Amazon Acquires Whole Foods (B)

Rory  McDonald; Sarah  Mehta; Shaye  Roseman

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Supplement | HBS Case Collection | December 2018

Amazon Acquires Whole Foods (B)

by Rory McDonald, Sarah Mehta and Shaye Roseman

Abstract

This short case, meant for pairing with HBS No. 615-013, “AmazonFresh: Rekindling the Online Grocery Market,” explores Amazon’s rationale for acquiring Whole Foods.

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry; Food and Beverage Industry;

Language: English

Format: Print

4 pages

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Citation:

McDonald, Rory, Sarah Mehta, and Shaye Roseman. "Amazon Acquires Whole Foods (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 619-029, December 2018.

About the Author

Rory M. McDonald

Thai-Hi T. Lee (MBA 1985) Associate Professor of Business Administration

Technology and Operations Management

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Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2019 (Revised September 2019)

Parrot: Navigating the Nascent Drone Industry

Rory M. McDonald, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Marie Dessain

In 2018, Henri Seydoux, CEO and Founder of Parrot, believed that his company was at an inflection point in its history. Parrot had been a European leader in consumer electronics since the 1990s, first developing Bluetooth kits for cars before moving on to electronic toys and, significantly, the AR Drone in 2010 — a remote-controlled quadcopter that was way ahead of its time. In the years that followed, Parrot’s sales volumes and popularity quickly increased. But new players were entering the market. Giant Chinese rival DJI, in particular, aggressively lowered its prices, forcing weaker companies out of the market. If Parrot was to survive the shakeout, Seydoux would have to figure out how to compete in an industry where even well-capitalized companies were collapsing. The questions that he faced were both strategic and urgent. Where to compete and how to win?

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Competitive Advantage; Technology; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Europe; France; Paris;

Citation:
McDonald, Rory M., Emilie Billaud, and Vincent Marie Dessain. "Parrot: Navigating the Nascent Drone Industry." Harvard Business School Case 619-085, June 2019. (Revised September 2019.) View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2018 (Revised August 2019)

The Rise Fund: TPG Bets Big on Impact

Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Sarah Mehta

It is March 2017, and TPG, a global alternative investment firm with $74 billion assets under management, has recently launched its inaugural impact-investing fund—the $2 billion Rise Fund. In an effort to “take the religion out of impact investing,” Bill McGlashan, founder and managing partner of TPG Growth, an arm of TPG focused on growth equity investments and middle-market buyouts and co-founder and CEO of the Rise Fund, has partnered with The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit consultancy, to develop an evidence-based methodology for quantifying the impact of prospective Rise investments. Together, they have come up with a framework that ultimately generates an impact multiple of money (IMM), a measure of the social value created by a company per equity dollar invested. If a company fails to meet the IMM threshold, Rise will not invest in it. The case finds McGlashan and Maya Chorengel (HBS MBA ’97), Rise’s senior partner for impact, debating whether to make Rise’s first investment in EverFi, an educational technology company that offers a range of online educational programming to its K-12 school, university, and corporate clients.

Keywords: impact investing; impact measurement; Equity; Investment; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Services Industry; California; San Francisco;

Citation:
Gandhi, Vikram S., Caitlin Reimers Brumme, and Sarah Mehta. "The Rise Fund: TPG Bets Big on Impact." Harvard Business School Case 318-041, February 2018. (Revised August 2019.) View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2019

The Walt Disney Company: Theme Parks

Rory McDonald, Allison Mnookin and Iuliana Mogosanu

Citation:
McDonald, Rory, Allison Mnookin, and Iuliana Mogosanu. "The Walt Disney Company: Theme Parks." Harvard Business School Case 620-039, August 2019. View Details

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Amazon Acquires Whole Foods (B)

Abstract

Citation:

About the Author

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