In May 2023, KOSÉ Corporation (KOSÉ) was facing three ominous factors in the Chinese market: declining sales due to weak consumer spending in China following a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases after Beijing ended its zero-COVID-19 policy, new regulations requiring beauty manufactures after January 2024 to label all ingredients that constituted more than 0.1 per cent of a product in descending order (thereby risking disclosing trade secrets), and Chinese consumers’ preferences shifting to local Chinese beauty manufacturers. About 30 per cent of KOSÉ’s net sales came from the Chinese market, where it focused on its major brands, Sekkisei and Decorté. Yet the market was becoming more saturated with giant European beauty manufactures and local enterprises. Should KOSÉ keep focusing on the Chinese market as its pillar strategy?
As Louise Bernard grew her entrepreneurial venture, Heeling Custom Athletic Shoes (Heeling), she wanted to ensure that she was managing her cash flow prudently to make sure the company was well positioned for future success and growth. Heeling’s business model was to manufacture and sell custom athletic shoes for a variety of sports that provided customers with the perfect fit as well as personalized style and exceptional performance.
The iconic American fast-food chain Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. (Checkers & Rally’s), headquartered in Tampa, Florida, found early success through its streamlined layout and operations. Nevertheless, it had financially struggled prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, impelling it to reflect on its existing strengths and to take strategic steps amid the pandemic to make an impressive recovery. In 2023, armed with newfound confidence from its previous successes, the company confronted the challenge of understaffing in the nation’s fast-food industry. How could Checkers & Rally’s CEO address the labour shortage? Could robotics and automation give the company an edge?
By the early 2010s, Keurig Green Mountain (KGM) had lost the momentum that had made it the name in at-home coffee brewing in North America. Following a series of product missteps, negative media scrutiny, and ongoing challenges to its partner relationships, in late 2015, the company was acquired by JAB Holding Company. Now under private control, new CEO Bob Gamgort led efforts to re-accelerate growth and increase penetration past the Keurig brand's respectable yet plateauing 20 million household mark. In just over a year, he led a successful turnaround, salvaging fractured partner relationships, upping productivity, and reducing costs. He and a handful of key executives thus set their sights on new growth in the Fall of 2017. Four options emerged: 1) take the company public again through an IPO, 2) set out for greater global expansion, 3) combine with another coffee business to become a larger player in North American coffee, and 4) diversify beyond coffee through a "pure play beverage" strategy. Gamgort and his team must decide: what is the right strategy to return Keurig to growth?
The control of the state-run airline Air India was handed over to Tata Sons on January 27, 2022, by the Government of India. Air India had returned to Tata Sons with a severely dented reputation, being known for bad service, frequent delays, and flight cancellations. Therefore, rejuvenating Air India would be a daunting task. Some industry experts felt that the takeover of Air India was the best chance the airline had of a commercial revival; others were not so optimistic. Despite the lingering skepticism, the chief executive officer of Air India was confident of an effective turnaround. He wanted to capture 30 per cent of India’s domestic aviation market in the next five years and brand Air India as the carrier of choice for passengers worldwide. He wanted Air India to compete against world-leading airlines such as Emirates and Singapore Airlines. However, he had some questions to resolve. What strategies should Air India adopt to undergo such a drastic brand repositioning? Could Air India revitalize its brand and become a leader among the world’s top airlines?
MedfirstIndia Trading Private Limited was a privately owned e-commerce start-up in India. The firm’s goal was to establish a first-of-its-kind medical devices e-commerce platform catering to various underserved market segments, such as small hospitals and independent medical practices. The firm relied primarily on digital channels for branding and customer outreach. However, the founders did not have a structured data-driven decision-making strategy in place despite the wealth of data flowing in through web analytics. In 2018, after three years of operations, the firm closed its doors. The case highlights the challenges of strategizing and managing the digital marketing operations of an e-commerce start-up.
In April 2023, the iconic Florida-based company Tupperware Brands Corporation (Tupperware), announced that it would have to close shop if it did not receive immediate investment. The company continued to consult with financial advisors about its future, possibilities of gathering funds, slashing jobs, and selling property in its attempts to survive and effect a turnaround. As Tupperware stared at liquidation, should it ditch or tweak its traditional yet iconic strategies of premium pricing and house-party direct selling to retain old customers and attract new ones? Or should it consider new products, a new brand, or new selling strategies to make itself cooler to the young demographic?
Reeling from the economic effects of closures wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, the Walt Disney Company (Disney) was at a pivotal junction. Even though COVID-19 case counts were rising in Florida, the state government had announced numerous reopening measures and guidelines for theme parks and resorts, indicating the state’s desire for businesses to start returning to “normal.” On May 21, 2020, the Universal Orlando Resort—one of Disney’s major competitors in theme parks—announced that it would be following the guidelines and reopening on June 5, 2020. Consequently, Disney had to decide when and if to reopen its Walt Disney World Resort, also based in Orlando, despite rising case counts.
