LIFESTYLE

FFA approach, the NPS score of Lifestyle India shot up from 24% to 46% between the last quarter of 2018 and August 2019. By Feb-Mar’20 the NPS score shot up higher. Check the umbrella view of the figures.

70 Business Beyond the Pandemic

The pandemic and lockdown brought business to a grinding halt. When work resumed, there was a change in customer expectations and mind-set. In response, the business dynamics too underwent radical change that was to impact the years to come... A look ahead.

76 Way Ahead - the Four-pillar

Approach

Rishi Vasudev CEO, Lifestyle, who took over the reins from Vasanth Kumar, interpreted the FFA approach in the light of the pandemic and arrived at a four-pronged approach to ensure that Lifestyle is able to reach its potential and soar even higher.

Foreword

As the leading department store brand, Lifestyle stood out as a singular concept when it was launched in India 20 years ago. It caught the imagination of consumers and walked a high path of success almost immediately throughout the country – starting with the metros.

But by 2014, rapid changes were happening in the market. Competition was abuzz in the Indian market with the entry of international players that began vying with domestic players for a slice of the fashion pie. Awareness of global fashion too was on the rise. Most significantly, online business was taking giant steps into the space of fashion and lifestyle with aggressive promotions. In such a situation, the need of the hour was for a refreshed strategy by adopting ‘blue-sky thinking’ that would safeguard the long-term interests of the brand, and insulate it from the effects of discounting practices that were dragging down profitability. This would ensure robust all-round performance.

The CEO and Managing Director, Vasanth Kumar, at that time, aided by the insights provided by the customers as well as the core senior management team at Lifestyle, came up with a turnaround game plan termed as the ‘Five Focus Area (FFA) approach’. The leadership team worked out five pillars of action areas which were to transform practices across functions - including the offline and online entities. This was successfully rolled out across the organisation setting a strong foundation for the brand to stay ahead in the years to come. Rishi Vasudev, who took over from Vasanth Kumar held up the legacy of thinking out-of-the-box to take forward the brand business.

Read on to know more of the FFA approach, the modalities and how it helped turn around the brand and set Lifestyle on a sound footing for the future.