tchibo case study

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t

This document is authorized for use only by Camelia Oprean at University Lucian Blaga of Sibiu until July 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email protected] or 617.783.7860.

ESMT–512–0129–1

ES1291

This case study was written by Sven Petersen of Witten/Herdecke University, Francine Espinoza of ESMT

European School of Management and Technology and Luc Wathieu of Georgetown University. Sole

responsibility for the content rests with the authors. It is intended to be used as the basis for class discussion

rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation.

Copyright 2012 by ESMT European School of Management and Technology, Berlin, Germany, www.esmt.org.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a

spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,

or otherwise - without the permission of ESMT.

May 29, 2012

ESMT Case Study

Tchibo Ideas: Leveraging the creativity of customers

We create our products for the customer. We tailor the products to the needs of our customers in every step of the product development process, and given that we sell every week a completely new assortment of products, there is strong pressure for every single product to be successful.

Dr. Sven Groos, director of Consumer Goods

These words of Dr. Sven Groos, director of Consumer Goods at Tchibo GmbH, reflect the

challenges associated with the business model of the German coffee roaster and consumer goods

retailer: offering a different assortment of products every single week forced Tchibo to maintain

a fast pace of innovation while consistently meeting consumer needs.

In 2007, the company pledged to adopt new ways of discovering what consumers wanted to find

in its stores. The “Tchibo Ideas” initiative was born out of this effort. Tchibo Ideas was an

Internet platform where consumers could post their daily life problems and where other users

could propose imaginative solutions: “Consumers know best what problems they face and also

what solutions might work, and Tchibo has the capability to eventually bring these solutions to

life,” explained Turadj Schahbasi, Tchibo’s head of Digital Marketing and responsible for the

platform. In 2008, Tchibo Ideas was launched as one of the first “crowdsourcing”a innovation

platforms in Germany.

a Outsourcing of idea generation to the “crowd” of users.

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t


ESMT–512–0129–1 Tchibo Ideas: Leveraging the creativity of customers

2

Tchibo Ideas held the promise of creating relevant new products with the support and

involvement of consumers, but it was a controversial initiative and its future was deemed

uncertain. The platform clearly gave more power to customers, but it was unclear where the

value of this strategy resided.

History and development of Tchibo The story of Tchibo started back in 1949, when Carl Tchilling-Hiryan and Max Herz created the

company which remained a family business, now owned by Maxingvest AG (Exhibit 1). The Tchibo

name resulted from the combination of the first four letters of Mr. Tchilling-Hiryan’s name with

the first two letters of “bohne,” the German word for “beans.” The business was founded based

on the simple idea of giving German consumers a highly desirable product that had become rare

after the Second World War: coffee. To expand their business, Mr. Herz and Mr. Tchilling-Hiryan

decided to sell their coffee by mail order. The profitable “coffee subscription” model allowed

Tchibo to innovate. In 1955, they opened the first German coffee shop where customers could

both buy and drink coffee. By 1958, Tchibo was operating more than 77 stores, and its “Gold

Mocca” became the number-one selling coffee in the German market. About 15 years after the

opening of the first store, Tchibo started to offer small products such as mugs or cans

complimentary with the purchase of coffee (Exhibit 2). The popularity of these gifts increased as

customers started eagerly collecting them. However, in 1972 a law enforcement prevented Tchibo

from giving products for free to their customers, which made them offer these products in the

store for sale at a symbolic price.

The traditional coffee assortment was thus supplemented with a varied and changing range of

small non-food items. This marked the birth of a new three-pronged business model involving

Tchibo’s non-food pillar, along with coffee beans and the coffee shops (Exhibit 3). In 1987, Tchibo

established cooperations with traditional retailers to sell its weekly renewed line of products on

supermarket shelves owned and managed by Tchibo, called the “Tchibo Depots” (Exhibit 4). In

1996, a sister company “Tchibo Direct” was founded to sell goods online. Gradually, Tchibo

widened its product range, adding mobile services (Tchibo Mobil, joint venture with Telefonica),

travel packages (Tchibo Reisen), banking products and insurances (in cooperation with Asstel and

Postbank), and an ecological energy product (Tchibo Energy, Exhibit 5). New services launched

often appeared in media outlets such as taz Tageszeitung, Hamburger Abendblatt, Bild Zeitung,

Bild am Sonntag, ZDF, among others.

