Speed accelerates change at Redcats

Speed favours exchange and sharing in each of the four Redcats' key areas of expertise: customer marketing, brand marketing, the web and product marketing.

 

An original organisation

SPEED has decided to dispense with fixed premises and be a virtual university, organized by project teams. Collaborators selected for their know-how and recognized background in their fields are first trained and then put in charge of leading around twenty sessions every year, in French and English. The teaching method consists of alternately studying concepts and concrete cases, whether these be Redcats brands or “benchmark” brands from the competition. SPEED is also a university on the move. At the end of each session, a satisfaction questionnaire is handed to participants. The analysis of their replies contributes to the ongoing improvement of the programs, both in form and in content. Changes in strategies, sales channels and collections also have a direct influence on the teaching. "By talking about the latest current practices, we want to offer cutting edge content to our participants”, comments Anne Esling, training and HR director at Redcats. By the end of 2006, over 1,000 persons had received SPEED training.

 

3 years since it took shape in September 2003, SPEED – standing for SPEcific EDucation – is taking stock for the first time. This internal university has the role of fixing and sharing expertise between collaborators in each of the mail order group's key disciplines: customer marketing, brand marketing, the web and product marketing. The teaching aims to help all collaborators share in the transformation of a mail order company selling French brands into a group of international brands, centered on the product, whose multi-channel distribution capitalizes mainly on the web. The customer marketing seminar was first off the board and proved Speed's concrete usefulness. Over three days, participants learned how to understand the ins and outs of customer files, how to build a multi-channel sales plan and master the techniques of communication and presentation. Brand marketing also plies to strategic priorities. How to develop a common strategy for the brand with a capital B? How best to promote the brand portfolio? How to increase its value? Speed Web, taught only in English, was launched in February 2005 in response to the dazzling rise in internet sales (31.2 % of Redcats turnover). Developed jointly in England, Sweden and the USA, this week-long course teaches a maximum of collaborators in the minimum time. The latest course to be offered was product marketing. Since May 2006, participants have been learning how to market a product line, how to develop merchandising or conceive a collection.