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- All HBS Web (218)
- Faculty Publications (75)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web (218)
- Faculty Publications (75)
- June 2022 (Revised August 2022)
- Case
Sustainability Reporting at Dollar Tree, Inc.
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni
The cases discusses the ESG strategy of Dollar Tree Inc., a U.S. Fortune 500 company in the deep discount retail industry and the and shareholder pressure faced by the company. In 2022, the company faced a shareholder resolution from a renowned shareholder advocacy... View Details
Keywords: ESG; Sustainability; Shareholder Activism; Dollar Tree; Sustainability Reporting; ESG Reporting; Board Of Directors; Shareholder Engagement; GHG; Environmental Accounting; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Trends; Communication; Announcements; Voting; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Reports; Business or Company Management; Risk Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Outcome or Result; Strategic Planning; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Civil Society or Community; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Strategy; Adaptation; Alignment; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Value Creation; Retail Industry; United States; Virginia
Srinivasan, Suraj, and Li-Kuan Ni. "Sustainability Reporting at Dollar Tree, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 122-044, June 2022. (Revised August 2022.)
- December 1995 (Revised February 1999)
- Case
Toys "R" Us Japan
By: Debora L. Spar
Documents the American retailer's process of entry into the Japanese toy market. Discusses the history of Toys "R" Us in the United States as well as the history of the Japanese toy market, distribution, wholesaling, and retailing systems. Eager to enter the world's... View Details
Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Retail Industry; Japan; United States
Spar, Debora L. Toys "R" Us Japan. Harvard Business School Case 796-077, December 1995. (Revised February 1999.)
- 23 Jul 2001
- Research & Ideas
Sam Walton: Great From the Start
Sam Walton's first store was a second-rate store in a second-rate town in what no one would have classified as a first-rate state. Millions, literally, of small stores failed during the course of the twentieth century in America. There were about 1.7 million View Details
- November 2015
- Case
Katherine Schuler at Boxes & Bins, Inc.
By: Linda A. Hill and James Kindley
This case is about Katherine Schuler, soon to become senior vice president of marketing at a fast-growing retail organization, Boxes & Bins (B&B). Part of Schuler's success has been due to her "fit" into a company with clear values and principles. In particular, B&B... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Personal Development and Career; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry
Hill, Linda A., and James Kindley. "Katherine Schuler at Boxes & Bins, Inc." Harvard Business School Brief Case 916-501, November 2015.
- November 1978 (Revised January 1995)
- Case
McGregor's Ltd. Department Store
President has decided to restructure the discount scheme. Every staff member would be affected, good or bad. Information would have to be tailored to each group--worst off would be managers. Task is to write to managers/supervisors. View Details
Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Communication Intention and Meaning; Compensation and Benefits; Retail Industry
Raymond, Thomas J. "McGregor's Ltd. Department Store." Harvard Business School Case 379-059, November 1978. (Revised January 1995.)
- Research Summary
Overview
Professor Ferreira's research primarily focuses on how retailers can use algorithms to make better revenue management decisions, including pricing, product display, and assortment planning. In the retail industry, anticipating consumer demand is arguably one of the... View Details
- 27 Jul 2011
- Research & Ideas
Customer Loyalty Programs That Work
and other retailers are experimenting with offering rewards program members discounts on gasoline, for instance. And Stop & Shop recently rolled out Scan It! Mobile, an app that turns a customer's iPhone... View Details
- January 2014
- Supplement
J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (C): Back to the Future
By: Elie Ofek, Jill Avery and Jose B. Alvarez
Rehired in April 2013, Myron E. "Mike" Ullman III was brought back to stabilize the retailer's business. Under Ron Johnson's "Fair and Square" program, sales had declined rapidly and quarterly losses and expensive capital investments had put severe pressure on cash... View Details
Ofek, Elie, Jill Avery, and Jose B. Alvarez. "J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (C): Back to the Future." Harvard Business School Supplement 514-073, January 2014.
- June 2012 (Revised March 2014)
- Case
Best Buy in Crisis
By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin
In June 2012, Best Buy was in crisis. In 1996, Best Buy overtook Circuit City as the world's leader in consumer electronics retailing; however, 18 years later, Best Buy now found this position threatened. With $51 billion in revenues, it was still the biggest CE... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction; Competitive Strategy; Ethics; Management Teams; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry
Wells, John R., and Galen Danskin. "Best Buy in Crisis ." Harvard Business School Case 713-403, June 2012. (Revised March 2014.)
- 2007
- Working Paper
The 'Fees → Savings' Link, or Purchasing Fifty Pounds of Pasta
By: Michael I. Norton and Leonard Lee
Many consumers have had the experience of entering discount membership clubs to make a few purchases, only to leave with enough pasta to outlast a nuclear winter. We suggest that the presence of membership fees can lead consumers to infer a "fees → savings" link,... View Details
Norton, Michael I., and Leonard Lee. "The 'Fees → Savings' Link, or Purchasing Fifty Pounds of Pasta." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 08-029, November 2007.
