Geox in France

1. Geox in France Best in France Case Study 13th December 2005 By Christian Brands and Robert Relph

2. 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

3. 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)

4. 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

5. Clients French Client Make-up • 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. With thanks to • Eros Scattolin, International Communications Manager GEOX 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

13. 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

14. Additional Information • For questionnaire and transcription see supplementary documents • Team Details: Robert Relph Wychwood, Rectory Meadow, Litcham, Norfolk PE32 2NR, United Kingdom r.relph@lancs.ac.uk Christian Brands Roggenweg 18 50933 Cologne Germany christianbrands@hotmail.com

15. End Thank you very much for your attention!