The title of the program really stands out.
What is so powerful about ‘upside down’?
Stefaan Vandist, former advertising strategist, co-founder and
managing partner of Studio Spark: “Sustainability has too long been seen as an area of less, less and even less: less CO2, less energy, less water usage… As a result, sustainability is also associated with less possibilities, less
freedom for business and less consumption. As a retailer the doom scenario of ‘less
sales’ is quite close, which puts pressure on much needed
entrepreneurial optimism.
Furthermore ‘reduction’ is not the same as ‘change’: if
we drive slower towards a concrete wall, at one point we will still crash into
that wall. There is much more potential in a ‘systemic innovation approach’, a
change of course. ‘Upside down’ refers to the innovation of business models: an
approach where you search for newer and smarter scenarios to service your
customers.”
Change is often even less attractive for
entrepreneurs…
S.V.: “That is true, but change is coming anyhow. Look
at e-commerce and the changed roll of physical shops, the influence of social
media and collaborative consumption, the reality of higher prices of energy,
fuel and so on.
Change always has winners and losers, so it is
important to anticipate strategically to these changes. Through innovating
business models you look at the changing context in a different way: instead of watching
your company processes, you look at your core business and your
business model.
The building blocks of your business model (how
to live up to your core promise, how to sell your products and what is your
earnings model) speak for themselves , but in the light of change it pays to
flip those building blocks upside down.
This approach has its roots in ‘progress
optimism’: the global challenges concerning sustainability will not be tackled by
holding our breath, only by using the power of innovative
thinking. That way you will discover new scenarios for your company that will
provide an answer to important shifts in the market. The difficult part is to
develop new scenarios that lead to distinctive ability, more added value for
your customers and a substantial edge in sustainability.”
How is the program of ‘Upside down’ set up
exactly?
S.V.: “From 14h to 16h we bring you a number
testimonies of entrepreneurs who boldly chose to put a sustainable and
innovative alternative on the market. As we strongly believe in the power
of good examples, ten speakers will briefly tell their story. Studio Spark will
provide a frame for these testimonies within the world of business model
innovation.”
Can you give us an example?
S.V.: “One of our speakers is Erik Van den
Heuvel of Daimler-Chrysler, who will talk about CAR2GO: a scheme of car
sharing with the ambition to become the most important transport model in big
cities. Erik will share his experiences with the audience after launching CAR2GO
in thirteen large cities in Europe and the United States.
The reason we absolutely wanted to bring you
the story of CAR2GO, is because it is a positive initiative originating from
the automotive industry. They detach driving a car from owning a car and give a
sustainable alternative with a considerable profit for the environment to boot.”
What else will be flipped upside down?
S.V.: “We have put together a program that has
a mix of large and small companies that are active in the key sectors food, mobility
and energy, and of course we made sure that all of them are relevant for the retail sector.
Dr Nynke van den Akker of Maastricht University will talk about how they take a different look towards ‘meat
production’. Around that time they will announce the world’s first
synthetic hamburger: meat that does not involves slaughtering a cow, but that is grown in a lab. The advantages for food safety, the environment
and the repurposing of agricultural land are many.
Another example is David Van Malcot,
business developer at Eneco, who will be talking about another business innovation: the evolution from energy provider to ‘energy director’ in his company.”
What do you want to achieve with this program?
S.V.: “At Studio Spark we have been working
with sustainable business model innovation for two years now. Most of our
customers are situated in manufacturing, such as Janssen Pharmaceutica, Tupperware,
Dorrel (from the brand Maxicosi) and so on.
Now we want to inspire the retail sector with contagious success stories from the sector, while not being blind for current
consumer trends. Through ten very different examples en testimonies we want to
show that sustainability is a powerful innovation lever for the retail sector.”
‘Sustainability and the power of upside down’
is a seminar held before the Retaildetail Congress on Thursday 25 April
in San Marco Village in Schelle (near Antwerp). The complete program of the seminar (PDF) can be
found here. Participation in the seminar also includes free entry to the RetailDetail Congress; for registration please visit www.retaildetailcongres.be.
