Harvard Business Review

JUNE 7, 2016

Conventional wisdom would seem to suggest that companies have no incentive to lengthen the life cycle of their products and reduce the revenue they would get from selling new goods. The technologies and processes that are transforming companies. Another apparel company, Patagonia , a high-end outdoor clothier, follows the same credo.

Company 8

Company Apparel Incentives Retail 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 21, 2018

market alone, companies are losing $1 trillion in annual revenues to their competitors because they are not consistently relevant enough. In this way, companies need to become like more like living businesses, building and sustaining symbiotic ties with their customers as if those relationships are with a concierge, butler, or friend.

Loyalty 14

Loyalty Marketing Apparel Maslow 14

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 17, 2014

How much does your company need to invest in innovation? Identifying this so-called “growth gap” is critical, because the bigger the gap, the more a company needs to look beyond its current offerings, markets, and business models to find growth opportunities. That’s straightforward enough.

Innovation 9

Innovation Company Venture Capitalist Business Model 9

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

For every Apple, there is an Atari, for every Fuji a Polaroid, and for every Zara an American Apparel. In today’s dynamic business environment, leaders of large established companies need more than ever to run and reinvent the business at the same time. Why does this happen to large companies with a legacy of success?

Company 8

Company Succession Maturity Long-term 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 5, 2011

This is wisdom gained from studying hundreds of companies in support of my new competitive strategy and sustainability book, The Future of Value. Since consumers have many retailers at which to shop, premium prices are quickly competed away. The secret to the company's success at cost reduction? Their distinctive insight?

Retail 15

Retail Apparel Supply Chain Agility 15

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 21, 2011

Any action that might lead to food price inflation will not be taken lightly. Semiconductors cannot be easily substituted, but most are assembled into electronic products for multinational companies and end up as exports, often to the US. The manufacture of apparel and shoes could move quickly out of China, though.

Apparel 14

Apparel Real Estate Automotive Globalization 14

Harvard Business Review

MAY 8, 2012

This week, Microsoft is announcing an unusual initiative that it hopes will change how the company operates: an internal fee on carbon. From my conversations with the company, I take away four major reasons they're doing this: Behavior change. Risk reduction. Sales/Becoming the Vendor of Choice.

Price 13

Price P&L White Paper Energy 13

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 4, 2015

manufacturing companies, defined as firms that have their headquarters in the United States, responded. companies responded that they were “definitively” planning to do so. based companies and 33 non-U.S.-based based companies responded — were very similar. Yes, the prices of oil have recently fallen.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Survey Price Apparel 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 25, 2013

A brand’s difference gives consumers an easy rationale for choosing it, and a ready justification for paying a price premium. Research by Millward Brown finds that brands with a meaningful difference command a price premium 13 percent higher than weaker category alternatives. The company spends virtually nothing on advertising.

Apparel 8

Apparel Brand Sports Advertising 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

If I asked you to picture the consumer luxury market, you might imagine jewels, sports cars, watches, premium drinks, high-end shoes and apparel, and so on. in 2015, which requires larger companies doing business in Britain to publish a board-approved, public annual slavery and human trafficking statement.

Brand 8

Brand Supply Chain Apparel Tourism 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 9, 2016

For example, news stories today continue to reference former American Apparel CEO Dov Charney’s odd behavior of walking around the company’s offices in his underwear, even though it was first reported over 10 years ago. Among the companies in our sample, share prices declined by a market-adjusted 3.1% (1.1%

CEO 8

CEO Sample Reputation Press Release 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 29, 2016

In the search for profitable organic growth, more and more companies are making major investments in optimizing the end-to-end customer experience – every aspect of how customers interact with the company’s brand, products, promotions, and service offerings, on and offline. Insight Center. Measuring Marketing Insights.

