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Case Study

Www.home_improvement.com (B)

By Nirmalya Kumar and Brian Rogers

3 pages

November 2000

Reference: IMD-3-0896

This case is a follow-up to the A case, titled www.Home_Improvement.com (A). It chronicles what happened at the company between May and July 2000, prior to the company’s sudden sale to Wal-Mart. (Instructors should note that the real name of the company is HomeWarehouse.com. The case authors intentionally disguised the identity of the company to conceal the outcome.) In the B case, Richard Shane, the company’s founder and first CEO, explains what mistakes were made and what he has learned from running an Internet company. In particular, Shane discusses the challenges of working with venture capital firms and how Internet companies should avoid a strategy of spending unlimited amounts to acquire customers.

Keywords

eCommerce, Internet

Settings

United States of America
2000

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

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