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In late 2015, Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) opened its first brick-and-mortar Amazon Books store in the United States. Amazon had invested heavily in expanding in the United States through new projects, from establishing Amazon Prime Now to setting up Amazon Books and Amazon Go locations. By 2017, a rumour suggested that Amazon might acquire Whole Foods Market Inc., a natural and organic foods supermarket. Could Amazon be as successful in offline retail as it had been in e-commerce? How could the company differentiate itself in the brick-and-mortar retail segment?

GoPro, Inc. was an American action camera and software manufacturer founded in 2002 by a young entrepreneur. The company introduced innovative action cameras and became a successful brand with the help of content marketing. It continued its innovative spree for more than a decade and was the market leader in the industry. However, in March 2017, the company faced challenges due to product failures and increased competition, and the introduction of new products in the market. GoPro’s stock price dropped as a result of a loss of confidence by both consumers and investors. What strategies could the company adopt to regain its competitive strength and revive confidence in its brand? What could it do to be more innovative and successful, and in doing so, fend off the low-cost competition?

In November 2017, Coca-Cola India Private Limited (Coca-Cola India) laid out a plan for the next summer—the introduction of a whipped frozen fruit dessert. Minute Maid Perfect Fruit, which Coca-Cola India planned to launch in India's top 10 cities in 2018, was to be an extension of the company’s Minute Maid brand. Coca-Cola India also intended to expand Maaza, its fruit drink brand, with two new variants. These extensions were to be part of the company’s strategy to launch a line of Beverage Plus products. Although globally, the parent company first began testing Perfect Fruit in Australia, the frozen dessert market in India would be the first to witness its full-scale launch. The company planned to launch the products at high foot-traffic retail outlets and popular locations for young people. If Coca-Cola India chose to make a foray into the frozen desserts segment, what strategic capabilities could it leverage? What possible obstacles to success could arise in the new product categories? What branding strategies could the company use to promote its products in this segment? Which market segments should the company target? What were the pros and cons of entering this segment? Most importantly, was it the right time to enter this market segment?

By early 2018, Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon), one of the world’s most valuable companies and the largest online retailer in the world, had grown dramatically since its beginnings in 1994. The company that had started as an online bookseller now sold merchandise and digital content in more than 30 categories, including electronics, clothing, books, furniture, and streaming music and video. It sold its own products and listed products for sale by over two million third-party sellers. It provided on-demand cloud-computing services and offered fulfillment and shipping services to businesses, and it had recently entered grocery retailing through its purchase of Whole Foods Market. With 2017 shipping costs that exceeded $21 billion, the company was working to establish greater control over its supply chain network and capabilities. Amazon was selling a huge variety of products in many formats, and the chief executive officer needed to determine how to structure the company’s supply chain in order to support its strategy and growth objectives. What supply chain capabilities would Amazon need as its business model continued to evolve?

By January 2015, OJSC Transaero Airlines (Transaero) was the largest Russian open joint-stock airline and the second-largest airline carrier in Russia and Eastern Europe combined. Tracing its history back to 1990, Transaero was the safest airline in Russia and was ranked 17th in the world in 2015 in terms of safety. In September 2015, the public learned that Transaero had serious financial troubles, which could lead to bankruptcy for the firm. The news came as a shock because Transaero had demonstrated a stable performance accompanied by sound financial results for many years. The 2015 news revealed that Transaero was unable to service its debt of US$4 billion, including the company’s lease obligations. Was it possible for the safest, second-largest Russian airline company to avoid bankruptcy?

In 2015, Cerana Beverages Pvt. Ltd. launched Bira 91 (Bira), India’s first handcrafted beer. It was introduced to fill a gap in the market between Indian brands and expensive imported beers. The handcrafted beer was priced lower than several premium beers but was more expensive than the market leaders. This allowed Bira to develop price leadership in the premium beer segment. By setting a new price range, Bira executed “high quality, low price” appeal and became capable of influencing customer product evaluations. With its intention to replicate this pricing strategy in its global expansion, now Bira would have to successfully design a proactive strategy to meet the associated challenges.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio) launched JioMoney, a mobile wallet (m-wallet) service, in May 2016. Jio was a new entrant in a market populated by established services. Six months later, when the government of India announced demonetization of two high-value currency notes, India’s cash-driven economy was pushed toward digital payments, providing Jio and its competitors with an opportunity. Jio had advanced technology supporting its service. But to leverage the opportunity and its technology, Jio would have to access the 72.2 per cent of India’s population that lived in rural areas. Many of these people did not have bank accounts, and most of them had no experience with digital transactions. Further, despite the availability of the latest 4G cellular technology—which was necessary for successful digital money transfers—a great number of people in India still used phones that were two generations older and unable to take advantage of the m-wallet industry. How could JioMoney overcome the challenges to take advantage of the opportunities?