Rebel Foods (Rebel) was the world’s largest internet restaurant company, with 45 food brands and 450 kitchens in 10 countries. As Rebel scaled up, they were gradually venturing into the business-to-business (B2B) space by partnering with other food brands. Their transition to a B2B model, although necessary, had some challenges. As their reliance on third-party food delivery partners continued to drive up costs, Rebel considered how to better integrate their supply chain. However, their food delivery partners provided greater brand visibility. In Rebel’s one-kitchen many brands model, would they be able to leverage technology and automation to scale up and expand successfully?
<div style="font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 1.4;"><p align="justify">The Climate Change Conference is a five-party, multi-issue, in-class negotiation simulation that requires no software or other digital means. The exercise develops an understanding of the complex landscape of global climate change mitigation and adaptation measures across various constituencies. At the core of the simulation, students take the roles of representatives from Developed Countries, Developing Countries, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Fossil Fuel Companies, and Electric Vehicle (EV) Firms, with each stakeholder having distinct priorities and interests. In a highly interactive small- and large-group negotiation process, participants navigate through three critical issues: (1) securing global net-zero emissions by mid-century by keeping the goal of a maximum 1.5℃ average global temperature rise within reach through (a) meeting emissions reduction targets, (b) coal phase-out, (c) methane reduction, and (d) halting deforestation; (2) protecting communities and natural habitats; and (3) mobilizing climate finance.
Nirav Patel, chief executive officer of Framework Computer (Framework), wanted to determine how to change consumer and industry attitudes toward the sustainability of their electronic devices in order to promote a more sustainable technology (tech) ecosystem. Patel, driven by a belief that users should be empowered to upgrade and repair their devices, aimed to pivot the industry toward greater environmental responsibility. Despite Framework’s innovative approach, competing in a market dominated by large multinational companies posed significant challenges. The company’s flagship product, the Framework laptop, allowed for easy upgrades of core components, advocating for a longer device lifespan and the right to repair, a stark contrast with the prevailing industry practices. With the concepts and legalities of right to repair beginning to take effect, Framework had to navigate a way to expand its market presence and improve consumer understanding of sustainability.
In August 2018, JK Paper Ltd., a market leader in India’s paper manufacturing industry, acquired the ailing Sirpur Paper Mills Limited, an 80-year-old company that had been declared insolvent. By September 2022, Sirpur Paper Mills Limited was reporting profit margins that were on par with its parent company. The management team was requesting approval from the parent company to double capacity in the writing and printing paper segment, with a proposed investment of US$125–130 million. The company has overcome several key challenges and had achieved some considerable operational improvements. However, the proposed investment would be a long-term commitment in a cyclical industry. There were also some difficulties in attracting and retaining talent in the industry and establishing relationships with key external stakeholders. JK Paper Ltd. had to decide whether to approve a strategic plan to expand and double the capacities of its new business unit in India’s paper manufacturing industry.
In 2023, RMZ Corporation ("RMZ") a large family-owned real estate firm based in Bengaluru, India, announced plans to transform from a commercial real estate developer to a diversified alternative asset owner. Over the next 5 years, RMZ looked to grow its real estate portfolio from $13 billion to $40 billion and generate an additional $15 billion in asset growth from its new infrastructure business. Some of this expansion was to occur in markets outside of India. Were RMZ's goals achievable? What would it take to execute this plan? What were the risks?
In late 2017, Zara, a major Spanish multinational retail clothing chain specializing in fast fashion, was the target of a negative campaign initiated by the workers of one of the company’s Turkish suppliers, Bravo Tekstil, who had been left without pay after their employer declared bankruptcy and disappeared overnight. Zara was in the media spotlight, and Clean Clothes Campaign, the garment industry’s largest alliance of labour unions, was pressuring the company to compensate for the workers’ losses and pay three months of wages and severance. Although not legally liable, Zara offered to pay about one-quarter of the Bravo Tekstil workers’ claims to limit its reputational damage. Bravo Tekstil’s workers remained largely dissatisfied with this offer and promised further actions against the Spanish multinational enterprise (MNE). In the short term, Zara had to decide how to respond effectively to these specific allegations, and over the longer term, it had to develop a more deliberate strategy for managing its suppliers’ potential irresponsibility.
We frequently engage in actions that facilitate the formation of new social connections, both in our personal and professional lives, and we say that having a strong network is important for success, but we do not really think about what that means. What qualities does a useful network have? How can someone build a stronger network? The purpose of the Social Network Inventory exercise is to help students think about these issues by guiding them through a network “health” check to identify their network’s strengths, weaknesses, approaches, and gaps.