Retail Industry - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Dec 2017
News

2017 in Real Estate: A Local Business Goes Global

we need less office space; e-commerce will mean we will need less retail space and new kinds of industrial buildings. Autonomous vehicles—if the ethical, legal, and technical issues can be resolved—may... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate

01 Sep 2013
News

The New Rules of E-Commerce

proving the freshness of his eggs. Empower partners over products. Rakuten allows its merchants great leeway in crafting their online portals. Site designs encourage customers to linger and explore rather than purchase and leave, and Rakuten provides its View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne; e-commerce; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Miscellaneous Store Retailers

09 Feb 2017
Blog Post

Alumni: Where Are They Now? Featuring: Anddria Varnado (Clack-Rogers)

and cross-brand initiatives across Williams-Sonoma’s iconic eight-brand portfolio. I joined WSI after a few years in management consulting, where I managed projects across my firm’s retail and technology portfolios, and pre-MBA roles in... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

01 Sep 2020
News

Giving Amazon the Boot

When the coronavirus pandemic led many brick-and-mortar retailers to close their doors, consumers turned to online shopping in record numbers—US ecommerce sales rose by 31.8 percent between the first and second quarter of 2020 to $211.5... View Details

Keywords: Lisa Scanlon Mogolov; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Miscellaneous Store Retailers

09 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

Warring Algorithms Could Be Driving Up Consumer Prices

The widespread use of pricing algorithms is reshaping the nature of competition in online markets and potentially driving up the prices of retail goods, according to recent research. These automated, price-adjusting software programs may... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail

12 Nov 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Social Networks, Ethnicity, and Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by William R. Kerr & Martin Mandorff; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail

07 Oct 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

How Companies Can Make Up with (Very) Unhappy Customers

for competitors. Tesco’s Stumble into the US MarketUK retailer Tesco was very successful penetrating foreign markets—until it set its sights on the United States. What Mark Zuckerberg Can Learn About Crisis Leadership from StarbucksWhile... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail; Retail

Michael Dell

In 1992, Dell, at 27 years of age, became the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Dell revolutionized the retail computer industry by instituting a direct sales approach, where the customer places their... View Details

Keywords: Computers & Electronics

Person Page

Media

This lists media reports covering my firm dollarDEX Investments or me (or my colleagues), or columns written by me (or my colleagues). There are all... View Details

12 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Power to the People: The Unexpected Influence of Small Coalitions

modern consumer society: agriculture, retail, pharmaceuticals, and the credit industry in post-World War II Germany, France, Britain, and the United States. In postwar Europe and the United States, the consumer protection idea "emerged... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

19 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Finding Success in the Middle of the Market

returns on investment than those pursuing the first two strategies. The woes of once great retailers like Sears Roebuck are cited as evidence. But midfield is critical. It represents the middle of the market, to which one end of the... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Retail; Retail

Web

Related Resources - The High Art of Photographic Advertising - Baker Library | Bloomberg Center

relevance to research in advertising and marketing. Industrial Life Photograph Collection Photographs from 115 leading companies (International Harvester, Hershey's Chocolate, Kraft-Phenix Cheese Corporation, U.S. Steel, and General... View Details

01 Jun 2017
News

Case Study: Something New

expertise in various parts of a complex supply chain and high efficiency (to keep lead times down and costs manageable). But that is valuable precisely because it is difficult and thus very hard to replicate. —Ankur Daga (MBA 2005) What makes this online View Details

Keywords: April White

24 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

Managing Alignment as a Process

market. In the 1960s, it added a line of men's casual shoes sold through company-owned retail stores. The 1970s saw a diversification into men's clothing, a new line of business (LOB) that focused on outdoor clothing for work or play. The... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail

06 Dec 2017
News

Puzzle Master

Photo via Black Enterprise Photo via Black Enterprise When kitchen goods and home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma announced its acquisition of Outward, Inc.—a leading 3-D imaging and augmented reality platform—the $112 million deal... View Details

05 Dec 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Walmart Defying Economic Gravity?

turnover among the largest business firms, characterized in the United States by the fact that only one company, General Electric, has survived in the Dow Jones Industrials index since its beginning. We are reminded of the matter as... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

16 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Marketing Wine to the World

program, I had the opportunity to write a new case about Robert Mondavi. As I conducted the research for the case, I became more fascinated with the changes taking place in the industry globally, as well as the marked differences between... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Food & Beverage

25 Jul 2016
Blog Post

Advice on Switching Careers While at HBS

merchandiser did or how to execute a strong digital marketing campaign. “Why would anyone already in retail even talk to me?” I wondered. The good news is there are a multitude of ways to get familiar with your desired View Details

01 Dec 1999
News

New Releases

A Stitch in Time (Second Edition) by Frederick H. Abernathy, John T. Dunlop, Janice H. Hammond, and David Weil (Oxford University Press) Spurred on by advances in information technology, a retailing revolution has been taking place during... View Details

August 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Gome Electronics: Evolving the Business Model

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Gao Wang, Fei Li, Tracy Manty and Waishun Lo

After 20 years of expansion, Gome Electronics has become China's largest consumer electronics retailer. It has opened stores in almost every province in China, acquired some of its competitors, and went public in Hong Kong. However, it has begun to experience a... View Details