Post on 14-Jan-2016
Geox in FranceBest in France Case Study
13th December 2005 By Christian Brands and Robert Relph
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Executive Overview
• Company Overview• Products• Clients• Why did Geox come to France?• French Values• Constraints in France• Key Benefits of doing business in France• How to adapt to France• Essential Advice• Credits
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Geox Overview
• Founded in 1990, entering France in 1997• Footwear retailer in 68 countries.• Patented technology delivers comfort and
health benefits.• Net revenues 2004: €340.1M , EBIT €72.6M,
mostly generated outside Italy.• Leading footwear brand in Italy and 4th in
the world (Source: Shoeintelligence)
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Products
• Product manufactured in Eastern Europe, Asia and South America– Geox Plants (20% of production)– Outsourced operations (80% of production)
– Not made in developed countries due to labour costs
– Materials bought in Italy
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Kids
Women
Men
Clients
• In France balanced customer make-up
• 322 stores selling Geox exclusively worldwide
• Target Customer: Medium-High Income and well educated
• Customer profile in France is similar to other countries
• Expectations of comfort and quality
French Client Make-up
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Why did Geox come to France?
• Part of international expansion plan• Association with fashion• 2 companies
– Geox Retail France– Geox France Sarl.
• Great consumer potential• Sees France solely as a sales country
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French Values
• Established a sales team in France to understand the ‘French culture’
• Integrated people into the country to gain a greater market understanding
• Only hired people who are convinced of Geox’s values– Staff Training
• Geox feel this integration approach has been successful
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Constraints in France
• HR Costs comparable to those of other European countries
• No particular organizational structure costs
• Some language and infrastructure (network) costs– Size of the country makes effective distribution difficult
• Geox was aware of the French culture before starting business activities
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Key Benefits
• Great Consumer potential– Very positive feedback from current consumers
– Mono brand & franchise expansion• Very high rate of productivity per employee
• Government assistance: Italian side• Image benefit: Being present in Paris• General Impression: Very satisfied with the French market
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Adapting to France
• People Management system:– Recruitment: French employees– Compensation: base salary plus commission based on percentage of sales
– Workforce planning: no current expansion – Motivation: Convince employees of the Geox culture
– Training done through schemes & material developed in the head office
• Infrastructure issues• Not a step-change: same currency & similar culture
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Geox’s Essential Advice
• Not specifically for France, however:– Need significant up front investment– Need good people, particularly good sales people
– Need to communicate benefits to the customer
– Inevitable: understanding the culture
These were simple but key factors
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With thanks to
• Eros Scattolin, International Communications ManagerGEOX S.p.A. Via Feltrina Centro 16, 31030 Biadene di Montebelluna (TV) - Italia. eros.scattolin@geox.com+39 0423 282541
• Luciano Santel, Chief Financial Officer GEOX S.p.A. Via Feltrina Centro 16, 31030 Biadene di Montebelluna (TV) - Italia. luciano.santel@geox.com
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Bibliography
• www.geox.biz• Amadeus Company Database• Geox 2004 Company report• Interviews with Geox Executives• Dickey, C. (2005) Your Sole Provider, Newsweek, 01/10/2005, Vol. 145, Issue 2, p60-60.
• Anonymous (2004) The Ferrari of footwear, Economist, 03/13/2004, Vol. 370, Issue 8366, p65.
• Hoppough, S (2004) Flat-Footed, Forbes, 11/29/2004, Vol. 174, Issue 11, p82-84
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Additional Information
• For questionnaire and transcription see supplementary documents
• Team Details:Robert RelphWychwood, Rectory Meadow, Litcham, Norfolk PE32 2NR, United Kingdomr.relph@lancs.ac.uk
Christian BrandsRoggenweg 1850933 CologneGermany christianbrands@hotmail.com
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End
Thank you very much for your attention!