- January 2006 (Revised December 2006)
- Case
Wal-Mart's Business Environment
In 2004, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. proposed to build a new supercenter in Inglewood, a low-income community near Los Angeles. The proposal was a part of Wal-Mart's strategy to bring its supercenter format to California. Introduced in the late 1980s, supercenters added a... View Details
Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Expansion; Market Entry and Exit; Corporate Strategy; Labor Unions; Conflict and Resolution; Retail Industry; Los Angeles
Oberholzer-Gee, Felix. "Wal-Mart's Business Environment." Harvard Business School Case 706-453, January 2006. (Revised December 2006.)
- December 2013
- Case
Clique Pens: The Writing Implements Division of U.S. Home
By: Frank V. Cespedes and James Kindley
The Clique Pens Writing Implements division of U.S. Home is a manufacturer of a full line of pens, pencils, markers, and art supplies. Despite solid sales, division president Elise Ferguson has seen gross margins drop from 42% in 2010 to just over 36% in 2012 as a... View Details
Keywords: Production; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Compensation and Benefits; Sales; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry
Cespedes, Frank V., and James Kindley. "Clique Pens: The Writing Implements Division of U.S. Home." Harvard Business School Brief Case 914-525, December 2013.
- January 2025
- Case
Less Is More: Will Aldi's Expansion Plans Pay Off in a Crowded U.S. Grocery Market?
By: David Collis and Haisley Wert
In 2024, the discount grocery retailer Aldi announced bold U.S. expansion plans. Within five years, the German company would increase its store count by 30% to reach 3,200+ stores across the United States and approach becoming the fifth largest grocery retailer in the... View Details
- June 2015 (Revised May 2017)
- Case
LOYAL3: Own What You Love™
By: Luis M. Viceira and Allison M. Ciechanover
This case features San Francisco–based financial technology startup, LOYAL3. Founded in 2008, the company seeks to disrupt the capital markets and democratize access to those markets for retail investors. By the fall of 2014, LOYAL3 had three products. In the first,... View Details
Viceira, Luis M., and Allison M. Ciechanover. "LOYAL3: Own What You Love™." Harvard Business School Case 215-075, June 2015. (Revised May 2017.)
- November 2000
- Case
Clust.com: Dream More and Pay Less
Clust is a French group-buying Web site. Instead of marketing products to consumers, Clust is marketing aggregated consumer demands to manufacturers. Consequently, beyond the usual act of choosing among predefined alternatives, consumers are expected to bring up their... View Details
Wathieu, Luc R. "Clust.com: Dream More and Pay Less." Harvard Business School Case 501-047, November 2000.
- 20 Aug 2018
- Research & Ideas
Bargain Hunters Beware: A Store's 'Original Price' Might Not Be After All
PeopleImages Sale! Even the word is enough to send a flutter through the hearts of certain shoppers, who salivate in anticipation of scoring a discount off a product’s original price. Few consumers stop to think, however, that the only... View Details
- 08 Jul 2013
- Research & Ideas
Everything Must Go: A Strategy for Store Liquidation
It's an unhappy yet unavoidable fact: Sometimes, retail chains go out of business. Moreover, even healthy chains periodically must close down some existing stores. When stores have to be liquidated—when "everything must go"—a... View Details
- November 2015 (Revised October 2017)
- Case
Dollar General Bids for Family Dollar
By: Jonas Heese, Paula A. Price, Suraj Srinivasan and David Lane
In spring 2015, Dollar General's CEO Rick Dreiling was looking ahead to retiring at year's end but worried about ensuring continued growth for the company he had built since 2008 into a market leader in the U.S. discount retail world. Dollar General operated over... View Details
Keywords: Dollar General; Family Dollar; Dollar Tree; Antitrust; Board Of Directors; Activist Investors; Federal Trade Commission; Acquisition; Valuation; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; United States
Heese, Jonas, Paula A. Price, Suraj Srinivasan, and David Lane. "Dollar General Bids for Family Dollar." Harvard Business School Case 116-007, November 2015. (Revised October 2017.)
- July 2005 (Revised April 2008)
- Case
The Rise of Kmart Corporation 1962-1987
By: John R. Wells and Travis Haglock
Tracks the development of the Kmart discount store chain from its inception in 1961 to its peak in 1990 and examines the contribution of each Kmart chief executive to the chain's success. In, parallel, compares the performance of Wal-Mart over the same period along a... View Details
Keywords: History; Strategic Planning; Leadership; Competitive Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Retail Industry; United States
Wells, John R., and Travis Haglock. "The Rise of Kmart Corporation 1962-1987." Harvard Business School Case 706-403, July 2005. (Revised April 2008.)
- April 2016 (Revised June 2017)
- Teaching Note
Dollar General Bids for Family Dollar
By: Jonas Heese, Paula A. Price and Suraj Srinivasan
In spring 2015, Dollar General CEO Rick Dreiling was looking ahead to retiring at year's end but worried about ensuring continued growth for the company he had built since 2008 into a market leader in the U.S. discount retail world. Dollar General operated over 11,500... View Details