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• The students will be able to compare various perspectives and concepts of strategic alliance as a tool of corporate expansion.

• The students will be able to identify the trade-offs between financial and non-financial gains and losses for corporate expansion.

• The students will be able to identify strategic partnership as a better alternative in comparison to acquisition and vice versa according to the different situations being faced by the companies.

• The students will be able to identify different approaches for brand building.

Shah and Valani, owners of Zed Lifestyle Pvt Ltd which owned Beardo, had to decide whether they should accept the offer of a strategic partnership with Marico Industries, a fast-moving consumer goods company (FMCG) in the global beauty and wellness space. Marico nurtured leading brands across categories of hair care, skin care, edible oils, healthy foods, hygiene, male grooming and fabric care. The decision was not easy as Marico was a leader in the FMCG segment in India and had a strong brand presence in both online and offline distribution channels. Beardo, on the other hand, had its presence marked mostly on the online channel with a hundred offline salon outlets. Partnering with Marico would ensure access to the massive distribution channel owned by Marico but, on the other hand, would lead to possible loss of independence and an early exit from their business. They were not prepared to let go of their ownership as there was no clarity on what would happen if the projected growth figures were not met. There were many other questions too that crossed their minds which had to be answered before they decided on a yes or a no.

The case highlighted the decision dilemma faced by the brand owners, the market scenario, competitive landscape and the situational facts so as to help the students critically analyse the decision situation and develop decision-making competencies by evaluating the possible course of actions and their possible outcomes.

Corporate-level strategies.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

This case is about Kija Kim, a Korean born founder and CEO of Harvard Design and Mapping Inc. (HDM). Founded in 1988, HDM is a cutting-edge GIS firm with $5 million in revenue and 35 employees in their Cambridge, MA and Washington D.C. offices. Through Kija Kim's leadership, HDM has become a significant niche player in homeland security and disaster relief. The case ends in fall 2005 just after HDM provided Hurricane Katrina mapping support, and Kija is nominated for the SBA Small Business Person of the Year. This case explores the intersection between cultural heritage, leadership effectiveness and organizational behavior. It particularly notes Kija's ability to turn her immigrant female minority status into a business advantage. This strength coupled with her ethos of care and ability to network in all walks of her life contributes to her distinctive and integrated leadership style. Definitions of leadership success and implications for decision making are also highlighted.

Learning objectives of this case is to understand the hairdressing industry and develop the sub-branding strategy. After reading this case and practicing in class, students should be able to understand this business and marketing terminology and apply them in the real world. Students will learn the branding strategies: brand extension, brand architecture and brand portfolio. Students will design (DS) the brand name for the new store.

Case synopsis Mr. Tai-Hua Teng (aka TR) was a hair artist and opened his first hair salon, vis-à-vis (VS), in 1989 using a high-end positioning strategy. VS focused on offering superb and diverse services to keep ahead of the competition rather than trying to undercut prices. VS hair salon had a solid foundation based mainly on the elite, celebrities and high-salary customers. In 2017, TR owned 16 stores (including one in Canada and two intern salons), 1 academy, 265 employees and 3 brand names. The three brand names were VS, DS and concept (CC). DS and CC were less known to the public, so now these two brands had been carried the parent name and were known as VS DS and VS CC. Quick cut hairdressing businesses were thriving because customers needed quick and cheap hairdressing services. Acknowledging the benefits of entering the highly competitive quick haircut market, TR began to contemplate the new brand name and services to offer. VS had adopted the brand house strategy but TR wondered if it was better to have an individual brand name when entering the quick haircut market. The sub-branding strategy carried the established quality assurance of VS but there was possible brand overlap. An individual new brand name might lack the well-established values from VS but it also showed the potential to reach different segments of customers. TR’s decision to make: a branded house or hybrid? This case showed a high-end hair salon facing the need for simplicity in the market and considered how to expand its business to the lower-end market. Keywords: hairdressing, brand extension and sub-branding strategy.

Level of difficulty: easy/middle level to undergraduate courses specific prerequisites: it is not necessary for students to prepare or read any marketing theory or chapters of the textbook. However, it would help a more in-depth discussion if students know the CCs of brand architecture, brand portfolio, brand extension and line extension.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

Competitive strategy.

Post-Graduate (MBA/Doctoral) level courses.

This paper aims to examine the evolution of Himalaya Drug Company (hereinafter referred to as Himalaya), an Ayurveda-based pharmaceutical-wellness company. Over the eight decades of its history, Himalaya has built a reputation for Ayurveda-based formulations that conform to allopathic standards and are accepted globally. In the recent years, Himalaya dramatically strengthened its competitive position of “scientific Ayurvedic products” through its entry into fast-moving consumer goods (or consumer-packaged goods), categories of wellness products as well as over-the-counter (non-prescription) drugs. This case describes the focused differentiation strategy of Himalaya and sets out the challenges it faced/would face in sustaining its focused differentiation strategy, as it enters into highly penetrated categories such as toothpastes and soaps (that were traditionally dominated by broad differentiators and broad cost leaders).