Over the years, Tchibo grew into a multi-channel retailer and consumer goods company, featuring

a wide selection of food products (e.g., different types of coffee, cookies, cakes, etc.), non-food

products (e.g., electronics, household appliances, apparel, etc.), and services, all of which were

accessible in stores and online. As a result, the Tchibo brand’s identity was often questioned, and

even its nature as a company was somewhat hard to grasp. According to Dr. Merkle, director of

Consumer Products & Brand, “it may appear that Tchibo is very complex, almost strange [...] but

the business model rests on a clear concept: the company stands for great coffee and great

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t


Tchibo Ideas: Leveraging the creativity of customers ESMT–512–0129–1

3

products that change every week to surprise and eventually satisfy the consumer, thanks to a

combination of high quality and reasonable prices. This combination makes us unique.”

For some consumers, Tchibo was primarily a coffee shop where they could buy gadgets and daily

life products on impulse. For others, Tchibo stores were attractive places to buy products while

occasionally drinking coffee. These different perceptions were conceptualized by Tchibo’s

managers as three pillars: “Coffee Experience”, “Coffee Shop Experience” and “Non-Food

Experience” (Exhibit 3). The coffee branch involved selling high quality and premium coffee such

as Feine Milde,® Caffé Crème,® Espresso,® among others. The coffee shops allowed customers to

enjoy freshly brewed coffee or a snack. Finally, the non-food branch offered “a new experience

every week,” allowing customers to choose from a weekly renewed assortment of 30 to 40 items

produced exclusively for Tchibo, mostly in China. These products were only available for a

limited time and production plans were made in such a way that the products were usually sold

out by the end of their first week of sale. Dr. Merkle believed that the surprise factor was

essential for the vitality of the Tchibo brand: “We want customers to go to the store every week.

That is why we need to be always different, week by week, year by year.” This approach was

captured in Tchibo’s slogan, which stated that “a new experience every week, is only available at

Tchibo.”

Building upon the three pillars of coffee, coffee shop, and consumer goods, Tchibo faced

competition in various markets. Competitors in the coffee market included Nestlé and Kraft

(Exhibit 6). Competitors in the coffee shop market included McDonalds’ McCafé and Starbucks.

Approximately 60 percent of the Tchibo stores featured a coffee shop, making the company the

second-largest coffee shop chain in Germany (Exhibit 7). The competition in the non-food

market was more complex to define and included retailers ranging from apparel (Exhibit 8) to

grocery stores (Exhibit 9). In addition, a competitor in one market could turn into a competitor

in another market. For example, Starbucks was for a long time a competitor in the coffee shop

market, but it has recently started to offer coffee-related products for sale in supermarkets and

has expanded its offering to non-food products as well. In addition, companies that were initially

not direct competitors of Tchibo, such as the discounters Aldi and Lidl, has been offering a

weekly changing assortment of non-food products since 2006, directly attacking a core pillar of

Tchibo’s business model (Exhibit 10A–C).

The marketing mix Tchibo was present in the German market via the 800 Tchibo shops, Tchibo depots in

supermarkets, and Tchibo Direct online. In approximately 9,000 supermarkets in Germany (mainly

in the Rewe and Edeka chains), Tchibo had its own reserved space – the Tchibo depots – where

coffee and consumer goods were sold just like in the Tchibo shops (Exhibit 4). The online sister

company Tchibo Direct offered the whole Tchibo selection of goods and coffee, plus promotion

activities and services such as a preview of the forthcoming assortment of products.

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



4

The weekly selection of products was always organized around a specific theme, often to match

relevant seasonal events. For example, during springtime, one week was dedicated to the

“jogging” theme, featuring jogging related products such as running shoes, clothes, stopwatches,

running lights, and water bottles. During the wintertime one week was dedicated to ski products.

In September, right before the official start of the Oktoberfest in Bavaria, the shops

appropriately offered a selection of Dirndl, Lederhosen, and Mass glasses. Similarly, there were

weeks dedicated to Christmas or Valentine’s Day items. These themed weeks were internally

called “phases.”

Successful phases were repeated regularly, though a high proportion of the products in these

phases had to differ each year. “Some phases repeat annually, but it is always important to

refresh the assortment. Our product managers who are in charge of particular themes need to

foresee trends, and that is why they travel around the globe all year long to sense what is up-

and-coming,” explained Dr. Groos. According to Dr. Merkle, customers learned the cyclical nature

of the offerings and eagerly waited for specific weeks to make their seasonal purchases.