Retail 14

Retail Apparel Motivation Attrition 14

Harvard Business Review

JULY 3, 2014

In the apparel industry alone, we’ve just seen the end of American Apparel’s Dov Charney and the ouster of Lululemon Athletica founder Chip Wilson – plus the installation of interim CEOs at Target and JC Penney following their previous leaders’ firings. A lot of CEOs are being shown the door lately. Boards Hiring Succession planning'

CEO 15

CEO Six Sigma How To Apparel 15

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 10, 2011

In a recent HBR webinar (you'll need a computer to see and hear it; sorry, mobile readers), Rick Ridgeway, vice president of sustainability initiatives at Patagonia, and Jib Ellison, founder of sustainability consultancy Blu Skye, claim that we are turning a corner and will soon see the "true costs" of goods reflected in their relative prices.

Cost 8

Cost Productivity Products Webinar 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 7, 2017

Research by my co-authors and myself has found that firms improving their performance on industry-specific, material ESG issues outperform their competitors , and firms disclosing more information on industry-specific material ESG issues exhibit more informative stock prices and as a result more efficient pricing of risks and opportunities.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Asset Management Chemicals Long-term 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 23, 2015

Companies line up like never before for climate action. CEOs from some of the world’s largest companies put out public statements backing a strong climate deal. Even oil giants from Europe (including BP, Eni, Shell, Statoil, Total) advocated for a price on carbon. Goals matter. This all leads to a huge breakthrough: 5.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Apparel Energy Price 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 21, 2013

Some apparel retailers attempted to deny that they had any connection with the Rana Plaza building that collapsed — but data at the level of each shipment is increasingly available to both researchers like us and to the general public. In other words, a T-shirt currently costing $3 to produce would cost $3.10 to produce properly.

Business Model 8

Business Model Supply Chain Compliance Disaggregation 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 30, 2016

And the odds that your company, or industry, may find itself targeted by an activist are going up. Many activists are asking some very tough and fundamental strategic questions: Are the company’s investments in the right place? Is the company’s portfolio too diverse? What is our company great at doing?

Management 8

Management Short-term Constraint Apparel 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 16, 2018

Many companies are aiming to be more transparent and authentic about their products, services, and costs. But when it comes to communicating authentically about the employee experience, companies still have a long way to go. Take outdoor apparel retailer Patagonia. Juj Winn/Getty Images. The timing couldn’t be worse.

Reputation 12

Reputation Brand Attrition How To 12

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

In the apparel sector, for instance, the unusually warm winter temperatures across Europe and the U.S. Climate change is making severe weather more common, and reporting to investors about how climate affects the business will require companies to estimate and report on the risks they face from the weather. This is no longer the case.

Hedge 8

Hedge Apparel Risk Management Retail 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 6, 2012

Although they're no longer wage slaves, they still feel captive to the fortunes and whims of big companies. Together, it's easier to get attention, bargain for better prices, and find information. People who left corporate jobs for the joy of entrepreneurship are working harder and feeling less joy.

Entrepreneur 16

Entrepreneur Cooper Apparel Bureaucracy 16

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 12, 2012

The company also reported a 54% year-on-year increase in sales in Europe, which it attributed largely to tourists. The Wall Street Journal says that Prada's dazzling numbers reflect Chinese consumers' increasingly refined tastes, making Prada's high quality leather goods, with high price points and subtle logos, that much more attractive.

Marketing 9

Marketing Apparel Short-term Brand 9

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 27, 2015

When Gilbane, a family-owned construction company, hired a design firm for a rebranding, the designers surveyed Gilbane’s clients and came back with an important finding: Do not discount the fact that the firm is a “family-owned” business. The companies surveyed had average sales of $3.48

B2B 8

B2B Press Release Construction Brand 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 31, 2012

The idea that companies should only maximize shareholder value has had a stranglehold on the business world for decades. The world's most innovative company brought in $46 billion in revenues, $13 billion in profit, and an eye-popping $17.5 So am I suggesting companies pursue unprofitable paths? billion in cash flow.

Supply Chain 15

Supply Chain Apparel Cost Morale 15

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 2, 2014

So, a decade ago, marketing professor Florian von Wangenheim ( now at the ETH Zurich technical university in Switzerland) and his then-student Markus Wübben ( now an executive at a tech incubator in Berlin) set out, in Wangenheim’s words, to “convince companies to use these models.”.

