Does Being Authentic Pay?

by: Alain Thys

Sometimes it’s something unexpected that makes a variety of thoughts and conversations you’ve been having fall into place.  Like today, I visited the Fabergé exhibition in Brussels and I could only stand in awe at the craftsmanship these jewelers to the czar displayed in their work (which by the way was much more than just eggs).

At the same time, I also couldn’t help but be saddened by what essentially had become of the Fabergé name, which today –after a sequence of acquisitions- is simply a little known annex to a number of Unilever divisions focused on washing powder and detergent.

 This stands in such strong contrast to a conversation I had a few weeks ago when I was invited by LVMH to visit another exhibition (sorry, it’s the season) in Paris .  My wife and I were kindly accompanied by Florence Rambaud, who heads up the LVMH House, which is the group’s corporate university and think-tank.  Yet while the art on display was striking, one of the other things which stuck in my mind was the passion with which Mrs. Rambaud spoke about the heritage of the LVMH brands and the efforts the brand undertook to preserve this and avoid tainting it with unconsidered moves.

And then there was the news that INBEV, in a previous life the “world’s local brewer” decided to relocate the brewery of Hoegaarden, where they used to make their famous white beer, to another location.  While I understand that this brand is probably not really the most strategic of priorities for the now Belgian-Brazilian brewery, giving up on the roots of a heritage that dates back to 1445, is a pretty drastic step.  A friend of mine, and inhabitant of the region compared it to he beer equivalent of saying, let’s not make champagne in the champagne any more.

So all these things make me think.  Is the heritage of a brand and a company just something for sentimentalists (like me)  who care about this type of authenticy?  Or is it something which is best to carefully, yet decisively discard when it stands in the way of your next quarterly results?  I have my personal sentiments, yet which business direction is best. 

I wonder if anyone has done any research which compares the financial performance of brands that uphold their heritage, and those that move on.

What do you think?

I stand corrected

I just got a mail from Herbert in Austria (nice to know at least someone reads this stuff) that Fabergé as a jewelry brand is not dead, yet very much alive (see on www.faberge.de ).  They even still make eggs!!

While personally making me feel better that the name has truly survived, I do stick to my question whether this heritage thing is something to really worry about.  Any thoughts welcome.

Original Posts: http://alainthys.blogging.com/blog/_archives/2006/1/3/1579283.html and http://alainthys.blogging.com/blog/_archives/2006/1/3/1579312.html