Dr. Merkle, emphasized the Tchibo experience: “Tchibo’s mission is to constantly look for unique

and new ideas to fulfill the promise of coming up with honest and first-class products with a

great cost-benefit ratio for the customer. Our goal is to add value to customers’ lives as they

experience the unique world of Tchibo and enjoy Tchibo’s special products and coffee. Our

products are made to surprise, beautify, and also simplify customers’ lives.”

Tchibo conducted market research (e.g., store checks around the world) to identify trends and

define the products that would compose the weekly assortment. Tchibo did not attempt to

establish trends, but aimed to identify and follow those trends most likely to recur and be

saleable to the masses. The recipe was to democratize concepts and trends recognized and

proven in leading markets. Dr. Merkle reaffirmed that “all of our products are high-quality

products but suitable for everybody: our target group is made of all 82.5 million customers in

Germany.” Internal sources indicated that the average customer was 50 years old, and that 80

percent of the customers were female. Mothers bought clothes at Tchibo for their kids (up to 11

years old) and these kids could be expected to endorse Tchibo as they reached 20–30 years old.

A recent survey conducted by BBDO Consulting showed that 99 percent of Germans recognized

the Tchibo logo and that Tchibo was identified as one of the strongest and most trusted brands in

Germany (Exhibits 11 and 12). According to the BBDO Consulting survey, 70 percent of

households in Germany had made a purchase at least once at Tchibo in the last one and a half

years. Other sources revealed that the Tchibo brand was frequently present in consumers’

consideration sets (Exhibit 13) and that the online business was one of the healthiest in Germany

(Exhibit 14A-B). The company conducted regular satisfaction surveys to keep track of customers’

perception of the quality of their service in the coffee shops (Exhibit 15).

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



5

Tchibo Ideas The platform Tchibo Ideas (www.tchibo-ideas.de) was launched in 2008 based on Tchibo’s

approach of making products to simplify the daily life of the consumers while surprising them

every week. In April 2008, 100 bloggers received a package containing a toothbrush, a shaver, and

a mobile phone – sender unknown. One week later, Tchibo sent a letter to resolve the mystery

and promote their new crowdsourcing portal, a move that was perceived as unusual for a

traditional company. Tchibo Ideas was introduced as a design contest for professional designers to

solve everyday problems of consumers. The concept was to link designers to customers via the

Internet platform, with customers bringing their problems and designers designing solutions. The

following four examples illustrate some of the key ideas that Tchibo Ideas produced (Exhibit 16A-

D):

A customer explained that she never knew where to put her keys when she worked out

at the gym. To address this problem, a designer developed a bottle featuring a secret

compartment at the bottom where it was possible to store keys and other small

objects.

Another customer often locked herself out of her apartment, as she kept forgetting her

keys inside. She posted the problem and a designer developed a small electronic device

attached to the door that lit up when the door was open. The device presented a small

key symbol to remind the person to take the key before closing the door.

To simplify the life of those who liked to cook with fresh ingredients, a user designed a

cutting board with a collecting tray. The two-part tray attached to the bottom of the

cutting board collected the cut ingredients and kept the surface clean.

A customer complained of having to use multiple power plugs and sockets connected to

each other to plug electric appliances located next to each other. The designed solution

used the four sides of a power strip, creating a convenient multi-capacity power strip

that could be simultaneously used for many appliances.

It was important for Tchibo to create a platform with clear rules for all users while keeping the

platform simple. The processes of deciding which ideas to produce or which design should win

the contest needed to be clearly organized. Although the decision of which ideas to produce was

ultimately made by Tchibo’s product managers, users were invited to vote for the ideas they

liked the most, and each year they elected products that would be manufactured in addition to

the products chosen by Tchibo’s managers. Ideas would only be produced with the agreement of

the designer who was free to cooperate with Tchibo or not at later stages of product

development. If the designer opted to cooperate, the product was made and sold by Tchibo and

the designer signed a three-year exclusive contract guaranteeing him two percent of the net

retail sales price (retail sales price without VAT) multiplied by the number of produced pieces

(this way the income of the Tchibo ideas designer did not depend on how good the product sold

but how much Tchibo ordered); if the winning designer decided not to cooperate, s/he could still

enter a design-contest for a chance of winning €10,000, but the idea would not be realized and

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



6

marketed. Every product generated by Tchibo Ideas carried the name and picture of the designer

on the package. According to Turadj Schahbasi, head of Digital Marketing at Tchibo, the platform

was simple to use, rules were transparent, and the system was beneficial for both Tchibo and the

users. This was important given that competitors’ attempts to launch similar applications had

faced criticisms.

