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  • May 2017 (Revised November 2017)
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Cotopaxi: Managing Growth for Good

By: Andy Wu and Laura Huang
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:15
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Abstract

Cotopaxi, an innovative outdoor gear business targeting millennials, focuses on profit and social impact. This registered benefit corporation was formed by Davis Smith who coalesced his experiences as a Wharton MBA student along with professional knowledge from an unpaid internship in Peru and his previous e-commerce startups in the U.S. and Brazil. Cotopaxi’s social cause is fighting global poverty; their target is to donate 10% of their profits, but as a new capital-intensive business they give 2% of their revenue. Their income streams are mainly direct-to-consumer sales along with corporate sales and a special experience-based event—Questival. Their direct-to-consumer model lowers costs compared to competitors and allows Cotopaxi to offer lower prices, but they face a challenge in positioning their products as high quality.

Keywords

Entrepreneurship; Social Venture; Benefit Corporation; B-Corp; Retail; Consumer Products; Apparel; Social Impact; Social Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Product Positioning; Social Enterprise; Mission and Purpose; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry

Citation

Wu, Andy, and Laura Huang. "Cotopaxi: Managing Growth for Good." Harvard Business School Case 717-488, May 2017. (Revised November 2017.)
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About The Author

Andy Wu

Strategy
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Related Work

    • June 2017
    • Faculty Research

    Cotopaxi: Managing Growth for Good - Video Supplement

    By: Andy Wu and Laura Huang
    • August 2017
    • Faculty Research

    Cotopaxi: Managing Growth for Good

    By: Andy Wu and Laura Huang
    • May 2017 (Revised November 2017)
    • Faculty Research

    Cotopaxi: Managing Growth for Good

    By: Andy Wu and Laura Huang
Related Work
  • Cotopaxi: Managing Growth for Good - Video Supplement By: Andy Wu and Laura Huang
  • Cotopaxi: Managing Growth for Good By: Andy Wu and Laura Huang
  • Cotopaxi: Managing Growth for Good By: Andy Wu and Laura Huang
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