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• Supplement | HBS Case Collection | June 2018

  Membership Rewards® from American Express

  Shelle Santana, Frances X. Frei and Lauren G. Pickle

  This spreadsheet is intended as a supplement for the case study "Membership Rewards® from American Express."

  Citation:

  Santana, Shelle, Frances X. Frei, and Lauren G. Pickle. "Membership Rewards® from American Express." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 518-703, June 2018.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2018

  Membership Rewards® from American Express

  Shelle Santana, Frances X. Frei and Lauren G. Pickle

  Credit and charge card issuer American Express (Amex) had developed a strong reputation among consumers due in part to its Membership Rewards (MR) loyalty program, first established in 1991. Through MR, all Amex cardholders could accumulate and redeem “points” based on how much they spent, while customers with Amex’s Gold and Platinum Cards received additional perks. By 2016, however, the U.S. credit card market had become increasingly competitive, with many credit card companies increasing their sign-on point bonuses for new customers. Chris Cracchiolo, Amex’s vice president of U.S. loyalty, strategy, and global partnerships, had to decide how to position the MR program in the face of this competition. Should Amex begin offering more competitive sign-on bonuses and point redemption rates, or would this dilute the company’s strong brand?

  Keywords: Credit Cards; financial services; customer loyalty; brands and branding; marketing strategy; Credit Cards; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Brands and Branding; Customer Value and Value Chain; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; North America; United States;

  Citation:

  Santana, Shelle, Frances X. Frei, and Lauren G. Pickle. "Membership Rewards® from American Express." Harvard Business School Case 518-079, June 2018.  View Details

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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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