7 of the elements that enable KORRES to compete in a global level

This week I am going to present you a local product-brand that managed from a store, a pharmaceutical apothecary of 50cm2 in Athens, our capital, to compete with global brands. The brand is KORRES (you can see their KORRES Corporate Official Video below), a cosmetics company with natural products based on herbs. It was founded in 1996 by the pharmacist George Korres. It has a range of over 400 different products for both men and women including facial and body creams, grooming products, shampoos, fragrances, sunscreens but also make up and chewing gums.

         According to McCarthy (2017), a business should highly rely on a strong strategic plan in order to not only be profitable but also find a true “sense of purpose and priority” (2017).

 

 

A. Mission Statement

George Korres stated that KORRES’s mission is “the ongoing investment in research regarding new technologies and ingredients, and world ingredients have always been an inspiration to the brand” (as cited in Stolyarova, 2012). The Mission statement of a company is what your company doing today, and through it you can achieve your purpose, you can fulfill and reach your vision (McCarthy, 2017, Mission Statement section, para. 2). With such a mission, focusing on technology and research using nature as a guide, we can understand part of its success.

 

B. Vision Statement

It is what inspires and moves the brand to focus on its goals and gradually achieve them. For KORRES, the Vision is to “produce 99% natural cosmetic products worldwide and to be recognized as the cleanest cosmetics within the market” (SAVITSKAYA, 2015).

 

C. Competitive advantages-uniqueness of KORRES

1. They go to each farmer in Greece and offer him to turn –at company’s expenses and with eternal support of agriculturists and other scientists- his land into organic under the condition that he will supply with its raw materials to KORRES and only at much better prices. So unlike competition, its suppliers are like coworkers, they are interdependent, and they achieve the lowest prices possible. Some people would claim that they are even friends with their suppliers, since KORRES created open classes available for free for all farmers, where it teaches how to treat your land with natural and physical products and methods.  

2. They have so far established three Greek patents; their latest is Castanea Arcadea. It is an anti-ageing product based on castanea -herb from a Greek city Arcadea- that according to scientists is includes a substance called lupeol which is responsible for the beneficial behavior.

3. It is one of the rarest companies, whose products are up to 99% organic and natural and whose founders, the KORRES family, had for years and still has, tradition in Greece with their huge production of natural herbs. So, they combine their precious experience with the unique herbs of Greek land, a variety with 6,500 different species, 1,200 of which are only in Greece.

4. It has made two important partnerships across Greece. One of them is with the Chios Mastiha (chewing gum in greek) Growers Association (https://www.gummastic.gr/en/#gkBottom3), which is also globally famous for its benefits on health based on mastic gum. Together, they combine the benefits of mastiha with the experience and advanced technology of KORRES to produce more innovative products. The other important innovative collaboration is with Krocus Kozanis Products (http://www.krocuskozanis.com/organic), the Greek saffron, and the first product the generated was Golden Krocus Elixir.

 

D. Promotion of KORRES

·      Channels

They created stores in about 30 countries. They use many alternative ways of promotion, like social media and an example is through young girls’ blogs that were given the products for free and then they describe the consuming experience through their channel. You can see an example here. In Greece, only the pharmacies that promote their products are 5000. They also promote through organic boutiques, official KORRES stores, beauty institutions, and famous hotels.  Part of their promotional campaign are the discounts, special collections for gifts, the honesty when selling –they ask you for feedback and they type in your opinion in a personal table created only for you, with skin’s conditions, preferences, so far used products, etc.

·      Packaging 

The packaging includes tubes, bottles and small jars that are stylish and minimal, consisted of a large variety depending on the type of product. Some packs, for example, are transparent and allow you to have a picture of the interior, mostly vivid colorful pictures that make obvious to the customer to understand what is inside such as pictures of cucumbers, wild roses, pines etc. As noticed by Traini (2008) “nothing is shouted in typography, just the images” following the brands way of working, silence (Traini, 2008). It is important to mention here that almost all its packages had won awards and you can check some of them here.

·      Stores

Their official stores are distinctive for their design and architecture; the firm maintains all of them similar so they can be recognizable from distance to a potential passer-by and customer. The classic image of their store consists of a black front with its brand logo “KORRES” written in white letters, and the interior consists of mainly white shades and soft colors. Furthermore, they managed to make recognizable the sections of their brand inside large retailers (shop-in-shop) or boutiques, as well. To achieve that they “dressed” the walls and stands with the same images that are illustrated on the products, but in larger dimensions. As a result, the customer can spot even with a quick view their point. Moreover, from time to time, they prove their eco-friendly side as, for instance, with the new selves made of wooden pallets and other recyclable materials so the customer can witness this side as well.

