Search results

Aster Retail (AR) is the retail pharmacy division of the Aster Dr Moopen's Healthcare (ADMH) Group. The group delivers healthcare services across the Middle East, India and the Far East, with a portfolio of hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres and retail pharmacies. AR, under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jobilal Vavachan, is well known for its people-centric approach, unique culture and innovative human resource (HR) practices. AR has won multiple awards for HR practices, service quality and business performance. In a recent corporate restructuring (2018), “Aster Primary Care” was carved out by combining the group's Clinics and Retail businesses. This case discusses the evolution of AR's HR journey and the challenges associated with integrating culturally diverse businesses without compromising the values of ADMH and its promise, “We'll Treat You Well.”

This case is about “Red”, a cross-border e-commerce platform developed from a community which was built to share overseas shopping experience. With sharp insights into the consumption behavior of urban white-collar women and riding on its community e-commerce advantage, “Red”, a cross-border e-commerce startup, pulled in three rounds of financing within just 16 months regardless of increasingly competitive market. On the other hand, well-established platforms such as T-mall International and Joybuy also stepped in, and their involvement will also speed up the industry integration and usher in a reshuffling period. Confronted with the “price war” started by those e-commerce giants, in what ways can “Red” adjust its shopping experience and after-sales services to enhance the brand value and sharpen its edge?

This case study is most suitable for a target audience of graduate-level students in leadership and/or change management classes. It will help students to apply a change management model to an existing problem/change and analyze its applicability, recognize different leadership approaches in practice and assess their appropriateness in different contexts and present key findings and ideas in front of an audience.

This case study examines the leadership of Dr. Mahmoud Khattab, CEO of B.TECH, during the turbulent times of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. B.TECH was founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of the Egyptian home appliances manufacturer Olympic Electric, to enter the retail market. The morning after January 28, 2011, the “Friday of Rage,” Khattab found the company’s stores looted and seized, and the employees panicked. The company leader was pressured to decide the next steps quickly. Everything was condensed into a dilemma of whether to keep the stores open but potentially risk employee trust and safety as well as the company’s assets – or close them but lose revenue, the ability to pay workers and the company’s market leader position. Students should also identify and reflect on the elements of leadership that contributed to a business success in a turbulent political environment. This case study highlights critical leadership and management decisions during an unexpected crisis that threatened the company’s operations and diversification efforts. Khattab acted almost instinctively, using the interpersonal and creative skills he had acquired while running a family business in his native Egypt and while occupying various leadership roles.

This case study is particularly suitable for classes on change management and leadership for university students at the graduate level.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS11: Strategy.

The case study has several objectives: to gauge the evaluation of the direct-to-consumer industry in the economy of India, to analyse the competition of the brands, to ascertain the evolution of smaller direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands on the purchasing capacity of consumers, to analyse challenges in branding in Tier 2 and 3 cities and to evaluate the strategic branding decisions of Mamaearth.

During her pregnancy, Ghazal Alagh and her husband Varun Alagh, the co-founders of Mamaearth, were looking for some good and natural products for their baby’s skincare. However, she could not find products that were 100% safe. Hence, as a concerned mother, she started using a few hands-on home remedies for her baby, which were 100% organic, and then the idea clicked to her to start a baby care brand named Mamaearth, which later also included personal care products. The company started as a DTC/internet-first brand in 2016, which only used to sell products online without any intermediaries when it was still trying to make its way in the market and was aware of the stiff competition by giants such as Hindustan Unilever and Proctor & Gamble, who were ruling the market for decades. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the market saw a shift in consumer buying patterns. There was greater use of e-commerce touch points for shopping, as various digital platforms such as the official site of products, social media and mobile platforms were used by consumers during the pandemic, leading to digitalization in buying and digitalization of consumer shopping journey. These technology platforms were expected to play a substantial role in reaching and creating consumer awareness, transaction and retention post-COVID according to reports by Deloitte 2020. Moreover, such a shift in behaviour amidst the COVID-19 pandemic shot up sales of this DTC brand and made itself the big shot it is today, where they were looking to get into an initial public offering in just seven years of its launch. They re-evaluated their strategy, which helped them become the biggest brand in no time.

This case study is suitable for Doctor of Philosophy students.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.