As the cofounder and CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey had spent the better portion of his life rapidly growing the company from a niche natural grocery store in Austin, Texas, into the premier natural-foods grocer in the United States. Highly regarded as industry leader, Whole Foods contributed to the explosion in health-conscious eating sweeping the country. But not all good things lasted forever. Whole Foods had been treading increasingly choppy waters since early 2014. Increased competition in the natural-grocery space and broader macroeconomic factors wore on earnings and contributed to lackluster stock returns. Investors were becoming increasingly frustrated with company's leadership team. By the end of April 2017, Whole Foods had received a number of inquiries from both strategic and financial buyers. A full-blown sale process was launched, and though tech giant Amazon entered the bidding war late, its offer was fast and decisive, not giving Whole Foods much time to contemplate or find a competing bid. Now Mackey faces a decision that will not only shape the fate of his company, but the broader direction of the grocery industry for years or even decades to come.
This supplement provides background on abortion in the U.S. It is meant to accompany "Hey Jane: Delivering Abortion Pills to the Doorstep" (case no. 724-408) and would be especially useful for students new to the U.S. healthcare context.
This case tells the story of Hey Jane, a telehealth clinic founded in 2020 that provides virtual medication abortion services to eligible patients in nine U.S. states. By January 2023, the company had served more than 20,000 patients and raised nearly $10 million in venture capital, all while navigating an ever-evolving regulatory landscape. At the time of the case, Kiki Freedman, Hey Jane's CEO and founder, is considering expanding the company's holistic support model to another highly stigmatized reproductive health need-maternal mental health.
This supplement provides an early investor pitch deck for Hey Jane, a telehealth medication abortion provider. It is meant to accompany "Hey Jane: Delivering Abortion Pills to the Doorstep" (case no. 724-408).
The problem was massive: two million hectares of African forests were lost annually to charcoal production for cooking, an area equivalent to 13 times Greater London, resulting in one billion tons of carbon emissions yearly. At the same time, an estimated 700,000 yearly deaths, primarily children under the age of five, were the result of poor indoor air quality from unclean cooking fuel. Forecasts suggested exponential demand growth for charcoal driven by rising population and increased urbanization in Africa. Eighty-three percent of sub-Saharan African households relied on charcoal or wood for cooking. Greg Murray (chief executive officer), Sagun Saxena (chief innovation officer), Nicholas Stokes (chief financial officer) and Micael da Costa (chief systems officer) had decided to do something about it. In 2014, they co-founded KOKO Networks (KOKO), a climate-technology company that built and operated clean fuel utilities enabling nations to transition away from deforestation-charcoal. KOKO partnered with the owners of existing liquids infrastructure, and then used its unique technology and operating platform to deliver low-cost ultra-clean bioethanol cooking to a dense network of high-tech "KOKO Point" Fuel ATMs located in corner stores across low-income neighborhoods, which it used to retail directly to households. The end result was a safe, clean and affordable fuel located within a short walk of home, and which delivered a modern cooking experience at a price point that was materially lower than charcoal. By August 2023, KOKO served over one million households across ten cities in Kenya and planned to expand further in Kenya as well as build greenfield utilities in Rwanda and other African nations. Yet, the co-founders knew that the road ahead was full not only of opportunities, but also of challenges.
In June 2022, India’s community health workers, known as accredited social health activists (ASHAs) in the state of Jharkhand, were on strike, demanding regularization of their services, increase in remuneration, and incentive benefits. Dr. Nitin Kulkarni, the health secretary for the state of Jharkhand, must deal with the strike as soon as possible, as the state immediately needs the services of ASHAs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ajeet Singh was an example of an authentic leader, devoting himself to tackling the societal grand challenge of sex trafficking and child prostitution in India. Singh was the founder and leader of Guria India (Guria), a non-governmental organization with a holistic approach to improving the lives of sex workers and trafficked women and children. Through trial and error learning as well as years of immersion in and working with the community in one of India’s red-light districts, Guria had developed an end-to-end approach attacking the challenge at its systemic roots in poverty, corruption, and the failure of social institutions. However, Guria still struggled with an insecure funding base, low salaries for staff, and an insufficient leadership pipeline; Singh could identify no successor to take up his work. Singh wondered how he could extend Guria’s reach across all of India: Should Guria establish new locations in other cities, and if so, how would these be staffed, and what kind of leaders would be needed? How could Singh find and groom a cohort of successors to follow and replace him once he was no longer capable of providing his current level of proactive leadership?
