個案總覽

This is a three-part case on India's largest consumer goods company, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), a subsidiary of Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch multinational company. The case traces HUL's journey from inception till the end of 2018 with an emphasis on the last two decades. The case also documents developments at Unilever during the last two decades. Students analyze HUL's strategy and performance in the context of the changing competitive landscape in India as well as the strategic imperatives of Unilever. The case also helps them examine the impact of the evolving parent-subsidiary relationship on HUL's strategic choices.

Supplement to case IMB739

Supplement to case IMB739

Cabalonga S. A. (Cabalonga) was a unique, low-cost hostel located in the small seaside town of Puerto Cayo, Ecuador. The beachfront land on which Cabalonga was established had been inherited by one of the two proprietors. In 2017, the company did little better than break even, but the hostel did provide the occasional weekend getaway for its owners. However, the weekend getaways had actually become hectic cross-country commutes for the owners, and too many hours were spent attending to guests’ needs. While the enterprise was financially stable, the owners wanted it to be a self-sustaining and less time-intensive investment.

In 2017, the humble jackfruit, which grew in weed-like abundance in India, gained sudden prominence in the United States. The underutilized jackfruit crop was also gaining recognition globally for its role in addressing food security issues. An entrepreneur who had pioneered methods of jackfruit processing at Artocarpus Foods Private Limited in his native state of Kerala, India, had faced many entrepreneurial challenges in establishing Hebon, his brand of processed jackfruit products. Now he was considering whether to pursue the opportunity to exploit the overseas market or to continue focusing on domestic expansion.

In December 2017, the corporate vice-president of Microsoft Corporation’s Devices division was considering two options to chart a strategic course for the next few years. Since first joining Microsoft Corporation in 2004, one of the vice-president's key roles had been to oversee the strategic direction of the personal computing hardware business. The company, which was headquartered in Washington State in the United States, had a multitude of products and services that presented both opportunities and challenges for its future. Microsoft Corporation had to decide between two project options that represented growth in different business areas in Asia Pacific. The first option was to launch new products from the company's Surface division in the Asia Pacific market. This could be Microsoft Corporation’s opportunity to showcase its holistic devices ecosystem to prospective customers in the region. The second option was to intensify efforts to market and sell the firm’s cloud solutions. This could further differentiate Microsoft Corporation as an early mover enabling enterprises to migrate to the cloud.

This note provides a description of international flows and positions data, a way to identify extreme capital flow episodes (such as surges and stops), and a straightforward technique to predict whether a country should receive more or fewer portfolio inflows in the coming year based on a notion of benchmark inflows.

In 2015, Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) was ranked as one of the world’s largest global retailers based on sales revenue, second only to Walmart Inc. It had successfully expanded into eight international markets: Canada, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Mexico, Taiwan, Australia, and the United Kingdom, managing to grow despite the turbulent economic conditions prevalent in these countries. Costco challenged stereotypes and employed unconventional business strategies to position itself as a leading transnational retailer. Costco’s business model was crucial to the company’s financial success and expansion over the years. Key company success factors included its membership-based operating model, its focus on low-cost efficiencies, the perceived quality and value of the Kirkland Signature brand, and its philosophy of rewarding human capital. However, as Costco made plans to expand its operations, it faced challenges due to intensified competition in the global retail industry and policies and regulations in local markets that restricted big box retailers. In this context of uncertain international markets, which markets should it enter next? What was the best entry method for each individual market?

Konica Minolta Business Solutions (HK) Ltd. was likely the first multinational corporation in Hong Kong to put the ideas of corporate social enterprising into practice. Its new service business that was launched in 2014 (the i-Transform Station) employed so-called “hidden youths”—disadvantaged individuals who refrained from joining mainstream society—empowering them to reconnect with society. While the initiative drew the attention of the company's headquarters in Japan, the company experienced difficulties attracting enough hidden youths for its growing i-Transform Station, despite actively seeking the help of social workers in identifying potential employees. The managing director who initiated the program wanted to increase the engagement of hidden youth and, more importantly, to inject the ideas of social enterprise and the creation of shared value into Hong Kong society. In 2018, having received some suggestions from social workers and others, the managing director reflected on alternative options for the program's future.

The owner of Inverroche Distillery established a viable business incorporating fynbos, the unique flora growing around the remote community of Still Bay, South Africa, into her premium gins. She grew Inverroche Distillery into the dominant brand in the artisanal gin segment of the South African gin market and beyond. In 2018, she was facing key decisions about taking her business forward. Should she grow Inverroche Distillery by actively focusing on expanding her business internationally, or should she instead focus on growth in the domestic market? If she decided to go global, was the US market the best choice for expanding her business? If she were to enter the US market, what mode of entry would be most appropriate, taking Inverroche’s firm-specific resources into account?

Kapap Academy Pte. Ltd. (Kapap Academy) was established in 2007, following the tragic death of the founder’s older brother, with a mission to empower everyday people to learn realistic self-defence skills. The founder and his apprentice-turned-business partner formulated a simple yet functional brand of self-defence, which they named the Modern Street Combatives method. Kapap Academy’s social mission was evident in its provision of both heavily discounted and completely free training sessions for needy and vulnerable segments of society—in particular, women who were victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, as well as the elderly. Kapap Academy was able to sustain this social mission with a dual income stream. After its 10th-year anniversary, Kapap Academy was looking to export its brand of Modern Street Combatives overseas. This posed various challenges; in particular, whether to adopt a licensing model or a franchise arrangement. Each model had its pros and cons, but a decision had to be made.

