Publications

June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

L'Oréal: Global Brand, Local Knowledge

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson

Worldwide, and in the U.S. marketplace in particular, the French cachet of L'Oréal was one of its most powerful marketing tools. However, with the opening up of emerging markets, L'Oréal had to cater to a diverse customer base: an aging population in the West, ethnic... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Change Management; Sales; Emerging Markets; Segmentation; Innovation and Invention; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; France; United States

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

10 Jun 2022
Blog Post

New Venture Competition 2022: Business and Environment Ventures

sustainable food future. We’re engineering microalgae to be sustainable and cost-efficient substitutes for palm oils. TROVEMarketCaroline Walton, MBA 2023; Andrew Morgan, MBA 2023The packaged food industry... View Details

Profile

Marla Malcolm Beck

nature.” As the founder and CEO of Bluemercury, the highly successful luxury cosmetics retailer, Beck has lived an entrepreneur’s dream. She started the company in 1999, just as the dot.com boom was at... View Details

29 Apr 2013
News

The fragrance series – Part 3

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: Geoffrey G. Jones

I currently teach the history of global entrepreneurship over the last 200 years. The 28-session course called Entrepreneurship and Global Capitalism has become one of the most popular second year electives in the MBA program at the Harvard Business School. The cases,... View Details

01 Feb 1998
News

Women at the Top

They came from as far away as Nigeria and as close as Harvard Square, from industries ranging from banking to television. They were entrepreneurs who headed their own companies, senior executives at major... View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso and Susan Young

25 Jun 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

FIELD Trip: Conquering the Gap Between Knowing and Doing

designing and delivering in real-time." “Two-thirds of students graduate into industries where work is done predominantly in teams.” Rising to the task, faculty initially faced a difficult paradox: how... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Education

15 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 15, 2017

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 a cosmetics company. She... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Winners and Losers in the Retail Revolution

disproportionately to Quick Serve Restaurants [QSRs]) and filling in their non-perishable needs (household items, canned goods, health and beauty care) on separate store-based... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

Clubs

Health & Wellness Club

Web

Polaroid: At The Intersection of Science & Art: Edwin H. Land and the Polaroid Corporation

invention and creativity within the culture of a small, science-based research and manufacturing company. He argued that the industrial process should be "dedicated to the... View Details

06 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, March 6, 2018

for “ruffling some feathers” in the process. Recruited to a Fortune 500 grocery and pharmacy retailer after climbing to Associate Principal in McKinsey & Company’s retail practice, she successfully grew their high-margin yet highly... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 1990 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (A)

By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston

Describes the incentive system by which Mary Kay Cosmetics motivates the sales force of 200,000 independent agents who comprise the firm's only distribution channel. Illustrates the powerful effect on sales-force behavior that results when creative types of employee... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Cost Management; Salesforce Management; Distribution Channels; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

November 2024
Case

Meghna Modi at Revlon India: Leading with a Bold Purpose

By: Aiyesha Dey, Sarah Mehta and Sarah Sasso

This case is about Meghna Modi, the head of struggling cosmetics company Revlon India, as she tries to both turn the company around and implement her personal purpose at work. Influenced by her own life struggles, Modi feels compelled to empower her frontline... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Business or Company Management; Performance; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Power and Influence; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Asia; India; Delhi

08 Nov 2021
Blog Post

4 Ways the MS/MBA is Preparing Me for a Career in Health Care and the Life Sciences

benefits of pursuing the MS/MBA over an MS or MBA individually: a strong like-minded community, unparalleled exposure to leaders in industry and academia, and increased fluency... View Details

November 2003
Supplement

P&G Japan: The SK-II Globalization Project

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Paolo de Cesare and A.G. Lafley review the strategic and organizational challenges they face in deciding whether to make the prestigious Japanese beauty product, SK-II, a global brand. In a three-part videotaped interview, they discuss the challenges, reveal the... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Brands and Branding; Organizational Structure; Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Japan