Publications

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January 2017
Case

Expanding Ecommerce at Technos

By: Thales Teixeira, Rohit Deshpandé, Ruth Costas and Priscilla Zogbi

Technos was the market leader in the Brazilian watch market. Its CEO had made a firm commitment to evolve the company’s marketing and commercial practices by focusing less on pushing product to retail clients and more on branding to end consumers to pull watches from... View Details

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

06 Sep 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Reinventing an Iconic Independent Bookstore

Keywords: Re: Ryan L. Raffaelli; 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

Pietro Satriano is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School. He sits on the boards of CarMax, the largest omni-channel used car retailer in the U.S. and Metro, a large regional grocery retailer in Canada. Pietro advises a number of food-tech startups and acts... View Details

September 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Leasing Decision at Magnet Beauty Products, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu and George Serafeim

A fast-growing retailer is facing two different leasing options for its stores. In choosing between the two options, management is considering the potential impact of the two options on the company's financial statements, in light of the proposed new accounting... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Standards; Leasing; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

March 2000
Case

Spec's Music (B)

By: John A. Davis and Susan Harmeling

Explores the reasoning behind the final decision to sell and the decision-making process that leads to the final question of "if so, to whom?" Four of the bidders are music retailers and the fifth is a Tampa entrepreneur. View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Bids and Bidding

13 Mar 2017
News

Hiding Products From Customers May Ultimately Boost Sales

February 2000 (Revised December 2001)
Case

Kmart Inc. and Builders Square

In 1997, Kmart received an offer from retail buyout specialists Leonard Green & Partners for the purchase of its ailing 162-store home improvement chain, Builders Square. Green's offer included a $10 million cash payment, a warrant to purchase a 28% stake in the new... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Valuation; Leveraged Buyouts; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

17 Dec 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Does Apple Anchor a Shopping Mall? The Effect of the Technology Stores on the Formation of Market Structure

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung, Kyoungwon Seo, and Reo Song; Retail; Retail

Flipkart: Transitioning to a Marketplace Model

Founded in 2007 as an online book retailer, Flipkart rapidly became the largest e-commerce player in India, valued at almost $15 billion. However, it faced intense competition from other e-commerce players like Amazon and Snapdeal. Over the years Flipkart was slowly... View Details

09 Feb 2018
News

No Time For Complacency For U.S. Banks - Aggressive Technology Use Can Create Real Shareholder Value

25 Jan 2017
Working Paper Summaries

The Effects of Quota Frequency on Sales Force Performance: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas

26 Apr 2017
News

How Banks Can Compete Against an Army of Fintech Startups

March 2015 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Coffee Wars in India: Café Coffee Day 2013

By: David B. Yoffie and Rachna Tahilyani

Café Coffee Day (CCD) is the largest coffee retailer in India. In 2012, Starbucks entered the India market. This case explores CCD's competitive advantages, its analysis of Starbuck's entry strategy, and how it might respond to Starbucks' entry. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitor Analysis; Competitive Strategy; India