CAC40 vs GAFA

Are the big American (GAFA) or Chinese (BATX) high-tech players that far away? What happens when our businesses are justifiably committed to staying within their budgets, meeting their revenue or EBITDA goals?

The GAFA or the BATX are slowly but surely nibbling on our old continent.

#Voyages:

Airbnb has shaken up the entire hotel sector, including the iconic Accor, which is not at its first try.

#Education:

Apple and Samsung are currently providing our schools with their pads, which will soon become the cornerstone of tomorrow's education in France and Europe. Sqool (French actor) is trying to differentiate itself alone, without any support from the government or key players in the sector.

Recreational #Activités:

Vivendi, which launched the first video subscription 13 years ago, “watch” Netflix or Amazon Prime spread all over the world.

#Industrie automotive:

Should we be afraid of newcomers such as Tesla, who currently does not have a significant market share compared to Peugeot or Renault?

#Banque:

Our own banks such as Crédit Agricole, BNP or HSBC continue to fight among themselves while Apple launches its Apple Card (Keynote March 2019) and Revolut gains several thousand new customers every day.

These are only a few examples, but the threat is real: Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple are also competing with Xiaomi, Tencent, WeChat, Alibaba, Baidu, these Chinese players who, after conquering Asia, are now targeting the rest of the world.

That said, our French companies are far from being in assets... but these also weigh heavily...

European and French companies combine 4 golden assets, which can also be liabilities: These assets can also become... liabilities:

1. Of Marks With High Visibility, But Which May Lack Emotion
2. One Customer portfolio Highly requested, but with data that still needs to be identified and processed.
3. Of Expert teams, Still Unable to Question Their Own Modus Operandi
4. TEASilver, an enormous investment capacity, sometimes underexploited

Switch to Breakthrough Innovation Mode

To conquer new territories, new markets, new ways of consuming, it is almost impossible to continue applying the recipes that have worked for 40 years. A break is essential.

Here are 4 rules to follow (in our opinion):

1. Be Autonomous : accept to launch new activities in a completely new environment and therefore to differentiate themselves from the activities of the parent company, with entrepreneurial actors who know better than anyone how to stick to the rules, with a different space-time, and to be proactive in doing in 2 days what others do in 6 months.
2. Accept the unknown : You don't become innovative overnight. This involves and requires a long process with a change in mentality, and DNA as well. However, giving entrepreneurs a goal and trusting them to achieve it increases creative energy. You never know what to expect with adventures like this, but one thing is certain: only the right entrepreneurs will get you to the top of the mountain!
3. Have a logic of natural selection : failure is a normal step on the road to success. Start several initiatives, with limited resources: End those that are not satisfactory after 12 to 18 months and, on the contrary, invest heavily in those that take off.
4. Teaming up : You can never be prepared enough for these new adventures and it is essential to pool your skills and to partner with people who are dynamic entrepreneurs, who can successfully, bypass, discover, but also rely on their expertise to move forward more quickly.