Of course, for the managers of Tchibo Ideas, an important goal was to ensure that the developed

products could fit into some phase’s theme, and more generally would respect Tchibo’s

positioning in terms of price and quality.

Development of Tchibo Ideas In 2008, when the Tchibo Ideas platform was launched, though there were a few small

competitors active in the field of crowdsourcing, it was unusual for a nationwide retailing

company to launch such a project. The head of business innovation at Tchibo was responsible for

the planning, development, and launch of the platform. Tchibo wanted to give the platform time

to develop and did not expect fast results. This generated a discussion within the company about

where to locate the platform within the organization and how to measure its success. In the

beginning, the platform was part of the business innovation unit, which was closely tied to the

management board. “It was important to have the support of the board and the time to develop

the platform,” explained a member of the founding team of Tchibo Ideas.

Following the launch, the platform developed and grew. In 2010 there were more than 8,000

active members on the platform who posted and discussed almost 1,000 problems and proposed

more than 600 solutions. At this stage, the unit was integrated into the marketing department of

Tchibo’s e-commerce business. This integration gave the platform a more institutionalized status.

The product managers of the Ideas platform became autonomously responsible for running the

platform and also for the communication with Tchibo’s traditional marketing. “There are many

ideas on the platform and it is important for Tchibo that discussions about new ideas not only

influence the development of products for Tchibo Ideas, but also influence the [opinion of]

product managers who create our traditional consumer goods. Tchibo Ideas means for Tchibo an

additional source of information about consumer needs,” suggested Dr. Groos.

Consequences of Tchibo Ideas Given that Tchibo introduced new products weekly, it offered on average 2,000 different products

per year. This business model required the company to be innovative and creative on a regular,

fast-paced basis. Dr. Groos explained that “Tchibo Ideas does not change the way Tchibo works,

but it adds freshness. It is not replacing the traditional product development process but it is

adding innovative ideas.” Initially, the products originated from Tchibo Ideas sat in a special area

in the store reserved for Tchibo Ideas products. Afterwards, Tchibo Ideas products were inserted

into the weekly assortments, according to their fit with the themes. Representing a small share

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



7

of the total assortment, Tchibo Ideas’ creations were believed to prolong the image of Tchibo as

an innovative company. Mr. Liedke, head of Corporate Communication at Tchibo, explained that

because the platform was still in its initial phase the investments and costs for the production of

the chosen ideas (including licensing) were high. Nevertheless, according to Ossi Urchs, president

of the German media agency FFT, the customers’ involvement in the platform might be able to

reduce about 20–30 percent of marketing and consumer research costs in the next few years.

Academic experts, such as, for example, Thomas Schildhauer, director of the Electronic Business

Department of the Universität der Künste in Berlin, agreed that the Tchibo Ideas platform could

reduce marketing costs (especially marketing research costs) while transforming its image from

an old-economy company to an innovative company.b Active Internet experts such as social media

agencies and bloggers responded positively to Tchibo Ideas. One blogger suggested that using the

growing crowd of Internet users to invent products was simple and effective, and that the idea of

bringing together users with problems and users with ideas was particularly smart. However, the

designers’ public opinion was divided: Some saw the platform as a great opportunity for success,

whereas others were skeptical of Tchibo’s intentions, and argued that the company was using the

designers’ professional knowledge to generate highly valuable ideas for little money. Some

bloggers were cynical in view of the fact that a mainstream and traditional company like Tchibo

would launch an innovative platform like Tchibo Ideas. Such comments typically questioned the

platform’s sustainability and genuine intention to better serve the customers, and suggested that

it was a marketing gimmick.

The future of Tchibo Ideas’ development was still an open question. Was an increased focus on

the platform, giving consumers more power and responsibility, helpful for Tchibo? Should the

platform be mainly used for learning from the consumers through intensive dialogue or should it

become a tool of mass co-creation of new products? Was it better for Tchibo to maintain the

platform as an add-on to the existing traditional product development process? Tchibo faced an

important strategic decision and in the few years of Tchibo Ideas’ existence, it was difficult to

see the best direction for the future development of the platform.

b Mulch, J. (2009). Tchibos virtuelle Ideenfabrik. Horizont 29:16.

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



8

Exhibit 1: Overview of Maxingvest AG and Tchibo GmbH

Source: Tchibo.

