MINI: Growing beyond the core business

MINI, owned by BMW, is one of the most beloved car brands. It is legendary in its design, and its drivers have a deeply emotional relationship with the car.

Challenge

The consumption habits of MINI’s key target segment, the creative class, are shifting from owning to sharing and experiences. MINI’s in-house business strategy team sought to explore the possibility of diversifying its business beyond the core to ensure the brand’s future relevancy. To lead this project, MINI reached out to Fjord Berlin from Accenture Interactive. Fjord, in turn, hired Ross Republic’s head of strategy to steer it.

Solution

We kicked off the project with an external situation analysis leading to a top management workshop. After the workshop, we supported the in-house team in devising the strategy, including defining new business development drivers, to guide the idea generation and ensure a strategic fit of the new business concepts.

Deliverables

• External situation analysis
• Top management workshop
• Vision and business strategy 2025
• High-level business concepts

Impact

Six months after the completion of the project, MINI announced its expansion into a new business area, co-living and co-working. MINI is set to convert an abandoned paint factory in the Jing’An district of Shanghai with Chinese project developer Nova Property Investment Co.

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