The outcomes are as follows: to exemplify the logic of focused differentiation, where a competitor commands a higher willingness to pay than its average competitors, by narrowing its target segments; to illustrate how the firm’s entire set of activities are tailored to meet the specific needs of a set of carefully chosen products, narrow customer segments, of defined geographic markets; to highlight how a combination of tradeoffs and fit helps protect the firm’s competitive position from its potential imitators; and to demonstrate the limits of a focused strategy, specifically relating to growth, and how a company such as Himalaya can overcome such limits.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Harley-Davidson's first-ever chief marketing officer has his work cut out for him as the classic American motorcycle manufacturer seeks to curb slowing sales from aging customers. The dilemma: what to do with its less known and unprofitable Buell brand, which has a younger customer base? Which of five options continue its dual-brand strategy, double down on Buell, operate Buell as an endorsement brand, sell it, or discontinue the brand entirely will best attract younger buyers without alienating current diehard customers?

This case involves the issues within an organization of growth, expansion, change, and a possible shift of focus from hobby to profit. The case also deals with important factors, which could potentially impact any company's operation. The owners are seeking to address two key issues. The first is a valuation issue prompted by one of the shareholders wishing to sell her interest in the railcar LLC. The second issue is one of expansion. A potential investment ($60,000-$135,000) would permit the company to lease the railcar to other operators who could run the railcar on Amtrak certified tracks nationwide but would remove the shareholders from the day to day operations of the train. The critical decision is whether the owners should invest more money in the business or maintain their current business model and operational structure.

This case presents the challenges facing a new pastor at Whitney Avenue Congregational church. For many years the church has seen declining membership. Karl, the new pastor, is expected to help foster growth, but as he has learned, some organization members fear that he may want to change more than they would like to see changed. Karl must decide how to conduct himself at the next church council meeting. He also must decide on an approach to effect positive change in the organization.

In July 2007, Mark-Hans Richer became Harley-Davidson's first chief marketing officer. Its riders were aging, which the company saw as an existential threat. Although Harley-Davidson had a record sales year in 2006 and had maintained a commanding share of the heavyweight motorcycle market for the previous decade, it needed to take new action to sustain its growth.

Richer needed to deliver a new generation of riders and a more diverse customer base, all without losing current Harley-Davidson customers. He also knew that he could not relax: the average tenure of a CMO in 2007 was only 27 months and a complete new product development cycle would take a minimum of four years.

After analyzing the case, students should be able to:

• Recommend marketing decisions for a brand with extremely high loyalty in light of various consumer behavior indicators gleaned from market research

• Understand the power of leveraging existing assets as opposed to innovating new products

• Understand the psychological basis of customer loyalty, including drivers and metrics of loyalty

Recommend marketing decisions for a brand with extremely high loyalty in light of various consumer behavior indicators gleaned from market research

Understand the power of leveraging existing assets as opposed to innovating new products

Understand the psychological basis of customer loyalty, including drivers and metrics of loyalty

Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management.

This case is intended for teaching entrepreneurship and strategic management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

This is a field-researched real case about a growing food business started by local entrepreneurs in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Slices, a UAE-based organic food pioneer company is becoming popular in the UAE nowadays. The company was poised for growth as demand was exceeding all expectations. There were many challenges Slices had to face: increasing demand and brand awareness of Western Fast Food Giants; and what future skills Slices needed to develop to meet the regional and global challenges. Slices specializes in organic food, and they came up with different varieties in their menu every day. This, in turn, expanded the outlet greatly and they gained high revenues in a short period of time. Based on resource-based theory, Slices entrepreneurs have developed their business which is unique in terms of food with a flare of community service that involves offering healthy food to the customers and also a philanthropic attitude toward the poor. Slices is novel not only because they have more or better resources but also because of their distinctive competences (unique healthy food, community service and philanthropic attitude). Slices adopted a simple concept in which they sell their healthy food in a healthy atmosphere with delicious recipes that appeal to many different nationalities. But the challenges and hurdles are many which the company has to think of if they want to sustain in the long run. Faisal, Khalid, Hamad and Amina are wondering what their next step ought to be in light of the stiff competition. Do they have the dynamic capability to strategize? Do they have enough resources to expand locally and internationally? If yes, where and how? This case will enable the students to critically think in various facets and reach a decision based on the facts provided.

The case will help the students identify and evaluate the entrepreneurial strategy adopted by the company for start-up and future growth. This will also enable the students to critically think in various facets and reach a decision based on the facts provided.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

After working through the case, the students should be able to understand Indian political economy and the brand building process of NaMo; identify the media mix strategies used to build the brand NaMo in India; evaluate possible future growth strategies for brand NaMo; and compare and contrast brand NaMo with business brands.

Narendra Modi popularly called as NaMo was the current Prime Minister of India. He belonged to Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) which won India’s general elections in two consecutive terms 2014 and 2019. NaMo was recognised worldwide for his prudence in leading the country to greater heights of achievement. NaMo started his political journey as the worker of BJP at a tender age. His rise in political career was akin to flagship brand overtaking the parent brand. All the steps taken in the past to position himself as a cult brand, will it fortify to NaMo’s victory in 2024 general elections? Business firms may follow NaMo’s strategies. What can the business brands emulate from NaMo to market and position themselves? Can political success be transpired to business success?

This case is designed for use in a graduate-/postgraduate-level marketing course in segments on brand management, brand expansion and the marketing strategies of a market leader. The case can also be used in a brand management course to discuss brand management models (e.g. Keller’s brand resonance pyramid and brand value chain). This case has particular application for classes that focus on brand equity, STP for any brand (segmentation, targeting and positioning) and brand value chain. The case looks in detail at the Indian political market and brand building process of NaMo and examines competitive moves since its inception. This case can be used in brand management, media management courses. The dilemma can be explained as part of a marketing course for postgraduate and executive programmes.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 8: Marketing.