Woolworths South Africa

David B. Yoffie; Anthony  St. George

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Case | HBS Case Collection | October 1997 (Revised June 1998)

Woolworths South Africa

by David B. Yoffie and Anthony St. George

Abstract

Woolworths South Africa is one of the most successful retail chains in the country, modeled on Marks and Spencer of the United Kingdom. This case focuses on the sources of Woolworth's competitive advantage within South Africa and the challenges of growth in the wake of saturation among South African whites and new limits by Marks and Spencer on Woolworths' growth outside of sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth Management; Global Strategy; Industry Structures; Marketing Strategy; Strategy; Business or Company Management; Retail Industry; South Africa;

Format: Print

21 pages

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Citation:

Yoffie, David B., and Anthony St. George. "Woolworths South Africa." Harvard Business School Case 798-026, October 1997. (Revised June 1998.)

About the Author

David B. Yoffie

Max and Doris Starr Professor of International Business Administration

Strategy

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Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2016 (Revised September 2018)

Elon Musk's Big Bets

David B. Yoffie, Eric Baldwin and Brandon Kaufmann

Between late 2014 and late 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk undertook several major, and risky, initiatives that would dramatically expand the scale and scope of Tesla’s business. In late 2014, Tesla began construction on a $5 billion “gigafactory” that would manufacture lithium-ion batteries used in Tesla’s electric vehicles on an unprecedented scale. In early 2015, Tesla announced a new product line of battery packs designed for large-scale energy storage for residential, commercial, and utility-scale installations. In 2016, the company acquired SolarCity, a leading solar energy firm, creating what Musk called “a vertically integrated energy company.” These moves, representing billions of investment and extension into new industries, came at a time when Tesla was still losing money and struggling to scale up production of its electric vehicle lines to meet ambitious delivery targets. Meanwhile, Musk was also CEO of SpaceX, which was, while growing its business of launching satellites and cargo into space for commercial and governmental clients, preparing to take astronauts into space, pioneering the use of reusable rockets and announcing plans to colonize Mars. Would Musk be able to realize his ambitious goals or was he taking too many risks with his investors’ money?

Keywords: electric vehicles; batteries; solar power; renewable energy; strategy; Execution; technology; space flight; Tesla; SolarCity; SpaceX; Elon Musk; Technology; Risk and Uncertainty; Expansion; Renewable Energy; Investment; Manufacturing Industry; Green Technology Industry; Auto Industry; Aerospace Industry; Battery Industry;

Citation:
Yoffie, David B., Eric Baldwin, and Brandon Kaufmann. "Elon Musk's Big Bets." Harvard Business School Case 717-431, November 2016. (Revised September 2018.) View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2017 (Revised August 2018)

HTC and Virtual Reality

David B. Yoffie, Andy Wu and Allison M. Ciechanover

In fall 2017, HTC CEO and Chairperson Cher Wang was driving the company to focus on virtual reality (VR). HTC's first VR product, VIVE, released in spring 2016, was applauded for its superior immersive room-scale capabilities. However, early adoption of VR beyond gamers and technology enthusiasts was off to a slower start in general due to high cost, lack of quality content, and some user discomfort while using the technology. Wang endeavors to be the leading VR company, though competition from Sony, Facebook, and other technology leaders is mounting, and several, like HTC, are already pursuing second generation tetherless VR technology. As Wang seeks to develop the ecosystem by partnering with developers, creating a content platform, investing in VR startups, and launching VR arcades, she must decide the appropriate balance of fostering innovation in hardware, software and services, or both.

Keywords: Virtual reality; strategy; competition; technology; Strategy; Competition; Innovation and Management; Technology Industry;

Citation:
Yoffie, David B., Andy Wu, and Allison M. Ciechanover. "HTC and Virtual Reality." Harvard Business School Case 718-421, October 2017. (Revised August 2018.) View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2017 (Revised July 2018)

CyberArk: Protecting the Keys to the IT Kingdom

Raffaella Sadun, David Yoffie and Margot Eiran

CyberArk was the recognized leader in the Privileged Account Management (PAM) space, a cybersecurity subsegment it had essentially created to secure organizations’ IT systems and sensitive data. Over 17 years, the Israeli company had grown to a market capitalization of over $1.6 billion, with sales exceeding $217 million and 900 global employees with a strong corporate culture. In May 2017, Udi Mokady, founder, chairman, and CEO, debated how best to drive growth. He mulled over whether he should stay the course and remain focused on providing best-of-breed PAM for enterprises, both on-premise and in the cloud, or expand into new markets. Cyber threats were on the rise, which afforded numerous growth opportunities such as entering the broader identity management space, creating new products to protect critical infrastructure, and securing the burgeoning world of the Internet of Things (IoT). This case explores the company's competitive position, the challenges of sustaining its advantages in a highly competitive and consolidating industry, and whether it should pursue organic or inorganic growth, while maintaining company culture.

Keywords: Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Israel; United States;

Citation:
Sadun, Raffaella, David Yoffie, and Margot Eiran. "CyberArk: Protecting the Keys to the IT Kingdom." Harvard Business School Case 718-418, September 2017. (Revised July 2018.) View Details

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Woolworths South Africa

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