- IMD Business School

Moon Creative Lab: Mitsui’s venture studio

In 2018, Kaichi Yokoyama set out to transform Mitsui from a tradition-bound conglomerate into a hub of innovation through Moon Creative Lab. By nurturing entrepreneurial talent and challenging corporate norms, could Moon become the catalyst that redefines Mitsui’s future from within—before external forces make that decision for them?

July 2025
BEST-SELLERS
Best-Selling Case Studies
  • Rituals Cosmetics: Building the world’s leading well-being brand in Asia

    By Dominique Turpin and Sandeep Puri

  • Apple’s supply chain transformation

    By Carlos Cordon and Nick Georgiev

  • Future-proofing HEINEKEN: The EverGreen strategy

    By Niccolò Pisani and Inès Augier

  • NEWEST
    Recently Published Case Studies
  • YCH Group: How to remain an innovative family business across generations

    By Marleen Dieleman and Sophia Xuefei Qiu

  • Absa’s Cybersecurity Academy: Combining digital transformation with doing good

    By Öykü Işık, Valerie Keller-Birrer, Poornima Urs, Barbara Vettorel and Amaru Amiya

  • Has Nike lost its stride?

    By Ivy Buche and Goutam Challagalla

  • Award Winners
    Award-Winning Case Studies
  • Not so black and white: Grupo Inca’s black alpaca dilemma (B)

    By Vanina Farber, Carolina Duran Silva, Baris Silahcioglu, Hugo ten Zijthoff and Shih-Han Huang

  • Not so black and white: Grupo Inca’s black alpaca dilemma (A)

    By Vanina Farber, Carolina Duran Silva, Baris Silahcioglu, Hugo ten Zijthoff and Shih-Han Huang

  • Moon Creative Lab: Mitsui’s venture studio

    By Benoit F. Leleux, Jim Pulcrano, Adam Hansson Tönning, Alexandra Loboda, Anette Papuga and Daisuke Shinohara

  • Rituals Cosmetics: Building the world’s leading well-being brand in Asia
    By Dominique Turpin and Sandeep Puri
    Case reference: IMD-7-2411 ©2023
    Summary
    Rituals, founded in the Netherlands in 2000 by Raymond Cloosterman, has had double digit growth over the last 15 years. It had taken the European b…
    Best-selling Case Study
    Reference IMD-7-2411
    Copyright ©2023
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization Rituals Cosmetics
    Industry Consumer Goods, Cosmetics and Perfumes
    Available Languages English
    Contact

    Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

    Apple’s supply chain transformation
    By Carlos Cordon and Nick Georgiev
    Case reference: IMD-7-2451 ©2023
    Summary
    In 2022, Apple lost US$1.5 billion in Black Friday sales due to iPhone supply constraints. One in three retail stores across the US and Europe expe…
    Best-selling Case Study
    Reference IMD-7-2451
    Copyright ©2023
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization Apple
    Industry Consumer Goods, Consumer Electronics
    Available Languages English
    Contact

    Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

    Future-proofing HEINEKEN: The EverGreen strategy
    By Niccolò Pisani and Inès Augier
    Case reference: IMD-7-2423 ©2023
    Summary
    Dolf van den Brink, CEO of HEINEKEN, left the company’s global headquarters in Amsterdam for a company retreat. Over the next three days, the entir…
    The Case Centre Awards and Competitions 2025 – Strategy and General Management Category; 2023 EFMD Case Writing Competition Award – Continuous Improvement: The Journey to Excellence Category
    Best-selling Case Study
    Reference IMD-7-2423
    Copyright ©2023
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization HEINEKEN
    Industry Consumer Goods, Beer
    Available Languages English
    Contact

    Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

    YCH Group: How to remain an innovative family business across generations
    By Marleen Dieleman and Sophia Xuefei Qiu
    Case reference: IMD-2659 ©2025
    Summary
    YCH Group, a pioneering family-owned logistics company in Asia evolved from a small transport business into a regional leader in supply chain solut…
    Reference IMD-2659
    Copyright ©2025
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization YCH Group
    Industry Logistics and Supply Chain
    Available Languages English
    Contact

    Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

    Absa’s Cybersecurity Academy: Combining digital transformation with doing good
    By Öykü Işık Valerie Keller-Birrer Poornima Urs Barbara Vettorel and Amaru Amiya
    Case reference: IMD-7-2642 ©2025
    Summary
    Absa faced a critical rise in cyberattacks, and with the cybersecurity talent gap widening, the company urgently needed a long-term solution. To ad…
    Reference IMD-7-2642
    Copyright ©2025
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization Absa Group
    Industry Finance and Insurance, Financial Services
    Available Languages English
    Contact

    Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

    Has Nike lost its stride?
    By Ivy Buche and Goutam Challagalla
    Case reference: IMD-7-2598 ©2025
    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…
    Reference IMD-7-2598
    Copyright ©2025
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization Nike
    Industry Consumer Goods, Footwear
    Available Languages English
    Contact

    Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

    Not so black and white: Grupo Inca’s black alpaca dilemma (B)
    By Vanina Farber Carolina Duran Silva Baris Silahcioglu Hugo ten Zijthoff and Shih-Han Huang
    Case reference: IMD-7-2610 ©2024
    Summary
    Picking up where Case A ends, Case B reveals that Grupo Inca decided to innovate internally and develop a new fabric from the rare black alpaca fib…
    2024 EFMD Case Writing Competition Award – Responsible Business Category
    Reference IMD-7-2610
    Copyright ©2024
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization Grupo Inca
    Industry Manufacturing, Textile
    Available Languages English
    Contact

    Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

    Not so black and white: Grupo Inca’s black alpaca dilemma (A)
    By Vanina Farber Carolina Duran Silva Baris Silahcioglu Hugo ten Zijthoff and Shih-Han Huang
    Case reference: IMD-7-2609 ©2024
    Summary
    Grupo Inca, a conglomerate that owned Peru’s leading textile business with a long history of working with alpaca fleece, was at a crossroads regard…
    2024 EFMD Case Writing Competition Award – Responsible Business Category; The Case Centre Awards and Competitions Winner 2025 – Outstanding Compact Case
    Reference IMD-7-2609
    Copyright ©2024
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization Grupo Inca
    Industry Manufacturing, Textile
    Available Languages English
    Contact

    Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

    Moon Creative Lab: Mitsui’s venture studio
    By Benoit F. Leleux Jim Pulcrano Adam Hansson Tönning Alexandra Loboda Anette Papuga and Daisuke Shinohara
    Case reference: IMD-7-2544 ©2024
    Summary
    This case follows the steps taken by Kaichi Yokoyama, Moon Creative Lab’s CEO, to establish the entity as a pioneering venture studio and entrepren…
    2024 EFMD Case Writing Competition Award – Continuous Improvement: The Journey to Excellence Category
    Reference IMD-7-2544
    Copyright ©2024
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization Moon Creative Lab, Mitsui Group
    Industry Finance and Insurance, Venture Capital
    Available Languages English
    Contact

    Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

    Case news
     - IMD Business School
    Two IMD cases recognized in the 2024 EFMD Case Writing Competition

    Cases written by IMD faculty have been celebrated at this year’s EFMD Case Writing Competition.

     - IMD Business School
    Four IMD cases recognized in The Case Centre Awards and Competitions 2025

    Cases written by IMD faculty have been celebrated at this year’s Case Centre Awards and Competitions.

    Case Centre Index 2024 - IMD Business School
    IMD among the top 5 in The Case Centre Impact Index 2024

    For the second year in a row, IMD ranked fourth in The Case Centre Impact Index 2024