In April 2022, the founder and chief executive officer of Just Kitchen Holdings Corporation (Just Kitchen)—a Canada-based and publicly listed operator of ghost kitchens in Taiwan—was sitting with part of his team to discuss the marketing plans for the year. The company reported revenues of CA$4.6 million for the second quarter of 2022. In the second quarter 2022, total revenues increased by 127 per cent and retail order volume grew by 151 per cent. That year, the number of ghost kitchen locations had increased from 14 to 28. The founder wanted to double the company’s revenue by 2023. To achieve this goal, the management team faced several questions: Should Just Kitchen focus more on local brands in Taiwan or invest in international brand licensing and partnerships? How could the company leverage the omni-channel opportunity to better engage with its consumers and not depend on the delivery partners? What strategies should Just Kitchen consider to attract and retain customers, grow its sales revenues, and increase profitability?
The international Vishwa Foundation (Vishwa), based in India, was started four decades ago to promote holistic healing and wellness based on the tenets of swaasthya and ancient Ayurvedic texts. Vishwa had revived the Vedic tradition of Agnihotra, or fire-offering, a daily ritual performed at the auspicious hours of dawn and dusk. The organization offered spiritual products that used Agnihotra ash as a key ingredient, offering a unique and traditional approach to personal care and wellness, and had some success. In July 2022, the president of Vishwa wanted to expand the product market by promoting Vishwa’s products as natural, eco-friendly, and holistic solutions for consumers' health and wellness needs. He was aware that Vishwa faced several challenges, including a weak distribution network and a lack of branding compared to its competitors, and he needed to explore alternatives for the company’s growth and implement the changes soon.
This case describes unruly passenger behaviour on National Aviation Company of India Ltd.’s New York-Delhi flight. It elaborates on the airline crew’s failure to effectively address an elderly woman’s predicament and assuage her concerns after an inebriated passenger urinated on her. As a result, Air India was exposed to social media ridicule, public scorn, loss of customer loyalty and trust, and a severe dent in its brand image. With the plummeting net loss in 2022 and reputation damage threatening to come in the way of its goal of becoming the airline of choice in passenger service and comfort, what can Air India do to rebuild its brand image, revive its past glory, prevent or manage such instances, and reclaim customer loyalty and trust?
Circl Learning Limited (Circl), a United Kingdom–based organization that provided coaching training to professionals and diverse young leaders from under-represented groups, was facing a challenge regarding impact measurement. Founded in 2018, Circl had grown and established a significant client base in a short time. Measurement of impact was a core component of its philosophy and growth strategy. As the chief executive officer prepared for a team meeting, he contemplated the measurements that Circl had in place and was currently tracking. What other key metrics should the organization consider for 2023?
Jack Lynch, CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) since 2017, was leading the company's transformation from a legacy textbook publisher to a digital-first student outcomes provider, which earned subscription revenue from digital products and curriculum. In 2023, HMH acquired NWEA, a leading educational assessment company. Lynch was thrilled to add NWEA's industry-standard tools for measuring student progress to his company's product offering - but aware of the fact that HMH's new business strategy was untested. Would students, educators, and district administrators sign on to Lynch's vision for the future of U.S. education?
In April 2022, the founder and chief executive officer of Just Kitchen Holdings Corporation (Just Kitchen)-a Canada-based and publicly listed operator of ghost kitchens in Taiwan-was sitting with part of his team to discuss the marketing plans for the year. The company reported revenues of CA$4.6 million for the second quarter of 2022. In the second quarter 2022, total revenues increased by 127 per cent and retail order volume grew by 151 per cent. That year, the number of ghost kitchen locations had increased from 14 to 28. The founder wanted to double the company's revenue by 2023. To achieve this goal, the management team faced several questions: Should Just Kitchen focus more on local brands in Taiwan or invest in international brand licensing and partnerships? How could the company leverage the omni-channel opportunity to better engage with its consumers and not depend on the delivery partners? What strategies should Just Kitchen consider to attract and retain customers, grow its sales revenues, and increase profitability?
