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- May 2025
- Supplement
On (B): The Cyclon Spins On
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader and Karen Elterman
A follow-up to the On case (723-430), this short case explores how the performance athletic shoe company On expanded its Cyclon subscription and recycling program through 2024, adding two new shoe models to the subscription and a one-time-purchase recyclable T-shirt. View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Distribution Channels; Environmental Sustainability; Marketing Strategy; Product Design; Product Development; Technological Innovation; Expansion; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; China; Europe; Germany; Japan; Switzerland; United States
- September 2023 (Revised May 2025)
- Teaching Note
On (A) and (B)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, Jordan Mitchell and Karen Elterman
Teaching Note for "On," HBS Case No. 723-430. On is a premium performance running shoe company founded in Switzerland in 2010. The company rapidly gained traction through its unique CloudTec cushioning technology, its innovative midsole plate called the Speedboard, and... View Details
Keywords: Brands and Branding; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Digital Marketing; Disruptive Innovation; Distribution Channels; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Global Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Marketing Strategy; Product Design; Product Development; Product Marketing; Social Media; Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Technological Innovation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Europe; Germany; Switzerland; United States
- September 2023 (Revised September 2023)
- Supplement
On Slides
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, Jordan Mitchell and Karen Elterman
Slides to support the teaching of the On case, 723-430. On is a premium performance running shoe company founded in Switzerland in 2010. The company rapidly gained traction through its unique CloudTec cushioning technology, its innovative midsole plate called the... View Details
Keywords: Brands and Branding; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Digital Marketing; Disruptive Innovation; Distribution Channels; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Global Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Marketing Strategy; Product Design; Product Development; Product Marketing; Social Media; Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Technological Innovation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Europe; Germany; Switzerland; United States
- March 2023 (Revised May 2025)
- Case
On (A)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger and Sascha Mader
Founded in 2010, in just one decade, the Swiss company On had established itself as a main player in global sports footwear and apparel. Based on an unconventional strategy which one of the founders labeled as “obsessively distinct,” On grew its sales with a compound... View Details
Keywords: Brands and Branding; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Digital Marketing; Disruptive Innovation; Distribution Channels; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Global Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Marketing Strategy; Product Design; Product Development; Product Marketing; Social Media; Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Technological Innovation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Europe; Switzerland; Germany; United States
- February 2023
- Supplement
Coats Dyehouse Management
By: Willy C. Shih
Coats, the largest thread maker in the world, transformed its business to digital colour measurement so that it could respond better to customer demand in the garment industry for rapid product cycles and more fragmented colour choices. Its embrace of digital colour... View Details
- February 2023 (Revised February 2025)
- Case
Doing Business in Nairobi, Kenya
By: Archie L. Jones, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Kuria Kamau
This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Nairobi, Kenya. It highlights Kenya's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main... View Details
Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Foreign Direct Investment; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Kenya; Nairobi; Africa
- October 2021
- Case
Esquel Group: Turning Crises into Transformation
By: William C. Kirby, Adina Wong, Noah B. Truwit and John McHugh
Focuses on a Hong Kong-based, globally-established textile and apparel manufacturer and its experience in navigating turbulent geopolitical environments. Identifies ways the company has pursued business priorities while upholding its sustainability values. View Details
- August 2021 (Revised November 2023)
- Supplement
Coats: Supply Chain Challenges
By: Willy C. Shih
Coats, the largest thread maker in the world, transformed its business to digital colour measurement so that it could respond better to customer demand in the garment industry for rapid product cycles and more fragmented colour choices. Its embrace of digital colour... View Details
- August 2021 (Revised November 2023)
- Teaching Note
Coats: Supply Chain Challenges
By: Willy C. Shih
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 621-115.
