Publications

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 corporations, and leaders of... View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso and Susan Young

04 May 2009
Research & Ideas

What’s Next for the Big Financial Brands

(Editor's note: Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge.) Recent news coverage of the cosmetic name change... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Banking; Financial Services

23 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Brand Power from Wedgwood to Dell: Part Two

kitchen; Howard Schultz's early office was the prep room for his first café; and Michael Dell began assembling PCs in his college dorm room. How did they go from these beginnings to creating global organizations that became industry... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Supplement

Facelift at Olay (B)

By: Sunil Gupta, Rajiv Lal and Olivia Hull

This supplement to Facelift at Olay (A) explains the major steps Procter & Gamble’s skincare brand Olay took to reverse several years of declining sales. View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Demographics; Age; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Digital Marketing; Transformation; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States; Ohio

April–June 2014
Article

Firmes mondialisées et imaginaire de la beauté

By: G. Jones

This article highlights the role of business enterprises as influences on ideals of human beauty. The homogenization of such ideals has been one of the most noteworthy features of globalization over the last two centuries. This study suggests that firms were both... View Details

Keywords: American History; Economic History; Business History; Globalization; Entrepreneurship; History; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Europe; North and Central America

March 2007 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Burt's Bees: Leaving the Hive

Rapid growth is pushing Burt's Bees' natural personal care products into mass distribution channels, with products and brand elements that are less quirky, more commercial than they used to be. Indeed, CEO John Replogle believes that by focusing on efficacious,... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Consumer Behavior; Asset Pricing; Entrepreneurship; Distribution Channels; Product Development; Brands and Branding; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

September 1988
Supplement

Bella Beauty Products, Inc. (C), Assignment Sheet

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Keywords: Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

January 1988 (Revised February 1990)
Case

Bella Beauty Products, Inc. (B)

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Keywords: Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

January 1988 (Revised July 1989)
Case

Bella Beauty Products, Inc. (A)

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Keywords: Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

August 1984 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Suave

By: Mark S. Albion

Promotes discussion on advertising budgeting and media mix decisions in the shampoo market for low-priced, high-volume Suave. Provides various types of market research into consumer behavior and the competition context. The importance of retailers and shelf space is... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Product Marketing; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

December 1978 (Revised December 1985)
Case

Clairol Skin Machine (C)

By: Walter J. Salmon and Steven R. Palesy

Keywords: Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

December 1993 (Revised June 1994)
Case

Gloria Hilliard Mayfield at Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.

By: John P. Kotter and Andrew P. Burtis

Keywords: Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

22 Jan 2013
First Look

First Look: Jan. 22

Publication:Academy of Management Annals Abstract The concept of imprinting has attracted considerable interest in numerous fields-including organizational ecology, institutional theory, network analysis, and career research-and has been applied at several levels of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Kuwait; Saudi Arabia; Middle East; North Africa

July 2021
Case

A Close Shave at Squire

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Zoë B. Cullen, William R. Kerr, Benjamin N. Roth and Michael Norris

In 2020, just after closing a $34 million Series B financing round, Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon consider how to adjust their business, Squire Technologies, to the new realities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their barbershop technology, including tools to run a shop... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Pandemics; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; New York (city, NY); San Francisco

January 2005 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Gretta Enterprises

Describes Gretchen ("Gretta") Monahan's founding and management of Gretta Enterprises, which has grown to five outlets--salons, day spas, and fashion boutiques--and $10 million in annual revenue in 10 years. Monahan's role as a television host on TLC's A Makeover Story... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Fashion Industry; Fashion Industry