Marketing

The Meteoric Rise of Skims

By: Ayelet Israeli, Jill Avery and Leonard A. Schlesinger

September 2023 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Since its founding in 2019 by Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede, Skims, a solutions-oriented brand creating the next generation of underwear, loungewear, and shapewear with an eye toward body-type and skin-tone inclusivity, has experienced a meteoric rise. Kardashian, who was a well-known media personality, socialite, influencer, and businesswoman, served as the brand’s creative director and aesthetic muse and brought her cultural impact and followers into the brand. CEO Grede and COO Emma Grede had experience managing celebrity brand relationships and founding other celebrity brands. In July 2023, the company was valued at $4 billion, an incredible achievement for a direct-to-consumer products company. Skims seemed to be bucking the trend that was dragging down other DTC brands, which for the first time in a decade were having trouble raising new venture money, raising money in down rounds that diminished the valuations of their companies, or seeing sharp stock price declines post-IPO. Instead of looking to other DTCs for inspiration, Skims’ founders were inspired by brands such as Nike, Apple, and lululemon, hoping to propel Skims to iconic brand status. With the recent $4 billion valuation, Skims’ investors would pressure the management team to drive exponential topline growth while managing profitability. Could Skims continue to accelerate its growth trajectory or would it fall prey to the same forces slowing down the growth and profitability of other DTC brands?

OOFOS Recovery Footwear

By: Sunil Gupta and Celine Chammas

August 2023 |
Teaching Note |
Faculty Research

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 523-003.

Kariyer.net: Recruiting AI

By: Shunyuan Zhang, Fares Khrais and Namrata Arora

August 2023 |
Case |
Faculty Research

In 2017, Fatih Uysal (AMP 2021) became CEO of Kariyer.net. By then, the business was already the industry leading online job board in Turkey. However, faced with stalling growth, a turbulent macroenvironment, and growing competition from international players, Uysal kicked off a transformation of the business from an online job board to a horizontally diversified recruitment company, powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The case chronicles the transformation, highlighting new AI-driven tools built both for internal use and as products to be sold. The case also describes two new business lines (employer branding services/ virtual job fairs, and an online tech-talent job board coupled with training services) that showed potential to become new core products. By 2023, Uysal and his team were targeting doubling revenue and growing the contribution of non-job ad revenues from 30% to 50% of the total over the next three years. Uysal and his team were constantly balancing exploring promising new products and verticals against doubling down on those generating revenue today. In order to reach their financial targets, Uysal and his team were debating not only which product(s) to pursue but how to do so efficiently.

Zegna

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Dante Roscini and Elena Corsi

August 2023 (Revised September 2023) |
Case |
Faculty Research

A traditionally mono-brand menswear luxury company faces growing competition from international groups and changes its brand focus from formal wear to leisure wear

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Fashion Industry; Italy

Pricing and Customer Psychology

By: Elie Ofek

August 2023 |
Background Note |
Faculty Research

This note provides an overview of how psychological principles may be used as part of a seller’s pricing strategy. The note defines the concept of psychological pricing and explains the motivations for firms to engage in it. Prominent practices and tactics, with detailed reference to the psychological and behavioral principles at play, are featured. Numerous examples are given to illustrate the material covered. The note also highlights several concerns companies might have in employing psychological pricing techniques, along with thoughts on how to mitigate or counter these reservations.

Reimagining Hindustan Unilever (B)

By: Sunil Gupta and Rachna Tahilyani

August 2023 |
Supplement |
Faculty Research

In April 2023, as the CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm, prepared to hand over the firm’s reins to his successor, he proudly reflected on the last decade. His quest to digitally transform HUL into an intelligent enterprise that used data and technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness across the value chain had started yielding results. Many of HUL’s independent directors felt that HUL “looked more like a tech company which also sold FMCG goods.” While Mehta believed HUL “was still far away from that,” he was confident of handing over a “fertile business that his successor could keep growing.”

Keywords: Distribution; Decisions; Organizational Change And Adaptation; Experimentation; Transformation; Consumer Behavior; E-commerce; Competition; Performance; Business Strategy; Marketing; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Leading Change; Consumer Products Industry; Asia; India

Reimagining Hindustan Unilever (A)

By: Sunil Gupta and Rachna Tahilyani

August 2023 |
Case |
Faculty Research

In the fall of 2019, the CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm, is wondering what to do about their experiments to digitize distribution. Despite three years of intense efforts, their apps to empower retailers have not seen any traction. Is it time to shut them down and focus on another area with more potential for digital transformation?