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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?

Spreadsheet to accompany product W36187.

Despite the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) managed to increase its sales and retain its title as the world's top-selling carmaker for three consecutive years from 2020. However, the gradual shift in global market trends toward battery electric vehicles (BEVs) threatened to leave Toyota lagging behind, particularly in China, the United States, and Europe. In response to the threats from BYD Auto and Tesla in Toyota's main markets, Koji Sato was appointed president of Toyota in April 2023. Under Sato's leadership, Toyota announced plans to establish a BEV Factory, with the goal of producing 1.5 million BEVs by 2026. Despite Toyota's commitment to hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, exemplified by the Mirai, the company struggled to increase sales in this category due to infrastructure challenges. With Toyota's Hydrogen Factory scheduled to open in July 2023, Sato emphasized Toyota's intention of preserving hydrogen as a viable option for achieving a carbon-neutral society. The company faced the challenge of determining whether it was a solid strategy to develop and maintain both battery and hydrogen options in pursuit of a zero-emissions environment. Both endeavours demanded tremendous financial investments and time-consuming efforts, thus potentially slowing Toyota's battery development. While other carmakers focused solely on BEVs, Toyota's ability to compete in this category once the BEV Factory commenced mass production in 2026 while also investing in hydrogen remained uncertain.

Despite the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) managed to increase its sales and retain its title as the world’s top-selling carmaker for three consecutive years from 2020. However, the gradual shift in global market trends toward battery electric vehicles (BEVs) threatened to leave Toyota lagging behind, particularly in China, the United States, and Europe. In response to the threats from BYD Auto and Tesla in Toyota’s main markets, Koji Sato was appointed president of Toyota in April 2023. Under Sato’s leadership, Toyota announced plans to establish a BEV Factory, with the goal of producing 1.5 million BEVs by 2026. Despite Toyota's commitment to hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, exemplified by the Mirai, the company struggled to increase sales in this category due to infrastructure challenges. With Toyota’s Hydrogen Factory scheduled to open in July 2023, Sato emphasized Toyota’s intention of preserving hydrogen as a viable option for achieving a carbon-neutral society. The company faced the challenge of determining whether it was a solid strategy to develop and maintain both battery and hydrogen options in pursuit of a zero-emissions environment. Both endeavours demanded tremendous financial investments and time-consuming efforts, thus potentially slowing Toyota’s battery development. While other carmakers focused solely on BEVs, Toyota’s ability to compete in this category once the BEV Factory commenced mass production in 2026 while also investing in hydrogen remained uncertain.

The Japanese sake market witnessed a 40-year decline, fueled by shifting consumer preferences and an aging customer base. Asahi Shuzo Co. Ltd. (Asahi Shuzo), a once-struggling brewery from Yamaguchi, defied the trend with the success of its singular brand of sake, Dassai. By 2022, under the leadership of the founder and chairperson of the company, Asahi Shuzo’s sales surpassed ¥ (yen) 16.5 billion, marking a phenomenal 165-fold increase since 1984. Expanding into 20 countries by 2016, the company aimed for a 50:50 revenue split between sales brought in from its Japanese market and sales brought from its overseas markets. In 2017, Asahi Shuzo’s president and fourth-generation owner embarked on a bold venture—to construct its first overseas brewery in New York. Initially estimated to cost ¥1 billion, by March 2023, due to delays related to COVID-19, the costs increased to ¥8 billion. The opening of the Dassai Blue Sake Brewery in New York in October 2023 raised questions about what the global market’s impact would be on Dassai as a premium sake brand. As the brewery in the United States became a reality, challenges and uncertainties unfolded, shaping the narrative of Dassai’s strategic evolution.

