Publications

22 May 2020
Blog Post

Remembering Well and Making Meaning of Memorial Day

nods behind masks as we pass one another en route to remotely administered final exams. To call it strange is an understatement. I’ve found this new normal, however – beauty and potential tinged by loss –... View Details

01 Dec 2018
News

Alumni and Faculty Books for December 2018

they work to peel away a portion of the consumer decision-making process, the way Birchbox offered women a new way to sample new beauty products from a variety of cosmetics and fragrance companies, without... View Details

July 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Mary Kay Inc.: Enriching Women's Lives while Embracing Change

By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Julia Kelley

In December 2020, Mary Kay Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Sheryl Adkins-Green considered several strategic dilemmas. Founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay was a direct sales company whose Independent Beauty Consultants purchased its beauty and cosmetics products at... View Details

June 1995
Supplement

Dow Corning and the Breast Implant Controversy (B)

By: Willis M. Emmons III, Monica Brand and Greg Keller

Provides an update to the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

13 Apr 2023
Blog Post

Building a Village: Learning and Living at HBS

plans, a difficult stage of potty training, or a health scare. This support system has made me never want to live anywhere else. To know that over 40 families have my back is a beautiful feeling. And to... View Details

April 2020
Teaching Note

Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community

By: Jill Avery

Teaching Note for HBS No. 519-022. Flush with cash from its Series C fundraise, cult beauty brand Glossier considers its next phase of growth, facing critical decisions on how to allocate its capital to support various marketing communications and distribution... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Crowdsourcing; CRM; Startup; Direct-to-consumer; DTC; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Customer Relationship Management; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Social Media; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

Web

Building Iconic Brands and Brighter Futures: Interview with Glossier CEO, Kyle Leahy - Recruiting

brand to new heights. Since its founding in 2014, Glossier had disrupted the beauty industry, created a powerful community-driven brand, and was looking to build the business that would unlock its growth... View Details

March 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

P&G Japan: The SK-II Globalization Project

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Traces changes in P&G's international strategy and structure, culminating in Organization 2005, a reorganization that places strategic emphasis on product innovation rather than geographic expansion and shifts power from local subsidiary to global business management.... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Trade; Globalization; Global Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Business or Company Management; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Hong Kong; Japan; Taiwan; Europe

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Water, Electricity, and Transportation: Preparing for the Population Boom

By 2050, the Earth's population will likely exceed 9 billion people, up 30 percent from 6.9 billion today, according to projections from both the US Census Bureau and the United Nations. What's more, the population in the world's cities is expected to increase by 3... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

03 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Celebrating Socioeconomic Diversity and Inclusion at HBS (Part 2)

journey, you nurture the conviction that change is possible and want to contribute to something bigger than yourself. This is perhaps the most beautiful part, as it pushes you View Details

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

Web

Ansel Adams and Polaroid R&D | Baker Library

Ansel Adams and Polaroid R&D Photo: Ansel Adams with Polaroid camera, ca. 1972. “The Polaroid Newsletter for Photograph Education,” Volume IV, No. 2, Spring 1987. Polaroid Corporation Corporate Archives Records, Box IX.38, Folder 8. It... View Details

July–August 2012
Article

The Growth Opportunity That Lies Next Door

By: G. Jones

This article uses the case of Natura, the largest Brazilian beauty company and one of the world's top twenty beauty companies, to explore how the logic of globalization is changing for corporations from emerging countries as growth opportunities in those countries... View Details

Keywords: Brazil; Marketing; Green Marketing; Environment; Globalization; Developing Countries and Economies; Geographic Location; Growth and Development Strategy; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Latin America; Europe

Find at Harvard

February 2001 (Revised September 2002)
Teaching Note

Estee Lauder and the Market for Prestige Cosmetics TN

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Teaching Note for (4-801-362). View Details

Keywords: Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

Article

The Re-Industrialization of the United States?

By: Willy C. Shih

Talk of "re-industrialization" in the United States has been supported by a seeming resurgence in manufacturing, but this is driven more by the end of labor arbitrage and increasing coordination costs of offshore manufacturing. Aggressive restructurings and significant... View Details

10 Nov 2021
Video

Welcome Fall!

May 2019 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

By: William R. Kerr and Jordan Bach-Lombardo

Faced with intense competition from Amazon, Walmart began a transformation of its operations and workforce in 2015. The goal was to create an omnichannel retail experience for customers that seamlessly joined online and offline shopping. This case explores Walmart's... View Details

Keywords: Walmart; Managing The Future Of Work; Workforce; Automation; Ecommerce; Omnichannel Retail; Operations; Transformation; Employees; Training; Information Technology; Infrastructure; Disruption; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Information Infrastructure; Retail Industry

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