Retail
July 2020
Haier in 2014: An entrepreneurial juggernaut facing a world of platforms and ecosystems
By Michael Jacobides, Lisa Duke
Until the 2010s, China had been known for inexpensive products and efficient, low-cost production and for copycat or OEM products rather than for leading-edge innovation. Yet, in a few short years, Chinese firms turned to quality and innovation, drastically increasing their market share. A shining e...
April 2024
Dollar Shave Club: Disrupting the Shaving Industry (Spanish language)
By Nader Tavassoli, Karin Kollenz-Quétard, Jamie Anderson
The case describes how Dollar Shave Club proved to be a disruptive force in the shaving industry, one dominated by Gillette for over a Century. It did so without a single patent to its name, and with a direct-to-consumer subscription and a content-based customer engagement model that was new to the ...
May 2016
Big Beautiful Hair
By John Mullins
Alex and Mimi Ikonn were heading out to dinner in Toronto to celebrate their first real day in business. While their preparations had taken several months of their time, tomorrow was the day when their website would go live. Was all their hard work worth it? They were about to find out....
August 2018
Andrew Thornton: Putting Heart into Business
By Randall Peterson
At the age of 42, in the midst of a successful and lucrative career as the owner of an international retail consultancy, Andrew Thornton realised he had nothing more to give to his business. He quit the agency in 2006 and used his buy-out money as a down-payment for two Budgens supermarkets in north...
December 2020
Amazon.com: Staying a step ahead (2021)
By Julian Birkinshaw, Lisa Duke
This case traces the rise and rise of Amazon.com, the second company after Apple to hit a trillion dollar market cap. The growth of Amazon is described, from its origins back in 1995 through to 2016. The case intentionally provides a lot of detail on specific new products and services created over t...