MBS insights
Tactics For Tough Times
MBS Intelligence
Insight Report Number 1
November 2008
An exclusive insight into boardroom decisions showing how the UK’s consumer, retail, leisure and luxury businesses are responding with creativity and agility to the threat of recession.
Executive Summary
This report sets out the findings of a survey, by executive search consultancy The MBS Group, into the business tactics being adopted by global and UK organisations in the face of economic recession.
The survey involved the HR directors and business leaders of more than 100 companies, who have been questioned over the past few weeks by The MBS Group on the actions they are taking in response to the current downturn.
Among the companies surveyed, 70% have £1 billion+ turnover, 75% have 5,000+ employees and 65% are multinational, making them a significant and authoritative sample.
Those involved in the research were all at board or senior management level, within the retail, luxury, and consumer goods sectors.
The survey was designed to create a snapshot of opinion about the current economic conditions. The opinions expressed in the survey were then developed further in two large-scale workshops that discussed strategies and tactics to succeed in a downturn.
What emerged from the whole process was a series of ten themes – ‘Tactics for Tough Times’ – which are summarised below and investigated in greater detail in the report.
Each detailed Tactic report includes:
• an exclusive MBS Group analysis
• selected respondent comments (‘Insights from the Boardroom’)
• an overview commentary from the MBS Group consultants who collected the data
The impact of these tactics will be felt on the High Street and in consumers’ homes in months to come, so these themes represent an unrivalled insight into the changes we will see in consumer-facing goods and services.
The observations could also be used by CEOs as a checklist against which to benchmark the resilience of their own business plans.
Tactics For Tough Times
1. Ride The Storm – preparing for difficult times but not currently planning large scale layoffs
2. See Upside In Downturn – the best business leaders see opportunities in turmoil
3. Show Me The Value – rapid response and appropriate price promotion are working for some
4. Pocket Returns in Pockets of Growth – some sectors are positively booming, such as online, home entertainment and some luxury brands
5. Refocus On Emerging Markets – opportunities in Asia are attracting increased attention and investment whilst Europe and the US flounder
6. Keep Up With Customers – businesses must find a way to match or exceed customers’ increasingly agile changes in behaviour
7. Hang On To Talent – attracting the best talent is increasingly vital… but also becoming increasingly difficult
8. Empower Your People – business leaders are recognising the value of experience, while also ensuring that their people have the right skills and training in place to survive and prepare for the upturn
9. Keep Up Morale – maintaining workforce morale will be a decisive benefit, and there is much more emphasis being placed on demonstrating leadership through confidence-building internal communications
10. Engage Your Staff – if staff members are on your side, they will have the answers