Publications

November 2009
Exercise

Investor Meets Calendar Retailer

By: Ananth Raman, Vishal Gaur and Richard Lai

Keywords: Investment; Retail Industry

July 2005 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Tanpin Kanri: Retail Practice at Seven-Eleven Japan

By: Rajiv Lal and Arar Han

Toshifumi Suzuki, chairman and CEO of Seven and I Holding Co., was widely credited as the mastermind behind Seven-Eleven Japan's spectacular rise. Although Seven-Eleven Japan began as a small licensee of U.S. convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Inc. (then Southland... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Demand and Consumers; Distribution; Logistics; Technology; Retail Industry; Japan

Web

All Industries

Nonprofit / Government Other Financial Services Private Equity Retail Services Technology Venture Capital Career Data Internship Data View: Class of 2023 Class of 2023 Class of 2022 Class of 2021 Class of 2020 Class of 2019 Sort By: A-Z... View Details

May 2003
Background Note

How to Induce Retailers to Reduce Stockouts?

By: V.G. Narayanan

Describes how the lack of incentive alignment between retailers and their vendors can lead to stockouts. Also describes various means to reduce incentive misalignment and hence stockouts. View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Supply Chain Management; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution; Alignment; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

2019
Working Paper

Who Should Select New Employees, Headquarters or the Unit Manager? Consequences of Centralizing Hiring at a Retail Chain

By: Carolyn Deller and Tatiana Sandino

We examine how changing the allocation of hiring decision rights in a multiunit organization affects employee-firm match quality, contingent on a unit’s circumstances. Our research site, a US retail chain, switched from a decentralized hiring model (hiring by business... View Details

Keywords: Control; Selection; Decentralization; Company Values; Retail Chains; Decision Making; Economics; Geography; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Design; Situation or Environment; Retail Industry

SSRN

Read Now

March 2011
Background Note

Customer Loyalty Schemes in the Retail Sector

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Aldo Sesia

Customer loyalty schemes (or programs) are explicit efforts by retailers to gain long-term patronage from customers. Loyalty schemes are developed for a variety of reasons: to reward loyal customers, to generate more robust information about customer behavior, to... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Consumer Behavior; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; United Kingdom; United States

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Rapid Response: Inside the Retailing Revolution

and John T. Dunlop of the Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and David Weil of Boston University. Their recent book, A Stitch in Time: Lean Retailing and the Transformation of Manufacturing—Lessons from the Apparel and... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail

Article

Regulation and UK Retailing Productivity: Evidence from Microdata

By: Jonathan Haskel and Raffaella Sadun

We explore the effects of planning regulation on the UK retail sector between 1997 and 2003 using micro-data from the UK census. We document a shift to smaller shops following a 1996 regulatory change that increased the costs of opening large stores. Our analysis... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Performance Productivity; Growth and Development; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Change; Cost; Retail Industry; United Kingdom

Read Now

December 1981 (Revised October 1985)
Case

Computer Retailing at Macy's California

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Marketing; Retail Industry; California

10 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Winners and Losers in the Retail Revolution

The new book Retail Revolution: Will Your Brick-and-Mortar Store Survive? lays out the thesis that traditional store-front retailing is at an inflection point, under tremendous pressure from ecommerce and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

Fast Answer

Sustainability in CPG and Retail

2018: Companies must collaborate across the value chain to improve sustainability. Fashion’s new must-have: Sustainable sourcing at scale. McKinsey, October 2019. Highlights the sustainable sourcing targets View Details

September 1993 (Revised June 1995)
Case

Wholesale Club Industry

By: Walter J. Salmon

The wholesale club industry experienced rapid growth in the 1980s. By 1993 there were signs that the industry was maturing and perhaps facing a shakeout. This case provides comprehensive data to permit an analysis of the viability and likely direction of the industry. View Details

Keywords: Industry Growth; Retail Industry

January 2011
Teaching Note

Online Pet Supply Retailing (TN)

By: Tom Nicholas

Teaching Note for 809-117. View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Failure; Information Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Decisions; Retail Industry; United States

October 2010
Exercise

Investor Meets Calendar Retailer (AMP)

By: Ananth Raman, Vishal Gaur and Richard Lai

Keywords: Investment; Retail Industry

October 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Twiga Foods: Revolutionizing African Retail (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Pippa Tubman Amerding and Wale Lawal

Twiga is a leading agricultural produce supplier in Kenya offering services to mostly informal retailers. Under Peter Njonjo, a co-founder and Twiga’s new CEO, the company is considering multiple options for expanding its business, including offering packaged foods and... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Retail Industry; Nairobi

March 2006 (Revised January 2011)
Case

CEMEX: Rewarding the Egyptian Retailers

CEMEX has pursued an aggressive decommoditization strategy focused on its relationship with small Egyptian retailers. In particular, the strategic role and effectiveness of the Rewards Program, a tournament that rewarded the sales performance of the retailers, was... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Performance Improvement; Sales; Motivation and Incentives; Construction Industry; Egypt

May 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Ron Johnson: Retail at Target, Apple, and J.C. Penney

By: Das Narayandas, Kerry Herman and Lisa Mazzanti

In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure, Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his innovation and success in shaping the retail image at Target and Apple, introduced dramatic departures... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Situation or Environment; Failure; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States

06 Sep 2018
News

As huge brick-and-mortar retailers are strangled out of business by Amazon, local retailers are like, 'no big deal'

Winter 2014
Article

Retail Inventory: Managing the Canary in the Coal Mine!

By: Vishal Gaur, Saravanan Kesavan and Ananth Raman

Retail inventory is a statistic that is closely watched by retailers as well as their investors, lenders, and suppliers. Retailers not only benefit from inventory, but also bear the cost of excess inventory. Investors, lenders, and suppliers interpret this statistic... View Details

Keywords: Financial Condition; Retail Industry