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“Alone we go fast, together we go far. “
When you’re the head of a brand, you have multiple missions. So far, nothing new. Like a captain, your goal is to get the job done, and that includes your customers, your teams, your brand and your image.
How does it work at Formex?
The warm sand, the waltz of the waves that rocks you.
Put your suitcase down, we too would like to be there, but thanks to technology we were able to travel while sitting comfortably at our desk. Even if the grey of Paris is not so welcoming, we were able to take the sun for a moment thanks to Raphael Granito.
After a busy year, he took a well-deserved holiday.
As a reminder, Formex is the contraction of Forme Extrême and, among the many sports he practices, surfing holds a special place in his heart. So, when his schedule allowed him to do so, he and four friends swapped their jackets for a swimming costume and a surfboard. Biel, I love you, but Costa Rica is calling.
With a bit less than 9000 kilometres separating us, we caught up with Raphael to share his vision and goals. Between two surf sessions, he took the time to explain his work and his team management.
When we visited their offices, we were struck by the atmosphere that prevailed. The men and women there are smiling and the exchanges are jovial. Like a big family, everyone knows each other and everyone wants to give their best.
Raphael explains that he wants Formex to last over time. And to achieve this, one of the major pillars is the team. The good intelligence of the boss is not to be better than everyone else, but to know how to surround himself with the best and to embark them on an adventure.
From experience, he quickly realized that the working environment is crucial. If your employees come in with a smile on their face and are happy to be working for you, you have won everything.
Failure is not a problem, it is above all a great source of learning. No one has ever succeeded in walking without having fallen before. By encouraging initiative, you create the right atmosphere for your teams to excel.
By allowing them to take initiatives, you make them feel responsible, and then they feel invested with a mission. The project leaves your hands and becomes theirs. The final component necessary for the project to work well is valuing the team members.
So, when Raphael explains this to us, we know it’s not empty words because we’ve seen it up close.
Your teams can be highly motivated, you need to give them the right tools. Formex’s mission is to continue to grow and become sustainable. And to achieve this, they need to win over customers and build loyalty.
Customer acquisition requires two things. The first is a product. And the second, necessary for the first, is a production tool.
As quality is a key element in our industry, it cannot be minimised. This is even more important when you don’t have a physical distribution network, as Formex. When selling directly to customers through the online shop, the first contact with the physical product must be surprising. The perceived quality of the images must be lower than the perceived quality of the watch.
This proximity to the customer is something that Formex wants to maintain. By maintaining it, the brand can reduce its margin in favour of production. But it also allows it to understand its customers and their desires.
A brand does not build itself alone. It needs feedback from its customers to continually build and evolve. Over the years, a brand’s signature is refined to reveal a strong and recognisable DNA.
This same DNA will be expressed through communication, but also in the coherence of the products and collections, hence the importance of involving the teams in a common adventure. Everyone is driven by the project and knows the guidelines.
Every customer feedback is read and every question is answered. Even if the contact is not always physical, the customer feels considered, and it is thanks to this consideration that the brand is built on solid foundations.
This consideration also applies to the teams, who are more likely to take initiatives, and to the customers, who are more likely to give feedback.
Will Formex compete with the big boys? The future will tell. And as for us, we’ll leave you to speculate, we’re off on an adventure!
