June 2016
Teaching Note
HBS Case Collection

Filene's Basement: Inside a Fired Customer's Relationship

By: Jill Avery and Susan Fournier

Format:Print
| Language:English
| Pages:34

Abstract

How, in a business climate in which building relationships with customers has dominated both managerial thought and marketing budgets, could Filene's Basement have fired a loyal customer, one who was formally and informally recognized as a best customer? This case allows students to reverse-engineer a fired customer's relationship with discount retailer Filene's Basement, from her perspective, to uncover the critical incidents and behaviors of each party that shaped their relationship trajectory. The company's customer relationship management (CRM) programs can be analyzed to show how they influenced and encouraged unprofitable customer behavior.

Keywords

CRM; Customer Profitability Analysis; Customer Lifetime Value; Consumer Behavior; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Brands and Branding; Customer Relationship Management; Retail Industry; United States

Citation

Avery, Jill, and Susan Fournier. "Filene's Basement: Inside a Fired Customer's Relationship." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 316-184, June 2016.