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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2013 version)

  Mutti Spa

  Jose B. Alvarez, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Mary Shelman

  Francesco Mutti, owner, CEO, and great-grandson of the founder of Mutti Spa, ran the 113-year old Parma, Italy-based tomato-processing company. Mutti sales grew from €11 million in 1995 to €185 million in 2011, without producing for store brands in a market in which these offerings were steadily gaining share. The company's leaders wanted to make sure Mutti maintained its position in Italy and further, to move into a leadership position in several countries around the world. What was next for the family firm and brand leader from northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna region? How would the singularly focused, consensus-driven firm fare in an increasingly competitive, globalizing retail landscape?

  Keywords: Agribusiness; strategy; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Family Business; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Retail Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Italy;

  Citation:

  Alvarez, Jose B., Carin-Isabel Knoop, and Mary Shelman. "Mutti Spa." Harvard Business School Case 513-034, April 2013. (Revised from original January 2013 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2013 version)

  Creating a Luxury Experience at Value Retail

  Jose B. Alvarez and Matthew Preble

  Value Retail PLC owned and managed a number of premium shopping destinations (Villages) across Europe. Soon the company would be moving into an entirely new market: China. The company's Villages had proven popular with both shoppers (many of whom were international tourists who had come to Europe specifically to visit one of Value Retail's Villages) and brands, a number of which were luxury brands that had historically avoided selling product at outlet locations. The company's Founder and Chairman, Scott Malkin, looked to the future challenges his company might face in China, as well as to the challenges his company faced around human resource management and organizational control as the company grew in size and formalized parts of its processes, and how his company would be impacted by the ongoing changes in the retail industry, including the rise of online shopping.

  Keywords: retailing; tourism; luxury; brand building; brand positioning; brands and branding; real estate; Brands and Branding; Human Resources; Retail Industry; Tourism Industry; Real Estate Industry; Europe; China;

  Citation:

  Alvarez, Jose B., and Matthew Preble. "Creating a Luxury Experience at Value Retail." Harvard Business School Case 513-009, March 2013. (Revised from original January 2013 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2012 version)

  H-E-B: Creating a Movement to Reduce Obesity in Texas

  Jose B. Alvarez, Jason Riis and Walter J. Salmon

  In January 2012, H-E-B Grocery Co., a private retail chain with stores located in Texas and Mexico, was introducing its Healthy at H-E-B program to its customers. The program, which started with the company's employees a few years earlier, was an effort to educate and inform customers on how to lead a healthier lifestyle. What CEO Craig Boyan had in mind was creating a state-wide healthy living movement in Texas, where obesity was high relative to other states in the U.S. But how far to go with its employees and customers was a question that President and COO Craig Boyan and his team struggled with. On one hand Boyan believed that H-E-B, long recognized for its community involvement, had a role to play in Texans' health and well-being. On the other hand, he recognized that H-E-B was first and foremost a retailer that had to compete against the likes of Walmart. He needed to make sure that H-E-B was serving its customers what they wanted while also trying to influence their buying behavior toward healthier foods. Some would say that H-E-B had no role in changing the lifestyle and food choices of its employees or customers. But Boyan and his team thought differently.

  Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Profit; Leading Change; Customer Focus and Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; Texas;

  Citation:

  Alvarez, Jose B., Jason Riis, and Walter J. Salmon. "H-E-B: Creating a Movement to Reduce Obesity in Texas." Harvard Business School Case 512-034, February 2013. (Revised from original April 2012 version.)

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