What does it really mean to be consumer-driven? This title provides insight into the growing need for businesses to organize their operations around the needs of people (both customers and employees). It explains the logic behind the 21st-century players who are being termed "powerhouses".

What does it really mean to be consumer-driven? This title provides insight into the growing need for businesses to organize their operations around the needs of people (both customers and employees). A new superbreed of consumer-driven companies are combining the best of modern retailing and manufacturing in a clash of business models which is sparking radical changes and winning these "powerhouses" considerable competitive edge. As a fledgling buisness in 1969, Gap made most of its money by selling Levi's jeans. In 1984 it started developing its own Gap line and now the two brands are deadly enemies, battling it out for the same consumers' preference, loyalty and cash. "Powerhouse" companies such as Gap are pushing the boundaries of leading-edge practice and organizations like M&S, Tesco and Coca-Cola are having to re-invent what it means to be "consumer-driven". This book explains how leading companies are shifting the goalposts to reach new levels of performance accross all key areas, including staff motivation, real-time responsiveness to changing consumer needs, brand-building, IT, e-commerce and strategic alliances. Using case studies such as 7-11 Japan, Adidas, Aldi, Hennes and Mauritz, Kellogg, Lufthansa, Procter and Gamble, Tesco and VW, including interviews with senior executives, the authors have provided an in-depth study of the contenders for 21st-century powerhouse status. They reveal how these organizations are maximizing alternative ways of going to market and explore the burgeoning power of the database and the emergence of the Internet and interactive TV.