What they wanted Joining forces: that was the goal of this buying group. It would allow them to align the brand and format positioning across countries. This, in turn, could lead them to increase consumer relevance by identifying successful formats and growing these at an international level. Moreover, they wanted to define a common brand vision around strong consumer themes. Another objective was to formulate a brand proposition for key suppliers and consumers, subsequently translating it into brand guidelines, organizational requirements, and a roadmap.
What we did First, we mapped the current brand and format positioning across countries and vis-à-vis the competition. Then, we identified the commonality in brand positioning. We also determined which formats to grow at an international level through a fact-based showing of the delta in performance amongst formats. Finally, we created a detailed planning – including roles and responsibilities across countries – to realize the new brand positioning.
What we achieved
There is now a strong brand awareness, both online and offline. The international brand proposition delivers a sales value of +€32 million. Furthermore, we have created a plan to realize a full (co-)branding of all stores by displaying organizational and member impact. It includes a member buy-in plan and delivers a sales value of +€29 million. Overall, we have jointly established a future-proof buying group that provides fresh and modern formats.
These are tuned to local needs and offer a customer-friendly store layout. Lastly, the global business intelligence feature created – which builds on POS and consumer data – has yielded the necessary analytical insights.