Publications

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

June 1999 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Eckerd Corporation

By: Michael E. Porter and John E. Kelleher

Describes the history and current situation in the retail pharmacy industry, including competition from new merchants and Internet drugstores. Eckerd, one of the top four drug chains, must decide how to position itself for the future. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Alignment; Supply and Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

13 Nov 2008
Working Paper Summaries

The Effect of Labor on Profitability: The Role of Quality

Keywords: by Zeynep Ton

29 Mar 2018
News

The Reality of Returns

April 2013
Case

Managing with Analytics at Procter & Gamble

By: Thomas H. Davenport, Marco Iansiti and Alain Serels

Senior management at P&G has put a strong emphasis on using data to make "better, smarter, real-time business decisions." The Global Business Services (GBS) organization has developed tools, systems and processes to provide managers throughout P&G with direct access to... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Data Management; Forecasting; Shared Services; Procter ＆ Gamble; Laundry Detergent; Information Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Information Technology; Mathematical Methods; Consumer Products Industry; North America

February 1994
Case

Kathryn McNeil (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Charles Foley, vice president of the computer retailing firm Sayer MicroWorld, must decide whether or not to fire his employee, Kathryn McNeil, a 37-year-old product manager who has been unable to work as many hours as her colleagues due to her status as a single... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Employees; Work-Life Balance; Resignation and Termination; Mergers and Acquisitions; Retail Industry

February 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

What's the Deal with LivingSocial?

By: Michael I. Norton, Luc Wathieu, Betsy Page Sigman and Marco Bertini

Tim O'Shaughnessy, the 29-year-old CEO of LivingSocial, is growing a revolutionary worldwide business of "daily deals"—in which retailers offer a heavily-discounted product or service available for purchase for brief (often 24-hour) windows. The case explores the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Innovation and Invention; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Management; Web Services Industry

January 2007 (Revised November 2007)
Case

Organic Growth at Wal-Mart

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Troy Smith

In 2005, an executive vice president at Wal-Mart must decide whether to expand the retailer's selection of organic food. The decision is made in the context of wider attempts to move the giant retailer slightly upscale and to focus on environmental sustainability. View Details

Keywords: Food; Growth and Development Strategy; Product; Business Processes; Environmental Sustainability; Expansion; Retail Industry; United States

29 Sep 2014
News

Why Do Outlet Stores Exist?

Janice H. Hammond

Janice H. Hammond is the Jesse Philips Professor of Manufacturing. She currently serves as coursehead for the new MBA required course, Data Science for Managers. She serves as program chair for the HBS Executive Education International Women’s Foundation and Women’s... View Details

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

31 Aug 2020
Blog Post

Five Important Steps before Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap

Dia&Co as well as their private label business. At Hilma, Nina leverages her expertise launching innovative products in the DTC and retail space, her Harvard MBA, and personal experiences of being raised by two doctors. Nina... View Details

26 Jul 2017
Blog Post

“Uncertainty Makes It More Interesting.”

Born in Monterey, Felipe Delgado (MBA 2018), knows Mexico well. With three years of pre-MBA banking experience, and a stint with a renewable energy startup, Felipe has a firm grip on the “corporate side” as well. But retail products? And... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

04 Feb 2015
News

Staples, top rival agree to unite as sector convulses

16 Sep 2010
News

Department stores: Mad rush for market share

November 2008 (Revised January 2009)
Case

The Restructuring of Daiei

By: Richard S. Ruback

In 2004, the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan (IRCJ) was given the task of restructuring Daiei, one of the largest Japanese retailers and the country's most prominent zombie companies. The IRCJ was a government-sponsored organization that was funded with... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Performance Effectiveness; Retail Industry; Japan

Find at Harvard

27 Jun 2019
News

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

Canary Categories—Journal of Marketing Research

Typically, past spending in a category is a positive indicator of future purchasing. In this we show that there exist categories (which we name "canary categories") in which the reverse is true -
When customers purchase... View Details

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Hennes & Mauritz, 2012

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2012, Hennes & Maurtiz (H&M) was the second-largest specialty apparel retailer in the world. Sales for fiscal 2012 were $18.1 billion and operating profits were $3.3 billion. H&M operated 2,776 stores, 93% of them outside its home base of Sweden. Over the past... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Strategic Decision Making; Strategy; Supply Chain; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Fashion Industry; Europe; Sweden