The Japanese sake market witnessed a 40-year decline, fueled by shifting consumer preferences and an aging customer base. Asahi Shuzo Co. Ltd. (Asahi Shuzo), a once-struggling brewery from Yamaguchi, defied the trend with the success of its singular brand of sake, Dassai. By 2022, under the leadership of the founder and chairperson of the company, Asahi Shuzo's sales surpassed ¥ (yen) 16.5 billion, marking a phenomenal 165-fold increase since 1984. Expanding into 20 countries by 2016, the company aimed for a 50:50 revenue split between sales brought in from its Japanese market and sales brought from its overseas markets. In 2017, Asahi Shuzo's president and fourth-generation owner embarked on a bold venture-to construct its first overseas brewery in New York. Initially estimated to cost ¥1 billion, by March 2023, due to delays related to COVID-19, the costs increased to ¥8 billion. The opening of the Dassai Blue Sake Brewery in New York in October 2023 raised questions about what the global market's impact would be on Dassai as a premium sake brand. As the brewery in the United States became a reality, challenges and uncertainties unfolded, shaping the narrative of Dassai's strategic evolution.

In December 2023, Nippon Steel Corporation, Japan’s largest steel production company, announced plans to acquire United States Steel Corporation (U. S. Steel) for US$14.1 billion. Just four years earlier, the company experienced a ¥430 billion deficit for its 2019 fiscal year. After the appointment of a new president in 2019, however, Nippon Steel successfully achieved a V-shaped recovery, rescuing it from the verge of bankruptcy. Immediately after the recovery, the president was already aiming for further global expansion. The proposed acquisition—the attempt of a Japanese steelmaker to acquire an iconic 123-year-old American steelmaker— drew immediate attention from various US sectors and stirred emotion among key stakeholders. But for Nippon Steel, was now the right time, financially speaking, to invest as much as US$14.1 billion in an acquisition? As domestic demand for steel was decreasing due to Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population, Nippon Steel needed to expand its business operations globally before it was too late.

Spreadsheet supplement for case W36187.

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?

More than a century ago the merchant John Wanamaker wryly complained, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is, I don't know which half." In this article the authors present a solution to Wanamaker's famous quandary. Drawing on a large database supplied by the World Advertising Research Centre to empirically identify what kinds of brand advertising are most effective-both for attracting new customers and for converting them into loyal repeaters-they show that the key to successful brand building is offering a memorable, valuable, and deliverable promise to the customer. What's more, a well-designed customer promise not only translates directly into sales but also provides an effective framework around which to organize a company's activities.

As Tesla's first overseas factory and China's first wholly owned foreign automotive factory, Gigafactory Shanghai has developed rapidly, thanks to the series of industrial reforms in China and strong support from the Shanghai local government. Gigafactory Shanghai has bolstered Tesla's manufacturing capacity rapidly and significantly, enabling the company to tap into the growing global demand for electric vehicles, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Tesla's investment has also contributed to the advancement of China's electric vehicle industry and aligned with the broader goal of technological development and carbon neutrality. Nevertheless, Tesla's investment has risks, such as the deterioration of US-China relations, changes in government regulations and policies, competition from other automakers, and the threat of technological obsolescence. The student question revolves around Tesla's ability to defend its leading position in both the Chinese and global electric vehicle markets, with a view to creating a mutually beneficial partnership with the Chinese government. This case allows students to explore how host country industrial policies affect corporate investment decisions and how to deal with the uncertainties of foreign direct investment. After studying this case, students will be able to discuss the intricate relationship between industrial policies and foreign direct investment.

Yukimi Daifuku was an ice cream that had been sold exclusively during the winter season in Japan for almost four decades. Lotte Co., Ltd. (Lotte) entered the ice cream market thirty years after its major competitors, so the company strategically targeted the ice cream off-season, when other producers were not promoting their products. Lotte successfully grew the product’s sales, and Yukimi Daifuku became an iconic winter ice cream in Japan. However, the external environment surrounding Yukimi Daifuku had undergone significant changes, and in 2018, Lotte decided to sell the product year-round in order to boost availability and sales. Yukimi Daifuku saw sales momentum in 2019, but growth stalled in 2020. Without the benefits of its historical (and iconic) off-season position, Yukimi Daifuku faced the challenge of thriving in the competitive Japanese ice cream market. In addition, the patent on the product development process of Yukimi Daifuku was set to expire in March 2021. Without the iconic winter ice cream positioning and patent—the two key factors for their forty-year success—what were the next steps needed for the Yukimi Daifuku Branding Division for the product?

