Publications

January 2000
Case

Talbots - A Classic

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

This case traces why the $1 billion women's clothing retailer decided to attract younger customers, what went wrong, and the actions taken to recover. By the end of 1999, the company has reestablished itself and faces several growth opportunities and must decide on the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Crisis Management; Product Positioning; Problems and Challenges; Segmentation; Fashion Industry

Career Coach

Crystal Yao

IBM, Crystal pivoted to a Corporate Strategy & Development internship at Creative Artists Agency. She can provide insights into industry recruiting timelines and strategy,... View Details

December 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Case

Troverie (A)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Olivia Graham

Six months after the August 2018 launch of Troverie, a U.S.-based online retailer of luxury watches, the average cost of acquiring a customer is much higher than originally projected, and the startup is incurring a substantial loss on each sales transaction. Could... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Luxury Goods; Customer Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Luxury; Failure; Internet and the Web; Revenue; Fashion Industry; United States

December 2021
Supplement

Troverie (B)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Olivia Graham

Resolves the questions raised in Troverie (A); recounts pivots and efforts to raise capital from strategic investors and sell Troverie; and shares the founder's post-mortem reflections on what went wrong and what he might have done differently. View Details

Keywords: Startup; Failed Startup; Luxury Goods; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Failure; Luxury; Fashion Industry; United States

Profile

Ann Chao

industry are often at odds with one another; with my creative passion and business background, I hope to better understand and work with people... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media

14 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

How Can Start Ups Grow?

implies that these firms would find it especially difficult to increase the scale of their operations and grow. Hence, understanding the factors that influence growth in such firms would be a conservative test of growth in other firms.... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Advertising

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Initiative Summit: Who Has the Power in the Music Industry?

The music industry likes power. Power chords, power ballads, even Towers of Power. The balance of power in the industry, however, has been completely upset with the advent and rapid proliferation of digital... View Details

Keywords: Re: Felix Oberholzer-Gee; Music

Research Summary

Mastering Strategy Execution

By: Robert Simons

Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the... View Details

23 Jul 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Innovation Is Magic. Really

personality, psychological insights, and talented hands can create wonderful effects that amaze an audience. It's just as much about the hard, creative work Randal puts in to continuously improve his art.... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products

January 2014
Case

Maricopa, Inc.: Finding the Right Treatment for Growth

By: William A. Sahlman, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joseph B. Fuller and Shikhar Ghosh

The founders of Maricopa, Inc., a startup that sold proprietary hair-care products directly to salons, were preparing a board presentation to address the young company's inability to meet financial projections. While the products had caught on with customers, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financial Condition; Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Expansion; Planning; Fashion Industry; Iowa