Publications

Find at Harvard

23 Apr 2023
Video

Piano Assembly in the Live Online Classroom

02 Nov 2022
News

It’s Fall on Campus!

September 2019 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Dove and Real Beauty: Building a Brand with Purpose

By: Mark R. Kramer, Myriam Sidibe and Gunjan Veda

Unilever subsidiary Dove soap became a "brand with a purpose" and created shared value when the company decided to launch a Campaign for Real Beauty to combat the artificial media-driven stereotype of female beauty that causes appearance anxiety in women and girls... View Details

Keywords: Stereotype; Body Image; Female; Self-Esteem; Brands and Branding; Mission and Purpose; Advertising Campaigns; Gender; Resource Allocation

March 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

P&G Japan: The SK-II Globalization Project

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Traces changes in P&G's international strategy and structure, culminating in Organization 2005, a reorganization that places strategic emphasis on product innovation rather than geographic expansion and shifts power from local subsidiary to global business management.... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Trade; Globalization; Global Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Business or Company Management; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Hong Kong; Japan; Taiwan; Europe

June 2008 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Bernd Beetz: Creating the New Coty

By: Geoffrey Jones and David Kiron

Considers the creation of the world's largest fragrance company by Bernd Beetz, appointed chief executive of Coty Inc. in 2001. In 1990 the German consumer goods company Benkiser began acquiring fragrance and cosmetics brands with the intent of developing a beauty... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Entrepreneurship; Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Germany; United States

April 2020
Teaching Note

Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community

By: Jill Avery

Teaching Note for HBS No. 519-022. Flush with cash from its Series C fundraise, cult beauty brand Glossier considers its next phase of growth, facing critical decisions on how to allocate its capital to support various marketing communications and distribution... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Crowdsourcing; CRM; Startup; Direct-to-consumer; DTC; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Customer Relationship Management; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Social Media; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

July 2020
Case

Amanda and Kristen: Mented Cosmetics

By: Steven Rogers, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Alterrell Mills

The co-founders (Black HBS alumnae) of an e-commerce beauty startup explore the unmet needs within the beauty industry. This case study examines the entrepreneurial opportunities that come from identifying an underserved market, specifically within the Black community... View Details

26 Oct 2022
Video

It’s Fall on Campus!

January 1983 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.: Marketing Communications

By: John A. Quelch

Marketing executives at the company are considering the merits of a variety of communications programs designed to increase the effectiveness of the company's sales force of beauty consultants. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Salesforce Management; Decision Making; Performance Effectiveness; Management Teams; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

11 Dec 2023
Blog Post

Building Iconic Brands and Brighter Futures: Interview with Glossier CEO, Kyle Leahy

Kyle Leahy (MBA 2011) stepped into the CEO role of Glossier in May 2022 ready to take the brand to new heights. Since its founding in 2014, Glossier had disrupted the beauty industry, created a powerful community-driven brand, and was... View Details

July 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Mary Kay Inc.: Enriching Women's Lives while Embracing Change

By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Julia Kelley

In December 2020, Mary Kay Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Sheryl Adkins-Green considered several strategic dilemmas. Founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay was a direct sales company whose Independent Beauty Consultants purchased its beauty and cosmetics products at... View Details

10 Nov 2020
Blog Post

Instagram Takeover - Mae Abdelrahman (MBA 2021)

in the classroom, she transitioned to a role in the financial services sector, before attending HBS. Mae has had a lifelong passion for skin care and beauty and she was excited to start her own beauty... View Details

July–August 2012
Article

The Growth Opportunity That Lies Next Door

By: G. Jones

This article uses the case of Natura, the largest Brazilian beauty company and one of the world's top twenty beauty companies, to explore how the logic of globalization is changing for corporations from emerging countries as growth opportunities in those countries... View Details

Keywords: Brazil; Marketing; Green Marketing; Environment; Globalization; Developing Countries and Economies; Geographic Location; Growth and Development Strategy; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Latin America; Europe

Find at Harvard

October 2005 (Revised July 2009)
Case

MD Beauty, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind

Describes some of the issues confronting the entrepreneurial team responsible for creating a highly successful natural beauty and skin care company. They are considering selling all or some portion of the company's stock. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Stocks; Financial Strategy; Management Teams; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry