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- October 2021
- Case
Diversifying P&G's Supplier Base (A)
By: Kris Ferreira, Kym Lew Nelson, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Sarah Mehta
In February 2003, P&G hosted two meetings—one with its largest woman- and minority-owned suppliers and one with its largest non-minority-owned suppliers. Attendees in each meeting heard the same message: P&G was keen to grow its commitment to inclusive supply chains,...
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- February 2021 (Revised March 2021)
- Case
AptDeco: Circular Economy Furniture Marketplace
By: Ayelet Israeli and Jamie Merkrebs
AptDeco, a used furniture marketplace, was growing rapidly in the tri-state area. The co-founders were confident that the business model, financial position, and unit economics positioned AptDeco for scaling in the massive $120 billion furniture market, despite its...
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Keywords:
E-commerce;
E-Commerce Strategy;
Mobile;
Digital Marketing;
Word-of-Mouth;
Word-of-mouth Marketing;
Word Of Mouth;
Internet Marketing;
Growth Strategy;
Platform;
Platforms;
Two Sided Markets;
Two-sided Market;
Two-sided Marketplace;
Two-Sided Markets;
Two-sided Network;
Black Entrepreneurs;
Black Leadership;
African Americans;
Circular;
Peer-to-peer Markets;
Furniture Industry;
Furniture;
Growth Hacking;
Monetization Strategy;
Growth Management;
Marketing Strategy;
Entrepreneurship;
Market Platforms;
Marketing Channels;
Online Advertising;
Consumer Behavior;
Acquisition;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Two-Sided Platforms;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Retail Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
Technology Industry;
Web Services Industry;
United States;
North America;
New York (city, NY);
New York (state, US)
- Article
Variety of Innovation in Global Value Chains
By: Giulio Buciuni and Gary P. Pisano
This article analyzes how the geography and organization of pre- and production stages in Global Value Chains (GVC) contribute to lead firms' innovation development. A novel approach in GVC studies is introduced based on transaction cost economics (TCE) and the...
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- June 2020
- Case
What IKEA Do We Want?
By: Juan Alcácer, Cynthia A. Montgomery, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain
In 2018, Swedish furniture maker IKEA was undergoing a significant transformation. Challenged by the rise of online shopping and changing consumer behavior, and mourning the death of its founder, the Company's top executives knew they had to step out of their comfort...
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- September 2019 (Revised December 2019)
- Case
Anthony Soohoo at Dot & Bo: Bringing Storytelling to Furniture E-Commerce
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Allison M. Ciechanover and George Gonzalez
The case provides students an opportunity to examine the founding of an e-commerce startup that used storytelling and compelling images to sell furniture and home accessories to millennials. The case describes the rapid sales growth the company experienced, as well as...
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Keywords:
E-commerce;
Startups;
Furnishing;
Leadership;
Business Startups;
Entrepreneurship;
Internet;
Failure;
United States
- September 2019 (Revised December 2019)
- Supplement
Anthony Soohoo: Retrospection on Dot & Bo
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Allison M. Ciechanover and George Gonzalez
The case describes the final year of the once-promising furniture e-tailer, Dot & Bo, that included a challenging fundraising market, troubles with logistics and operations, and a team tragedy. The founder looks back at the experience and shares his learnings about...
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Keywords:
E-commerce;
Startups;
Furnishing;
Leadership;
Business Startups;
Entrepreneurship;
Internet;
Failure;
Learning;
United States
- March 2019
- Teaching Note
KITEA (A)—(F)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman
This Teaching Note accompanies the KITEA series of cases, which details how the Moroccan furniture company KITEA prepared for the entry of IKEA into the Moroccan market and describes the outcome of that entry.
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- March 2019
- Supplement
KITEA (B): Getting Ready to Face IKEA
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu
The case opens in September 2015, when IKEA is about to open its first store in Morocco. It then chronicles the efforts of KITEA CEO Amine Benkirane and his son Othman between 2013 and 2015 to prepare KITEA for IKEA’s entry. After incurring losses for the first time in...
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Keywords:
Retail;
KITEA;
IKEA;
Furniture;
Furniture Industry;
Entry Strategy;
Responding To Entry;
Localization;
Competitive Interaction;
Private Sector;
For-Profit Firms;
Business Strategy;
Strategic Planning;
Competitive Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Adaptation;
Corporate Strategy;
Business Model;
Market Entry and Exit;
Retail Industry;
Morocco;
Africa;
North Africa
- March 2019
- Supplement
KITEA (E): IKEA's Opening Day
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu
The case opens in 2016 as Amine Benkirane, CEO of the furniture retailer KITEA, observes KITEA’s dormant sales on the day IKEA opens its first store in Morocco. It then provides information on IKEA’s Morocco store, as well as a detailed pricing comparison between IKEA...
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- March 2019
- Supplement
KITEA (F): Expanding in Africa
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu
he case opens in 2018 after KITEA has recorded two years of double-digit sales growth following IKEA’s entry into the Moroccan market. It then traces the factors that contributed to KITEA’s success and that led Tana Africa Capital Limited to acquire a minority stake in...
