Publications

February 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Amazon in Fashion

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock and Gabriel Ellsworth

According to many analysts and industry observers, in 2018 Amazon became the largest retailer of apparel in the United States and the second largest in the world, behind Alibaba. Much of Amazon’s apparel was made by third-party retailers on its platform, but Amazon had... View Details

01 Sep 2010
News

Online Fashionistas

MAYBANK AND WILSON: Doing well while looking good. Courtesy Gilt Groupe Cofounded in 2007 by Alexandra Wilkis Wilson (MBA ’04), formerly of Louis Vuitton and Bulgari, and ex-eBayer Alexis Maybank (MBA ’04), Gilt Groupe is an online, members-only, luxury View Details

Keywords: Retail Trade; Retail Trade

Web

Online Business Strategy Course | HBS Online

enduring financial success The course has given me the confidence to know that my suggestions have a solid business basis. Jennifer Moret Financial Analyst What You Earn Certificate of Completion Boost your resume with a Certificate of Completion from HBS View Details

May 2007 (Revised July 2011)
Background Note

Retail Shopping in 2007: The Net Versus the Mall

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Nancy Bartlett and James Weber

Provides an overview of the retail sector within the United States as online shopping captures an increased percentage of consumer spending. The role of enabling technologies and applications, including comparison shopping sites and recommendation systems, are covered.... View Details

Keywords: Spending; Marketing Channels; Demand and Consumers; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry; United States

19 Nov 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

E-Santa: Is Retail Ready for Digital Christmas?

at risk of losing them. Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink Mass-market retailers, particularly big-box "category killers," are under critical pressure from online competitors. Why... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

02 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Retail Reaches a Tipping Point—Which Stores Will Survive?

authors look to the future—what will the shopping experience be like for us, and for retailers, as ecommerce becomes an ever larger part of the market. In early February, 93-year-old retailer RadioShack announced it was filing for... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

July 2014 (Revised August 2014)
Case

AmazonFresh: Rekindling the Online Grocery Market

By: Rory McDonald, Clayton Christensen, Robin Yang and Ty Hollingsworth

More than a decade after the high-profile failures of several early online grocers, grocery remains the largest single U.S. retail category and one of the few that has not yet migrated online. Amazon began testing its grocery-delivery service, AmazonFresh, in Seattle,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; New Markets; Grocery; Operations Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Strategy; Emerging Markets; Learning; Service Operations; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

February 2011 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Online Marketing at Big Skinny

By: Benjamin Edelman and Scott Duke Kominers

Describes a wallet maker's application of seven Internet marketing technologies: display ads, algorithmic search, sponsored search, social media, interactive content, online distributors, and A/B testing. Provides concise introductions to the key features of each... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Digital Marketing; Resource Allocation; Marketing Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry

09 Feb 2012
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Online Marketing

retailer-initiated feedback loops. Retailers should ask themselves, How do I create a partnership with the consumer? Data collected from these programs can help merchants make smarter decisions on everything from where to open a new store... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Technology

November 2000 (Revised May 2002)
Case

FleetBoston Financial: Online Banking

By: Frances X. Frei and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar

As the ninth largest bank holding company in the United States in 2000, FleetBoston Financial Corp. provided a myriad of financial services, including retail banking, loan origination, and brokerage accounts. This case explores how FleetBoston responded to the Internet... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Borrowing and Debt; Cost Management; Banks and Banking; Consumer Behavior; Service Operations; Competition; Online Technology; Banking Industry; United States

01 Mar 2011
News

Swap ’Em If You Got ’Em

Hall (right): An online market for military personnel. Blake Hall (MBA ’10) grew up in a military family, became an Army Ranger, and was a platoon leader in Iraq for fifteen months. A conversation with a fellow veteran about the... View Details

Keywords: online retail; online shopping; online marketplace; National Security and International Affairs; Government; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

Web

Online Creating Brand Value Course | HBS Online

brands create shareholder value and why it’s vital to invest in your brand Who Will Benefit Marketing Professionals Managers and Consultants in Retail and Consumer Goods Entrepreneurs Transform your brand into your company’s competitive... View Details

February 2015 (Revised April 2016)
Supplement

Quincy Apparel (B)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lisa C. Mazzanti

The (B) case provides post-mortem analysis from Quincy's cofounders on why their startup failed and what they could have done differently. Explanations for failure focus on Quincy's ambitious value proposition and resulting operational challenges; cofounder conflict;... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Online Retail; Women's Apparel; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Failure; Business Startups; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

07 Mar 2012
News

Fashion Tech Startups Emerge from HBS

Keywords: online retail; online shopping; fashion; Retail Trade; Retail Trade; Retail Trade; Retail Trade; Retail Trade; Retail Trade

April 2020
Background Note

U.S. Food Retail During the Pandemic: March 2020

By: José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

This note, written in late March 2020 and mainly U.S. focused, looks at the unfolding impact of the coronavirus pandemic on food retailers and their suppliers. It allows student to consider the challenges facing food retail executives as they navigate urgent supply... View Details

Keywords: Coronavirus Pandemic; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Food; Supply Chain; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Trade; Crisis Management; Health Pandemics; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; United States

February 2015 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Quincy Apparel (A)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lisa Mazzanti

Quincy Apparel designs, manufactures and sells work apparel for young professional women that offers the fit and feel of high-end brands at a lower price. In late 2012, Quincy's cofounders are debating how to approach a crucial board meeting. Their seed-stage startup... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Failure; Online Retail; Women's Apparel; Business Startups; Business Plan; Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Production; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; New York (city, NY)

August 2020 (Revised March 2021)
Supplement

Migros Turkey: Scaling Online Operations (B)

By: Antonio Moreno and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in February 2020 as Ozgur Tort and Mustafa Bartin, CEO and chief large-format and online retail officer of Migros Ticaret A.S. (Migros), Turkey’s oldest and one of its largest supermarket chains, are looking over the results of the fulfillment pilot the... View Details

Keywords: Grocery; Business Model; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Value Creation; Globalization; Competition; Expansion; Logistics; Profit; Resource Allocation; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; Turkey