Publications

June 2011
Case

Reed Supermarkets: A New Wave of Competitors

By: John A. Quelch and Carole Carlson

Reed Supermarkets is a high-end supermarket chain with operations in several Midwestern states. Meredith Collins, vice president of marketing, visits stores located in Columbus, Ohio, an important region with the largest market and the greatest impact on revenue... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Ohio

July 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of millions of single-use take-out food... View Details

28 Jun 2004
Research & Ideas

How to Avoid a Price Increase

that along to consumers in one form or another, the most common being an increase in the retail price. Other times, they may redesign the product to lower production costs or replace more expensive ingredients with less expensive... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

06 Dec 2017
What Do You Think?

Is It Time To Break Up Amazon, Apple, Facebook, or Google?

it has acquired Whole Foods, the market value of US big name retailers selling foods immediately drops 10 to 20 percent. The exchange of information and news, fake or fact, among large segments of the world’s population is controlled by... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology; Web Services

December 2005 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Ben & Jerry's: Preserving Mission & Brand within Unilever

By: James E. Austin and James Quinn

In the months after Ben & Jerry's was acquired by Unilever, Ben & Jerry's head social mission faces challenges and opportunities unique in the company's history, including: how to manage employee morale; whether to include synthetic ingredients to meet consumer... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Problems and Challenges; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Management Teams; Governing and Advisory Boards; Value Creation; Corporate Governance; Employee Relationship Management; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

13 Nov 2019
Research & Ideas

Don't Turn Your Marketing Function Over to AI Just Yet

factors that influence consumer behavior are so varied and complex, and the data that companies collect is so rich, just modeling how consumers search a single retail website is a monumental task. Each company’s data are so firm and... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

Web

General Management Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) for Innovating in Health Care (Wiley, forthcoming). Hubert Joly : Named HEC Paris Person of the Year in 2020. Hubert Joly : Named Retailer of the Year by Forbes in... View Details

Web

National Markets - The Art of American Advertising

small shop, or through itinerant peddlers. Retailers distributed basic goods, for example textiles and grains, to general merchants, while regional enterprises manufactured products such as tractors and looms. Given the steady demand for... View Details

Web

Business Economics Online Course | HBS Online

Module 4 Markets Apply market principles to analyze industries in which no traditional market functions. Highlights The Concept of Market Equilibrium Internet versus Traditional Retail Prediction Markets Show Hide Details Concepts Market... View Details

25 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

The Secret Life of Supply Chains

direct-to-consumer or “Main Street” services (think retail and restaurants), which have the lowest average wages, $29,400. “We find that the supply chain economy is a distinct and large segment of the economy, and includes manufacturers... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing; Service

Arthur Schleifer

Keywords: retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing

August 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Case

Diageo and Mey Icki: Turkish Delight or Turkish Hangover?

By: Dante Roscini and Gamze Yucaoglu

In September 2013, two years after its $2.1 billion acquisition of Mey Icki Sanayi ve Ticaret AS (Mey Icki), the principal spirits company in Turkey specializing in the local beverage, raki, Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks company, was concerned about new... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Emerging Markets; Government Legislation; Taxation; Valuation; Business and Government Relations; Government and Politics; Risk Management; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Middle East; Turkey

Web

Debora L. Spar | About

Chaos, and Wealth from the Compass to the Internet (2001), The Baby Business (2006), and Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection (2013). Spar is a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and serves as a director of Value View Details

October 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

McDonald's Russia: Managing a Crisis

By: Youngme E. Moon and Kerry Herman

In August 1998, George Cohon, founder and senior chairman of McDonald's Russia, is facing an economic state of emergency. Russia is in the midst of a severe currency crisis--the ruble has plummeted in value, creating massive inflation and widespread economic disarray.... View Details

Keywords: Currency; Crisis Management; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Russia