Rebranding Review 1

The largest Colombian big box

looks confused, rebranding

without using

Design thinking. Writted by:

Felipe Alford

Rebranding Consultant

Loaz | Brand Design Management

felipealford@gmail.com

WHO ARE “THE SUCCESS GROUP” (EL GRUPO ÉXITO) AND THE

WHOLESELLER BRAND EXITO

Old - Current New - Current

It has just been published by the media that Almacenes Éxito was the biggest colombian

seller in 2009.

EXITO, is the most successful brand of “Grupo Éxito”, which is one of the largest South

American country's economic groups.

The group has been formed by a series of mergers and acquisitions in the last decade.

Owned a platform with 260 points of sale including all brands and formats of “ Grupo

Éxito”

Such us:

Wholesaler: EXITO

Warehouse: Carulla, Pomona and Ley

Discount store: Bodega Surtimax

Specialist: Home Mart

Charity Foundation: Fundacion Exito

Old - Current New - Current

Corporate Web Site - Current

Printed Application in POP - Current

Éxito is a wholesaler chane that distribute at big scale, it was founded in 1949 by the

Colombian Gustavo Toro Quintero. It is established in 34 colombian cities. Almacenes

Éxito is the biggest wholesaler of the country. The company generates 43 000 direct jobs

in Colombia and the recent acquisition of Carulla-Vivero, this figure reaches 57,000

employees.

Its administrative headquarters are located in the cities of Envigado, Itagüí, Bogota, Cali

and Barranquilla, and distribution centers in major cities.

The French group Casino is the majority owner. In February this year, private pension

funds in Colombia, became partners in the “éxito” of a minority holding, reversing the

pensions of Colombians in the company.

The Grupo Exito as strategic change, has become into a corporation como cambio

estratégico se ha transformado en una corporación multiindustry, multiformat,

multibrand y multibusiness, which consists of its parent company Almacenes Exito

S.A. and its subsidiaries Carulla Vivero S.A. and Didetexco.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almacenes_Éxito

WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE LOCAL MARKET?

The grupo éxito, is in the phase of market expansion, within its own service portfolio:

retail trade, other businesses: real estate, finance, insurance, textiles, food, travel and gas

service stations.

New architecture endorsement - Current

Besides being restructured the front of their stores to expand through the construction of

shopping centers and expanding its offer of the hand of the Chilean brand "EASY."

Despite being the company that sold most in the country and to be the largest retail chain,

the French group Carrefour has grown about 25% while the "éxito" grew at a much lower

rate. Carrefour also introduced a renewal in their own brand packaging that gave them a

margin of differentiation in relation to the richness of design compared to other rivals.

Additionally, the stores were expropriated in Venezuela accused of price gouging.

THE STRATEGY OF THE COMPANY, THE BRAND AND THE OTHER

BRANDS

The company given the huge growth in brands, formats and services.

It has taken a prudent position in excess in terms of making a brand audit.

To reflect a complex architecture, inclusive, dynamic, rich in design, to create a powerful

communication language.

Unfortunately, this business group has never been synonymous with excellence in

design. And the implementation of the renovation being carried out, apparently lacks rigor

in planning the introduction of the new identity and apparently had the same deficiency in

the design process in the rebrand.

The company has called its standardization program "brand rationalization plan", with the

premise converting stores “Ley” into the brand éxito, absorving visually.

And with the weak strategy to renew the identity and signage outside the store every time

they open a new one without interest in that region or city is located the store.

The main feature of this case of rebranding, is that all of the photos that appeared here

was taken on the same day, in two stores in the same city in Bogotá.

Diluted almost to the end the efforts of the brand graphic consistency, standardization

and surprise and identification with the audience. And it gives more of a semblance of

tactical reaction to innovations made by the competition that a strategical action.

http://www.almacenesexito.com/Plantillas/Impresion.aspx?Sitio=http://www.almacenesexito.com/prensa/

&Lista=Noticias_Exito&CampoTitulo=Título&CampoContenido=Cuerpo&Dato=89

DEFINITIONS OF THE CONCEPTS OF BRAND ÉXITO

Éxito

- Stores are supermarkets, hypermarkets.