Simon 11

Simon Retail Uncertainty Apparel 11

Harvard Business Review

JULY 3, 2014

In the apparel industry alone, we’ve just seen the end of American Apparel’s Dov Charney and the ouster of Lululemon Athletica founder Chip Wilson – plus the installation of interim CEOs at Target and JC Penney following their previous leaders’ firings. A lot of CEOs are being shown the door lately. Boards Hiring Succession planning'

CEO 8

CEO Six Sigma How To Apparel 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

For the most part, directors focus in on a relatively narrow range of issues related to the fortunes of their companies. More than half of corporate directors of both public and private companies in North America think that global growth prospects are uncertain. Why does all this matter? Some findings were not terribly surprising.

Politics 8

Politics Telecommunications Policies Biotechnology 8

LDRLB

JULY 17, 2013

For too long the business world has been obsessed with the notion of building a sustainable competitive advantage… I’m not arguing that it’s a bad idea—obviously, it’s marvelous to compete in a way that others can’t imitate… But it’s now rare for a company to maintain a truly lasting advantage.

Competitive Advantage 150

Competitive Advantage Taylorism Taylor Restructuring 150

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 2, 2014

So, a decade ago, marketing professor Florian von Wangenheim ( now at the ETH Zurich technical university in Switzerland) and his then-student Markus Wübben ( now an executive at a tech incubator in Berlin) set out, in Wangenheim’s words, to “convince companies to use these models.” What they found surprised them.

Simon 8

Simon Retail Uncertainty Apparel 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 14, 2015

Reflecting this broader viewpoint, the company began to expand its market footprint, by, for instance, investing in a start-up that planned to sell furniture via the internet. In contrast to Starbucks, the Virgin brand strategy is a high-wire act that requires incredible management and marketing skill and creativity.

Brand 8

Brand Banking Apparel Strategy 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 5, 2018

For example, in 2009 professors Brian Becker, Mark Huselid, and Richard Beatty estimated that in most companies less than 15% of jobs are what they call strategic positions and said management should focus “disproportionate investments” on finding A players for those jobs. Connectors in the middle. Customer experience creators.

McKinsey 8

McKinsey Human Resources Reputation Brand 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 26, 2017

If you’d like your comment to be considered for publication, please be sure to include your full name, company or university affiliation, and email address. She’d joined the company six weeks before, following a long stint as CMO of Atawear, a high-end sports apparel company.

Case Study 8

Case Study Brand Proposal Chief Operating Officer 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

By lowering the "China price," the world's low-cost manufacturer is doing to solar what it did to the apparel and electronics sectors: driving higher-cost producers (usually in the West) out of business. Making the assumption that solar or all green energy won't work because one company didn't pan out is absurd.

Energy 8

Energy Apparel Cost Entrepreneur 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 27, 2017

As a result, more companies are being valued based on their current earnings than on their growth potential. Our research shows that many companies are increasingly geared toward the short term. Such companies tend to generate less growth and value in the long run. First, they must secure the prosperity of their own companies.

Globalization 8

Globalization Supply Chain Human Capital Long-term 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Recent analysis for a leading apparel retailer showed elasticity of customer response to promotional discounts was up to three times higher during holiday periods than during non-holiday periods and two times higher during weekends than on weekdays. Some have higher elasticities or stronger pricing power.

Retail 10

Retail Discount Apparel Price 10

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Here's the rest of my top 10 stories, with callouts for companies and examples that typify the trend. Coca-Cola was not alone in facing increasing costs in 2011; one of my clients, Kimberly-Clark, took an earnings hit from record pulp prices. What can one say about the failure of solar company Solyndra ? Climate change is here.

Supply Chain 15

Supply Chain Apparel P&L Long-term 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 8, 2018

When brothers Shep and Ian Murray cut their ties with Corporate America to start a little company on Martha’s Vineyard in 1998, their motivation was clear : “We’re making neck ties so we don’t have to wear them.” What can other companies learn from Vineyard Vines’ success?

Retail 8

Retail Apparel Engineering Audience 8