What e-Future for Miss Numérique ? Clerc-Girard Marie-France / Sorio Rossella / Abdessemed Tamym, ICN : Nancy, 2016
Julien LAURENT, CEO of Miss Numérique, is familiar with fast growing companies. In 2004, with his knowledge of e-commerce, he became a shareholder in the Miss Numérique company, a website selling cameras, lenses, and other photographic accessories. These are professional or semi-professional products targeting either professional photographers or photography enthusiasts. In 2010, Julien LAURENT and his partners decided to diversify, and create a subsidiary, Miss Glamuse, an on-line company selling mid/top range women's lingerie.
In 2013, the group, which now included the two companies, had a turnover of almost €15million. However, although Miss Numérique's economic model has proven its worth so far, one cannot neglect current and potential competition. It is also important to look out for changes in consumers', and e-commerce stakeholders' expectations in a field as sensitive as photography where many changes are taking place. In addition to this, further threats seem to loom over Miss Numérique. The photography market is crumbling dangerously in France and elsewhere. Moreover, in 2014, growth in e-commerce showed signs of a loss of impetus for the third year in a row. The downturn which has been observed in physical trade is even greater on the internet, where consumers can compare offers at the click of a mouse. This is probably a water-shed in Miss Numérique's business model, and its CEO is questioning the company's future and its strategy.
Objectifs pédagogiques
This case study analyzes the development and the difficulties encountered by an e-commerce company. It enables students to have a better understanding of:
- The development of an on-line start-up: as well as market demand, a certain number of internal factors can explain the reasons for the development and the rapid growth of an e-commerce start-up.
- The many operational and organisational challenges which come with this type of development: the case study highlights the consequences of rapid growth for e.g. logistics platform management, stock management, staff management and development of internal skills, follow-up of financial results, risk management, operational excellence and service quality, quality assurance, and partnership policy with suppliers of transport services.
- Adjusting the business model: competitive pressure supposes re-designing the business model. In fact, controlling the different operational and organisational aspects is not enough to guarantee a company's longevity in the e-commerce sector, and being able to enter it does not necessarily mean being able to stay in it.
Temps d'utilisation : 3h00 (A course of 2 to 3 hours )