- Meaning "all in one place." Created for

those who want full market and find a

wide range of products "no food."

Éxito Vecino

- Complete market and something more: It is

characterized by its proximity and convenience

in sections deals on consumer goods and fresh.

- Selection of the set and even sections,

according to the group of people it serves.

- The products of "no food" are located in a

space efficient, easy to get in less time.

Being a market in an underdeveloped country, there is not strong competition from hard

discounters, the real strategy is to offer segmented offerings, credit systems and support

the imagination of low prices.

http://www.almacenesexito.com/prensa/Paginas/PTL_02CONTENIDO.aspx?Dato=163&Lista=Comunicados&

CampoTitulo=Titulo&CampoContenido=Cuerpo&DS=La%20nueva%20imagen%20del%20Éxito%20llega%20a

%20la%20capital%20del%20Valle

REBRAND AND APPLICATION

The rebrand of a logo that was 60 years with the company, was fair and necessary.

New architecture endorsement - Current New architecture endorsement - Current

The current result of this renewal, reflecting more as a design exercise and not as an

opportunity to create a visual identity system that would lead to success stand out in their

strategic communications, to strengthen the emotional link with the audience and visually

enhance the existing spaces

The new brand architecture, brand endorsement EXITO, became a lowercase "éxito" It is

unclear if the renewal is the corporate brand or only on the master brand of

hypermarkets.

The services included in the card "éxito" , which like most touchpoints even still mixed the

new and the old identity, the endorsement made on a light Helvetica, name the services

at the same size at the corporative brand hierarchy.

But this is only in some cases, as other applications such as the ""grupo éxito" ", the

campaign of "puntos éxito”, or gas stations, are endorsed with the same typeface but

different size hierarchy Embedded between the stress level and the t in the

wordmark. Sometimes it seems that " seguros éxito" is more important than the same

logo of the "grupo éxito".

Regarding the implementation, if there was strategy, planning was very weak, or too small

to simply be changing the extent that stock-outs of packaging and printed. and visually as

new stores are opened and existing ones to wait for the final.

What kind of consistency reflects the brand identity within the same shelf mixes old with

the new brand as if it was only reflect a change in styling and nothing else.

Where are all the efforts of brand recognition when it confuses the audience.

Rebrand tarjeta éxito - current

Tarjeta ÉXITO - current

Rebrand Puntos éxito - current Puntos ÉXITO - current

Mixed new & old DOB´s - current Package ÉXITO - current

Package éxito - current

Mixed two old brands - current

THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND AUDITS

The result of this rebrand is a reflection of a renewed focus on functionality and taste of

the design team.

Either touchpoints were not evaluated and planned in the implementation phase.

For this happening that implementation should be encountered organizational and

situational factors do not show that this renewal is to acquire a strategic position, but a

design exercise focused on functionality.

http://www.virtualexito.com/MensajeDeError.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/lobbyanonimo.aspx

Favicon EXITO in site éxito - current

Designer

centered

Human

centered

desing

Funcionality

Rich

Aesthetically

In the corporate portal images do not show pictures of the renewal applications, it is a pity

that the company that sells the most in the country, does not become an example of

design as for example Coca-Cola, Ikea, Pepsi, Fedex, Walmart, Target, Tesco, Sainsbury,

Waitrose, among many others that make each piece printed an emotional link and every

touchpoint a rich experience with the brand.

http://www.almacenesexito.com/prensa/Paginas/PTL_10GALERIA.aspx?DS=Imágenes

STRATEGIC BRAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

While this discipline as the branding was not part of the core essence of ÉXITO warehouse

business in its origins and its growth, now is the time and has the opportunity to begin to

build brands in Latin America as solid and consistent as the centuries-old world, with

brand manuals that are not only printed in pdf or stored inside a desk.

That both the brand audit, as the implementation phase are focused on human and to get

obsessed by the consistency should be the main objective of the branding team, in this

sensitive time of which depends on the success of the "success | éxito".

Mixed two old brands - current