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Case Study

Maison Chloé: Driving purposeful transformation for sustainability

By Vanina Farber, Stéphane J. G. Girod and Lisa Simone Duke

21 pages

December 2021

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Reference: IMD-7-2324

At luxury fashion house Maison Chloé, minds were focused on the first collection of new Creative Director, Gabriela Hearst, which was just hitting the stores. Chloé’s CEO, Riccardo Bellini, had recruited Gabriela, known for her commitment to sustainability through her own brand, to epitomize the Maison’s new responsible purpose. Riccardo, along with Sustainability Director Aude Vergne, had been swift to accelerate Chloé’s purpose-led transformation in an industry that materially contributed to the planet’s environmental and social problems. They had focused particularly on the social aspects of ESG in order to impact the environmental ones. But the “S” was definitely harder than the “E.” The case explores the transformation steps put in place across Chloé’s supply chain, design, governance of the sustainability transformation, and B Corp certification application. Transforming in less than two years was a sprint, and the stress had taken its toll. The case closes asking whether the transformation would make a difference: Would lower impact products be welcomed by consumers, and was Chloé doing enough to ensure the continuing desirability of luxury in rapidly changing times? For luxury-focused classes, the case emphasis can be on discovering what it takes to become a purposeful luxury brand.

Learning Objective

- Understand the difficulties of ESG/sustainability-driven business model transformation in luxury fashion companies: Why do they do it (purpose); what are the challenges; how to do it (what are the salient characteristics); who are the protagonists and their roles in designer-led transformation?
- Distinguish between operational vs. core business model transformation.
- Evaluate prospects of luxury fashion in 2050 – are sustainability efforts relevant? Are sustainability and growth compatible?

Keywords

Sustainability Strategy, Purpose Statement, Execution, Design, Gender Equality, Decent Work Conditions, Economic Growth, Reduced Inequalities, Responsible Consumption, Responsible Production, Climate Action, Goal Partnerships, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Sustainability, Strategy, Luxury

Settings

World/global, France
Maison Chloé, Consumer Goods, Apparel and Fashion, Consumer Goods, Luxury Goods and Jewelry
December 2019-2021 September

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

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Teaching note

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