This case describes unruly passenger behaviour on National Aviation Company of India Ltd.'s New York-Delhi flight. It elaborates on the airline crew's failure to effectively address an elderly woman's predicament and assuage her concerns after an inebriated passenger urinated on her. As a result, Air India was exposed to social media ridicule, public scorn, loss of customer loyalty and trust, and a severe dent in its brand image. With the plummeting net loss in 2022 and reputation damage threatening to come in the way of its goal of becoming the airline of choice in passenger service and comfort, what can Air India do to rebuild its brand image, revive its past glory, prevent or manage such instances, and reclaim customer loyalty and trust?
In June 2022, India's community health workers, known as accredited social health activists (ASHAs) in the state of Jharkhand, were on strike, demanding regularization of their services, increase in remuneration, and incentive benefits. Dr. Nitin Kulkarni, the health secretary for the state of Jharkhand, must deal with the strike as soon as possible, as the state immediately needs the services of ASHAs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ajeet Singh was an example of an authentic leader, devoting himself to tackling the societal grand challenge of sex trafficking and child prostitution in India. Singh was the founder and leader of Guria India (Guria), a non-governmental organization with a holistic approach to improving the lives of sex workers and trafficked women and children. Through trial and error learning as well as years of immersion in and working with the community in one of India's red-light districts, Guria had developed an end-to-end approach attacking the challenge at its systemic roots in poverty, corruption, and the failure of social institutions. However, Guria still struggled with an insecure funding base, low salaries for staff, and an insufficient leadership pipeline; Singh could identify no successor to take up his work. Singh wondered how he could extend Guria's reach across all of India: Should Guria establish new locations in other cities, and if so, how would these be staffed, and what kind of leaders would be needed? How could Singh find and groom a cohort of successors to follow and replace him once he was no longer capable of providing his current level of proactive leadership?
In 2022, Apple lost US$1.5 billion in Black Friday sales due to iPhone supply constraints. One in three retail stores across the US and Europe experienced stockouts of the new iPhone 14 Pro. China sales were down more than 30% year on year. Apple's stock had dropped 29% in 2022. China's zero-Covid policy resulted in massive lockdowns that made factory working conditions unbearable. In the second half of 2022, many Chinese workers quit their jobs at Apple's Foxconn facilities. The Russia-Ukraine war that started in February 2022 and the ensuing Western sanctions spurred an unprecedented global energy crisis and double-digit inflation. Now that supply chain disruptions, component shortages and rising geopolitical tensions had become a reality, Apple had to decide on a transformation, knowing that the transition presented difficult trade-offs and would take years to complete: (1) Which elements to change in the company's global value chain? How to approach change without hurting manufacturing continuity, product quality, revenue and profitability? (2) Should Apple further drive its vertical integration in the design of chips, semiconductors, screens and assembly? Or should it adopt the Android phone manufacturers' model and develop a broader base of suppliers?
The international Vishwa Foundation (Vishwa), based in India, was started four decades ago to promote holistic healing and wellness based on the tenets of swaasthya and ancient Ayurvedic texts. Vishwa had revived the Vedic tradition of Agnihotra, or fire-offering, a daily ritual performed at the auspicious hours of dawn and dusk. The organization offered spiritual products that used Agnihotra ash as a key ingredient, offering a unique and traditional approach to personal care and wellness, and had some success. In July 2022, the president of Vishwa wanted to expand the product market by promoting Vishwa's products as natural, eco-friendly, and holistic solutions for consumers' health and wellness needs. He was aware that Vishwa faced several challenges, including a weak distribution network and a lack of branding compared to its competitors, and he needed to explore alternatives for the company's growth and implement the changes soon.
Circl Learning Limited (Circl), a United Kingdom-based organization that provided coaching training to professionals and diverse young leaders from under-represented groups, was facing a challenge regarding impact measurement. Founded in 2018, Circl had grown and established a significant client base in a short time. Measurement of impact was a core component of its philosophy and growth strategy. As the chief executive officer prepared for a team meeting, he contemplated the measurements that Circl had in place and was currently tracking. What other key metrics should the organization consider for 2023?