Subject:
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Lego and SoleRebels say customer feedback is vital
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.mediawatch
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Date:
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Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:29:50 GMT
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19668 times
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29 August 2012 - When Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder of Ethiopian footwear
company SoleRebels, travelled 3,500 miles to Denmark to meet Jorgen Vig
Knudstorp, the chief executive of toy company Lego, she was excited at the
prospect of the two sharing their business experiences.
While the two groups are very different - Lego celebrates its 80th birthday this
year, generates $3.5bn (£2.2bn) in sales and employs 9,000 people, whereas
SoleRebels is just eight years old, has sales of $1m and employs 75 staff
directly - she is hoping they will have some things in common.
Both firms are family owned and in terms of their leadership time at the top, Ms
Alemu and Mr Knudstorp are on an equal footing. She founded SoleRebels in 2004 -
the same year that he took over at Lego.
Ms Alemu was only in her 20s when she founded SoleRebels, revolutionising the
way business is done in her home country.
Based in Zenabwork, a small community on the rural outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ms
Alemu is the managing director of the Fairtrade-registered shoe company, whose
footwear ranges are inspired by traditional Ethiopian-style shoes, and adapted
to different markets.
She grew up in this small town and knew from a very early age she wanted to make
a difference to her community.
Addressing differences
Drawing on the traditional Barabasso sandals worn by the Ethiopian rebels who
stopped the country being colonised in the 1930s, each pair of SoleRebels shoes
is created using the skills of artisans who live in Zenabwork and crafted from
recycled materials sourced within 60 miles of the company.
These eco-sensitive products have become sought after across the world,
available through High Street and online retailers in countries from Canada to
Taiwan.
Paying attention to the diverse needs of its customers is vital, says Ms Alemu.
"We have to serve different countries in different ways," she says. "For
example, if we take Japan, the Japanese have got their own colours, their own
tastes, their own designs, their own things that they think is going to suit
them.
"So, when it comes to SoleRebels, we have to design only for Japan to penetrate
their market. If you go to the States, it's another story. If you go to Taiwan,
it's different.
"So, based on people, the countries, and then based on their culture, we have to
find a way to sell our products."
'Listen to the complainer'
This ability to respond so quickly to customers' desires is something Lego boss
Jorgen Vig Knudstorp envies.
Despite the difference in scale between the companies, he agrees that listening
to feedback from customers is of the utmost importance.
Lego games Mr Knudstorp says he wanted to modernise the Lego brand when he took
over
His biggest fear is that Lego, the world's third biggest toy maker, becomes
complacent. To avoid that, he says, they must talk to their customers "because
they always have something to complain about".
"One of my slogans is 'Listen to the complainer' because sometimes when you get
a customer complaint, people will say, 'But it's 1% of our customers or 0.1% of
our customers which speak up,' which is true. But I think for Lego to survive,
we need to deliver to extraordinary [levels]."
Lego is still based in the small Danish town of Billund, where it was founded by
Ole Kirk Kristiansen in 1932.
For 60 years, the family firm, famed for its plastic connecting bricks,
successfully returned a profit. But in the 1990s, Lego hit a crisis.
This was not just caused by changing play patterns and the attraction of
alternative toys for children, but in part because the company had grown too
rapidly, expanding into other areas, such as the Lego theme parks.
'Critical relationship'
In 2004, the role of chief executive was handed to Mr Knudstorp, a former
academic and McKinsey consultant, and within 18 months he had returned Lego to
profit.
But his appointment had been a radical move for a company which until then had
always been headed by a member of the Kristiansen family.
"Working with the family in a family-owned business is obviously an absolutely
critical relationship for a CEO, but even for the entire organisation," Mr
Knudstorp says.
"And my view, to be honest, in the beginning was that the family was just part
of the problem the company had faced and I was very honest with them about it.
And I think over the years, I've really come to recognise the huge benefit of
family ownership, because it's a long-term stability."
SoleRebels, on the other hand, is still entirely family-owned and run, and Mr
Knudstorp is curious to know whether Ms Alemu has plans to bring in any partners
in order to fuel growth.
But for the time being she is unsure. "The problem is, once people get into your
business they want to control you."
But she adds: "My business is like a child. Maybe it's going to grow, maybe it's
going to walk by itself sometime."
Following their encounter, Mr Knudstorp admits that he was surprised by how much
the two companies had in common and hints that a return trip may even be on the
cards.
"The similarities were huge and I was kind of regretting that we were sitting
here at the Lego base and not in Ethiopia, because I got really curious to see
the set-up."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19342121
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