Leading up to 2013, Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE), a French transmission operator (TSO), was the largest TSO in Europe’s electricity network. Like all European TSOs, RTE was subject to regulatory regimes. At the end of 2013, RTE was operating under a revenue cap, which required that it seek the regulator’s approval before making capital investments. The company was poised to undertake an ambitious investment program in 2014 to replace aging assets. However, the potential for regulatory changes, the need for the regulator’s approval, and the long depreciation life of the assets made planning difficult. RTE needed to develop a financial planning model that would help it decide whether to make the investment and how to prepare for possible regulatory uncertainties.

In 2014, Eandis System Operator CVBA (Eandis), a low- and medium-voltage power distribution system operator (DSO) in Belgium, had an ambitious plan for investing in a smart metering infrastructure, but the regulatory context was uncertain. The company had been operating in a regulated monopoly characterized by a cost-plus pricing regime. The regime allowed the company to recover its costs through the tariffs it charged grid users for access to the electricity distribution network. In recent years, the regime had motivated the company to invest in infrastructure; however, the cost-plus regime was about to be replaced by a new type of regulation based on incentives and the DSO’s performance. Under the new regulation, DSOs could propose investments to the regulator, who then approved the investments based on a cost-benefit analysis. In this context, Eandis must decide whether to continue with its plan to invest in smart metering and, if so, how to structure the investment to appeal to the equity investors.

Drums Food International Pvt. Ltd. (Drums Food) launched India’s first Greek yogurt brand, Epigamia, in 2015. Experiencing initial success with Greek yogurt, Drums Food went on to add another unique offering, lactose-free artisanal curd, targeting consumers with lactose intolerance. With these launches, Drums Food was building a well-differentiated, healthy brand to successfully tap the value-added dairy products market. However, in 2018, the road ahead was not without hurdles. To succeed, Drums Food needed to change the consumer mindset to ensure constant patronage of Epigamia. It also needed to defend itself against competitors who could launch similar products at competitive price points, leveraging the scale of their existing dairy businesses. Could Drums Food sustain the brand and build strong brand equity, enough that it could extend the Epigamia brand to more categories?

In 2016, the promoters of Savourites Hospitality Private Limited, which owned the fine-dining restaurant 6 Ballygunge Place, in Kolkata, were visiting London to explore possible future growth plans. Their foray into the market of Bengali cuisine through 6 Ballygunge Place had been successful and had developed into a strong destination brand. With a view to growing, Savourites’ promoters had ventured into newer product offerings and had tried moving into new geographical markets. In order to expand the brand’s range, they had launched a pan-Asian restaurant; launched the Bengal Lounge, which revived the Bengali penchant for never-ending chat sessions; and started fixed-menu outlets as variants of their core offering, hoping to tap into the middle-class market. They had also moved into other locations within Kolkata and to other cities. Their various expansions and diversifications had gone well, and the team found that the bulk of the growing consumer base was the Bengali customers that they had hoped to attract. They wondered how to keep the growth momentum going while still appealing to this clientele.

Scanteak Corporation was a furniture retailer founded in Singapore in the 1970s. By 2010, it had established more than 100 stores around the world. It had also become the first furniture company to be listed on the Taiwan OTC (Over-the-Counter) Exchange. The two founders had invested a great deal in developing the business and preparing their children to become their successors. In 2003, the two founders’ daughter joined the company to help grow the family business, achieving great success in brand promotion and market expansion. In 2010, the two founders’ son was asked to help with the business in Singapore or Taiwan but rejected their offer, stating that he would only agree if he could independently run the Japan division of the business, which was in deficit. The two founders questioned whether their recently graduated son could handle the business in Japan, and wondered how to respond to his bold request.

This part (B) of the case follows Scanteak: The Making of Successors in a Family Firm (A) to disclose how the founders of Scanteak Corporation responded to the proposal put forward from their second child, as described in part A of the case. While part A focuses on the issue of succession at the company, part B follows the business developments and discusses the transfer of management rights and family wealth to the next generation.

On October 10, 2017, the co-founders of Snapper Future Tech Private Limited (Snapper) were discussing the solutions they had proposed at a recent blockchain business conference. Snapper’s initiative envisaged digital solutions for smooth land registration, adding transparency, accountability, and good governance at every stage of the process. Snapper had developed a proof of concept for land records on a private blockchain in a cloud-based environment. Its live demonstration of the proposal was well received by the conference attendees; the challenge was whether the government would consider the solution and engage on a long-term basis with the company for blockchain solutions in land registrations. Would Snapper’s journey be acknowledged in the annals of the country’s digital revolution?

In 2017, Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (Cathay Pacific) began its largest transformation program in 20 years in response to business hardships the airline had been experiencing since 2016. The program used digital enablement and insight orientation to realign the company’s newly defined business focuses and to establish supporting pillars for further development. Information technology (IT) not only played a lead role in this corporate transformation, but it also became increasingly vital to Cathay Pacific’s future growth. In 2018, this transformation seemed successful, but important questions remained regarding the development of Cathay Pacific’s IT strategy over the previous decade, the company’s focus for its IT investments, and the factors that led the company into hardship. As it moved forward, how far could Cathay Pacific go with its digital transformation? How could IT influence the company’s future business strategy: could it help Cathay Pacific avoid further turbulence?

In 2018, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Zashita Inc. (Zashita) was contemplating the future strategic direction of his security and electrical contracting firm based in Irkutsk, Russia. The company had experienced outstanding sales growth since its founding in 2013, and this trend was expected to continue into 2019 with the existing business. Despite this, the CEO had identified a new, untapped opportunity in Irkutsk—smart home technology installations—and was trying to determine whether he should risk expansion into this expensive but potentially highly profitable market. Alternatively, he could focus on spending his resources on Zashita’s existing business or look elsewhere for new opportunities. The CEO needed to decide on the future strategic direction of Zashita and determine the best course of action for allocating the company’s resources to ensure future profitability for the company and its workers.