It’s a losing battle for a French manufacturer to compete on price with a foreign competitor. It’s true that “made in France” is an asset – our customers are very sensitive to the origin of their products and the components that go into them – but it doesn’t fully compensate for this economic reality. Other levers need to be activated in order to exist and stand out from the crowd. The debate must be refocused on functionality and personalization. It’s all about adding value (in terms of use and esteem) rather than cutting costs. And this can only be achieved by applying a methodical, structured approach, including functional analysis, value analysis, questioning practices over the entire life cycle… We’ll see how an adapted methodology can provide a differentiating proposition and reopen the field of creative possibilities, while maintaining a competitive price level, in particular by re-examining the demand formulated, in order to identify unexpressed root needs.