Faced with continuing cost pressure, should Coats, the world's largest thread maker, relocate some of its make-to-stock manufacturing to an ultra-low-cost region while leaving make-to-order demand close to customers? View Details
- August 2021
- Supplement
Coats: Supply Chain Challenges: Spreadsheet Supplement
By: Willy C. Shih
Coats, the largest thread maker in the world, transformed its business to digital colour measurement so that it could respond better to customer demand in the garment industry for rapid product cycles and more fragmented colour choices. Its embrace of digital colour... View Details
- May 2021 (Revised July 2021)
- Case
Coats: Supply Chain Challenges
By: Willy C. Shih and Adina Wong
Coats, the largest thread maker in the world, transformed its business to digital colour measurement so that it could respond better to customer demand in the garment industry for rapid product cycles and more fragmented colour choices. Its embrace of digital colour... View Details
- February 2021
- Case
Threadless: The Renewal of an Online Community
By: Shane Greenstein, Karim Lakhani and Christian Godwin
Threadless, an online apparel company and artist community which Jake Nickell founded in 2000, continued to maintain its status as a top company in the online apparel industry during its second decade. From 2010 to 2020, Threadless continued to operate its... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Leading Change; Management; Marketing; Product Launch; Operations; Supply Chain; Distribution; Networks; Sales; Strategy; Adaptation; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; North America
- November 2019
- Case
Celebrity Fashions Limited (A)
By: V.G. Narayanan, Tanvi Deshpande and Shreya Ramachandran
In May 2017 in Chennai, India, the chairman of Celebrity Fashions doubted whether the company could last until the end of the year. Venkatesh Rajagopal had found that the company, a readymade garment manufacturing and exporter he founded in 1989, was having a hard time... View Details
- November 2019
- Supplement
Celebrity Fashions: Moving Ahead (B)
By: V.G. Narayanan, Tanvi Deshpande and Shreya Ramachandran
Supplements the (A) Case. View Details
- January 2019 (Revised July 2019)
- Case
New Balance: Managing Orders and Working Conditions
By: Michael W. Toffel, Eileen McNeely and Matthew Preble
New Balance Athletics, Inc., a major U.S.-based athletic footwear and apparel brand, sources most of its footwear products from independent suppliers whose factories are located in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Monica Gorman, vice president of responsible leadership... View Details
Keywords: Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Manufacturing; CSR; Sustainability; Quality Management; Supply Chains; Operations; Management; Production; Working Conditions; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Labor and Management Relations; Supply Chain Management; Supply Chain; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry
- January–February 2019
- Article
Case Study: When Two Leaders on the Senior Team Hate Each Other
By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden
In this fictional case, the CEO of a sports apparel manufacturer is faced with an ongoing conflict between two of his top executives. Specifically, the head of sales and the CFO are at each other’s throats and the tension is having a ripple effect on their teams and... View Details
- February 2018
- Case
Montes Calcados: A Step Ahead
By: James L. Heskett and James T. Kindley
Montes Calçados (MC) is a well-known "fast-fashion" Brazilian manufacturer of casual, but fashionable, shoes for women aged 18–35 in major cities worldwide. To boost its declining revenues, MC must evaluate two growth options: whether to expand distribution online (at... View Details
- December 2017
- Supplement
Data-Driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System
By: Willy C. Shih
This supplementary video shows the Kutesmart System at Redcollar Group. It is an example of a mass customization system that is data-driven, but is predominantly based on manual operations. It is offered as a contrast to highly automated data-driven manufacturing. View Details
- August 2017
- Case
Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System
By: Willy Shih and Nancy Hua Dai
The data-driven manufacturing system at this Chinese bespoke mens' suit manufacturer illustrates the use of information technology to support mass customization in a largely manual production environment. It contrasts sharply with some of the Industrie 4.0... View Details
- November 2016 (Revised December 2017)
- Case
Blake Sports Apparel and Switch Activewear: Bringing the Executive Team Together
By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden
Cameron (Cam) Barker, founder and CEO of Blake Sports Apparel and Switch Activewear, manufacturers and distributers of sports apparel and accessories, was facing a challenge with his executive team. Their inability to work together on seemingly simple issues was a... View Details