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Private labels, previously weak in the U.S. market, are making inroads in the United States and Canada. Reasons for this include a weak economy,...
Private label cola, Cott, gets 30% of the market in Canada. How does it move into the U.S. market? How do retailers evaluate its benefit costs? Does...
- February 2020
- Teaching Note
Essential Explorations at MUJI
By: Tomomichi Amano and Das Narayandas
Launched as a private brand in 1980 to counter the increasingly brand-conscious consumer in Japan, MUJI offered beautifully designed, fairly priced, no-frills quality goods. The once modest private label brand with 40 products had expanded significantly by 2019 to more...
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- January 2020 (Revised April 2020)
- Teaching Note
Brandless: Disrupting Consumer Packaged Goods
By: 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...
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- 2019
- White Paper
Impact-Weighted Financial Accounts: The Missing Piece for an Impact Economy
By: George Serafeim, T. Robert Zochowski and Jennifer Downing
Reimagining capitalism is an imperative. We need to create a more inclusive and sustainable form of capitalism that works for every person and the planet. Massive environmental damage, growing income and wealth disparity, stress, and depression within developed...
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- August 2019 (Revised January 2020)
- Case
Essential Explorations at MUJI
By: Tomomichi Amano, Das Narayandas, Naoko Jinjo and Akiko Kanno
Launched as a private brand in 1980 to counter the increasingly brand-conscious consumer in Japan, MUJI offered beautifully designed, fairly priced, no-frills quality goods. The once modest private label brand with 40 products had expanded significantly by 2019 to more...
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- April 2019 (Revised April 2021)
- Case
Wayfair
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Susie L. Ma and Matthew G. Preble
In 2016 Niraj Shah and Steve Conine, founders of online home goods retailer Wayfair, are faced with a decision about how to improve user experience on their e-commerce sites. A key driver of consumer interest and conversion to purchase in the home category is visual...
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- July–August 2018
- Article
From Niche to Mainstream (HBR Case Study)
By: Elie Ofek
A large Japanese snack maker faces challenges in marketing products in the US. Several options for jumpstarting sales are presented.
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- January 2018
- Case
Ak Gıda: IPO or Strategic Sale
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Eren Kuzucu
In 2015, Yıldiz Holding, one of the world’s largest producer of confections, biscuits and crackers, was at the end of its divestiture process from Ak Gida, one of the leading dairy companies in Turkey. The company had adopted a dual track process, pursuing an initial...
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Keywords:
Valuation;
Private Sector;
For-Profit Firms;
Business Model;
Business Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Value Creation;
Decision Making;
Growth Management;
Mergers and Acquisitions;
Initial Public Offering;
Business Conglomerates;
Business Exit or Shutdown;
Family Business;
Joint Ventures;
Food and Beverage Industry;
Turkey
- November 2017 (Revised October 2018)
- Case
Brandless: Disrupting Consumer Packaged Goods
By: Jill Avery
Brandless, an online direct-to-consumer seller of upscale private-label consumer packaged goods, offered consumers a limited assortment of values-conscious products delivered directly to their homes with the simplicity of one fixed $3 price point that promised an...
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Keywords:
Brand;
Brand Management;
Retailing;
Retailing Industry;
Private Label;
Direct To Consumer Marketing;
Ecommerce;
Digital Marketing;
Consumer Packaged Goods;
Startup;
Marketing;
Marketing Strategy;
Disruption;
Food;
Product Marketing;
Marketing Channels;
Consumer Behavior;
Brands and Branding;
Venture Capital;
Consumer Products Industry;
Beauty and Cosmetics Industry;
Food and Beverage Industry;
Retail Industry;
United States;
North America
- February 2017 (Revised April 2018)
- Case
Kameda Seika: Cracking the U.S. Market
By: Elie Ofek, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno
In spring 2016, Kameda’s CEO, Michiyasu Tanaka, is facing difficult questions from board members over the lackluster performance of the company’s U.S. subsidiary. Kameda was the leading player in the Japanese rice cracker market and was looking to expand overseas to...
