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May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details

Keywords: Asda; Costco; David Glass; Convenience Stores; Discount Retailing; Dollar Stores; Doug McMillon; E-commerce; Online Retail; General Merchandise; Grocery; Lee Scott; Mike Duke; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Neighborhood Market; Sam Walton; Sam's Club; Store Formats; Supercenter; Supermarket; Warehouse Clubs; Merchandising; Walmart; Wal-Mart; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Units; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Banks and Banking; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business History; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Wages; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Web; Web Sites; Distribution Industry; Distribution Industry; Distribution Industry; Distribution Industry; United States; Arkansas; Bentonville

20 Aug 2014
Research & Ideas

Why the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a Social Media Blockbuster

In 2009, technology researchers at Forrester published a report entitled We Are All Media Companies Now, that looked at how publishing firms were dealing with the shift from a distribution paradigm to one based on consumption. By 2014,... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton

Profile

Peter Gumulia

not his central passion. In college, Peter interned at a supply chain company where he helped a large retailer build its first distribution center dedicated to e-commerce. “I enjoyed the process,” he says. “I learned a lot about warehouse... View Details

25 Apr 2024
News

Origin Stories

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Dan Morrell: Hi, this is Dan Morrell, host of Skydeck. Where we come from and how we were raised has a profound effect on who we become. The recipients of this year’s Alumni Achievement Award grew up... View Details

26 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers

Toyota model? A: Your question cuts right to a critical issue. We discussed earlier the basic problem that for complex systems, responsibility for design, testing, and improvement must be distributed broadly. We've observed that Toyota,... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston; Manufacturing; Transportation; Auto

02 Oct 2017
What Do You Think?

Do Bitcoin and Digital Currency Have a Future?

specific use of the asset class when he observed that a possible use of Bitcoin could be “hedge funds betting on sovereign debt defaults.” Charles Sabatier III added that Bitcoin is the most secure financial network in the world. “The infrastructure that processes... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett; Financial Services

25 Aug 2014
News

Ashraf M. Dahod, MBA 1981

value of education, changing the world through entrepreneurship, and finding meaning by helping others. Dahod’s first taste of entrepreneurship came as a teenager, when he helped his physician father produce and distribute medication that... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

19 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

Fed Up Workers and Supply Woes: What's Next for Dollar Stores?

merchandise into their distribution centers. All retailers are suffering from a shortage of truckers, a shortage of trailers, shortage of capacity in all the logistics networks to move goods around. At the same time, we’re seeing... View Details

Keywords: by Christine Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Retail

Web

Judging Criteria - Alumni

addressable market for your product and service. Highlight growth and trends. Attractive business model: How do you plan to make money? Who pays you? What are your distribution channels? What is your gross margin? Is your business model... View Details

15 Nov 2018
Book

Can the Global Food Industry Overcome Public Distrust?

JamesBrey Food is the largest segment of the global economy. It is also widely recognized as more critical for human health than any pharmaceutical drug on the planet. But significant changes in the industry are making people lose trust in many institutions involved in... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Agriculture & Agribusiness

Web

Demonstration Policy | About

HBS also may determine that an event requires the participation of staff to guide the event planners, to prepare and assist the moderator, to aid in managing the event, and to help make decisions during an event when questions or issues arise. Forms of dissent at an... View Details

August 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

C&S Wholesale Grocers: Self-Managed Teams

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Tejal Mody and David Ager

Rick Cohen, president and CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers, is trying to decide whether and how to implement the self-managed teams concept in his warehouse. Eight months earlier, C&S had begun to act as principal wholesaler to A&P throughout New England, a decision that... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Decision Making; Labor Unions; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution Channels; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; New England

December 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

7-Eleven, Inc.

By: David E. Bell and Hal Hogan

Can 7-Eleven United States replicate the successful experience of 7-Eleven Japan in selling fresh foods through convenience stores? Describes the Japanese system and shows the steps the company is taking to try to achieve the same success in the United States. View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Adoption; Success; Sales; Food; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; Japan; United States

Web

Judges - Alumni

Prior to Now, she co-founded Nourish, a patented children's product that was distributed through traditional and online retail channels. Lara Co-Authored the best selling book, "Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding your Business... View Details

September 2010 (Revised January 2016)
Case

Grameen Danone Foods Ltd., a Social Business

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Katharine Lee

Grameen Danone is a joint venture between the Grameen Group (a sister company of Grameen Bank) and Groupe Danone, a $2 billion (revenues) French food company. The company's goal was to provide nutritional yogurt (brand name Shoktidoi) for the nearly 50 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Food; Distribution; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; Bangladesh; France