TCNS Clothing Company Limited (TCNS), the owner of women’s fusion-wear brands W, Weve, Aurelia, and Wishful, had built up a strong retail brand presence in India since its founding in 2002. By 2017, its product innovation, proactive customer need fulfillment, and extensive retail reach had enabled it to grow into a ₹11.5 billion company. The W brand had been building its online presence, but this was still contributing only single-digit shares to sales. Faced with issues of declining loyalty and increasing expectations of digitally influenced consumers, retailers in India were moving toward omni-channel strategies. In early 2018, this seemed to have become an imperative for W as well. Was it now time for W to pursue an omni-channel retail strategy to offer its customers an unbeatable experience? An infusion of funds from two major investors had given the company significant financial muscle to pursue aggressive marketing. Yet, the challenges of going omni-channel were considerable. How should W proceed?

In June 2016, Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart Private Limited (Flipkart) faced a common issue among online retailers: the firm needed to optimize its product return rates to reduce losses caused by returns. Accordingly, Flipkart changed its return policy, including raising the commission fees charged to sellers by an average of 5 per cent. Many sellers resented the policy change, and more than 1,800 led an online protest against Flipkart, which was unprecedented in India. These sellers made their accounts inactive and removed the product listings for nearly 1 million product units. Seeing an opportunity, Amazon India decreased its commissions on various product categories by 2–7 per cent to lure disgruntled sellers to its platform. While its competitors experienced rapid growth, Flipkart struggled to keep the market share it had acquired so far. The company experienced a massive drop in its valuation during fiscal year 2015–16, and had not registered any profit since its inception in 2007. Flipkart had to reduce its losses resulting from a high number of returns without displeasing both of its key stakeholders—sellers and customers.

In late 2017, the newly appointed chief executive officer of Blue Apron, a pioneer in the subscription-based meal kit delivery service in the United States, faced several operational and revenue growth challenges. Since its inception in 2012, Blue Apron had invested heavily in marketing to acquire new customers, but rapid growth had led to challenges, and efforts to resolve those issues had led to further problems. Blue Apron also faced several operations and human resources challenges that had resulted in late and missed deliveries. Competition was fierce from both other start-ups such as HelloFresh and established retailers such as Amazon Inc. Could the new chief executive officer ensure that Blue Apron became profitable, or was the company destined to exit the market or be acquired by an established retailer?

In May 2017, IKEA India’s chief executive officer (CEO) was facing a dilemma. The company had decided to start its business operations in India by opening an experience centre in Hyderabad in November 2018, followed by furniture retail outlets across India by 2025. Key target segments were young, middle-class price-conscious consumers. IKEA India aimed to sell its products at a low price, aligning with its vision. However, the CEO was challenged with developing a strategy for business growth at a time when major global retailers were going bankrupt. He needed to figure out the appropriate pricing and supply chain strategy for India’s complex and diverse environment, while offering value to consumers.

In 2017, Macy’s Inc. (Macy’s), one of the world’s largest and oldest premier department stores, announced it would close 100 stores and make other significant strategic changes to try to return the brand to its former glory. Macy’s sales had fallen for eight straight quarters, causing investors to fear that the company was continuing to lose market share. The firm had been pursuing an aggressive strategy to optimize all facets of its business, but had its chief executive officer addressed all of the company’s challenges in an optimal way? The department store industry was still experiencing an overall decline, and competition from online companies and off-price retailers was particularly severe. Could Macy’s overcome these obstacles, refocus its strategy, and turn itself around?

In January 2017, Groupe PSA (PSA), the France-based automobile manufacturer known for its brands Peugeot, Citroën, and DS Automobiles, announced its partnership with the Indian conglomerate CK Birla Group, which would enable the company to re-enter India after having left in 2012. PSA had entered India twice before, through a joint venture with Premier Automobile Limited in 1994 and again in 2011, but both times had been unsuccessful due to production losses, labour unrest, and pressures related to the financial crisis in Europe. The Indian automobile industry was one of the largest in the world. It contributed 7.1 per cent of India's gross domestic product in 2017 and was expected to contribute 12 per cent by 2026. All major automobile manufacturers had set up base in India, and to be truly global, PSA also needed a presence in India. In its previous attempts, PSA had suffered and failed to build its brand. The re-entry decision therefore raised many questions: Was a joint venture the right entry method, or would an Indian subsidiary have been better? Which segments should PSA target? What should it do with the Ambassador brand it had acquired from CK Birla Group in 2017?

