Inspiring the Organisation to Act: A Business in Denial

Abstract

Describes the vital part played by research in compelling senior management at Levi-Strauss Europe to recognise the scale of the decline in the jeans market (1997-8), uncover the reasons for it and design the repositioning strategy. The paper illustrates the value of research being given a voice at board level in close partnership with the rest of the business. Research had to overcome considerable inertia in the company before the scale of the problem was recognised. Market segmentation methods were used to understand consumers’ changes of attitude. Brand innovation was consumer driven (e.g. the ‘youth panel’), and innovation followed in both product and retailing methods (described), with research acting in partnership with the design and brand teams. Winner of the Best Paper Award, Best Presented Paper Award and Case History Award at the 2002 Market Research Society Conference.