Explain what Patagonia would have to do to become a really sustainable company?
Patagonia should communicate much more harder it’s image and a little bit they should refresh it’s image! They should create an image around Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. He was one of the greatest climber in history, so he fits perfectly into this climber culture. They should review Nike’s image and brand building strategy, when it want’s to break into the skaters culture, around 2004-2005. Nike built a decent skateboarding shoe that was certainly as well-made as an Etnies skateboarding shoe. But Nike doesn’t fit into the rebel world of skateboarders, because this brand doesn’t come from that world. Then Nike launched a new line of skater shoes, called Nike SB-- essentially Nike’s third attempt to break into the skate market. But this time they somehow got it right. They hired the right people with the right street cred and deep understanding of skater culture. They plucked these people from the “legit” skater brands and put them to work creating an internal culture that aligned with their audience, and they created a series of shoes that finally undermined the “corporate” image and quietly grew the Nike SB brand. Some shoes were issued in small, limited editions, and this put Nike over the top. As of today, Nike offers the hottest shoes in the skate and action sports category. They didn’t pull this off with a classic TV and print campaign. They started from within, built a legitimate skater culture, built the right shoes, built the right team of riders, sold only to the small core shops, and built a culture that core skaters wanted to belong to. And it worked. So in my view Patagonia has to follow in some ways this marketing and brand building strategy with Mr. Chouinard. Patagonia must use a kind of gerilla marketing for those, who really commited, and really beliefs what Patagonia brand means. The management should refresh this brand by living these beliefs inside...