Publications

Find at Harvard

2001
Other Unpublished Work

Linking Operations and Finance in Retailing

By: A. Raman, Vishal Gaur and Marshall Fisher

Keywords: Operations; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry

2016
Working Paper

The Impact of Supplier Inventory Service Level on Retailer Demand

By: Nathan Craig, Nicole DeHoratius and Ananth Raman

To set inventory service levels, suppliers must understand how changes in inventory service level affect demand. We build on prior research, which uses analytical models and laboratory experiments to study the impact of a supplier's service level on demand from... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Forecasting and Prediction; Learning; Consumer Behavior; Service Delivery; Performance Expectations; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

SSRN

Read Now

March 1979
Background Note

Note on Types of Retail Stores

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi

Keywords: Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

Recent Strategies in the U.S. Grocery Industry

By: Rajiv Lal

Rajiv Lal's work comparing the benefits of EDLP and Hi-Lo strategies in the grocery industry indicates that while EDLP grocery retailers may not be able to benefit from traditional costs savings associated with this strategy, these retailers still benefit from the use... View Details

February 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Amazon in Fashion

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock and Gabriel Ellsworth

According to many analysts and industry observers, in 2018 Amazon became the largest retailer of apparel in the United States and the second largest in the world, behind Alibaba. Much of Amazon’s apparel was made by third-party retailers on its platform, but Amazon had... View Details

April 2012
Article

Retail Doesn't Cross Borders: Here's Why and What to Do about It

By: Marcel Corstjens and Rajiv Lal

Most companies assume that the easiest way to grow is by investing overseas and that the developing world offers the best opportunities for boosting revenues and profits today. However, success abroad varies widely, and research shows that it's often tough to... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Growth and Development Strategy; Globalization; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Local Range; Retail Industry

Read Now

March 2011
Case

Seven-Eleven Japan: The Tanpin Kanri Retail Practice

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi and Carin-Isabel Knoop

This case focuses on Tanpin Kanri, which uses both store-level human knowledge and product information sharing. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Sharing; Employees; Practice; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; Japan

November 1990 (Revised December 1991)
Case

Ahold & AMS: European Retail Synergy Marketing

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Keywords: Marketing; Retail Industry; Europe

Find at Harvard

21 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Lessons for Retailers from the Rebirth of Indie Bookstores

As big box bookstores Barnes & Noble and Borders spread across the landscape in the 1990s, retail observers sounded the death knell for small, independent booksellers. But they had no idea of the onslaught that was coming. Amazon.com... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Entertainment & Recreation

October 2005 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Magazine Luiza: Building a Retail Model of "Courting the Poor"

By: Frances X. Frei and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

Describes the innovative retail model of the Brazilian firm Magazine Luiza. Magazine Luiza enables low-income consumer credit by applying a flexible and nuanced evaluation system. Additionally, its dedication to customer service, employee motivation, and progressive... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Information Technology; Income; Innovation and Management; Success; Customer Focus and Relationships; Credit; Retail Industry; Brazil

Article

Can Big-Box Retailers Provide Local Health Care?

By: Robert S. Huckman

National retailers, most notably Walmart and Best Buy, are making big bets on their ability to fill this need for local health care. At first glance, these moves are a bit surprising given that these companies have not traditionally been focused on health care... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Local Range; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

Register to Read

Article

Case Study: Can Retailers Win Back Shoppers Who Browse then Buy Online?

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Sunil Gupta

This case study discusses the options that brick-and-mortar retailers can use to combat the negative consequences of 'showrooming.' View Details

Keywords: Showrooming; E-commerce; Retail Industry

Read Now

July 1991
Supplement

Retail Promotional Pricing: When Is a Sale Really a Sale? (B)

Provides the court's decision in the May D&F case, and updates the controversy surrounding high-low retail pricing. View Details

Keywords: Courts and Trials; Price; Judgments; Retail Industry

April 2018 (Revised November 2019)
Case

JD: Envisioning the Future of Retail (A)

By: Feng Zhu and Shirley Sun

JD, China’s second largest e-commerce company by gross merchandise volume (GMV) after Alibaba, had expanded rapidly from 2012 to 2016. When the company celebrated its 13th birthday in 2017, Richard Liu, its founder, deliberated on the company’s growth strategies. The... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry; China