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Suntory: Rebranding the Japanese Whisky Highball
Philip SugaiCase IVEY-9B20A017-EMarketing, StrategyFounded in 1899 by Shinjiro Torii in Osaka, Japan, Suntory Holdings (Suntory) boasted a rich history in Japan’s alcoholic beverage industry. It purchased US-based Beam in 2014 for $16 billion, renamed itself as Beam Suntory, and transformed into one of the world’s largest alcoholic beverage makers, reaching total global revenues of more than 2.5 trillion yen ($23 billion) by the end of fiscal year 2018. Now, in 2020, could the Suntory team pull o...Starting at €8.20
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Nestlé KITKAT in Japan (D): A Trajectory For Future Growth
Philip SugaiCase IVEY-9B17A040-EEntrepreneurship, Marketing, StrategySupplement for product 9B17A037. It was 2017 and the KITKAT brand in Japan was at a critical juncture. The KITKAT marketing leaders sat down for a special meeting to review how Nestlé Japan had been able to create meaning and value for their brand. However, as they began to discuss their options for future growth, they faced difficult decisions: Should they look to export the flavor variations that had become such big hits in Japan to overseas ma...Starting at €5.74
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Innovating Tradition at Hosoo
Philip SugaiCase IVEY-9B18A058-EEntrepreneurship, Marketing, StrategyHosoo was a kimono and textile company, established in 1688 as a traditional Nishijin weaving company. The 11th generation president of the company, Masao Hosoo, had transformed the business from a producer of premium kimono fabrics and kimonos for the luxury market in Japan to a globally respected textile producer for some of the world’s top brands. A great deal of the company’s success in the global market could be attributed to the master craf...Starting at €8.20
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KITKAT in Japan (A): Sparking a Cultural Revolution
Philip Sugai; Adrian SossnaCase IVEY-9B17A037-EEntrepreneurship, Marketing, StrategyIn 2008, the marketing manager for Nestlé Japan’s confectionery business and his team were struggling to redefine the KITKAT brand within the Japanese market. KITKAT as a brand faced a real threat as the retail environment rapidly shifted toward increasingly powerful convenience store chains and consumer preferences shifted toward more novel consumable products. With more than 200 companies competing within Japan’s crowded and relatively stable c...Starting at €8.20
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Nestlé KITKAT in Japan (B): The Roots of Premiumization
Philip SugaiCase IVEY-9B17A038-EEntrepreneurship, Marketing, StrategySupplement for product 9B17A037. The KITKAT team had experienced great success over the past few years by building a powerful and resonating brand and enhancing their production capabilities to enable them to adapt to changing demands from their channel partners. However, the harsh realities of a changing market demographic, and increasingly powerful convenience store chains, created a clear sense of urgency for creative solutions to continue the...Starting at €5.74
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Hatsune Miku: Japanese Virtual Idol Ignites Global Value Co-creation
Timothy Craig; Philip Sugai; Lukman AroeanCase IVEY-9B14M110-EStrategyCrypton Future Media, a music software company based in Sapporo, Japan, developed Hatsune Miku (HM), a singing voice synthesizer software program (Vocaloid). Users entered lyrics and melodies to create songs, which were then sung by Hatsune Miku, a 16-year-old female virtual singer featured on the software packaging.Initially targeting professionals, HM unexpectedly caught on among amateurs who produced music, lyrics, artwork and videos, which th...Starting at €8.20
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Nestlé KITKAT in Japan (C): Power of The Postal Service
Philip SugaiCase IVEY-9B17A039-EEntrepreneurship, Marketing, StrategySupplement for product 9B17A037. In the spring of 2009, the KITKAT team was fresh from a successful marketing campaign targeting students. After reviewing recent figures however, they realized that they had a critical decision to make regarding the fate of the overall KITKAT brand portfolio: was KITKAT too sweet for some of their older customers? How could they address this issue of taste without undermining the overall brand that they had worked...Starting at €5.74
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EY China (A): Strengthening Presence in a Critical Market
Nanda, Ashish; Narayandas, Das; Rohrer, LisaCase HBS-718464-EStrategySoon after being named regional managing partner for Ernst & Yong (EY) China in September 2009, Albert Ng reflects on the enormity of challenges facing the practice. Despite the commitment of EY Global to the China practice, post global financial crisis, EY China's growth agenda has been reversed. The smallest of the Big Four global accounting firms in China, EY China's reputation has weakened in the market, morale of its professionals has plumme...Starting at €8.20
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Fangda Partners: A Step Ahead
Nanda, Ashish; Rohrer, LisaCase HBS-719406-EService and Operations ManagementFangda Partners must determine how best to be a major, high-end law firm in the Chinese market. Elite Chinese law firm Fangda Partners has steered Alibaba and other Chinese and international clients through the complex legal, corporate, and regulatory challenges associated with executing international transactions. "Fangda has traveled a long distance in a short while," reflects senior partner Jonathan Zhou, "but we have a long distance to trave...Starting at €8.20
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Tiantong & Partners: Transforming Litigation Practice in China
Nanda, Ashish; Rohrer, LisaCase HBS-719457-EStrategyChinese law firm Tiantong & Partners focused exclusively on high-stakes litigation, particularly in Supreme Court appeals, and enjoyed a 90 percent win rate. Hoping to revolutionize the Chinese legal profession, Tiantong & Partners also developed several Internet-based tools. What activity should the firm focus on first? Jiang Yong founded Tiantong & Partners in 2002, seeking to radically improve the level of litigation-related services in China...Starting at €8.20