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
  • March 2004 (Revised March 2005)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Oscar de la Renta

By: Bharat N. Anand, Elizabeth Lea Carpenter and Samhita Patwardhan Jayanti
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:27
ShareBar

Abstract

Over three decades, Oscar de la Renta (ODLR) had established itself as one of the premier luxury brands in America. Its mainstay business had always been producing and marketing high-priced, couture/ready-to-wear luxury goods. Now, in September 2003, it faced a series of critical strategic decisions. First, how should it grow the business while preserving its luxury brand? Should it diversify into the moderately priced segment of apparel and unserved customer segments like the Hispanic market, where it had a strong brand appeal but negligible presence? Second, as a family-owned company, how could it effectively compete against increasingly larger, publicly financed, luxury goods conglomerates? And, how might de la Renta, the company's founder and chief designer since inception and now 71 years old, effectively prepare the company for the future? Describes the company's business and highlights these key tensions: expanding the scope of a luxury brand, pursuing licensing or organic growth strategies, and competing against publicly owned conglomerates. Includes color exhibits.

Keywords

Business Conglomerates; Borrowing and Debt; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Production; Family Ownership; Luxury; Competition; Diversification; Expansion; United States

Citation

Anand, Bharat N., Elizabeth Lea Carpenter, and Samhita Patwardhan Jayanti. "Oscar de la Renta." Harvard Business School Case 704-490, March 2004. (Revised March 2005.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Bharat N. Anand

Strategy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • March 2025 (Revised April 2025)
    • Faculty Research

    Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News

    By: Vincent Pons, Jesse M. Shapiro, Bharat Anand and Susan Pinckney
    • September–October 2024
    • Harvard Business Review

    Why Multibusiness Strategies Fail and How to Make Them Succeed

    By: Bharat Anand and David J. Collis
    • August 2021 (Revised March 2024)
    • Faculty Research

    Danaher Corporation (Abridged)

    By: Bharat Anand, David J. Collis and Sophie Hood
More from the Authors
  • Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News By: Vincent Pons, Jesse M. Shapiro, Bharat Anand and Susan Pinckney
  • Why Multibusiness Strategies Fail and How to Make Them Succeed By: Bharat Anand and David J. Collis
  • Danaher Corporation (Abridged) By: Bharat Anand, David J. Collis and Sophie Hood
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.