Publications

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 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 2015 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Mauboussin

By: Anat Keinan, Sandrine Crener and Audrey Azoulay

Mauboussin is a French jewelry brand founded in 1827 in Paris. In the 1920s, the company earned a huge notoriety for capturing the aesthetic and emotional dimension of the Art Deco movement in its design and gained a worldwide reputation for innovation and expertise in... View Details

March 1997
Case

Sensormatic Electronics Corporation-1995

By: Krishna G. Palepu and James Chang

Sensormatic is a leading provider of security systems to the retail industry. The company relies on customer financing as a key component of its strategy. The company's growth strategy and accountingis attacked by short-sellers and the financial press. View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Valuation; Financial Reporting; Financing and Loans; Financial Statements; Business Strategy

September 2002 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Silhouette v. Hartlauer

Silhouette, an Austrian eyeglass frame manufacturer, sued Hartlauer, an Austrian retail discounter, for reselling Silhouette frames within the European Union (EU) that Hartlauer had purchased outside the EU. Does the EU follow the principle of exhaustion of trademarks? View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Trademarks; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; European Union

Video

Gonzalo Restrepo

Gonzalo Restrepo, former President of the Colombia-based Almacenes Éxito, the largest South American retail company, describes his search for an international partner, which eventually led... View Details

January 2012 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Hengdeli: The Art of Coexistence

By: Rohit Deshpandé and Nancy Hua Dai

In October 2011, Zhang Yuping, founder and chairman of Hengdeli, the largest Swiss watch retailer in the world, wondered how to work more closely with its key suppliers—Swatch Group, Richemont Group, LVMH Group, and Rolex Group—to maintain strong growth in the Greater... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; China

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

August 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Case

Disney's "The Lion King" (C): Repeat Performance?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Three of Disney's animated films that followed "The Lion King"—"Pocahontas," "Toy Story," and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"—were significantly less successful at the box office and in retail sales. Meanwhile, Disney was focusing on developing live-action blockbusters. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Animation Entertainment; Success; Failure; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

22 Mar 2018
News

Too Small To Fail

February 2008 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Shoppers' Stop Group (SSG)

By: Rajiv Lal and Virginia Fuller

As B.S. Nagesh thumbed through the 2006-2007 Annual Report for Shoppers' Stop Group (SSG), action shots of healthy-looking people dressed in the latest fashions amid the words "Redefining Retail" brought a smile to his face. As managing director of SSG-a Rs 8.9 billion... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Initial Public Offering; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Emerging Markets; Retail Industry; India

27 Sep 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Large-Scale Demand Estimation with Search Data

Keywords: by Tomomichi Amano, Andrew Rhodes, and Stephan Seiler; Retail

15 Jul 2019
Blog Post

Exploring the World of Electric Adventure Vehicles

not only graduate school at HBS—but also a summer 2019 retail strategy internship with Ford- and Amazon-backed electric car startup, Rivian Automotive. Founded in 2009, Rivian is an independent American automaker that develops electric... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail; Consumer Products / Retail

December 2009
Case

Hungerit

By: David E. Bell, Sarah Morton and Mary Louise Shelman

Hungary's top producer of poultry products is deciding the company's future strategy in the face of new opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe, a changing retail market in Hungary, and the possibility of increased global competition. View Details

Keywords: Opportunities; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Hungary