Wonderbox, the French leader in gift boxes, faces the crisis

SUMMARY OF THE WEBINAR HOSTED BY HUBERT REYNIER

Fabrice Lépine, the CEO of Wonderbox, joined the two founders in 2007. The health crisis forced the leader in gift boxes to rethink the company's culture and become more agile. During the crisis, many measures were put in place to refine the company’s management and maintain team motivation:

• Partial unemployment was implemented to support the workforce.
• The launch of a new product, notably Supercard.
• Development of new digital services to support the growth of web sales, such as customization and the ability to purchase in three clicks.
• Shortening closing deadlines to strengthen management tools in response to an increasingly uncertain economic environment.
• New ways to communicate with employees, now working remotely. Video conferencing was adopted to regularly communicate updates, discuss projects, and provide the most factual and realistic assessments.
• The implementation of solidarity measures to support Wonderbox’s struggling partners.

In March, the uncertainty was overwhelming. Wonderbox then decided to modify its industrial processes. The company wanted to buy some time in this uncertain context to possibly delay preparations for the year-end sales. It was about programming rather than anticipation. In such uncertain times, it’s important to be prepared for any scenario, and flexibility was key. For 12 months, Wonderbox worked to stay ready and agile.

In this context, Wonderbox also worked on its company culture. The group's context was conducive to this: over the previous four years, ten acquisitions had taken place, and with them, the company faced a shift in culture. A deep dive into the essence of Wonderbox’s corporate culture began, defining what it meant for the group and its new entities. Four key pillars emerged:

• "We share"
• "We dare"
• "We push the limit"
• "We are one team"

This culture, although already present, was formalized, allowing employees to stay motivated, engaged, and perform at their best during the 14-month crisis period.

To spread this culture throughout the company, Wonderbox organized workshops with its 500 employees. In each session, one of the four values was highlighted, with groups of eight people, and discussions were led by each team manager. At the end, a large Team Building Escape Game was organized with the entire group, helping employees reconnect and regain energy.

Digital innovation became a central focus of the company. A lot of work was done on mastering core competencies and developing new services.

Before the Covid crisis, the company sometimes found itself in a self-imposed routine, replicating projects year after year. Being forced into a pause due to the crisis and reflecting on the essentials helped to reset priorities and ultimately allowed the company to move forward faster. The delegation to teams, due to remote work, became much stronger during the crisis. Teams were inspired, full of initiative, and this is something Wonderbox intends to keep moving forward.