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- February 2017 (Revised March 2018)
- Case
BIM: Finding New Ways to Grow
By: Michael Chu and Gamze Yucaoglu
BIM, Turkey’s giant retailer with a hard-discount model for the popular segments, must decide whether to launch a brand-new format challenging the modern supermarkets. Since its founding in 1995, BIM has adhered to a business model based on a relentless focus on costs...
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- October 2016 (Revised April 2018)
- Case
JCPenney: Back in Business
By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Christine Snively
In 2016, JCPenney was in the midst of a multi-year turnaround after coming dangerously close to bankruptcy. Under CEO Marvin Ellison, the company had identified three strategic objectives—a focus on omnichannel, private label goods, and increasing revenue per...
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- December 2012 (Revised April 2013)
- Case
Greencore
By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred
Patrick Coveney, CEO of Greencore, one of the top producers of private label prepared foods sold through UK grocery retailers, was assessing Greencore's growth options. Growth potential was limited in the UK, a mature market in which retailers were unlikely to grant...
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- April 2011
- Case
Designs by Kate: The Power of Direct Sales
By: John A. Deighton and Sarah Abbott
The sales representatives at Designs by Kate (DBK) sell private label jewelry at hosted parties and through online social media channels. They are also responsible for recruiting, training, and managing new sales reps. CEO and founder Kate Creevey designed the...
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- January 2009 (Revised October 2009)
- Case
GLOBALGAP: Food Safety and Private Standards
By: David E. Bell and Mary Louise Shelman
In response to new laws governing liability and several food safety scares in the 1990s, European retailers drove the creation of a universal production standard based on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for fresh fruit and vegetables and a third-party certification...
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- 2009
- Chapter
On the General Relativity of Fiscal Language
By: Jerry R. Green and Lawrence Kotlikoff
A century ago, everyone thought time and distance were well defined physical concepts. But neither proved absolute. Instead, measures/reports of time and distance were found to depend on one's reference point, specifically one's direction and speed of travel, making...
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- December 2004 (Revised May 2005)
- Case
Levenger Company
By: Myra M. Hart, Kristin Lieb and Victoria Winston
The Leveens started a high-end catalog business as a small home-based venture in 1987. It grew into a nationally recognized, $60 million company, offering products that ranged from unique pens and pencils to leather briefcases and fully furnished offices. In 1999, it...
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- December 2004 (Revised February 2005)
- Case
Exporting Spanish Olive Oil to the U.S. Market
By: Ray A. Goldberg, Hal Hogan and Miguel Angel Llano Irusta
Spain is the largest olive oil producer, yet it sells much of its product to Italy, where it is repackaged as Italian olive oil. The decision maker in the case wants to develop Spain as the olive oil leader not just in production but in quality and value added. He...
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Keywords:
Plant-Based Agribusiness;
Trade;
Goods and Commodities;
Demand and Consumers;
Supply and Industry;
Brands and Branding;
Decisions;
Customization and Personalization;
Product Design;
Product Development;
Marketing Strategy;
Product Marketing;
Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry;
Food and Beverage Industry;
Spain;
United States;
Italy
- February 2002 (Revised December 2003)
- Case
H-E-B Own Brands
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell
H-E-B is a $9 billion grocery chain located in Southwest Texas. This case focuses on H-E-B's private label strategy, a product category that accounts for 19% of H-E-B's sales and one that earns gross margins 50% higher than national brands. A leader in its markets,...
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- December 2000 (Revised December 2000)
- Case
Loblaw Companies Ltd.: The Road Ahead
By: Ray A. Goldberg, David E. Bell and Ann Leamon
After 24 years at the helm of Loblaw Companies, Canada's largest food retailer, Richard Currie is trying to decide on a strategy for the company's future. The firm's current emphasis on one-stop shopping for everyday household needs has been phenomenally successful....
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Keywords:
Business Strategy;
Distribution;
Food;
Food and Beverage Industry;
Retail Industry;
Canada
- November 2000
- Case
Dean Foods
By: Ray A. Goldberg, David E. Bell, Ann Leamon and Kim Slack
After 50 years of successful growth, mostly by acquisition, Dean Foods, the nation's second-largest dairy processor, has established a division to develop and market branded products nationally. Can a $4 billion company rely on a $300 million growth vehicle? Is this...
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