In March 2022, the head of HR at P.N. Gadgil Jewellers Ltd., based in Sangli, India, was facing a dilemma. She was deliberating about the future of the company’s six-month performance improvement plan (PIP) initiative, which was created to support underperforming sales executives. The PIP label triggered anxiety among employees who saw it as a prelude to being dismissed them from the organization. The company’s goal was to positively rebrand the plan .....more

Teaching note for product W45965.

In January 2025, Kabeer Biswas—the founder of Dunzo, India’s first hyperlocal delivery platform and an early mover in the quick-commerce segment—joined the new quick-commerce vertical of Flipkart Pvt. Ltd. (Flipkart), Flipkart Minutes, which was backed by Walmart Inc. (Walmart). Dunzo’s business had just unravelled under financial strain and operational missteps, despite early traction and marquee investors such as Reliance Retail Ltd. (Reliance) .....more

Teaching note for product W46129.

Jesse Singleton, founder and owner of Kingdom Coffee, reflected on the struggles of his father, Jim Singleton, with homelessness and addiction. Inspired by his father’s journey to recovery, Jesse opened Kingdom Coffee as a mission-driven coffee roasting and retail company, using the proceeds to help those struggling with homelessness and addiction. Proud of the business’s growth, Jesse considered a new opportunity: a partnership with a local brewery .....more

Amazon Inc. (Amazon) launched Amazon Haul in November 2024 to respond to the intensifying competition from cross-border platforms such as Temu and Shein. Adopting a similar business model to its Chinese competitors, Amazon Haul offered a large selection of low-cost products and shipped goods directly from overseas factories to U.S. consumers. This direct-shipping approach relied heavily on the de minimis exemption, which permitted goods valued under .....more

Al Rifai Nuts (Rifai) was a firm headquartered in Lebanon and engaged in the production and retailing of mixed nuts. It had sustained its market presence since 1948 and achieved recognition as a brand with considerable equity deeply rooted in local cultural traditions. In response to the economic challenges and instabilities that characterized Lebanon from 2017 to 2020, Rifai was acquired in 2021 by MERIT Invest. After the acquisition, the new management .....more

Whether to adapt its business model to fit the local market or to educate the local market to embrace its existing business model—this was the question confronting Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) in China in May 2024. The world-leading warehouse wholesaler had entered China through an online store in 2014 and then branched offline in 2019. By May 2024, it had built seven locations across major cities. However, Costco’s unique business model .....more

In April 2023, the owner of a small women-focused baseball cap company, Ponyback Inc. (Ponyback), wanted to review the venture’s financial performance to date. The company sold ponytail-friendly baseball caps that had a magnetic strip at the back to provide flexibility for different hair thicknesses and styles. Although Ponyback had seen tremendous growth since inception, the owner worried that this growth may be slowing down soon and worried about .....more

This case explores the strategic crossroads faced by PriyoShop, a fast-growing B2B commerce platform in Bangladesh serving over 106,000 micro-retailers. Having established itself as a trusted digital enabler for retailers through transparent pricing, embedded financial services, and efficient logistics, PriyoShop is now considering launching its own private-label fast-moving consumer goods product line. While this move promises margin expansion and .....more