A 360° transformation: Nocibé
How did the #2 brand in the highly competitive beauty retail market break free from the pack to forge their own path?
Services
Brand Positioning & Narrative
Challenger Strategy
The Challenge
French beauty retailer Nocibé had a a big ambition to move from #2 to #1 in their category. But they were caught in the status-quo trap of trying to keep up with their biggest competitor and the market leader – all without the luxury of its large budget and resources. In an ever-competitive retail environment, the team needed more than short-term thinking to succeed and grow. Our brief was to help the team create a vision for the future – one that would get them unstuck from focusing on the competition and, in turn, change the rules of the game in their favour.
Inputs
- Store visits
- Interviews with key stakeholders
- Employee quantitative survey
- Category trends analysis
Deliverables
- Challenger Brand Identity
- Strategic Roadmap
The Challenge
French beauty retailer Nocibé had a a big ambition to move from #2 to #1 in their category. But they were caught in the status-quo trap of trying to keep up with their biggest competitor and the market leader – all without the luxury of its large budget and resources. In an ever-competitive retail environment, the team needed more than short-term thinking to succeed and grow. Our brief was to help the team create a vision for the future – one that would get them unstuck from focusing on the competition and, in turn, change the rules of the game in their favour.
“The EBF team was 'au top': lots of energy and always a smile, a lot of intelligence and lucidity. The way you run the workshops is very dynamic and fun. They are very well prepared. The visuals of your presentation materials are superbly well chosen and so meaningful, varied and dynamic. The way you made us work is conducive to creativity.”
“The EBF team was 'au top': lots of energy and always a smile, a lot of intelligence and lucidity. The way you run the workshops is very dynamic and fun. They are very well prepared. The visuals of your presentation materials are superbly well chosen and so meaningful, varied and dynamic. The way you made us work is conducive to creativity.”
The Unlock
In keeping up with the market leader, Nocibé had lost sight of their biggest strengths and compelling differences, the things that resonated with the valuable customers who were being underserved by the direction the category was heading in.
What would it mean to redefine their category and become a completely new kind of beauty retailer? We looked forward to 2030 to set a plan to reach their future ambitions. By looking forward, it allowed us to work backwards from a new vision – shifting the thinking of the team from being stuck in a #2 mindset to that of a market leader in a new category.
Now, the team could devise a plan to redefine the core elements of their business in service of this single vision, sacrificing and overcommitting to take on the market leader on their own terms.
The Output
Nocibé’s new vision for 2030 is currently being rolled out across their stores in France. Their Challenger ambition: from #2 in Beauty today to #1 in Beauty 360 tomorrow.
eatbigfish team
- Hugh Derrick, Partner
- Susie Milburn, Strategy Director
- Ellie Simmons, Strategy & Innovation Lead
- Kate Costello, Project Coordinator
Nocibé teams
- Marketing
- Ecommerce & Digital
- Purchasing
- Technology
- Supply Chain
- Executive Leadership
- Sales and Retail Operations
- Store Management
The Unlock
In keeping up with the market leader, Nocibé had lost sight of their biggest strengths and compelling differences, the things that resonated with the valuable customers who were being underserved by the direction the category was heading in.
What would it mean to redefine their category and become a completely new kind of beauty retailer? We looked forward to 2030 to set a plan to reach their future ambitions. By looking forward, it allowed us to work backwards from a new vision – shifting the thinking of the team from being stuck in a #2 mindset to that of a market leader in a new category.
Now, the team could devise a plan to redefine the core elements of their business in service of this single vision, sacrificing and overcommitting to take on the market leader on their own terms.
The Output
Nocibé’s new vision for 2030 is currently being rolled out across their stores in France. Their Challenger ambition: from #2 in Beauty today to #1 in Beauty 360 tomorrow.
Impact
1000
Employees surveyed
55
Workshop attendees
6
New concept stores launched
