Transcript Camper - HEC Paris

Best in France Case Study
January 2005 - March 2005
By: Caroline Limet, Myriam Rouis and Gillian Stevenson
Camper the Company
• “Cultural” company
– The Fashion Footwear Industry
• Majorcan roots
• Installation in France in 1992
• Currently operates 3 Camper retail
outlets in Paris
• “Shop-in-Shops” in other fashion
stores
• Diversification reserved for Spain
only: hotel and restaurant in
Barcelona (Foodball)
A Spanish Success Story
• One of the oldest existing shoe producing
families
– 1975: Franco’s death, Spain is a closed country;
almost underdeveloped, rural image
• 1976: first product line in Spain sold in
traditional shoe shops
– Spain opens, realises it has potential, Spanish culture
expands
• 1981: first privately-owned Camper shop in
Barcelona
• 1980’s: 20 Camper stores throughout Spain
Camper Internationalisation
• 1992: Camper enters the main
fashion capitals of Europe :
Paris, London, Milan
– Following similar expansion as
before
– 1992: Olympic Games in Barcelona, World
Exhibition in Sevilla, Spain proves its dynamism,
playing an important role in design and textiles:
Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Mango, Zara…
• 2000: Globalisation: Japan,
Taiwan, US, South Africa…
Facts and Figures
• More than 3500
points of sale all
over the world
• 60 Camper stores
worldwide
• 2000: 3 million pairs
of shoes sold
• 70 % sales outside
Spain
• 250 shoes
commercialised
each year
• Camper part of
Coflusa group:
Camper, Viajes
Iberia (travel
agency) and
Lottusse)
• 2001: Turnover: €
1.8 billion
• 8400 employees
worldwide
Company’s Structure in France
• 3 Camper stores in Paris (10% sales)
– Rue du Cherche-Midi
– Rue du Faubourg St Honoré
– Rue des Francs-Bourgeois
• « Shop in shops »: corners in
fashionable department stores, such
as Galeries Lafayette
• Multi-brand points of sale
Company’s Products
• Main success: first line in
France: Pelotas
• Twins
• Casi Casi
• Wabi
• Collector
Company’s Products
• Product lines last for only one year
• No specific product collection for
France
• Continuity in collections and product
lines
• Prices: from 40 € to 250 €, average:
110 €
• Camper’s original soles
(many are registered as trademarks)
Product’s Image
• Casual unisex
shoes
• Quality, fun
• Rural for urbanites
• Originality,
uniqueness (2001:
elected “Fashion brand
of the year”- Footwear
news)
• Upscale locations
yet less expensive
than designer shoes
• Mediterranean
nature, “globally
chic”
• Comfort and
creativity
• Neither luxury, nor
sport
• Diversity
• Business model:
Swatch
Production
• Proud roots:
– 80% of the production on Majorca Island
– 20 % in Mainland Spain (Alicante: leather
capital), Portugal and Morocco
• No production in France
• Production is completely outsourced
Organisation of sales
representatives
• 5 sales representatives
– 2 responsible for Paris
– 2 responsible for the South
– 1 located in Nantes, responsible for the
West
• Mission:
– Presentation of the display
– Retailers’ collection
– After-sales service
Salesforce in a shop
•
•
•
•
One Manager
One Assistant Manager
A few Salespeople
Cosmopolitan and young
– A five-day sales-school in Majorca each
year for the managers
• The managers give salesadvice to the
salespeople in the shop
• Move frequently from a shop in Paris to
another
• Can move abroad if they want to
Camper’s Clients
• 25- 35 years old « bobos » (failure in
rue de Passy)
• Urban
• Early adopters, trend followers
• Those who dare to be original
• Unisex shoes, but womanisation
• 60% women
• Women: Casi Casi
• Men: pelotas
Reasons for expansion to France
• “The 1992 Olympic Games
brought about a radical change in
the perception that the world had
of Spain and Spanish things”
• Paris - one of Europe’s and the
World’s fashion capitals
• Expansion at this time also
London and Milan
• FDI: Market Factors over search
for efficiency and resources
Camper’s Values
Towards the costumers :
• Take your time
• Walk, don’t run
• Mediterranean culture, « cultural brand »,
hispanic atmosphere (shoes, promotion,
salespeople)
• Tradition of art de vivre, tourism, welcome
• Geocentric approach
• Shoes inspired by farmer footwear steeped
in island tradition
Camper’s Values
In the company :
• Young people (about 30)
• The atmosphere of a start-up
• Very cosmopolitan
• Relaxed
• People wear Camper shoes
• Everyone’s creativity is encouraged
• Easy to move from a position to another
• No public accountability
Promotion
• Advertisement only from 1998
• Only 2% of the turnover dedicated to
promotion Models are everyday people
• Global marketing campaign (in English and
Spanish)
• Magazines and posters in-shop only
• Word-of-mouth (chiropodists)
• Web site
• Distribution network allows promotion
(shop in shops and multibrand)
Adaptation to France
• No standardized recruitment model
• Local recruitment of people with a spark
(high competition)
• Internal growth through promotion
• International transfer, no use of expatriates
• Training and motivation : Yearly
conferences (“conventions”) in Majorca to
instill the company’s values
• Advertisement in French fashion magazines
(Elle)
• High share of best practices inter countries
Key benefit numbers
• Turnover: € 6,4 million in 2003 (vs.
€ 1 million in 1997)
• 62 employees (7 in 1997)
• Globally, 3 000 000 pairs sold in 2000
• Very small promotion costs (2% of
the budget)
• France: first international market
• Springboard for international
expansion
Key Constraint Costs
• Real estate costs (comparable to London,
higher than Milan)
• Travel costs for training purposes
• Distribution costs
• Taxation system
– Corporate income tax: 35.4% (vs. 35% in
Spain, 34% in Italy, 30% in UK)
– Personal income: 58% (vs. 45% in Spain,
45% in Italy, 40% in UK)
– Employer social security: 45% (vs. 30.6 %
in Spain,35% in Italy, 12,8% in UK)
• Legal constraints (trademark)
Essential advice
• For the fashion industry, heavy investments
in dynamic cities are necessary for
successful implantation elsewhere
• Good internal communication leads to high
employee satisfaction and commitment
• “It's better to build a brand around oldfashioned ideas than to try to be fashionforward” Lorenzo Fluxa
• Camper's current success is the result of
years of work, family tradition, a great
group of people and a lot of imagination
• Dare to change customers’ habits
• Walk, don’t run
We thank
• Philippe Salva Morer, Press and Public relations
manager, 22 rue du Pont Neuf 75001 Paris,
[email protected], 01.42.33.63.46
• Andrew Kiernan, Visual Merchandiser, 22 rue du
Pont Neuf 75001 Paris, [email protected],
01.42.33.64.67
• Agnès, shop manager, 1 rue du Cherche Midi 75006
Paris
• Pedro Monge Alvarez, international communication
manager, [email protected]
Bibliography
Camper, les pieds sur terre, Jean-François
Arnaud, Le Figaro entreprises, 23.09.2002
Nostalgie et sportswear en ville, Juliette
Garnier, LSA, 16.05.2002
Camper, chausseur rural pour pieds urbains,
Gervasio Pérez, Courrier International,
Camper à marche forcée, Caroline de Malet, Le
Figaro, 23.04.2001
Le “paysan” Camper séduit l’urbain, Marc
Fernandez, Le nouvel économiste, 14.03.2003
Our team
Caroline Limet, HEC
G9, 06 63 94 16 82
Myriam Rouis, D49,
06 10 91 12 18
Gillian Stevenson, 23
rue de la Sablière,
75014 Paris, 06 32
35 28 66