The case describes a situation where an outside director reflects upon her role and responsibilities as a board member. The dominating chairman of the board may have hidden agendas which are not in the company’s best interest. The outside director must make a decision not only on the agenda items, but also on her own involvement considering the limited influence she seems to have in reality.
Only connect: How to keep disparate workforce elements happy and motivated - IbyIMD
Summary
Today’s workforce often includes a mix of permanent employees, freelancers, and outside contractors – but even organizations with mostly external workforces or highly autonomous workforces need proximity to succeed over the long term. Here are fou...
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Has Nike lost its stride?
Summary
Set in 2024, the case describes the trajectory of Nike's success and how it had recently lost its way. The company was experiencing its worst slump in more than 10 years. Since 2020, CEO Donahoe oversaw a significant shift away from wholesale, with a focus on direct channels and a suite of apps. However, direct-to-consumer DTC sales failed to make up for the losses from previous wholesale partners. At the same time, competition from a new breed of smaller players increased. Critics claimed that the sportswear giant's product innovations had lagged, allowing nimble competitors to chisel away at its market share. Sales were flat or down in all geographies. In response, Donahoe announced a three-year, 2 billion cost cutting plan that involved laying off 2 of workers, which in turn created a sense of crisis at Nike. Investors also suffered as the stock performed worse than the broader market in the last three years. To make matters worse, a class action suit was filed against Donahoe and CFO Matthew Friend for misleading the market about the company's underperformance. How could Nike's top management team execute a strategic turnaround by building upon the company's core strengths of brand equity, product innovation and sports marketing? They had to reevaluate past strategies, rethink their assumptions and chart a comeback to restore the company to its former growth trajectory and market dominance.
Reference
IMD-7-2598
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
Nike
Industry
Consumer Goods, Footwear
Available Languages
English
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The end of corporate passivity
Summary
Corporate leaders must stop being passive spectators and actively shape geopolitical outcomes to drive global competitiveness and collaboration.
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UrbanLuxe: Supply chain and M&A
Summary
This brief case exercise presents an increasingly common business scenario: An established player acquires a small, agile start-up to re-energize its value proposition. In this case, established global beauty giant UrbanLuxe acquires beauty start-up KYX. UrbanLuxe represents an old-school company selling a classic portfolio mainly via traditional distribution channels of luxury and travel retail, whereas KYX is exclusively an e-commerce brand. UrbanLuxe has a stable – perhaps stale – product line while KYX is in constant experimental churn, with an influencer-based media strategy that brings inherent demand volatility. The supply chain director is tasked with identifying the supply chain risks and opportunities associated with the acquisition. The two companies are different from both an operations perspective and a marketing perspective. UrbanLuxe has five factories servicing a global demand. KYX relies on one co-manufacturer focused on the US market. UrbanLuxe distributes to classic retailers from its own warehouses, KYX uses a third-party logistics provider for its exclusively e-commerce business. Further complicating matters, UrbanLuxe’s CEO has ambitious growth plans to make KYX a global brand. The supply chain director must not only consider integrating the acquisition but also supporting the growth strategy, for which they are asked to find cost savings to provide funding. The case provides a vehicle for students to consider the supply chain challenges a company might face in successfully integrating a starkly different acquisition. This case anchored in the real world will elicit universal challenges in companies today.
Reference
IMD-2654
Copyright
©2024
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Available Languages
English
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Luxury E-Commerce is dead - Whats Next?
Summary
The traditional e-commerce model is on its last legs. In a disrupted luxury landscape, brand leaders are shifting focus to unified commerce, hyper-personalization, and deeper digital storytelling to completely reinvent the customer experience of a...
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Trump’s unconventional negotiation strategy - Dr. Sebastian Moritz
Summary
Donald Trump’s tariff tactics offer a bold case study in game theory in negotiations. By setting the rules early, limiting options, and projecting power through credible threats, his approach shows how negotiations can be shaped long before the fi...
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Breaking up to move forward: Why CFOs are at the heart of the de-conglomeration trend
Summary
In an age that prizes agility, breaking up is a strategy rather than a surrender, argues IMD’s Salvatore Cantale, as CFOs step forward as architects of value in the de-conglomeration era.
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Riding the duck curve - Evolving in the energy landscape
Summary
With solar power flooding grids, the duck curve creates both challenges and opportunities for businesses. Learn how smart companies can harness this shift to cut costs and boost efficiency.
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Steady profit: Learning the lessons of future-ready companies
Summary
In an increasingly uncertain world, how do companies plan for the long term? Take this short quiz to test your knowledge of future readiness, and read on for insights from future-ready companies.
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Candles Killer: Lighting up the world at the bottom of the pyramid
Summary
Shenzhen Power-Solution (SPS), founded in 2009 in China as an entrepreneurial venture, disrupted traditional lighting markets in African villages with its flagship product, Candles Killer. This solar lamp, priced under $5, replaces hazardous keros...
Reference
IMD-2661
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
Shenzhen Power-Solution
Industry
Energy;Utilities, Electricity Supply;Consumer Goods, Consumer Electronics
Available Languages
English
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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications