Nov, 2023

CXsphere, a startup in the permission-based ecommerce ecosystem space, had gained initial success with the launch of its first Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven customer engagement product. It had several clients and was generating recurring revenues. AI driven data analytics was a new industry and CXsphere had a unique business model: It leveraged AI on the…

  Nov, 2023

The case describes the hospitality brand Azulik which offers a unique luxury experience based on a set of contemporary values that resonate with the most demanding international consumers: connecting to art, nature and local communities. In the process of building the resort, a series of brands were created to fill the various needs of the…

The case describes how the English Tea Shop Organic (ETS) brand has created a sustainable ecosystem ensuring the growth of supplier livelihood and the company’s competitiveness in the branded tea space. In 2021, they embarked on their second ten-year plan, which included their transformation into a sustainable, employee-owned business that promoted its brand as purpose…

  Oct, 2022

Janani – an affiliate of the U.S.-based NGO, DKT International – offered reproductive health products and services to mostly low-income consumers from its base in Patna, Bihar. It had grown tremendously in the recent past, expanding its coverage from 8 to 25 states — almost the whole of India. Donor funding had been critical to…

  Jan, 2022

SK-II, a leading luxury beauty brand in Japan, was experiencing a decline. Its customers were aggressively courted by rivals, and changes in society made it difficult for the brand to stay compelling to its customers. SK-II must formulate a new strategy to fundamentally transform itself, bolster relevance and transcend the competition. The case describes the…

The case describes the story of Sri Lanka based Dilmah Ceylon Tea, a company founded in 1988 by  Merrill J. Fernando. The company had pioneered the concept of ‘single-origin tea’ to its latest innovative Elixir range. The premium positioned tea was ‘picked, perfected and packed’ at origin with a brand based on three pillars: taste,…

  Mar, 2021

After breaking into the smartphone market in China and becoming a leading brand, Xiaomi saw its sales stagnate and then decline. The market disruption strategy that empowered Xiaomi’s rise was losing momentum. Competitors aggressively countered its every move, targeting its core consumer segment. Xiaomi urgently needed a new strategy to reignite growth and develop a…

AAK, a Swedish company providing vegetable oils and fats for various industries for more than 140 years, has been a dominant player processing shea since the 1950s. In 2009 in Burkina Faso, AAK started a project to work directly with West African women with small farm holdings, to improve their productivity as well as pay…

After examining numerous bottles of imported perfume, executives at Titan Company Limited (a Tata Group company) were challenged to devise a strategy to develop a perfume brand that could break into India’s fragrance market. A top Indian firm with leading premium wristwatch and jewellery brands (Xylys and Raga watches and Tanishq jewelry), Titan had no…

  Jun, 2018

Inspired by CK Prahalad’s book on the “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid,” Novartis was exploring the possibility of building a sustainable business at the BOP in India. The goal was to create a business that would improve access to healthcare for the poor while being financially profitable, unlike Novartis’s traditional philanthropic and…

  Feb, 2018

Mrida (Sanskrit for soil), a recently founded social business venture, had launched the Earthspired brand a year ago to sell products made from high-value plants and herbs, which it sourced sustainably from small and marginal farmers in India, to  urban middle class consumers.  This was a key initiative for Mrida, and the founders had big…

  Aug, 2017

The debate of whether to be global or local has been an important strategic issue for the past several decades.  The case describes Johnnie Walker’s efforts to move from a multi-local product focused brand to a global master brand.  It makes the  point that global branding is a strategic business decision. It requires an understanding…

  May, 2016

This award winning case illustrates the key issues and challenges in creating and sustaining a successful brand in emerging markets. Peter England, India’s largest apparel brand by sales volume, was struggling to formulate a strategy to sustain the brand’s market dominance. Indian consumer tastes were changing rapidly, making it difficult for any brand to stay…

  Jun, 2015

  Aarong, the retail arm of BRAC, a non-profit development organization based in Bangladesh, was created in 1978 to provide employment, income generation and social development opportunities for underprivileged women through the revival and promotion of Bangladeshi handicrafts. Profits from Aarong were used to extend such opportunities to more low-income producers and to cross-subsidize BRAC…

  Apr, 2015

BASIX, headquartered in Hyderabad, was the brand name of a group of entities with 6,000 outlets offering financial and livelihood promotion services throughout rural India. Despite its impressive progress in poverty alleviation, raising funds to continue such work was increasingly challenging, as BASIX found when it sought to raise Rs 2.5 billion in capital from…

  Mar, 2015

As India’s most iconic garments and home furnishings company, Fabindia had come a long way from its humble beginnings as an export shop in 1960, selling handloom fabrics to overseas customers. In 1976, Fabindia started domestic operations in India, and in the next 38 years it had become synonymous with quality handmade products procured from…

  Nov, 2014

There was a large segment of low-income population comprising about 1.2 billion people, with incomes between US$2-5 a day with no bank accounts, no access to modern financial services, no phones, dependent on informal or subsistence livelihoods and lacked access to amenities and basic healthcare. Addressing these unmet needs could create significant market opportunities for…