Exhibit 2: Tchibo store in the 1950s

Source: Tchibo.

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



9

Exhibit 3: Tchibo’s business model

Source: Tchibo.

Exhibit 4: Tchibo depot

Source: Tchibo.

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



10

Exhibit 5: Overview of Tchibo’s products and services

Source: Tchibo.

Exhibit 6: Top 10 world coffee roasters: Purchases of regular coffee in 2008

Source: Created by case authors based on TCC Tropical Commodity Coalition, Coffee barometer 2009, http://www.teacoffeecocoa.org/tcc/content/download/373/2644/file/Coffee%20 Barometer%202009.pdf (accessed May 14, 2011).

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



11

Exhibit 7: Largest coffee shops in Germany in 2010

R Brand Start Units Relative expansion in 2010

1 McCafe 2003 737 12.3%

2 Tchibo 1955 532 2.3%

3 Starbucks 2002 144 0.7%

4 Segafredo 1989 100 -2.0%

5 Coffee shop Comp. 1999 61 -11.6%

5 Chicco di Caffe 2003 57 58.%

7 Kanne 1990 51 4.1%

8 Lavazza 1995 38 0.0%

9 Coffee Fellows 1999 37 5.7%

10 Balzac Coffee 1998 30 -6.3%

Source: Adapted from Marktportrait, Food Service 3/2011: 27.

Exhibit 8: Apparel retailers

Largest apparel retailers in Germany by gross revenue

R Brand Revenue 2009 in billion €

Revenue 2008 in billion €

Relative expansion

1 Otto Group 3.67 3.48 +5.5%

2 C&A 2.93 2.95 -0.7

3 H&M 2.83 2.47 +14.3

4 Metro Group 2.46 2.54 -2.9

5 Karstadt 2.07 n.a. n.a.

6 Tengelmann 1.34 1.57 n.a.

7 Peek & Cloppenburg

1.28 1.34 -4.2

8 Aldi Gruppe 1.05 1.07 -2.0

9 Lidl 1.03 1.03 0

10 Tchibo 0.90 0.93 -3.3

Source: Adapted from Textil Wirtschaft, Die größten Textileinzelhändler in Deutschland 2009, www.textilwirtschaft.de/business/pdfs/403_org.pdf (accessed May 16, 2011).

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



12

Exhibit 9: Revenue of German grocery stores (in billion €)

Source: Adapted from Trade Dimensions, TOP 30 – Lebensmittelhandel Deutschland: Licht und Schatten, http://www.tradedimensions.de/Presse/2010_PR_TOP30.pdf (accessed June 12, 2011).

Exhibit 10: Competition in non-food sector

A) Revenue ranking of non-food sales in the food retail trade (2005)

Brand Non-food revenue in billion €

Aldi 4.5

Lidl 2.3

Tchibo 2.2

Plus 0.9

Source: Created by case authors based on information provided by Tchibo.

44

36

27 27 26

08 07

00

05

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Edeka Rewe Schwarz Metro Aldi Lekkerland Tengelmann

Revenue

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



13

Exhibit 10 (cont’d): Competition in non-food sector

B) Total revenue ranking in the food retail trade

Brand Number of stores

Total revenue in billion €

Aldi 4200 27.0

Lidl 2900 9.9

Plus 2900 6.7

Tchibo 800 2.9

Source: Adapted from GfK, ConsumerScan, 06/2007, http://www.gfkps.com/imperia/md/ content/ps_de/consumerindex/ci_europa_qu2-2007.pdf (accessed April 12, 2011).

C) Share of non-food sales relative to food sales (1998 vs. 2008)

Source: Created by case authors based on information provided by Tchibo.

