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• Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2018 (Revised June 2018)

  Whole Foods under Amazon

  Dennis Campbell, Tatiana Sandino, James Barnett and Christine Snively

  In August 2017, Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion. Whole Foods was struggling with high costs and faced growing competition from traditional supermarkets offering more organic products. Prior to the acquisition, Whole Foods began rolling out a new order-to-shelf (OTS) inventory management system that many observers believed had led to shortages. For years, store team leaders at Whole Foods were empowered to make inventory decisions and tailor their stores to meet local needs, but the OTS system, and an increasing number of strict rules for purchasing and displaying goods upset many employees. Should Amazon push Whole Foods to improve performance by emphasizing efficiency and standardization? Or should it aim to maintain a sense of empowerment among employees?

  Keywords: Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Employee Relationship Management; Acquisition; Change Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry;

  Citation:

  Campbell, Dennis, Tatiana Sandino, James Barnett, and Christine Snively. "Whole Foods under Amazon." Harvard Business School Case 118-074, March 2018. (Revised June 2018.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2016 (Revised April 2018)

  JCPenney: Back in Business

  Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Christine Snively

  In 2016, JCPenney was in the midst of a multi-year turnaround after coming dangerously close to bankruptcy. Under CEO Marvin Ellison, the company had identified three strategic objectives—a focus on omnichannel, private label goods, and increasing revenue per customer—to guide all company initiatives. The company was running pilot tests on a new line of appliances, rebranded hair salons, and new private label merchandise, and management now needed to decide how best to roll out and market these initiatives across the chain. Ellison also considered how to build upon the company’s new ad campaign, Get Your Penney’s Worth, and how to strike the right balance between serving its “core” and “emerging” customer segments. He wondered if these objectives and initiatives were enough to restore JCPenney’s position in the evolving retail landscape.

  Keywords: retail; marketing strategy; brands and branding; Customer Management; omnichannel; turnarounds; private label; promotions; competition; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Customer Relationship Management; Goals and Objectives; Retail Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Ofek, Elie, K. Shelette Stewart, and Christine Snively. "JCPenney: Back in Business." Harvard Business School Case 517-037, October 2016. (Revised April 2018.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2017 (Revised March 2018)

  Great Lakes Banking Group: Data Management

  Shane Greenstein and Christine Snively

  In May 2016, Michael Rechtin, an expert in international data center law, advised global financial services firm Great Lakes Banking Group (GLBG) on its plans to upgrade its data centers. The bank’s data processing and storage systems were in need of an update, and since GLBG last made heavy IT investments in the late 1990s, the technology had changed considerably. GLBG sought Rechtin’s advice on whether or not it should build a new data center, pursue a wholesale colocation solution, rent space from a retail colocation provider, or store more data in the cloud.

  Keywords: Hardware; Infrastructure; Operations; Information Management;

  Citation:

  Greenstein, Shane, and Christine Snively. "Great Lakes Banking Group: Data Management." Harvard Business School Case 618-021, September 2017. (Revised March 2018.)  View Details

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