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The case deals with the application of marketing research for launching a new product in the market place. The company was planning to enter the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market in India with its new product Cerenity. Cerenity was a toilet seat sanitizer for women who frequently use public restrooms. The case describes the exploratory study conducted by the research team. The team used different qualitative marketing research tools such as focus groups, in-depth Interviews and participant observations.

Tom Feldman took a buyout from a large technology company and used part of the money to enroll in the MBA program of a reputed university in the metropolitan Houston, Texas area. While in the MBA program, Tom began evaluating potential businesses with the objective of identifying one that would suit his needs. As part of an MBA course in marketing, Tom put together a student team to conduct marketing research on an opportunity to open a party center in Houston. After his team completed the study, Tom had both financial and marketing data to make a decision about the launch.

Teaching case based on the primary research.

This case is suited for a marketing course at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Fruitzone India Limited was the Indian subsidiary of the multinational company Gypsy Inc., the global leader in the beverages industry. The company was contemplating the launch of a new flavour of fruit juice and decided to conduct a feasibility study. It hired an external market research agency, India Monitor International (IMI) to conduct the market research. This case discusses the exploratory phase of the research conducted by IMI. This case is useful for participants in the Business Research Methods, Market Research and Qualitative Research courses.

Corporate social responsibility, sustainability and business ethics.

This case has been designed for undergraduate students, with two target audiences. The first is business and management students following modules in corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability and business ethics. Here the accent is on allowing the students to explore and debate how CSR agendas are emerging within a specific sector of the retail economy. The second is students pursuing fashion, clothing, textile, retailing and consumer studies degrees and here the focus is on how some of the leading fashion goods retailers are addressing CSR. More generally the case can also be used on “Contemporary Issues” modules within general business and management programmes.

This small case offers an exploratory review of the emerging CSR issues currently being publicly addressed by the world's leading fashion goods retailers. It includes a brief introduction to CSR; a brief thumbnail sketch of the fashion goods industry; details of the method of enquiry; a description of the CSR issues currently being publicly addressed by the top ten fashion good retailers on their corporate web sites; and some critical reflections on the CSR agendas being pursued by these retailers. The case study is novel in two ways. First, it focuses upon what is an emerging market issue rather than on emerging markets per se though a number of the issues raised in the case have major implications for emerging economies. Second, it addresses the CSR issues being addressed by a number of the leading fashion goods retailers and as such it a not a case which relates to individual decision making. While the case is principally focussed upon the retail sector it ranges across the whole of the supply chain.

The paper provides an accessible review of the CSR issues and agendas currently being pursued by the leading fashion goods retailers and as such it will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners who are interested in both the fashion industry and corporate sustainability.

Teaching notes are available, please consult your librarian for access.

The case is meant to be used in an introductory course on Data Visualization or Analytics in either a business school or any other context where students have had some exposure to management topics. This case primarily focuses on introducing students to the basic philosophy and techniques of exploratory data analysis (EDA). The Steaming Mug, a US based hot beverage chain is provided as a context for engaging in a hands-on exploratory data analysis exercise to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the company's operations and performance. The learning from exploring this case will help students understand that many different insights can be drawn from the given data. The students will understand that there is no “one correct path” for this analysis. The values of getting multiple groups to present their findings is that students realise that there are many other angles that could have been explored, than the path they had gone down.

The learning outcomes are as follows: factors to be considered in devising the best post-acquisition brand identity and outline market research techniques, which can be used to identify the best-suited post-acquisition brand identity strategy.

The case study discusses the brand strategy, which Walmart Inc needs to adopt post its acquisition of Flipkart Pvt. Ltd (Flipkart) Group in India. Flipkart had acquired Myntra Designs Pvt. Ltd (Myntra) and Novarris Fashion Trading Private Limited (Jabong), but had kept their brand identity intact; Walmart Inc was faced with the decision on moving ahead with the brand strategy of keeping individual brand identities or merging all of these into a single brand identity. The study aims to provide valuable insights into the decision-making process adopted by Walmart Inc. It includes also the role of cause-related marketing in the positioning of Myntra as a socially responsible brand. The case study opted for an exploratory research design study using the qualitative research method of in-depth interviews. In total, 10 experts in the area of marketing, market research and marketing communication were interviewed. The qualitative data were analyzed using a template approach, which analyzes the text using a codebook or an analysis guide. The analysis guide already has clearly defined themes or categories. As the qualitative interviews progress, these themes get revised. These themes are analyzed qualitatively rather than statistically. The case study suggests to the management of Walmart Inc that they need to merge Myntra and Jabong based on the degree of similarity of consumer demographics, income/social class of buyers, brand identity and buying behavior. Myntra needs to retain as opposed to Jabong, as Myntra is perceived to be a socially responsible brand that creates a purchase disposition in the minds of the consumers. A more extensive quantitative study would offer better generalizability. It was not feasible to conduct a quantitative study due to time constraints. This research would have used advanced brand imagery assessment techniques such as multi-dimensional scaling to suggest if an overlap exists between consumer segments of Myntra and Jabong. The case study provides a decision-making framework to firms and individuals who are part of organizational teams to create a post-acquisition brand strategy in the e-commerce market. The case study fulfills a need for many academicians and practitioners to understand the decision-making process followed in devising a post-acquisition brand strategy in India.

Senior undergraduates; Master of Business Administration; Executive Master of Business Administration.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

Since the concept of rental clothing business was new for Indian market and very few players were dealing in it, ‘Wright & Company’ consulting did an exploratory research to understand the model. Through two expert interviews and extensive survey of the business model of existing players across countries, they developed better understanding of kinds of business models, range of products offered, customer expectations and concerns regarding such service and business challenges. The research showed the purchase intention but further detailed primary research was required to validate the findings. To conduct the quantitative survey they designed a questionnaire but was not sure of the appropriateness of the questionnaire and thus wanted to pre-test it and construct a final detailed questionnaire. Vishal also wondered if he needed to do more extensive in-depth qualitative research.

The case deals with marketing research study undertaken to introduce a new product in the market. The company was planning to introduce Cerenity, a toilet seat sanitizer for women who frequently use shared restrooms. The case discusses the conclusive study undertaken involving quantitative marketing research. The research team carried out quantitative survey and collected the data. It applied various quantitative research methods such as factor analysis, multiple regression, cluster analysis and conjoint analysis for analysis the collected and drawing managerial inferences.

‘Fashion Destination’ was a prominent one-stop shop of clothing retail in Ahmedabad which has faced business slowdown in the last 5 years. Vishal, who had recently taken over the management wondered, would renting of premium clothing be a good business model to get back to the business. While pondering over the issue Vishal did some secondary research had found that the Indian retail industry is growing at a fast rate and that the online rental service is an upcoming trend in Indian market. Vishal hired an external market research agency ‘Wright & Company’, before changing the business model, to clarify certain doubts regarding renting clothes as a social stigma, willingness of people to rent clothes, requirement of physical store, about target consumers and product assortment.

Fruitzone India Limited was the Indian subsidiary of the multinational company Gypsy Inc., the global leader in the beverages industry. The company was conducting market research to identify a new flavour of fruit juice that it could launch. The case discusses how Fruitzone India Limited conducted the exploratory research and then prepared to conduct a confirmatory research. The case can be used to discuss different exploratory research techniques, how to interpret the findings of exploratory research and questionnaire construction. This case is useful for participants in the Business Research Methods, Market Research and Qualitative Research courses.