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Founded in 1899 by Shinjiro Torii in Osaka, Japan, Suntory Holdings (Suntory) boasted a rich history in Japan's alcoholic beverage industry. It purchased US-based Beam in 2014 for $16 billion, renamed itself as Beam Suntory, and transformed into one of the world's largest alcoholic beverage makers, reaching total global revenues of more than 2.5 trillion yen ($23 billion) by the end of fiscal year 2018. Now, in 2020, could the Suntory team pull off a third miracle and successfully bring Japan's highball culture to the extremely competitive global marketplace?

Founded in 1899 by Shinjiro Torii in Osaka, Japan, Suntory Holdings (Suntory) boasted a rich history in Japan’s alcoholic beverage industry. It purchased US-based Beam in 2014 for $16 billion, renamed itself as Beam Suntory, and transformed into one of the world’s largest alcoholic beverage makers, reaching total global revenues of more than 2.5 trillion yen ($23 billion) by the end of fiscal year 2018. Now, in 2020, could the Suntory team pull off a third miracle and successfully bring Japan’s highball culture to the extremely competitive global marketplace?

Hosoo was a kimono and textile company, established in 1688 as a traditional Nishijin weaving company. The 11th generation president of the company, Masao Hosoo, had transformed the business from a producer of premium kimono fabrics and kimonos for the luxury market in Japan to a globally respected textile producer for some of the world's top brands. A great deal of the company's success in the global market could be attributed to the master craftspeople of Japan. This innovative spirit guided endless improvements to weaving and textile development, allowing the highly specialized Nishijin textiles to be woven for use beyond the kimono market. Inspired by the results of their innovation and their global success, and driven by the collapsing kimono market in Japan, Masao and his son, Masataka, set a goal in 2018 to establish Hosoo as an iconic, international house of kimono, relying on innovation to reinterpret what a kimono was, how it was used, and what it meant within a global fashion market.

Hosoo was a kimono and textile company, established in 1688 as a traditional Nishijin weaving company. The 11th generation president of the company, Masao Hosoo, had transformed the business from a producer of premium kimono fabrics and kimonos for the luxury market in Japan to a globally respected textile producer for some of the world’s top brands. A great deal of the company’s success in the global market could be attributed to the master craftspeople of Japan. This innovative spirit guided endless improvements to weaving and textile development, allowing the highly specialized Nishijin textiles to be woven for use beyond the kimono market. Inspired by the results of their innovation and their global success, and driven by the collapsing kimono market in Japan, Masao and his son, Masataka, set a goal in 2018 to establish Hosoo as an iconic, international house of kimono, relying on innovation to reinterpret what a kimono was, how it was used, and what it meant within a global fashion market.

In 2008, the marketing manager for Nestlé Japan’s confectionery business and his team were struggling to redefine the KITKAT brand within the Japanese market. KITKAT as a brand faced a real threat as the retail environment rapidly shifted toward increasingly powerful convenience store chains and consumer preferences shifted toward more novel consumable products. With more than 200 companies competing within Japan’s crowded and relatively stable confectionery market, Nestlé Japan was facing the harsh realities of Japan’s famed position as the world’s toughest consumer market. To address these challenges, Nestlé Japan worked over 15 years to instill deep meaning in the KITKAT brand and then, based upon this foundation, created a comprehensive product portfolio. How can KITKAT capitalize on its past success as it moves forward?

Supplement for product 9B17A037. The KITKAT team had experienced great success over the past few years by building a powerful and resonating brand and enhancing their production capabilities to enable them to adapt to changing demands from their channel partners. However, the harsh realities of a changing market demographic, and increasingly powerful convenience store chains, created a clear sense of urgency for creative solutions to continue their growth. The KITKAT team leaders felt that the ideas that had been generated in the closing months of 2007 held enormous potential to create growth through a previously overlooked retail channel. As they sat down to review the strategies, they wondered: Had they overlooked any important details that could affect their 2008 year?

Supplement for product 9B17A037. In the spring of 2009, the KITKAT team was fresh from a successful marketing campaign targeting students. After reviewing recent figures however, they realized that they had a critical decision to make regarding the fate of the overall KITKAT brand portfolio: was KITKAT too sweet for some of their older customers? How could they address this issue of taste without undermining the overall brand that they had worked so hard to create through their recent postal service campaign?

Supplement for product 9B17A037. It was 2017 and the KITKAT brand in Japan was at a critical juncture. The KITKAT marketing leaders sat down for a special meeting to review how Nestlé Japan had been able to create meaning and value for their brand. However, as they began to discuss their options for future growth, they faced difficult decisions: Should they look to export the flavor variations that had become such big hits in Japan to overseas markets such as China, the European Union, or the United States? Travelers from these countries regularly bought a wide range of KITKAT flavor varieties during their trips to Japan to bring home. Or should they focus on expanding the e-commerce sales of premium KITKAT flavors?

In 2008, the marketing manager for Nestlé Japan's confectionery business and his team were struggling to redefine the KITKAT brand within the Japanese market. KITKAT as a brand faced a real threat as the retail environment rapidly shifted toward increasingly powerful convenience store chains and consumer preferences shifted toward more novel consumable products. With more than 200 companies competing within Japan's crowded and relatively stable confectionery market, Nestlé Japan was facing the harsh realities of Japan's famed position as the world's toughest consumer market. To address these challenges, Nestlé Japan worked over 15 years to instill deep meaning in the KITKAT brand and then, based upon this foundation, created a comprehensive product portfolio. How can KITKAT capitalize on its past success as it moves forward?

