The case examines the transformation of Best Buy under CEO Hubert Joly's leadership from 2012. Facing significant business challenges, including competition from online and physical retailers, Joly implemented the "Renew Blue" turnaround strategy, which focused on improving price competitiveness, enhancing the customer experience both in-store and online, partnering with major tech companies, and investing in employee training and engagement. The case further explores the development and execution of the "Building the New Blue" strategy, aiming to enrich lives through technology by addressing key human needs and expanding services such as in-home advisors and entering the health care market. The case highlights the approach Joly calls "Unleashing Human Magic," which focuses on the importance of aligning company purpose with employee motivation and customer needs to drive business growth and transformation.

The case gives readers an overview of key factors of doing business in Brazil, including Brazil's economic transformation since its colonial years until 2023, when leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in for his third term, after the most polarized elections in the country's recent history and having to deal with an attack against government buildings in Brasília. The case's ultimate goal is to foster a discussion about how political and economic uncertainty impacts consumer behavior and companies operating in Brazil. For that, it summarizes the key obstacles faced by these businesses, such as the country's logistical bottlenecks, complex bureaucracy and arcane tax system. At the same time, the case sheds light on the sectors that are thriving despite these difficulties and on some valuable opportunities offered by Brazil's huge consumer market and diversified economy.

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Argentina. It highlights Argentina's economic and political transformation in the decades leading up to 2024. The case gives an overview of some of the main obstacles faced by businesses operating in the country, contrasting these with the efforts undertaken by the government to improve the country's business climate. This is illustrated through the discussion of a business dilemma in which Latam Airlines considers re-entering the Argentinian market.

Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of Vingroup, the largest private conglomerate in Vietnam, and Global CEO of VinFast, Vingroup's automotive subsidiary established in 2017, was contemplating VinFast's future strategy. Domestically, the EV market in Vietnam was in its infancy with many hurdles including a shortage of charging stations, potential electric overload, a lack of consumer incentives, poor road conditions, and traffic congestion. Internationally, VinFast faced fierce competition from more established EV makers. Should VinFast put more emphasis on the domestic market or the international ones? How could VinFast adjust its strategy and resource allocation for better growth?

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?

Chile, often considered among Latin America´s greatest economic success stories, suffered a shocking wave of protests in October 2019, as its citizens demanded reforms across healthcare and education systems, and protested inequality and rising costs of living. As Chileans and outside observers reviewed the situation, many reflected on the country's long history of inequality as the underlying source for public frustration. Chile´s inequality had declined since the late 1990s, largely due to previous governments' commitment to free market policies and economic growth. The country benefitted from a robust business sector that was open to international trade, and from a large and thriving middle class. Yet, Chileans were clearly angry, and their outrage now threatened to ruin the country's robust economy and political stability. Meanwhile, a growing number of observers became concerned and inspected the role that Chile's business sector had played in the country's successes and failures. Although business drove growth, it was also the sector that had escaped the troubles that beset so many other parts of the country. Moreover, Chile´s economic performance in 2022 was lackluster. What had gone amiss with one of Latin America's most successful economies? And who had the power, and responsibility, to make changes?

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Peru. It highlights Peru's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2023 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main obstacles faced by businesses operating in the country, contrasting these with the efforts undertaken by the government to improve the country's business climate. This is illustrated through the discussion of a fictional business dilemma.

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Rwanda. It highlights Rwanda's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2023 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main obstacles faced by businesses operating in the country, high transportation costs, some of the most expensive electricity tariffs in sub-Saharan Africa and high levels of government bureaucracy, contrasting these with the efforts undertaken by the government to improve the country's business climate. This is illustrated through the discussion of a business dilemma in which e-mobility startup Ampersand has to assess the extent to which Rwanda's high openness could mean a high threat of competition or plenty of opportunities for growth partnerships.

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Seoul, South Korea. It highlights South Korea's economic development in the decades leading up to 2023 in the context of its history, culture, and politics.

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Nairobi, Kenya. It highlights Kenya's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2023 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main obstacles faced by businesses operating in the country and contrasting these with the efforts undertaken by the government to improve the country's business climate. This is illustrated through the discussion of a business dilemma in which Enda Sportswear is looking to grow its sales in Kenya through increased domestic production.