  Aug, 2014

Ararat, the largest brand of brandy in Russia, with an enviable 32% market share and a long history, was one of the jewels in Pernod Ricard Russia’s alcoholic beverage portfolio. After a recent product update, five key questions needed to be answered: 1. Which consumer segment(s) should ArArAt be targeted at? 2. What should be…

  Jul, 2014

Healthy Oils, the Indian subsidiary of a global multi-business giant owns a portfolio of four edible oil brands.  While the four  brands were recognized by consumers looking for cooking oil, they were not amongst the top five in terms of brand awareness, nor were they the top choice in the ‘most often used’ category, except…

  Mar, 2014

Mindray Medical International Limited was the second largest medical device manufacturer in China with global sales of 2.23 billion RMB in 2007. Since 2002, Mindray had launched between seven and nine new products every year across four product lines: Patient Monitoring & Life Support products, the In-Vitro Diagnostic Products, Medical Imaging Systems and Veterinary. In…

  Nov, 2013

The case describes the history of BYD and its entry in to batteries and then automotives, and the innovations that drove the competitive advantage of the business. BYD entered the automotive industry hoping to leverage its capabilities in batteries. However, it is struggling and in a downward spiral. What should it do?

  Dec, 2011

The case is about the Britt Group of Costa Rica, which markets coffee, chocolates, cookies, etc. in its home market, as well as in several Latin American markets, the United States, and more recently outside of the Americas as well. In the course of its development, the company has developed the Britt Shop concept as…

  Sep, 2011

WIPRO is India’s third largest IT service provider. It has grown dramatically in the last decade and in 2006 is a company that operated in 29 countries, employing 75,000 people, with revenues of US$3.5 billion. It had aspirations to continue its growth trajectory that had seen its IT business grow from a mere US$75 million…

  Nov, 2008

As LG Electronics India Limited’s (LGEIL) tenth birthday approached, the Indian subsidiary of Korean-based LG Electronics was taking stock of its achievements and the challenges that lay ahead. At its inception, LGEIL had been driven by two desires: to build a premium brand and to rank number one in market share in each and every…

  May, 2008

As a contract manufacturer of intimate apparel, sportswear and casual wear for brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Nike and Marks & Spencer, MAS Holdings of Sri Lanka had made a concerted investment in being a socially responsible company. However, other garment suppliers in direct competition did not necessarily adhere to the same standards. Thus, MAS…

  Nov, 2007

The case describes the LG Electronics’ efforts to establish itself in the US market for white goods. It focuses on the refrigerator business, and details LG’s efforts to establish itself from 2002, when the LG brand is launched to 2006. The case focuses on the question of what should LG’s refrigerator line up in North…

  Nov, 2004

The case describes the challenges facing Rasurel, the swimwear brand of Lejaby, a French lingerie company, which has set itself the ambition of revitalizing the image of Rasurel in the minds of consumers. Bruno de Lalande, the newly appointed Marketing & Sales Director, has invested heavily in market research in order to better understand the…

  Nov, 2004

Tata Tea (now Tata Global Beverages) has a strong presence in India, its home market, based on a value proposition of guaranteed freshness and quality stemming from its control of the supply chain from “tea bush to teacup.” Tata Tea has expertise in plantation management and tea cultivation. It sells mainly to the mass market…

  Nov, 2003

The case describes the challenges facing Ranbaxy, the third largest pharmaceutical company in India, which has set itself the goal of moving from the branded generic space to the greater value added branded pharmaceutical space. It has developed a one-a-day delivery system for ciprofloxacin a widely used antibiotic that is about to go off patent….

  Nov, 2002

The case describes the LG Electronics’ efforts to establish itself in the US market for white goods. It focuses on the washing machine business, and details LG’s efforts to establish itself from 2002, when the LG brand is launched to 2006. The case focuses on the launch of the new washing machine platform in 2006,…

  Oct, 2002

The case describes the meteoric rise of Brita in the US market, following the acquisition of local rights by The Clorox Company in 1988, until a sudden decline in 1999. The case details the various failed strategies attempted by the brand between 1999 and 2006 and poses the question as to what should Brita do…

  Aug, 2002

The case describes the history of the joint venture between Hyundai Card and Capital and GE Money which was kicked off by an initial JV between Hyundai Capital and GE Money in October 2004, shortly followed by a JV between GE Money and Hyundai Card in October 2005. The total initial investment (equity injection and…

  Jun, 2002

The case focuses on the internationalization of Natura, a Brazilian cosmetics company. It describes the firm’s history and its steps in internationalization across Latin America. It focuses on the question of where next, as the firm’s horizons stretch beyond Latin America, following its IPO.

  Apr, 2002

At the time of writing this case, BBVA was a bank with 35 million customers and operations in 37 countries. The bank was created in 1999, through the merger between BBV and Argentaria, two large Spanish banks. The case is set in 2002, when the bank had experienced two year-on-year drops in customer satisfaction, a…