·      Logo

Stable for 19 years and small, hence memorable and easily read from many countries. It is written in white letters usually on top of black surfaces of very dark ones, to keep it distinguishable. They use clever logos, different for each country-target such as “defEye gravity” for an eye serum.

·      Design of products

Some of the characteristics are: Heavy and durable materials used for the packaging of cosmetics, different and creative packaging for each subcategory, minimal and attractive –in a very aesthetic way- designs that are connected with nature, beauty and clarity. Even the font of the letters gives you the impression of a qualitative product made from experts who are persistent to every detail, leaving no room for doubting the quality.

·      Advertisements

Their advertisements are separated in two categories: The first one explains each product’s ingredients, benefits and application. In these advertisements they use simple and friendly every-day women (sometimes just wearing a simple white or black t-shirt) with emphasis only on the product and its effects. Some of the advertisements show you how to apply the product without any special effects or perfect houses, only a girl trying to apply a cream. Here is a differentiation with competitors that use either famous women or perfectly beautiful, to an unrealistic point, women. An example that incorporates all these can be found in this advertisement.

The second category is when launching new products and the company starts a promotional campaign. For this kind of advertisements, usually the voice that accompanies the advertisement is very familiar and from a respectable to the audience person. The colors here and the content in general varies but it is more joyful and memorable using more qualitative attributes like classical music. An example can be found in this advertisement.

 

E. Core Values of KORRES

·      Love for nature, herbs, science and people

·      Honesty

·      Commitment to purest ingredients

·      Ethos

·      Togetherness

·      Family “philosophy”

·      Ecological consciousness

·      Authenticity

·      Quality

·      Ongoing innovation

 

A fact that enhances the values of KORRES is the KORRES’s family. They are very approachable and easy to reach. They are willing to give interviews, to answer you personal questions when you go (and if you find them) in their very first store in Athens. You can understand that both are down to earth despite their success and experts in their field, Mr. George is pharmacist and his wife Mrs. Lena is chemical engineer. If you would like you can see this interview with Mr. KORRES you will realize that he is so down to earth and dedicated to his passion.

 

F. Proven care about the country and the humans in general

Through the worst economic period for Greece, KORRES gave each customer, for every product they bought one more (the same) and supported this philosophy by saying something like “We understand how difficult it may be to support us even during these times. We want to honor you by offering you this. We will be happy to see you after four months instead of two” meaning that you can use the product you bought and instead of coming and refill it after two months, use the free one and come after four, so you can save your precious money and time until the economy will recover. From personal experience this campaign lasted for approximately two years and the word-of mouth vindicated them. Furthermore, as Galina (2012) demonstrated, “Korres has earned a reputation for its support of socially vulnerable groups through providing jobs for them. In some jobs, Korres employs mentally handicapped employees and prisoners” (Stolyarova, 2012). This was known to most Greeks because it was for a long period all over the news.

 

G. Emphasis on advanced technology and R&D

They established strong and meaningful relationships with many Universities in Greece but also many other European Universities and Institutes. As mentioned by Entrepreneur (n.d.), KORRES’s research is “guided by an International Independent Scientific Board of Professors in the fields of Biochemistry, Pharmacognosy and Clinical Dermatology” (n.d., Research section, para. 1).

 

 

 

Videos about KORRES

 

·      KORRES Corporate Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdzHmcAk0SQ

·      Company’s structure: http://ir.korres.com/korres/app/cms;jsessionid=9F68F49E94BAC30AF410826BB8BA6B1F?lang=en&page=article.companystructure

·      Mrs. Lena Korres: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZafxTH_dCo

·      The Greek official KORRES’s website: http://gr.korres.com/el/home

·      The USA’s official KORRES’s website: https://www.korresusa.com

·      Design of products and interior shelves: https://www.behance.net/gallery/5303093/Korres-Natural-Products

                                                       References

Entrepreuner. (n.d.). KORRES NATURAL PRODUCST: From the pharmacy in Pagrati to the global market. Retrieved February 16, 2018, from ellines.com: https://www.ellines.com/en/entrepreneur/5143-from-the-pharmacy-in-pagrati-to-the-global-market/

McCarthy, D. (2017, August 13). Management & Leadership: 7 Elements of a strategic plan. Retrieved February 16, 2018, from The balance: https://www.thebalance.com/strategic-plan-elements-2276139

SAVITSKAYA, L. (2015, April 7). Korres. Retrieved February 16, 2018, from Prezi.com: https://prezi.com/bswvqmsjimc4/korres/

Stolyarova, G. (2012, February 1). Greek Pharmacist Sets Example of CSR for Russia. Retrieved February 16, 2018, from sea: http://en.sae.gr/?id=23442

Traini, C. (2008, February 16). Korres. Retrieved February 16, 2018, from The Dieline: http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2008/2/17/korres.html