Publications

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06 Sep 2018
News

Why U.S. Grocery Chains Need More (and Better) Store-Brand Products

September 2019 (Revised July 2021)
Case

Gap, Inc., 2019

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2000, The Gap, Inc. (Gap) was the world’s largest player in specialty fashion retailing, and companies such as Inditex of Spain, H&M of Sweden, and Fast Retailing of Japan were less than a quarter of Gap’s size. But after two decades of growth, Gap’s progress... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Change; Fashion; Multinational; Brands; Fast Fashion; Competition; Multinational Firms and Management; Performance Improvement; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Change Management; Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Sweden; Spain; United States

28 Aug 2011
News

Long-term housing demand trend is positive

Richard S. Tedlow

Richard S. Tedlow is the Class of 1949 Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, where he is a specialist in the history of business.

Professor Tedlow received his B.A. from Yale in 1969 and his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from... View Details

Keywords: retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing

June 1990 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Sorrell Ridge: Slotting Allowances

By: John A. Quelch

Management is attempting to penetrate the California retail grocery market with the company's line of all-fruit preserves. Substantial up-front fees (slotting allowances) have been requested by the chains. Management must decide how to respond. View Details

Keywords: Food; Distribution; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; California

May 2016 (Revised June 2017)
Case

India's Amul: Keeping Up with the Times

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Tarun Khanna, Namrata Arora and Tanya Bijlani

Amul is an Indian dairy cooperative founded in 1947—eight months before India's independence from British rule—and owned by over three million farmers in the state of Gujarat. It is India's largest food product marketing organization, selling 46 products, including... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Expansion; Dairy; India; Cooperatives; Milk; Leadership; Agriculture; Agribusiness; Competition; Marketing; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; India

Research Summary

Overview

By: Kris Johnson Ferreira

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

Keywords: E-commerce; Analytics; Revenue Management; Pricing; Assortment Planning; Field Experiments; Operations; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Retail Industry

December 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Zespri

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Mary Louise Shelman

Grower-owned Zespri is the sole exporter of New Zealand-grown kiwifruit outside of Australia and New Zealand. Facing growing international competition, Zespri invested in consumer branding and innovation, which has led to new types of kiwifruit that taste better and... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Globalized Firms and Management; Innovation and Invention; Patents; Brands and Branding; Cooperative Ownership; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; New Zealand

May 2018
Case

Sagacity Tea: What Direction for Growth?

By: John A. Quelch and Amy Handlin

Kate Moran, CEO and cofounder of Sagacity Tea, a small, Vermont-based ready-to-drink tea brand, is considering a consumer-product group (CPG) broker's proposal for the product's launch in several cities along the East Coast of the United States. The commitments in the... View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Marketing; Distribution; Growth Management; Marketing Channels; Decision Choices and Conditions

26 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 26, 2008

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=808107 Parks Capital-Investment in US Retail, Inc. Harvard Business School Case 208-104 Parks Capital acquired a Children's Apparel Manufacturer, American Child Clothing Manufacturers, Inc. (ACCM), in 2001.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2015 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Delhaize Group: Developing Leaders

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Delhaize Group, the Belgian-based global food retailer, was focused on competing in the food retailing industry by developing leading positions in key markets via localized retailing strategies. Delhaize was committed to offering its customers superior value while... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Organizational Alignment; Talent Management; Leadership Development; Globalized Firms and Management; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Belgium

Philippe van der Beck is an Assistant Professor in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches the Finance I course in the MBA required curriculum. Philippe’s research interests are in empirical asset pricing, sustainable finance, and structural estimation.... View Details

09 Dec 2015
News

How Do You Predict Demand and Set Prices For Products Never Sold Before?

31 Mar 2020
News

Reinventing the Direct-to-Consumer Business Model

01 Nov 2019
Video

Patrick Chalhoub

Patrick Chalhoub, CEO of Dubai-based luxury retailer Chalhoub, discusses the changing gender balance of customers from the male, head-of-household, dominated 1960s, to the 2010s when women are more likely the... View Details

23 Feb 2011
News

Luxury shoppers make a comeback

27 Jun 2019
News

Low online prices are great for shoppers. But they're killing small businesses

February 2001 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Balance, Inc. (A)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Michele Lutz

Focuses on an entrepreneur who founded a successful health-food store and seeks to expand his retail concept. Illustrates the challenges he faces as he recruits his top management team. View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; Executive Compensation; Agreements and Arrangements; Outcome or Result; Recruitment; Management Teams; Selection and Staffing; Food and Beverage Industry