44

36

27

0005101520253035404550

Edeka Rewe Schwarz

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



14

Exhibit 11: Strongest retail brands in Germany

R Brand Brand strength Sector

1 Tchibo 7.62 Miscellaneous

2 Aldi 7.54 Food retail

3 Ikea 7.51 Furniture

4 dm 7.43 Drugstore

5 C&A 7.37 Apparel

6 Lidl 7.32 Food retail

7 Weltbild 7.31 Bookstore

8 Douglas 7.14 Miscellaneous

9 Galeria Kaufhof 7.04 Department store

10 Rossmann 7.01 Drugstore

11 Plus 6.92 Food retail

12 H&M 6.91 Apparel

13 Penny Markt 6.87 Food retail

14 Schlecker 6.85 Drugstore

15 Kaufland 6.82 Food retail

16 Edeka 6.82 Food retail

17 Fielmann 6.80 Optician

18 Karstadt 6.73 Department store

19 Hussel 6.73 Miscellaneous

20 Obi 6.73 Do-It-Yourself

21 Deichmann 6.68 Shoes

22 Fressnapf 6.66 Miscellaneous

23 Media Markt 6.64 Electronics

24 Esprit 6.57 Apparel

25 Quelle 6.55 Mail order

Source: Adapted from BBDO Consulting, Retail Brands in Deutschland, Insights 8: 27 http://www.batten-company.com/uploads/media/BBDO8_Insights8_3_Studie_%C3%BB_ Markenst%C3%B5rke_von_Retail-Brands.pdf (accessed May 12, 2011).

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



15

Exhibit 12: Most trusted brands in Germany

Category Most trusted brand

Food Maggi

Milk products Mullermilch

Confectionary Haribo

Soft drinks Coca-Cola

Sparkling wine Rotkappchen

Spirits Asbach

Clothing C&A

Shoes Rieker

Toothpaste Odol

Perfume Yves Rocher

Detergents Frosch

Retailer Aldi

Coffee/Tea Tchibo

Source: Adapted from Reader’s Digest, European trusted brands survey 2011, http://www.rdtrustedbrands.com/download.shtml (accessed May 12, 2011).

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



16

Exhibit 13: Brand consideration

A) Proportion of women who would definitely consider purchasing these brands of apparel

B) Proportion of women who would definitely consider purchasing these brands of lingerie

Source: Adapted from Brigitte, Kommunikationsanalyse 2010, Frauen in Deutschland: Einstellungen, Marken, Medien, 41-45.

47%

40%37%

35%

29%

22%19% 18% 17% 16%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

H&M Esprit Adidas S.Oliver Levi's/Tchibo

Nike JackWolfskin

Yessica Edc/ Mexx Puma/Wrangler

Apparel

42%

37%

33%

24%

18% 17%

13% 12%

8% 7%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

C&A H&M/Triumph

Schiesser Tchibo Esprit Mey/Passionata

BeeDees/Naturana

Sloggi CalvinKlein/ La

Perla

BrunoBanani/

Chantelle

Lingerie

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



17

Exhibit 14: Visits and image of webshops in Germany

A) Visits of webshops in Germany

R Brand Number of visitors in millions

1 Ebay 22540

2 Amazon 18001

3 Tchibo 6529

4 Otto 6500

5 Neckermann 6402

6 Weltbild 3625

7 Bon Prix 3038

8 Aldi 2807

9 Lidl 2664

10 Ikea 2409

Note: N = 23000 Germans with internet access at home to all website of brands

Source: Adapted from Nielsen Online Netview/Lebensmittelzeitung, http://www.lebens mittelzeitung.net/news/pdfs/228_org.pdf (accessed May 16, 2011).

B) Image of webshops in Germany

R Brand Mean image rating 1-5

1 Amazon 4.48

2 Tchibo 3.94

3 Alternate 3.65

4 Weltbild 3.64

5 Musikhaus Thomann 3.62

6 Conrad Electronic 3.62

7 Otto 3.58

8 Notebook Sbilliger 3.54

9 SANICARE 3.52

10 Doc Morris 3.51

Note: Scale from 1-5 (1=very bad, 5=very good), online questionnaire, N=1000

Source: Adapted from ECC Shopmonitor, ECC Retail Institute, http://www.ecc-shopmonitor.de/ergebnisse/ (accessed May 20, 2011).

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



18

Exhibit 15: Customer satisfaction

How satisfied are you with the customer service in this coffee bar?

R Brand Satisfaction rate in %

1 Café Einstein 70.6

2 Tchibo 70.1

3 Starbucks 67.2

4 McCafe 60.6

5 Balzac Coffee 56.0

6 Woyton 54.5

7 Segafredo 50.0

8 World Coffee 48.1

9 Lavazza 47.9

10 Dunkin Donuts 41.8

Note: N = 100 customers per shop

Source: Tchibo (research from ServiceValue GmbH, 2010).

Exhibit 16: Examples of Tchibo Ideas products

A) Water bottle with secret compartment

Do Not

Cop

y or

Pos

t



19

Exhibit 16 (cont’d): Examples of Tchibo Ideas products

B) Key reminder

C) Cutting board with collecting tray

D) Multi-sided power strip

Source: Tchibo.

tchibo case study

Documents