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• Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2019 (Revised February 2020)

  Away: Scaling a DTC Travel Brand

  Jill Avery and Joseph B. Fuller

  Away, a direct-to-consumer, digital native e-commerce seller of travel luggage, is debating how to invest its latest round of venture funding. How quickly could and should Away scale and what were the most promising growth trajectories to maximize its potential? Three decisions face the founders. Should Away continue to invest in driving growth in suitcases and other travel bags or was it time to begin to expand into other adjacent travel categories? How should they use the results of the company’s first customer segmentation study to select target segments and quantify their growth aspirations? What were the right distribution strategies moving forward following a series of pilots that included company-owned stores, temporary airport kiosks, and pop-up experiences with retailer partners?

  Keywords: brand management; DTC; e-commerce; brand extension; lifestyle brand; customer segmentation; retailing; Scaling and Growth; Startup; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Consumer Behavior; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Startups; Consumer Products Industry; Travel Industry; United States; North America;

  Citation:

  Avery, Jill, and Joseph B. Fuller. "Away: Scaling a DTC Travel Brand." Harvard Business School Case 520-051, November 2019. (Revised February 2020.)  View Details

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• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | January 2020

  Brandless: Disrupting Consumer Packaged Goods

  Jill Avery

  Brandless, an online direct-to-consumer seller of upscale private-label consumer packaged goods (CPG), offered consumers a limited assortment of values-conscious products delivered directly to their homes with the simplicity of one fixed $3.00 price point that promised an average savings of 40% versus national brands through the elimination of the BrandTax™, the hidden costs the company claimed consumers paid for a national brand. As the venture-funded startup entered the fiercely competitive CPG industry, it was simultaneously taking on both the world’s greatest brands and the world’s most dominant retailers. Could Brandless change the way consumers bought the essential items that filled their pantries and medicine cabinets? Industry pundits had long predicted both the death of brands and the death of brick and mortar retailing in the contemporary marketplace. Would Brandless be the final nail in the coffin?

  Keywords: brand; brand management; DTC; e-commerce; private label; groceries; packaged food; personal care; Startups; retailing; Amazon; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Business Startups; Disruption; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Avery, Jill. "Brandless: Disrupting Consumer Packaged Goods." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 520-058, January 2020.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2019 (Revised December 2019)

  La Roche-Posay: Growing L'Oreal's Active Cosmetics Brand

  Jill Avery, Vincent Dessain and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej

  As 2018 neared its end, Laetitia Toupet, international general manager of L’Oréal’s La Roche-Posay brand reflected on the brand’s achievements over the past year. At €1 billion in revenue, La Roche-Posay had recently become the number one dermocosmetics brand in the world. While Toupet was pleased with this feat, she believed that the brand was at a critical juncture. It was time to make some significant marketing decisions related to brand positioning to try to accelerate La Roche-Posay’s future growth trajectory as dermocosmetics moved from serving a niche market to the mainstream.

  Keywords: branding; brand management; consumer products; brand positioning; target market; global brands; global marketing; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Globalized Firms and Management; Consumer Products Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Health Industry; France; Europe; Brazil; China; Asia; South America; United States; North America;

  Citation:

  Avery, Jill, Vincent Dessain, and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej. "La Roche-Posay: Growing L'Oreal's Active Cosmetics Brand." Harvard Business School Case 520-035, October 2019. (Revised December 2019.)  View Details

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