In June 2018, Toys "R" Us, Inc. officially closed its doors in the United States and left the US retail landscape, marking the demise of the former "category killer." Although Toys "R" Us (Canada) Ltd. had survived eight months of bankruptcy protection, it found itself fighting two concurrent battles: clarifying the confusion regarding its lack of inclusion in the closure of the 735 US locations, and addressing the desperate need to rebrand in a changing retail landscape that continually placed more value on digital operations and sleek, experiential store designs. How should Toys "R" Us (Canada) Ltd. position itself to address the growing online threat and prevent itself from following in the footsteps of its American counterpart?

In March 2013, SIC Insurance Company Limited (SIC), a Ghanaian insurance company, appointed its first female chief executive officer, Doris Awo Nkani. Under her tenure, SIC issued a credit guarantee bond to ITAL Construct International in favour of Ivory Finance for a six-month period. However, ITAL Construct International defaulted on the loan, and Ivory Finance called on SIC to redeem its credit guarantee bond. Due to the failure of SIC and ITAL Construct International to honour their obligations, Ivory Finance proceeded to court in November 2013. Over a year later, in November 2014, the parties agreed on an amount to be paid to Ivory Finance through a consent judgment. This event culminated in the board considering in February 2015 whether to retain or fire its chief executive officer. How had this situation occurred? Should the board of directors have taken action earlier? How could the company ensure that a similar situation would not recur in the future?

Paytm Payments Bank Limited (Paytm) was the leading firm in the digital wallet (also known as the “mobile wallet” or “e-wallet”) industry in India; yet, the company had reported a loss of more than INR15,485 million for fiscal year 2016. Paytm’s resources were stretched further when, on May 23, 2017, it started its long-awaited payments bank operation. There were also doubts about the viability and sustainability of the online payments industry in general as a result of; India’s demonetization exercise in 2016; the introduction of the uniform Goods and Services Tax in 2017; and a general slowdown in the economy’s growth rate. In the highly competitive and crowded banking sector, how could Paytm survive, grow, and achieve continued success in this complex business landscape?

In 2015, nine black Americans were killed in a racially motivated shooting spree. The incident fuelled ongoing racial tensions in the United States and launched a conflict over the presence of Confederate memorials in public spaces. When the push to remove Confederate memorials began, the task for Mitch Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans, was to deal with the city's notable Confederate monuments and the conflict they engendered in a city divided along racial lines demographically, economically, and historically. On May 19, 2017, Landrieu addressed the public. Students have the opportunity to evaluate the speech, consider why Landrieu chose this occasion to address the public, and determine what the speech reveals about his leadership character.

In September 2016, Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. entered the Canadian retail industry by opening its first Canadian Uniqlo store in Toronto. The retail industry in Canada had notably rejected foreign brands such as Target and Aéropostale, while other Canadian retailers, such as Reitmans Ltd. and Le Château were struggling to keep up with the competitive landscape. Uniqlo, a Japanese fashion retailer, had struggled in the U.S. market due to a lack of brand awareness and an aggressive expansion strategy. Hoping to become a dominant fashion brand in Canada, Uniqlo conducted extensive research prior to entering the Canadian market. How could Uniqlo increase its brand awareness and thrive in the Canadian fashion market?

AWARD-WINNING CASE - Women in Business Category, 2019 European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition. In August 2017, a memo written by an engineer at Google LLC (Google) was leaked to the public, revealing fractured communication and leadership at Google. Labelled an “anti-diversity manifesto” by its detractors, the memo set off a public controversy over the causes of gender disparities in tech and the limits of free speech within organizations. With ideological divisions across the company, open disdain expressed between colleagues, and the credibility of leaders at a low, the new vice-president of diversity needed to establish trust and candour among the employees and move the company forward.

In March 2018, a report on workplace harassment issues was brought to the chief executive officer of Nike, Inc. (Nike), Mark Parker. The report was a result of a covert survey conducted by the female employees at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, after the company’s human resources (HR) department failed to respond to the women's repeated complaints. Soon, several senior executives left Nike. Although Parker took several steps to strengthen HR, some employees wondered whether the women’s complaints had been handled appropriately. Nevertheless, according to experts, the behaviour the women described did not amount to harassment in legal terms. Was Parker’s response to the survey a matter of reputation management or of genuine ethical concern? Why did the HR department not respond to the female employees’ complaints earlier? If a case of harassment in legal terms could not be made against the executives, should they have been let go? If senior executives like Edwards committed or condoned harassment, should Parker allow those executives to receive severance packages?