It's coming in Lidl buy a new kettle to 4

It was in 1953. Family four-horse spun right towards a promising horizon, that of the 30 Glorieuses of post-war. Selongey, Frédéric Lescure, the patron of the society of stamping of Burgundy (SEB), made the discovery that will transform the fate of his small business. It launches on the market the first stamped cooker of a single piece aluminum, reducing to zero the risk of explosion common previously with this type of infernal machines. The pressure cooker and his small characteristic whooshing will invade the cuisines of the world and to sell more than 50 million copies. However, in 1954, promising casserole is denied entrance to the Salon of household arts of Paris. Neither one nor two, Frédéric Lescure is a wall of buds before the show and composed a hymn to the glory of his finding that he sing his eleven children and which it distributes the words onto the Champs-Elysées!

Thus, at this time, where rural Mao's China launched its first five-year plan, where the French were not yet saturated culinary articles and where it did not yet speak appliance, innovation and marketing were already critical success ingredients.

Today, what has changed is the playing field. The fight was opposed, as in the past, Normand John mantle (Moulinex) in Lescure Bourguignon (SEB). The latter finally absorbed the first and the competition has changed size.

The small electrical household appliances market, including SEB is now the world leader (read our information page 24), is torn by two opposing forces: one that takes still more down, and one that always grows above. First, there is tremendous pressure from emerging countries and especially China that flood the West of their coffee pots, kettles and other toaster. Therefore, prices crash at high speed on products in shorter life cycles. Three years ago, a low range coffee sold in large area 20 euros. Today, it is worth more than EUR 5. Hence the proliferation of brands of distributors and the "no names" (without marks).

And then, at the other end of the string, flowers high-end, speciality, the luxury. Prices are without limit, as distribution channels, the margins are high. Today social phenomenon widely studied, the Western consumer how much of the two. It's coming in Lidl buy a new kettle to 4.99 euros and breaks his piggy bank to afford the machine espresso maker of dreams more than 200 euro. At the time, the market develops in the high and the low end and shrinks at sight of eye in the middle range. Thierry of the Tower of Artaise, the pattern of SEB, calls this the phenomenon of the hourglass, extended at the bottom and top and strangled in the middle.

Therefore the choice available to the industrial sector is, classic, consumer goods, both found in consumer electronics in shampoos: focus on the high-paying, but generator low volumes or become a Mastodon capable of providing a coffee makers and toaster by whole cargo. SEB, he must do both.

Because if the Group wants to retain his world ranking, he must both generate volume against surging Chinese, hold rank in the top of range to preserve margins and draw its image to the top, but also remain on the heart of the offer. Translated differently, this means that the future belongs to either the niche players, the Giants, and that those who are between the two have to worry.

This, two key reasons: the weight to distributors, and the presence in emerging markets growing. In a saturated market and low growth in Europe (1-2 good years), the place is expensive on large surfaces linear. They have not increased in size, while they are now crowded by brands and the "no names". At the time, the distributors tend to reduce the number of their suppliers and therefore preferred that the large offers. Report of force even more unbalanced that this sector represents only a few percent of the sales of the major distributors of food, while four or five large signs control more than two third party sales French SEB and its competitors. Philips, De Longhi (Kenwood) and Babyliss did there are indeed not err in alerting the competition Council after the acquisition of Moulinex by SEB in 2001. The firepower of the new group, with including six major marks (Moulinex, SEB, Tefal, Calor, Rowenta, Krups) will evict us are linear, they explained in substance.

The second reason that grows SEB to cover the whole of the land is the need to seek growth where it is, i.e. in emerging countries: Russia, Brazil, China. In recent years, growth has come from these countries and has offset the decline in European markets. Go as far to flawless logistics and commercial and industrial implantation powerful that only the volume available.

But this requires multiplying the marks corresponding to the different families of products (food, household, caring for the body...) and positioning in the range. Today, SEB has a dozen, a record in the profession. With a strong constraint: increased marketing costs and the need to juggle with economic models. Almost total subcontracting, small margin and rapid turnover for the entry, large investment in research and marketing, internal production and proximity for the high-end. The group is finally forced to imprison the acquisitions to add constantly new brands and new niches to strong local specificities, such as recently for the Chinese Supor, King of the pressure cooker rice. A policy that uses human and financial resources and has always the risk of bad surprises. It is this continual flexibility which forced the group to review continuously the industrial device, especially France. Once a product trivializes, its production is relocating. Ideal as a product more upscale place in factories, which requires heavy investments in innovation.

Alchemy otherwise more complex than the orchestration of the launch of the first pressure cooker and that symbolizes well the always delicate and rare passage in France of the status of SMEs to multinational.