Case Studies Archives

The Hershey Company: Aligning Inside to Win on the Outside

Changes in the marketplace, if not monitored, can cause serious losses in profit, market share, and in stakeholders’ confidence. Such was the case with one of the most celebrated American companies, Hershey’s. When the company failed to keep its ear to the ground and eye on the ball it lost touch with consumers and retailers. A shift in the company’s focus and a re-alignment of … [ Read more ]

Watch Out, Coke and Pepsi – Here Comes Wahaha

Wahaha, whose main products are milk drinks, bottled water and mixed congee, is the number one beverage company in China, with revenues of 11.4 billion yuan ($1.37 billion) and profits of 1.35 billion yuan ($162.7 million) in 2004. The company was started in 1987 by Zong Qinghou, its 60-year-old chairman and CEO. In an interview with Wharton marketing professor John Zhang, Zong talks about his … [ Read more ]

Inside Kraft’s leadership corridor

The true test of any company’s leadership development is the caliber and depth of its senior management ranks.Yet so often we hear CEOs complain that they just don’t have enough talent on the bench. The problem is that traditional management development remains too far removed from the day-to-day realities of business. A few companies have pioneered effective approaches. Consider the tack taken by Kraft Foods. … [ Read more ]

How Coca-Cola Became ‘The Real Thing’ in India

Emerging markets are enticing to companies because of the growth potential they present. But when cultural, economic, and logistical issues arise, survival in these markets is often a challenge. Recently, Stan Sthanunathan, vice president of Knowledge & Insights with The Coca-Cola Company, spoke to MBA students in a global business environments course at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School about the intricacies of doing business in … [ Read more ]

Content: Case Study | Source: Knowledge@Emory | Subjects: International, Marketing / Sales | Industry: Food Products/Service | Company: The Coca-Cola Company

A wholesale shift in European groceries

European grocers could satisfy their appetite for growth-if they knew where to look.

Content: Case Study | Authors: Dieter Messner, Javier Castrillo, Jose Manuel Martinez | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Industry Specific, International – Europe | Industry: Food Products/Service

Cadbury Schweppes (A): The Strategic Dilemma of Trebor Bassett; Cadbury Schweppes (B): Managing for Value; Cadbury Schweppes

Value Based Management is often thought of from strictly a financial perspective. In this Case Study series about a VBM initiative at Cadbury Schweppes, the authors show that managing for value is 80% about people and only 20% about numbers.

The series traces the origins of the initiative starting in 1996 and follows its progression through to 2002, showing the benefits, limitations, time frames, and … [ Read more ]

Content: Case Study | Authors: Fares Boulos, Marjolein Bloemhof, Philippe Haspeslagh, Regine Slagmulder, Tomo Nodo | Source: INSEAD | Subjects: Finance, Organizational Behavior | Industry: Food Products/Service | Company: Cadbury Schweppes

Interbrew’s IPO

In January 2001 the CEO of Interbrew received what was likely the worst news of his career. With the ink on the company’s Initial Public Offering still wet, the British Government announced it was rescinding Interbrew’s €3.68 billion takeover of Bass Brewers, a deal it had affected just four months prior and which served as a selling point in its recent IPO. FranÃ§ois de Breteuil … [ Read more ]

ChateauOnline

This Case Study examines how ChateauOnline took its wine e-tailing model from promising and well-publicized beginnings in cyberspace and then met the challenge of negotiating the complexities of a less propitious climate in a highly fragmented market. It explains how this young company developed a viable, sustainable and profitable business at a time when other start up competitors were collapsing as a result of financing … [ Read more ]

What FreshDirect Learned from Dell

And what other e-tailers might learn from make-to-order pioneers.

Content: Case Study | Authors: Barrie Berg, Martha Turner, Tim Laseter | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Industry Specific, Operations | Industry: Food Products/Service

Tata Tea Limited (A, B, & C)

Tata Tea is one of the largest tea companies in the world. Sheltered from competition by a protectionist Indian government for most of its history, the company in 1999 faced several new challenges: upcoming deregulation and changing consumer tastes. How should the company react? Research Associate Ulrike Wiehr and Professor Amitava Chattopadhyay review potential strategies.

AmBev, The Dream Project (A & B) – A Brazilian-Based Multinational Beverage Company with Global Scale

It took just one merger, and literally overnight, a new multinational shuffled the ranks of the drinks industry. Two large beverage companies, Brahma and Antarctica, formed AmBev, instantly claiming the number three spot on the list of the largest beer companies in the world. Professor Lourdes Casanova explains in this case study what’s even more surprising to the drinks industry – this new multinational was … [ Read more ]

The Tesco.com Experience: Is Success at Hand?

Tesco currently lays claim to about one-fifth of the UK grocery market, and to take full advantage of the Internet as a sales channel, the retailing chain launched Tesco.com in the mid-1990s. What challenges did the “old economy” firm face as it added this “new economy” expansion? Albrecht Enders, Professor Tawfik Jelassi and Professor Charles Waldman illustrate its path, including the heated debate on implementation … [ Read more ]

Content: Case Study | Authors: Albrecht Enders, Charles Waldman, Tawfik Jelassi | Source: INSEAD | Subjects: Industry Specific, IT / Technology / E-Business | Industry: Food Products/Service