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

    • August 2021 (Revised January 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Danaher Corporation (Abridged)

    By: Bharat Anand, David J. Collis and Sophie Hood
    • 2021
    • Strategic Management Review

    The Virtues and Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities

    By: Bharat Anand and David J. Collis
    • 2018
    • Faculty Research

    The Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities

    By: David J. Collis and Bharat Anand
More from the Authors
  • Danaher Corporation (Abridged) By: Bharat Anand, David J. Collis and Sophie Hood
  • The Virtues and Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities By: Bharat Anand and David J. Collis
  • The Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities By: David J. Collis and Bharat Anand
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
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College