Study case Sephora (Marketing + quantitative analysis)
Order Description

Guidelines for Case Write-up
It is recommended that the case write-up consist of the following sections.
1. Decision Problem (0.25-0.5 page)
• Identify the decision problem facing the company or manager, and the different decision options. It may be appropriate to discuss the company’s objectives or
mission, and the marketing objectives in this context. Be sure you have identified the real problems or issues in the case when you identify options.

2. Analysis of Options (2 – 2.5 pages)
• Discuss the pros and cons of each option on relevant criteria such as customer acceptance, fit with company resources, dealer and competitive reaction,
profitability, and market share – this is not a complete list of criteria and the criteria will vary from case to case (avoid repetition). Provide reasoning to support
your assessment including quantitative analysis where applicable. This section is the heart of your case write-up and should demonstrate that you have uncovered the
important issues that need to be considered in evaluating the options. The strategy formulation framework discussed in class will be useful in identifying such issues.
Be sure to consider the options suggested in the case, if any. Also, consider the undynamic option of doing nothing.

3. Recommendation (0.5 – 1 page)
• Recommend an alternative with justification. Implicit in almost every recommendation is the belief that some evaluative criteria are more important than others
because it is seldom the case that a course of action is the best on all criteria. Also, there may be some implicit assumptions about the likelihood of a pro or a con
materializing. These implicit assumptions should be flushed out in the recommendation.
• If warranted, note any key uncertainties that could affect the optimal course of action.
• If applicable, identify a plan of action to implement the recommendation

Common pitfalls to avoid
• Not considering options presented in the case for discussion in Section 2.
• Rush to judgment resulting in an inadequate discussion of the cons or pros of alternatives in Section 2.
• Not justifying the chosen alternative in Section 3.
• Not making a recommendation on all the decision issues identified in the case and/or in Section 1.
• Not using data from case to support arguments
• Not making a financial assessment of a strategy even though data is available in the case.
• Uncritical acceptance of viewpoints presented in the case.

no outside information or sources. just from the case