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Keywords:
Retail;
KITEA;
IKEA;
Furniture;
Furniture Industry;
Entry Strategy;
Responding To Entry;
Localization;
Competitive Interaction;
Private Sector;
For-Profit Firms;
Business Strategy;
Strategic Planning;
Competitive Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Adaptation;
Corporate Strategy;
Success;
Expansion;
Strategy;
Retail Industry;
Africa;
North Africa;
Morocco
- February 2019
- Supplement
KITEA: Democratizing Furniture in Morocco (PowerPoint supplement)
This PowerPoint accompanies the KITEA cases and the associated teaching note. The KITEA series of cases (A-F) details how the Moroccan furniture company KITEA prepared for the entry of IKEA into the Moroccan market and describes the outcome of that entry.
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Keywords:
KITEA;
IKEA;
Furniture;
Furniture Industry;
Entry Strategy;
Responding To Entry;
Localization;
Competitive Interaction;
Private Sector;
For-Profit Firms;
Business Model;
Business Strategy;
Strategic Planning;
Competitive Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Adaptation;
Corporate Strategy;
Retail Industry;
Africa;
North Africa;
Morocco
- January 2019 (Revised January 2021)
- Case
KITEA (A): Democratizing Furniture in Morocco
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu
The case opens in 2013 as Amine Benkirane, founder and CEO of the leading Moroccan furniture company KITEA, contemplates the loss his company has incurred for the first time in its 20-year history. The case then describes KITEA’s origins and provides a detailed...
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Keywords:
Retail;
KITEA;
Furniture;
Furniture Industry;
Entry Strategy;
Responding To Entry;
Localization;
Competitive Interaction;
Private Sector;
For-Profit Firms;
Business Model;
Business Strategy;
Strategic Planning;
Strategy;
Competitive Strategy;
Adaptation;
Corporate Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Retail Industry;
Africa;
Morocco
- October 2018 (Revised October 2018)
- Teaching Note
La-Z-Boy (A)
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Julia Kelley
Kurt Darrow, CEO of La-Z-Boy furniture, must decide whether to continue an overhaul of the company's strategy in the face of a collapse in demand during the great recession. Having pared back La-Z-Boy's portfolio of brands and manufacturing network, he intends to...
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Keywords:
Retail;
Manufacturing;
Organizational Transformations;
Reorganization;
Furniture Industry;
Corporate Strategy;
Home Fashion;
Turnaround;
Portfolio Rationalization;
Globalization Of Supply Chain;
Brand Repositioning;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Brands and Branding;
Competitive Strategy;
Vertical Integration;
Transformation;
Retail Industry;
Manufacturing Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
United States
- June 2018
- Case
Forta Furniture: International Expansion
By: John A. Quelch and Karthik Easwar
The Forta Furniture case highlights the need to consider new market expansion to grow a firm. It demonstrates that simply doing what has always been done is not sustainable when other competitors enter the market with differentiated or potentially superior offerings....
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- June 2018
- Teaching Note
Kvadrat: Leading for Innovation
By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott
In 2013, Anders Byriel, CEO of the family-owned Danish textiles company, Kvadrat, considered the firm's strategic plan. In 2000, Byriel and Mette Bendix, Kvadrat's Product Director, had taken over management of the company from their fathers, who had founded Kvadrat in...
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- 30 Jan 2018
- Interview
IKEA Founder Leaves Behind a Furniture Empire and a Troubling Past
By: Nancy F. Koehn and Amanda McGowan
- October 2016
- Case
La-Z-Boy (A)
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Natalie Kindred
Kurt Darrow, CEO of La-Z-Boy furniture, must decide whether to continue an overhaul of the company's strategy in the face of a collapse in demand during the great recession. Having pared back La-Z-Boy's portfolio of brands and manufacturing network, he intends to...
View Details
Keywords:
Retail;
Manufacturing;
Organizational Transformations;
Reorganization;
Furniture Industry;
Corporate Strategy;
Home Fashion;
Turnaround;
Portfolio Rationalization;
Globalization Of Supply Chain;
Brand Repositioning;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Brands and Branding;
Competitive Strategy;
Vertical Integration;
Retail Industry;
Manufacturing Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
United States
- February 2014 (Revised March 2014)
- Case
Red Star Furniture Group Co. Ltd.
By: Krishna G. Palepu and Pedro Nueno
Founded in 1986, Red Star had become the leading department store in China for furniture and home equipment products (bathroom, lamps, textiles complements, etc.). The business model of Red Star was to provide adequate space for vendors (that rented the space) in good...
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- June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
- Case
Kvadrat: Leading for Innovation
By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott
In 2013, Anders Byriel, CEO of the family-owned Danish textiles company, Kvadrat, considered the firm's strategic plan. In 2000, Byriel and Mette Bendix, Kvadrat's Product Director, had taken over management of the company from their fathers, who had founded Kvadrat... View Details
- July 2012 (Revised April 2013)
- Case
Peter Jepsen
By: Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts and James M. Sharpe
About to break bank covenants, Peter Jepsen has to deal with a contentious prior owner, improve profitability and staff appropriately all while maintaining credibility with his investors, in the furniture hardware company he has owned for less than a year.
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Keywords:
Acquisitions;
Bankruptcy;
Crisis Management;
Entrepreneurial Management;
Entrepreneurial Finance;
Financial Crisis;
Turnarounds;
Financial Distress;
Negotiation;
Entrepreneurs;
Bank Loan;
Search Funds;
Liquidation;
Boards Of Directors;
Ethics;
Insolvency and Bankruptcy;
Acquisition;
Entrepreneurship;
Manufacturing Industry;
United States