Hotel Chocolat - growing nicely

巧克力飯店－令人滿意的成長

原文網址: Link

摘要： 有的品牌即使大環境不景氣，仍然逆勢成長。Hotel Chocolat採用直銷巧克力的方式，提供最精緻的產品給最頂級的「會員」，其策略就如同知名的咖啡機品牌Nespresso一樣。它銷售額的成長就像其所製作的巧克力一樣可口迷人。

　　最近閱讀了一篇有趣的訪談，是關於Hotel Chocolat（巧克力飯店）總裁Angus Thirwell。（訪談連結於此）儘管大環境不景氣，其銷售額仍從2008年4400萬的成長至2010年的5300萬，看得出這家高品質巧克力的製造商做了許多聰明事。

以下是他們做了甚麼： 

1. 擁有消費者通路－和雀巢一 樣（雀巢文章連結於此），Hotel Chocolat掌握了消費者通路。他們在網路上及自有精品店內販售巧克力。相較於其他民生消費品品牌以零售方式競爭，這樣的作法擁有很大的優勢：

－你可以完善的介紹你的品牌。
－100%的分配你想要的庫存管理單位(SKU)。
－能做到真實的新產品測試而非只是人為且昂貴的市場測試。

2. 消費者同時也是會員

　　Hotel Chocolat利用他們的網路商店來提供一種訂閱服務，叫做「巧克力鑑賞俱樂部」。10萬人已經登記註冊，每月付費成為「會員」，Nespresso咖啡機也有使用這種做法。會員每個月會收到不同種類的巧克力，而其他優惠則像是享有購買商品九五折的優惠。

　　巧克力鑑賞俱樂部打破了忠誠度的規則。與其讓你每個月猶豫該買哪種巧克力，倒不如讓你在郵局裡收到它們。Hotel Chocolat也聰明的利用會員給予這些巧克力的回饋來做為日後發展的考量。

3. 將原料來源視為差異化的一部分

　　Hotel Chocolat已經做出承諾要用他們所說的「親力親為：捲起袖子，親身體驗的方法」來改善在聖路西亞及迦納當地種植可可豆農夫的生活。Hotel Chocolat現在透過在聖路西亞購買140英畝的土地以更進一步管理原料來源。他們種植可可樹甚至可能在此設廠。這意味著他們能夠控制品質，堅持好的規範並對產品及製作過程表示出真切的熱情。

4. 避免「成長的暴政」

　　我喜 歡Angus談論關於Hotel Chocolat成長的方式。看起來他們的成長是來自於做了對的事，而非為了成長而成長。這是獨立經營的好處，不用追著每季的收益跑。他們可避免我所說的「成長的暴政」。

　　所以，Angus並不打算迅速擴展他的商店網絡。他現在擁有50間店，能達到100間店就滿意了：「我們不想要無所不在，我們只想存在於消費者想要我們的地方。」我贊同他對於籌資及透過併購以使公司成長的想法：「我們並不打算賣掉我們的事業，因為我們正處於一個很棒的階段。」

　　結論是，Hotel Chocolat是另一個像Nespresso咖啡機的21世紀品牌案例，有著高品質、高級的產品直銷會員通路而不是在超級市場中販售。

Read an interesting interview with Angus Thirwell, CEO of Hotel Chocolat. This premium quality chocolate maker is clearly doing some smart things, as they managed to grow from £44million in sales in 2008 to £53million last year, despite the recession.

Here's some of the clever stuff they do: 

1. Owning the route to consumer - Like Nespresso, who I posted on here, Hotel Chocolat controls the route to the consumer. It sells online and through its own boutiques. This has huge advantages over most consumer goods brands battling it out with the retail giants, such as:

- You can create perfect presentation of your brand
- 100% distribution of every SKU you want
- The ability to trial new products for real, not in an artificial and expensive market test

2. Club members, not just consumers

Hotel Chocolat use their online store to offer a sort of subscription service, called "The Tasting Club". 100,000 people have signed up, paying a monthly fee to become a "member", a term of also used by Nespresso. They get a selection of different chocs each month, and other benefits such as a 5% discount on other purchases.

The Tasting Club a way of breaking the rules of loyalty, as rather than hesitate over which premium chocs to buy each month, you get them in the post. The company are also smart in using members to give feedback on the selection of chocs, using this learning for future development. 

3. Sourcing as a point of difference

Hotel Chocolat already is already committed to improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers in St Lucia and Ghana, using what they call "Engaged Ethics: a hands-on, sleeves-rolled-up approach". The company has now gone a step further in controlling sourcing by buying their own 140-acre cocoa estate in St Lucia. They grow cocoa here and may also open a factory on site. This means they can control quality, enforce good ethics and also demonstrate true passion for the product and how its made.

4. Avoiding "the tyranny of growth"

I like the way Angus talks about the growth of Hotel Chocolat. It seems to be a place where growth is a result of doing the right thing, rather than an end in itself. This is the benefit of being independent, and so not having to chase quarterly results. They can avoid what I call "the tyranny of growth".

So, Angus is not planning rapid expansion of his store network. He has 50 stores now, and would be happy with 100: "We don't want to be ubiquitous. We just want to be where our customers want us to be." And I love his views on the idea of floating the company or growing through acquisition: "We have no plans to sell the business because we are having a great time." 

In conclusion, Hotel Chocolat is another Nespresso-like example of a true 21st century brand, with a high quality, premium product sold direct to members, not in supermarkets.