Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • December 1997 (Revised April 1998)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

www.springs.com

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Melissa Dailey
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:24
ShareBar

Abstract

Business Week's June 1997 "Rising Star" profile of Springs Industries' president and COO, Crandall Bowles, reported that she was poised to become one of the top two or three women executives in the country. In November 1997, the company announced Bowles' appointment to the position of CEO. A priority on her agenda was to hone in on the company's information systems (IS) strategy and determine both the breadth of expenditures and the pace of innovation necessary for coming years. Springs Industries, Inc.-a $2.2 billion textile company headquartered in South Carolina,-produces home furnishings under such well-known brand names as Wamsutta and Springmaid and major licenses such as Disney, Liz at Home, and Bill Blass. Springs' customers, mega-retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target, expected suppliers to keep inventories precisely tuned to consumers' purchasing trends. Many suppliers were developing sophisticated information technology (IT) systems for analyzing mega-retailers' point of sale (POS) data. To increase profitability, Springs had to quicken the pace of its application of new technology and sources of information to marketing, customer service, and inventory management. Bowles was navigating the 110-year old company through massive change as it entered a business environment where electronic commerce and marketing were key sources of competitive differentiation.

Keywords

Information Technology; Operations; Product Marketing; Management; Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; South Carolina

Citation

McFarlan, F. Warren, and Melissa Dailey. "www.springs.com." Harvard Business School Case 398-091, December 1997. (Revised April 1998.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

F. Warren McFarlan

→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • June 2017
    • Faculty Research

    Issues in Non-Profit Governance

    By: F. Warren McFarlan
    • 2016
    • Faculty Research

    Africa Strategy of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group

    By: F. Warren McFarlan, Jie Jiao, Dayong Yang and Shanshan Cao
    • January 2016 (Revised March 2016)
    • Faculty Research

    HNA Group: Global Excellence with Chinese Characteristics

    By: William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Joycelyn W. Eby
More from the Authors
  • Issues in Non-Profit Governance By: F. Warren McFarlan
  • Africa Strategy of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group By: F. Warren McFarlan, Jie Jiao, Dayong Yang and Shanshan Cao
  • HNA Group: Global Excellence with Chinese Characteristics By: William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Joycelyn W. Eby
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.