Gensis: Five Focus Area (FFA

THE BUSINESS PLAN GENESIS: FIVE FOCUS AREA (FFA)

Vasanth Kumar, former CEO Lifestyle, had done a deep-sink analysis of the company and the market before he arrived at the Five Focus Area (FFA) approach. On the one hand was the pressing need to weed out processes and systems that no longer served the company and on the other, there was the imperative to take up the bottomline... “Lifestyle is a youthful brand which offers fashionable products with a seamless shopping experience and remarkable service” — the mission statement of the brand was the mantra that set it soaring on its journey of success in India…

ComE 2018, Lifestyle was still leading the competition but the fashion space in the country was in a worrying churn. International players were entering the market with their deep pockets and quick fashion turnovers, luring the consumer. The online revolution too was gaining momentum. Key issues with largely offline retail entities were the following: intense competition between online market players aided by aggressive discounting; value fashion players becoming dominant; and a ‘mall explosion’ in top cities leading to abundant choices, coupled with attractive prices. Department stores and premium brands had to protect their market share through high decibel promotions and a prolonged EOSS period. The time had come for Lifestyle to redefine the dynamics of business, infuse fresh ideas into it and take business to a new high.

The plan had to be formulated at the top but involve employees down the line. The directions and initiatives needed to percolate through the organization. So it was that the second half of 2018 saw a flurry of workshops and planning meets which involved not just the top management but second and third level employees as well. A special ‘Outbound Workshop’ was organised for the senior leadership team to encourage introspection and help in rebooting the system. Breakaway sessions helped identify focus areas. The brain-storming was followed by customer in-sighting across five cities to ascertain whether the company was in-sync with customer mindsets. By December 2018, the ground was laid for crafting the Five Focus Area approach to take business to the next level of sustainable profitability.

Challenges were rapidly converted to opportunities. Buying and design, planning, sourcing, and merchandizing architecture

THE PLAN DIPPED INTO 20 YEARS OF LEARNINGS

The FFA was divided into 3 buckets: Customer Experiences, Customer Loyalty and Operational Efficiency By December 2018, the stage was set for crafting the FFA approach to take business to the next level of profitability

THE BEAUTY OF THE PLAN LAY IN ITS SIMPLICITY

and IT deployment were all aligned to achieve common goals. To avoid dilutions and contradictions that may arise, each function was divided into ‘Customer Facing’ and ‘Support Function’.

The Top 20 stores went through a 360º overhaul from store upgradation and theme-based promos with a 42-week calendar supported by brand partners to focus on the CX. The EOS sales were to focus on conversion and customer experience. Geo-fencing, VM alignment, in-store zoning, brand realization and many front-end functions too were streamlined. Support functions, including IT initiatives, automation of VM, planning and analytics, team KRA alignment and social media — were all synced to complete the 360º focus.

The FFA approach aimed at strengthening the journey of Lifestyle in the path towards sustainable profitable growth. The brand was to deliver its main value proposition and strengthen its market leadership position through the approach. The FFA was divided into three buckets or Customer Value Propositions: Customer Experience, Operational Efficiency and Customer Loyalty. In a nutshell, therefore, the FFA comprised products and services to increase gains (Gain Creators) and reduce pain (Pain Relievers).

The FFA pillars were the following:  Securing of profitability of the top 20  Freshness Fashion Availability and Service  Delivery of store-brand profitability  Turnaround of new/concern stores  Strengthening brand equity and loyalty

The following chapters will unfold how the FFA approach took the brand on a journey with outcomes boosting profitability and concretizing systems that were poised to be carried forward beyond the pandemic.