The case uses the example of the opening of the first IKEA furniture store in Chile - which is operated by Chilean group Falabella - to discuss the opportunities and challenges of doing business in the country. It gives readers an overview of Chile's economic transformation since its colonial years until late-2022, when a new government, led by former student leader Gabriel Boric, faced the challenge to recover economic growth after the pandemic and as Chile advanced in a tortuous process to rewrite its Constitution. After three decades living under democracy, many Chileans seem to disagree with some aspects of the country's liberal economic model (which started to be implemented during the regime of general Augusto Pinochet). However, it is still not clear whether the Chilean society will support a radical transformation or merely a mild reform in this model. The case invites readers to discuss, first, the strengths and disadvantages of the Chilean market. Second, how the constitutional process could change the country's environment for businesses, and what are the risks involved in this process for companies such as IKEA and Falabella.

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Turkey. It highlights Turkey's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2023 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main obstacles faced by businesses operating in the country, such as complexity of doing business, slow legal proceedings and a large informal sector and changing regulatory environment, contrasting these with the efforts undertaken by the government to improve the country's business climate. This is illustrated through the discussion of a business dilemma in which Setur is contemplating its business strategy in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic and changing consumer tastes and preferences.

The case uses the example of a large investment made by French retail group Carrefour in Brazil to discuss the opportunities and challenges of doing business in the country. It gives readers an overview of Brazil's economic transformation since its colonial years until 2023, when leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in for his third term, after the most polarized elections in the country's recent history and having to deal with an attack against government buildings in Brasília. The case's ultimate goal is to foster a discussion about how political and economic uncertainty impacts companies operating in Brazil. For that, it summarizes the key obstacles faced by these businesses, such as the country's logistical bottlenecks, complex bureaucracy and arcane tax system. At the same time, however, the case also sheds light on the sectors that are thriving despite these difficulties and on some valuable opportunities offered by Brazil's huge consumer market and diversified economy. The descriptions about Carrefour's business in the country aim to spur a debate about these opportunities and whether they offset the risks of the local market.

In May 2022, streaming entertainment company Netflix lost customers for the first time in more than 10 years. Once a first mover in the streaming landscape, Netflix was facing competition from Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, and others. A key component of Netflix's prior success was its unique "freedom and responsibility" culture, in which the company eschewed hierarchical decision-making, performance reviews, and vacation and expense policies. Employees were expected to maintain high performance or else get cut from the "dream team." While some employees reported appreciation for Netflix's culture, others described it as "cutthroat." Given the company's performance in spring 2022, was Netflix's "no rules rules" culture still an asset or was it now a liability?

In December 2021, more than a decade after its founding, Goldman Sachs's 10,000 Small Businesses program was still going strong - and the firm now needed to evaluate potential program modifications to reach a wider group of small business owners. Launched in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, 10,000 Small Businesses provided business education, a wide network, and access to capital to U.S. small business owners through more than a dozen city- and state-based program and a National Cohort model. By 2020, Goldman Sachs achieved its goal of graduating 10,000 small business owners from the program, and the firm decided to renew the program with the goal of reaching another 10,000. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which placed unprecedented strain on small business owners across the U.S., the 10,000 Small Businesses program office team expanded the program's efforts to organize a collective voice for small business owners in U.S. politics, support an internship program that paired community college students with local small businesses, and admit owners of smaller businesses than had previously been accepted into the program. In late 2021, the team considered how to approach its latest effort: supporting Black women business owners in line with the firm's broader One Million Black Women initiative. As 10,000 Small Businesses expanded its reach to smaller businesses and sole proprietors, what modifications did the team need to make? In what ways did Goldman Sachs need to rethink its work to render its One Million Black Women initiative effective?

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands such as Allbirds, Casper, Peloton, and Warby Parker have creatively found a weakness in the marketing citadel of incumbent brands. By using data gleaned from daily interactions with customers, these brands have been able to adapt how they serve their unique customer communities across a start-to-finish purchase journey. The best of them have parlayed that ability into a profitable business model applied across multiple channels and customer segments. But as successful DTC brands mature, they must recognize the need to evolve. The authors offer four principles for continued success: (1) Focus on deepening customer relationships, not just making comparisons with competitors. (2) Accompany the customer beyond the initial transaction. (3) Omnichannel is about value addition, not cost reduction. (4) Strengthen the core first; consider extensions later.

Vanir, a young community bank dedicated to serving small-business owners, prides itself on the personalized service it delivers to customers. That approach has helped it grow quickly, but now competitors are circling. A new system that uses algorithms to speed up decision-making is ready to go live, but employees are worried that it will destroy the bank's special sauce. What should Vanir's CEO do? This fictional case study by Leonard A. Schlesinger features expert commentary by Bob Rivers and Chris Yeh.