Remi Bouvier d'Yvoire's Profile

Thank you Sam for reading my post! I’m glad that it reminded you of the Shad simulation!
I also find it interesting to see how operating models can be relevant in very different industries (car manufacturing or luxury goods) but the example of Vuitton also shows that copying an operating model is not enough: one has to adapt it to the specificities of its industry.

Thanks Daly! I was surprised as well by how much information I could find online. By way of comparison, Hermès is not disclosing anything unless they want to emphasize hand crafting, as you mentioned.
I’d be curious to have others’ opinions but I think that LV was trying to justify their investments in automation by making it clear that they were not replacing workers by machines, but on the contrary helping them focus on their core competencies.

Thank you Lily for your comment, I actually had the same questions when I wrote the article. Unfortunately Vuitton’s representatives only gave interviews to newspapers regarding their 2005 modernization project and tend to maintain a culture of confidentiality when it comes to their operating models. However, I believe that this one-off transformation allowed them to create more collections every year and adapt quickly to an ever changing demand.
You should check their new app, called “Louis Vuitton City Guide”: they just launched it last month. It’s a sign that LV is doing a great job at understanding their customers: targeting the young, international & tech-savvy.

Thanks for your comment mhan128, that’s actually the million-dollar question: how far do you invest on automation without jeopardizing your brand image? My article is trying to give an answer but I believe that another approach would be to ask customers what their views are. And it seems that a company like Hermes, that relies more on manual processes than LV is able to charge higher prices because it is not “diluting” its luxury image.

Thanks George for this great article! It’s interesting to see how a company can fail to align its operating model with its business model (one of the few articles I read highlighting such a lack of alignment).
How do you explain that Bombardier took the risk to invest so much on 3 “clean sheet” projects? Do you believe that the top management was aware of the risks they were taking? I’d be curious to see if and how Bombardier will adapt its operating model and succeed in taking off again.

Hahaha! I really enjoyed reading your article, Ni! Very refreshing (in all meanings of the word).
I found the operating & business models very original: you made it clear that there is a form of “uberization” in all industries with many players trying to get their shares of the pie. I am wondering how Drizly and other Uber-like apps can survive and find a competitive advantage in an environment with such low entry barriers: what makes Drizly a winner vs. similar apps? Also, is there a risk that minors use this app to order alcohol?

Great article Ian! I’m a big fan of aerospace and space tourism in particular.
It is interesting to see how SpaceX succeeds in attracting talents: I am wondering whether they will be able to maintain their competitive advantage going forward. Do you believe that competition from Blue Origin and other players like Virgin or Bigelow is a threat? It seems that a lot of players in this field have either canceled or postponed their projects over the last 4 years so do you believe that sending a human to Mars in the 2020s is realistic?
OK… I might sound a little bit skeptical but I would really love to go to space with SpaceX before I’m too old 🙂