Publications

January 2011
Case

Clean Edge Razor: Splitting Hairs in Product Positioning

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

After three years of development, Paramount Health and Beauty Company is preparing to launch a new technologically advanced vibrating razor called Clean Edge. The innovative new design of Clean Edge provides superior performance by stimulating the hair follicles to... View Details

Keywords: Project Management; Interdepartmental Relations; Organizational Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Conflict Management; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Relationships; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

December 2020
Case

Urban Company

By: Krishna G. Palepu

Urban Company is an India-based market platform that helps customers book home services and at home beauty services. The company differentiated itself by investing heavily in building customer trust. Rather than merely positioning itself as a lead generating... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Emerging Markets; Strategy; Service Delivery; Trust; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; India

15 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 15

assemble a team of scientists from outside the beauty industry to challenge the conventional wisdom. Their company, Living Proof, wanted to offer women "proof in a bottle" rather than "hope in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Mar 2019
HBS Case

The Ferrari Way

in 2015 (ticker symbol RACE). Meanwhile, the automotive industry has been shifting through its biggest changes in decades, with companies scrambling to keep up with the pace of innovation—including drivetrain electrification, wireless... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Auto

May 2025
Teaching Note

Boutiqaat: Influencing Retail in MENA

By: Juan Alcacer and Noor Al Qadhi

Boutiqaat, a Kuwait-based e-commerce platform, scaled an influencer-driven beauty retail model across MENA and now faces critical strategic choices about offline expansion and globalization. Founded in 2015, Boutiqaat combined social commerce, localized logistics, and... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Digital Strategy; Growth and Development; Expansion; Global Strategy; Distribution Channels; Business Model; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Kuwait; Saudi Arabia; Middle East; North Africa

May 2025
Case

Boutiqaat: Influencing Retail in MENA

By: Juan Alcacer and Noor Al Qadhi

Boutiqaat, a Kuwait-based e-commerce platform, scaled an influencer-driven beauty retail model across MENA and now faces critical strategic choices about offline expansion and globalization. Founded in 2015, Boutiqaat combined social commerce, localized logistics, and... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Digital Strategy; Growth and Development; Expansion; Distribution Channels; Global Strategy; Business Model; Market Design; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Kuwait; Saudi Arabia; Middle East; North Africa

August 2012
Case

ARISE: A Destination-for-a-Day Spa

By: Michael Beer and Lynda St. Clair

A new Dallas-based health and beauty spa aims to use a highly distinctive human resource system as the foundation of its competitive strategy. By encouraging employees to act as "personal wellness coaches" (PWCs) with high commitment and broad responsibilities, the... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Design; Organizational Culture; Service Delivery; Competitive Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Health Industry; Health Industry; Health Industry; Texas

April 2008
Case

A Day in the Life of Alex Sander: Driving in the Fast Lane at Landon Care Products

By: Larry E. Greiner and Elizabeth Collins

Alex Sander is a new product manager whose drive and talents are attractive to management, but whose intolerant style has alienated employees. This tension is presented against the backdrop of a 360° performance review process. Sander works in the Toiletries Division... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Conflict Management; Behavior; Management Practices and Processes; Talent and Talent Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Problems and Challenges; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Europe

11 May 2016
Research & Ideas

Fix This! Why is it so Painful to Buy a New Car?

beautiful experience.” Note to Readers: Please use Comments to share your own car-buying experience, suggestions to the auto industry for improvement, and what other consumer nightmares we should be writing... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Auto

23 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 23, 2008

answers to secure donations. Blonde and Blue-eyed? Globalizing Beauty, c.1945-c.1980 Author:Geoffrey Jones Periodical:Economic History Review 61, no. 1 (February 2008) Abstract This article examines the globalization of the beauty View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2017 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Coaching Makena Lane

By: Ethan Bernstein and Om Lala

Makena Lane has a gift for producing results, even in the challenging retail context of the 2010s, but she also has a knack for “ruffling some feathers” in the process. Recruited to a Fortune 500 grocery and pharmacy retailer after climbing to Associate Principal in... View Details

December 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Dragon's Teeth Vineyards

By: Alan D. MacCormack, Marius Leibold, Sven Voelpel and Kerry Herman

Dragon's Teeth Vineyards (DTV) is a South African wine producer that is considering whether to use genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its wine-making process. GMOs promise to lower the costs of wine production significantly through increased yields and reduced... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Genetics; Transition; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Product Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technology Adoption; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; South Africa

December 2018 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Shiseido: Reinvesting in Brand

By: Jill Avery and Nobuo Sato

Shiseido was in the midst of a six year corporate turnaround, trying to reverse the effects of decades of under-investment in R&D and marketing which had led to a cycle of declining customer support and brand value. Would the CEO’s VISION 2020 plan, centered on four... View Details

September 2024
Case

Barbie: Reviving a Cultural Icon at Mattel (Abridged)

By: Elie Ofek, Ryann Noe and Sarah Mehta

The 2023 release of live-action film Barbie, and its accompanying marketing blitz, incited a worldwide Barbie craze. Suddenly Barbie was everywhere, a celebrated icon reinstated at the forefront of cultural conversation. This goodwill stood in contrast to decades of... View Details

Keywords: Gender; Intellectual Property; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Public Opinion; Business Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

28 Mar 2012
What Do You Think?

Are Factory Jobs Important to the Economy?

which the directors toured a newly-created "beauty park" in the US, where companies cooperating to create and manufacture new fashion beauty products are located together in one light industrial park. It is... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing

April 2017 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Helena Rubinstein: Making Up the Modern Woman

By: Geoffrey Jones and Kathy Choi

This case examines the entrepreneurial career of Helena Rubinstein before 1938. Rubinstein is widely considered the single most important female entrepreneur in the United States in the 20th century. She was born in Poland but immigrated to Australia where she started... View Details

Keywords: Female Entrepreneur; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

May 2020
Teaching Note

Shiseido: Reinvesting in Brand

By: Jill Avery

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-026. Shiseido was in the midst of a six year corporate turnaround, trying to reverse the effects of decades of under-investment in R&D and marketing that had led to a vicious cycle of declining customer support and brand value. Would... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Marketing ROI; Brand Portfolio Strategy; Growth Strategy; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Growth and Development Strategy; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Japan; Asia

April 2021
Case

Buy Online, Pickup in Store: Evaluating an Omnichannel Intervention in Retail

By: Antonio Moreno, Santiago Gallino and Amy Klopfenstein

In October 2018, fashion, wellness, and beauty retailer Sylvarella implemented a Buy Online, Pickup in Store (BOPS) program in an attempt to counteract a sales decline. While BOPS had the potential to meet customer expectations for a seamless order and fulfillment... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Service Delivery; Logistics; Infrastructure; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Analysis; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States; Canada