Supplement to case W17424. The KITKAT team had experienced great success over the past few years by building a powerful and resonating brand and enhancing their production capabilities to enable them to adapt to changing demands from their channel partners. However, the harsh realities of a changing market demographic, and increasingly powerful convenience store chains, created a clear sense of urgency for creative solutions to continue their growth. The KITKAT team leaders felt that the ideas that had been generated in the closing months of 2007 held enormous potential to create growth through a previously overlooked retail channel. As they sat down to review the strategies, they wondered: Had they overlooked any important details that could affect their 2008 year?

Supplement to case W17424. In the spring of 2009, the KITKAT team was fresh from a successful marketing campaign targeting students. After reviewing recent figures however, they realized that they had a critical decision to make regarding the fate of the overall KITKAT brand portfolio: was KITKAT too sweet for some of their older customers? How could they address this issue of taste without undermining the overall brand that they had worked so hard to create through their recent postal service campaign?

Supplement to case W17424. It was 2017 and the KITKAT brand in Japan was at a critical juncture. The KITKAT marketing leaders sat down for a special meeting to review how Nestlé Japan had been able to create meaning and value for their brand. However, as they began to discuss their options for future growth, they faced difficult decisions: Should they look to export the flavor variations that had become such big hits in Japan to overseas markets such as China, the European Union, or the United States? Travelers from these countries regularly bought a wide range of KITKAT flavor varieties during their trips to Japan to bring home. Or should they focus on expanding the e-commerce sales of premium KITKAT flavors?

AGL Energy, a long-time traditional energy supply company in Australia, was facing competition as alternative sources of energy, such as solar power and batteries, were taking root in both the marketplace and with energy-conscious homeowners. The trend of homeowners who opted to supply their own energy needs and go off the grid was described as a “death spiral” for utility companies. In response, AGL Energy appointed a new chief executive officer in 2015 to address concerns related to falling demand, customer retention, and unpredictable energy prices. With climate change issues pushing so-called green energy sources into the forefront, what were the strategic options that would ensure AGL Energy's continued presence as a leader in the energy industry?

AGL Energy, a long-time traditional energy supply company in Australia, was facing competition as alternative sources of energy, such as solar power and batteries, were taking root both in the marketplace and with energy-conscious homeowners. The trend of homeowners who opted to supply their own energy needs and go off the grid was described as a "death spiral" for utility companies. In response, AGL Energy appointed a new chief executive officer in 2015 to address concerns related to falling demand, customer retention, and unpredictable energy prices. With climate change issues pushing so-called green energy sources into the forefront, what were the strategic options that would ensure AGL Energy's continued presence as a leader in the energy industry?

Crypton Future Media, a music software company based in Sapporo, Japan, developed Hatsune Miku (HM), a singing voice synthesizer software program (Vocaloid). Users entered lyrics and melodies to create songs, which were then sung by Hatsune Miku, a 16-year-old female virtual singer featured on the software packaging.<br><br>Initially targeting professionals, HM unexpectedly caught on among amateurs who produced music, lyrics, artwork and videos, which they shared via websites such as YouTube, Nico Nico Douga and Crypton’s Piapro. Users often worked collaboratively, and by March 2014, Miku had over 110,000 released songs, 170,000 uploaded videos, 1,000,000 created artworks and nearly two million Facebook “likes.” Miku’s popularity led to international media coverage and numerous new business opportunities for Crypton. She held sold out “live” concerts worldwide, starred in her own video game series produced by SEGA Games and was “hired” to advertise for companies including Toyota, Google and Domino’s Pizza.<br><br>Six years after the initial launch, Crypton and its chief executive officer were faced with a series of challenges related to the future development of their virtual idol and the businesses that grew around her.

Crypton Future Media, a music software company based in Sapporo, Japan, developed Hatsune Miku (HM), a singing voice synthesizer software program (Vocaloid). Users entered lyrics and melodies to create songs, which were then sung by Hatsune Miku, a 16-year-old female virtual singer featured on the software packaging.<br><br>Initially targeting professionals, HM unexpectedly caught on among amateurs who produced music, lyrics, artwork and videos, which they shared via websites such as YouTube, Nico Nico Douga and Crypton's Piapro. Users often worked collaboratively, and by March 2014, Miku had over 110,000 released songs, 170,000 uploaded videos, 1,000,000 created artworks and nearly two million Facebook "likes." Miku's popularity led to international media coverage and numerous new business opportunities for Crypton. She held sold out "live" concerts worldwide, starred in her own video game series produced by SEGA Games and was "hired" to advertise for companies including Toyota, Google and Domino's Pizza.<br><br>Six years after the initial launch, Crypton and its chief executive officer were faced with a series of challenges related to the future development of their virtual idol and the businesses that grew around her.

The Walt Disney Internet Group Japan has recently launched an entirely new set of interactive mobile character/agents for the NTT DoCoMo iMode platform, called Dimo. Having built Japan's most successful mobile entertainment business using traditional Disney-branded characters and related content, these Dimo characters have been designed to go well beyond entertainment and become valuable guides, assistants and friends for users of the continuously evolving Mobile Internet and the increasingly complex tasks enabled by this platform. Although the Walt Disney Internet Group Japan team feels strongly that these types of character/agents will be the future of human-device interactions, subscription figures six months after Dimo's launch suggest that Japan's mobile consumers may not share this belief.

The Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) Japan has recently launched an entirely new set of interactive mobile character/agents for the NTT DoCoMo iMode platform, called Dimo. Having built Japan's most successful mobile entertainment business using traditional Disney-branded characters and related content, these Dimo characters have been designed to go well beyond entertainment and become valuable guides, assistants, and friends for users of the continuously evolving mobile Internet and the increasingly complex tasks enabled by this platform. Although the WDIG Japan team feels strongly that these types of character/agents will be the future of human-device interactions, subscription figures six months after Dimo's launch suggest that Japan's mobile consumers may not share this belief.