Publications

May 2018
Case

Inditex: 2018

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2018, Inditex, based in Spain, was the largest specialist fashion retailer in the world, generating sales of $31.5 billion in 2017 from a portfolio of eight retail brands selling through a total of 7,475 stores located in 96 countries and from websites in 49... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Succession; IPO; Competition; Initial Public Offering; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Succession; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry

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 Jan 2022
News

Making Peace with Anger

benefit of what a school brand or image can bring to people, I had a lot caught up in that. And this process made me realize that I needed to be a father to my boys, for the boys that they were and not the boys that I wanted them to be.... View Details

02 Nov 2022
News

Strong Finish

Heela Yang and Alicia Sontag Four years after its launch in 2015, the Brazilian-inspired beauty brand Sol de Janeiro was already profitable; its skin-tightening Bum Bum Cream had been Sephora’s top-selling skin care product for three... View Details

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

Web

Historical Data & Sources - Business History

Harvard Business Review 90 (July/August 2012): 141-45 Natura Annual Reports, 2007-2013 Map created by John Regan, MBA 2016 Download Data Set in Excel Pampers Brand Sales by Country Courtesy of Proctor & Gamble Map created by John Regan,... View Details

January 2022
Case

FIFA and The World Cup: The Future of Football

By: Anita Elberse, Oliver Band and Howard Johnson

Should FIFA host its biggest event—the FIFA World Cup—every two years instead of every four, as it has been doing since the event’s inception in the 1930s? In September 2021, Gianni Infantino, the president of the International Federation of Association Football... View Details

Keywords: Sports; Soccer; Football; Entertainment; Media; Talent Development; Globalization; Marketing; Strategy; General Management; Governance; Decision Making; Governing and Advisory Boards; Problems and Challenges; Brands and Branding; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Profile

Jiaojun Wang

enthralled by the best food I have ever tasted, and the brand was no other than “KFC.” Now that KFC is ubiquitous in China, I never forget the simple joy it brought to me and my family. Who is one person from your life that you admire the... View Details

September 2020
Case

Blackstone: Crocs Investment

By: Victoria Ivashina, John D. Dionne and Terrence Shu

This case follows Prakash Melwani (HBS MBA '86), CIO of Blackstone's Private Equity Group, and his teams’ investment in the footwear company Crocs. Instead of a traditional secondary offering, Crocs opted for a unique deal structure by taking Blackstone's cash in a... View Details

Keywords: Private Investment In Public Equity; PIPE Deal; Investment; Brands and Branding; Strategy

25 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Beauty Entrepreneur Madam Walker

ashamed of my humble beginning. Don't think because you have to go down in the wash-tub that you are any less a lady!" "She Found A Way" Koehn landed on the story almost by accident while researching her 2001 book, Brand... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Beauty & Cosmetics

30 Nov 2023
Blog Post

College Students, Take a Sneak Peek at the HBS MBA

Dr. Youngme Moon is the Donald K. David Professor of Business at Harvard Business School. Professor Moon's research sits at the intersection of strategy, branding innovation, and culture, with a particular focus on youth and the digital... View Details

22 Sep 2022
News

The Beauty Guide

Courtesy Michelle Freyre Courtesy Michelle Freyre When Michelle Freyre (MBA 1997) was a brand manager at Neutrogena, Michael McNamara, global president of the beauty brand at the time, asked what she wanted... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon

11 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

Strategy Execution and the Balanced Scorecard

financial strategy. If the company does not have a distinctive brand or market presence, a focus on identifying an attractive customer segment, such as through Harvard University professor Michael Porter's positioning framework, W. Chan... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

expansion. Entering a new market is not cheap: QT's past experience has shown that it takes up to five years or about 50 stores before the brand begins to stand out in consumers' minds. A QuikTrip store costs an average of $4.2 million to... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

25 Jan 2017
HBS Case

How Should Advertisers Respond to Consumer Demand for Whiter Skin?

case, lighter-skinned women have been favored in India’s ads. Advertisements in the 1980s told stories of dark-skinned women unable to find husbands until they applied fairness creams. Later, skin lightening brand Fair & Lovely linked... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Beauty & Cosmetics

February 1985 (Revised September 1988)
Case

Komatsu Ltd.

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Reviews and updates the structure and characteristics of the earth-moving equipment industry presented in the companion case, Caterpillar Tractor Co. After revealing that CAT has suffered major financial losses during the period from 1981 through 1984, the case... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Machinery and Machining; Price; Growth and Development; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Production; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Industrial Products Industry

November 2022
Background Note

The Future of E-Commerce: Lessons from the Livestream Wars in China

By: Ayelet Israeli, Jeremy Yang and Billy Chan

This note explores the emerging multi-billion dollar commerce trend of livestream commerce. Livestream commerce is the sale of goods or services directly to consumers via live shows on digital platforms (such as social media or e-commerce platforms). It is a form of... View Details