7 million for investments in urban real estate. The fund considered two projects, both located in Hollywood, CA. The first was located on... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Projects; Business and Government Relations; Public Opinion; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; Los Angeles

December 2022 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Iberdrola: Leading the Energy Revolution

By: Juan Alcácer and Emer Moloney

At the end of 2019, Ignacio Galán, the Chairman and CEO of the world's third largest utility, Iberdrola, reflected on his almost 20 years at the company. He managed a portfolio of three very different businesses, each with their own specific opportunities and... View Details

Career Coach

Erika Osterling

abroad through an expat role in South East Asia. Erika holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Monterrey Tec (ITESM) in Mexico and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Erika was part of PepsiCo's Leadership Development Program... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Oil & Gas; Energy; Private Equity; Financial Services (All); Manufacturing

February 2017
Supplement

The De Beers Group: Exploring the Diamond Reselling Opportunity

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Daniel P. Gross and Lauren G. Pickle

In September 2014, Tom Montgomery (SVP of strategic initiatives at the De Beers Group) and his team launched a pilot program in the United States to explore the $1 billion diamond market for pre-owned (recycled) diamonds. According to Montgomery, the motivation for the... View Details

16 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 16, 2018

digitally enabled open platforms. I go on to argue that the competitive success of open platforms against closed platforms gave rise to the "vertical-to-horizontal" transition in the computer industry in the 1980s and 1990s.... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

March 2022
Teaching Note

Supreme: Remaining Cool While Pursuing Growth

By: Jill Avery and Sandrine Crener

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 522-006. Following VF Corporation’s acquisition of cult streetwear brand Supreme, consumers and industry pundits were nervous that becoming part of a large, public corporation would put an end to Supreme’s slow and careful growth... View Details

Keywords: Cultural Branding; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Growth Management; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

August 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Bonne Chance

With a competitor nipping at his heels, his bank reluctantly covering his recent overdraft, Jacob Zimmerman is considering expanding his Midwestern retail jewelry business by bringing on the new Swatch watch line to augment his high end Rolex offerings. Only 14 weeks... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurs; Financial Crisis; Crisis Management; Bank Loan; Entrepreneurial Finance; Turnarounds; Negotiation; Liquidation; Entrepreneurship; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States