Spreadsheet to accompany product #W29882.

Yukimi Daifuku was an ice cream that had been sold exclusively during the winter season in Japan for almost four decades. Lotte Co., Ltd. (Lotte) entered the ice cream market thirty years after its major competitors, so the company strategically targeted the ice cream off-season, when other producers were not promoting their products. Lotte successfully grew the product's sales, and Yukimi Daifuku became an iconic winter ice cream in Japan. However, the external environment surrounding Yukimi Daifuku had undergone significant changes, and in 2018, Lotte decided to sell the product year-round in order to boost availability and sales. Yukimi Daifuku saw sales momentum in 2019, but growth stalled in 2020. Without the benefits of its historical (and iconic) off-season position, Yukimi Daifuku faced the challenge of thriving in the competitive Japanese ice cream market. In addition, the patent on the product development process of Yukimi Daifuku was set to expire in March 2021. Without the iconic winter ice cream positioning and patent-the two key factors for their forty-year success-what were the next steps needed for the Yukimi Daifuku Branding Division for the product?

Despite their companies' pledges to support social justice initiatives and racial and gender equity in recent years, many business leaders are now balking at the label "woke" a term that has become a political weapon. But the authors assert that addressing inequality and injustice in the workplace and beyond is something leaders must do. They call for leaders to continue to work toward racial and gender inequity and to be conscious of their role in effecting change.

What started as a FMCG distributor in 1967 in Kenya as Export Finance Company, is now a dynamic global conglomerate across 48 countries and 5 continents - Export Trading Group. ETG was taken over by the then CFO Mahesh Patel after exit of the founding stakeholders. It was then when the company shifted its focus to being a key regional player. In the next 35 years, the company grew systematically. Business focus evolved when Patel saw an opportunity in logistics in remote sub-Saharan Africa. This was followed by business expansion with supply chain diversification and significant infrastructure investments. All the different businesses amalgamated under a single group for better operations and ease of scaling up. They were later divided into six separate verticals for better management. Vamara (FMCG vertical) was launched in 2018 as the company moved towards digitalisation - externally and internally. ETG plans to focus on new business opportunities and continue to diversify across geographies and portfolios.

Stemina Lubricants (Stemina) was an automotive lubricant manufacturer in Udupi, Karnataka, India. All Stemina products were a blend of high-class base oil and imported branded additives. Stemina competed with leading brands—one that was strong in the market and at mechanics’ locations, having leveraged its consumer brand equity and strong advertising support to win over mechanics and dealers, and another that had a strong presence in the forecourts of gas stations in India. Customers looking for oil changes at gas stations were likely to purchase these company brands rather than a local brand, and Stemina faced an uphill battle to establish itself in a market with such entrenched distribution. How could this small business, with few resources for branding and distribution, successfully establish itself in the market?

The U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade in late June is affecting some employees' decisions about where they want to live and work. As some states pass laws to ban or restrict access to abortion services, employers' responses may affect their ability to attract and retain top talent. The authors offer five actions organizational leaders can take to support and protect employees' reproductive freedom in light of some states' changing reproductive health care policies.

Spreadsheet supplement for case W27116.

The state of Uttar Pradesh was India's leading producer state of mentha. The state's small and medium-sized enterprises and trade entities were involved in the processing, distillation, crystal manufacture, and export of mentha. After 2017, there had been a deep decline in mentha oil futures trading, which wiped out liquidity and led to several market participants withdrawing from the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX). The MCX had long been a market leader in commodities, supporting futures trading in precious metals and bullion, energy, and a few agricultural commodities-notably, mentha oil. The senior vice-president and head of business development and marketing at the MCX was exploring ways to promote liquidity and raise the volume and turnover of mentha oil futures trading. Having contributed to a brainstorming session with the product development team based on the findings of a 2020-21 stakeholder study of the mentha market, he now had to integrate his domain knowledge and trading expertise with the insights gleaned from the stakeholder's report to devise a strategy for resurrecting the slumping mentha oil futures.