How did Salomon succeed in becoming the leading business in its market, even in the face of competition much more firmly entrenched than itself? The conference held on the 7th of December “Communities of enthousiasts, a new lever for success in innovation” provided answers to this question. Here is an account of the conference for those who could not attend (in 4 articles).
Defining disruptive innovations…
Up until January 2007, Apple was an information technology business, not a telecommunications one. All business strategy theories claim that attempting to infiltrate a mature market is a bad idea. There was therefore no reason for Apple to invest in the saturated telecommunications market. Apple had no particular know-how in this sector and yet it was able to revolutionize the telecommunications market by launching the Iphone. It is now unquestionably the benchmark in that market. Now that is a disruptive innovation!
Disruptive innovations are within reach of small businesses!
The good news is, carrying out a disruptive innovation doesn’t mean that your name has to be Steve Jobs. After all Salomon did it! 5 years ago its Footwear department was at its worst. Its sales figures have since been multiplied by 2.5! Here’s how…
The 4-part account of the 7th of December conference :
- “What are disruptive innovations?”
- “7 pieces of advice for creating a competitive advantage through disruptive innovation”, click here
- “Creating and preserving your competitive advantage in the face of much stronger competition”, click here
- Disruptive innovations: the fundamentals that you must bear in mind”
Introducing the speakers :
Benoît Sarazin : Consultant, specialist in disruptive innovations, founder of FarWind Consulting. As Marketing Manager for HP Benoît cut his teeth in the High Tech sector where markets are constantly being transformed. His role consisted in creating new markets. He is an expert in anticipating forthcoming markets. He helps businesses create markets where they are the standard to follow. He has been a consultant for Salomon for 4 years.
Patrick Pons de Vier : Manager of Salomon’s Footwear Business Unit. Salomon’s sales figures exceed 220 million euros, 90% of which are made through export.
The FarWind Club conferences :
The FarWind Club conferences are a cycle of bimonthly conferences on topics at the forefront of disruptive innovation. Within this framework Benoit Sarazin (FarWind Consulting) and Patrick Pons de Vier (Salomon) talked about their experience of disruptive innovations on the 7th of December 2010. A conference on “Deciphering weak signals to create a disruptive innovation” was held on the 3rd of February 2011 with Philippe Cahen, a specialist in imagining future business scenarios.
A conference on “How to innovate in an uncertain world” will be held on the 6th of April 2011 with a specialist of the extreme, Olivier Soudieux. To sign up for the next conference, click here.
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