More from the Author

• Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2018 (Revised July 2019)

  Shiseido: Reinvesting in Brand

  Jill Avery and Nobuo Sato

  Shiseido was in the midst of a six year corporate turnaround, trying to reverse the effects of decades of under-investment in R&D and marketing which had led to a cycle of declining customer support and brand value. Would the CEO’s VISION 2020 plan, centered on four strategies: 1.) increasing R&D spending from 1.8% to 3% of sales, 2.) investing an incremental ¥120 billion in brand-building marketing, 3.) moving to a “think global-act local” matrixed brand management structure, and 4.) rethinking brand portfolio strategy, be enough to achieve aggressive 8% per year sales goals while simultaneously increasing the company’s operating margin from 8% to 10% in the highly competitive and slow growing beauty industry?

  Keywords: brand management; Brand Value; turnaround; brand portfolio; brand communication; global brands; digital marketing; Return on investment; marketing ROI; internet marketing; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Value; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment Return; Consumer Behavior; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Japan; Asia;

  Citation:

  Avery, Jill, and Nobuo Sato. "Shiseido: Reinvesting in Brand." Harvard Business School Case 519-026, December 2018. (Revised July 2019.)  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducators

  Related

• Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2019 (Revised June 2019)

  Raksul

  Scott Duke Kominers, Masahiro Kotosaka, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

  Raksul, 2018 Forbes Japan "Startup of the Year," ran an e-commerce platform drawing upon thousands of individual suppliers. Launched as a business-to-business printing services marketplace, Raksul had recently expanded to operate both a logistics/delivery marketplace and a television advertising marketplace. Each marketplace faces its own growth challenges; at the same time, the CEO must consider whether and how each marketplace can enhance the others.

  Keywords: e-commerce; marketplace design; B2B; platform strategy; printing; Entrepreneurship; Market Platforms; Logistics; Advertising; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Web Services Industry; Japan;

  Citation:

  Kominers, Scott Duke, Masahiro Kotosaka, Nobuo Sato, and Akiko Kanno. "Raksul." Harvard Business School Case 819-115, April 2019. (Revised June 2019.)  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase

  Related

• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2015 (Revised May 2019)

  Managing Consumer Touchpoints at Nissan Japan

  Thales Teixeira, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

  In 2015, Nissan was third place in the Japanese auto market, behind Toyota and Honda. The challenge of increasing market share was that 80% of car shoppers who were non-Nissan owners did not consider Nissan during their purchase process. This process involved three main consumer touchpoints: mass media advertising, internet auto websites, and the physical dealerships. In the last five years, the importance of the dealers in influencing car sales had greatly diminished as consumers researched and chose which make and brand of car to buy online, going to the dealer only to negotiate price, purchase, and receive the car. Given this trend, how should Nissan's top marketer make changes in how Nissan manages these three key consumer touchpoints? And how to better integrate them to maximize sales.

  Keywords: Nissan; Automobiles; cars; touch points; digital marketing; Internet; Web Sites; Marketing Channels; Advertising; Auto Industry; Japan;

  Citation:

  Teixeira, Thales, Nobuo Sato, and Akiko Kanno. "Managing Consumer Touchpoints at Nissan Japan." Harvard Business School Case 516-035, September 2015. (Revised May 2019.)  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase

  Related