#InterviewAlumni — Xavier Gaudemet (BSB'12): “In spring, I am already preparing for Christmas... next year! ”

Spring Brand Culture Project Manager

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Who are you, before being Brand Culture Project Manager in Printemps?

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My name is Xavier, 33 years old, I am originally from the Paris region and live in Paris. I am a person who is passionate about my job, but also about marketing and history.

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And if not, what do you do for a living... professionally?

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I am responsible for the “Brand Culture” Department in Printemps. My mission is to develop the brand identity of the brand, along several axes. First, work on a brand platform that will define its vision, mission, strategy, strategy, values, personality, all the elements and codes that must make Printemps unique for its customers, then deploy it in the company so that employees appropriate it and make it real for our customers. There is also work on brand storytelling, and in particular on all large-scale operations such as that of the Christmas period, with the aim of emerging from the competition. Finally, a final axis is that of preserving the heritage of Printemps, with the idea of being inspired by it and being able to transmit it to future generations.

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What do you like the most about your job?

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The really interesting thing about what I do is telling stories. For example, we are currently preparing the Christmas story... next year! I think that being in the long term makes the relationship with what you do even stronger.

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A word about your background between BSB and your current job?

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It was done in a very linear way. When I was at BSB I did my internships in Printemps in various jobs, as an Assistant CRM Project Manager, i.e. the management of loyalty programs, then in the Communication department. And then I was hired directly after my diploma at the Printemps Marketing & Communication Department in Paris.

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If you had to introduce Spring to a child?

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Printemps is a very large store, known and recognized throughout the world. It is a monument but also a place of experience and emotions: when a customer enters one of our stores, we want them to feel as good as on a beautiful spring day in Paris.

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A striking anecdote to tell?

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We organize guided tours behind the scenes of the store on Boulevard Haussmann, in partnership with an agency specialized in unusual visits called Cultival. On this occasion, customers come out very moved, recalling childhood memories, for example, in front of Christmas windows. It is touching and shows the very deep attachment that customers can have and the degree of emotion that we are capable of creating.

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What's the last big pride you should have celebrated more?

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We have been working on a new brand platform for over a year, which I mentioned earlier. It is an enormous amount of work that we have just finalized and that we are about to deploy to all employees. I am quite proud of it, but we have not yet taken the time to celebrate it properly!

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What's the biggest challenge you've experienced so far with Spring?

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I did not experience any major difficulties as such, but Printemps is a very old company — it will be 155 years old in 2020 — so it is always a bit complicated to get this type of organization with its very strong culture and history moving. But even if it is never easy with this kind of big ship, we always need to move forward, to question ourselves, to innovate... and I can say that we succeed by dint of perseverance!

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What is an actor of change for you?

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He is someone who has a vision of the future, who knows where he wants to go, but who also knows how to listen to his environment, customers, teams, and who knows how to adapt and achieve his vision by taking into account everyone's feelings.

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An actor of change who inspires you?

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I am thinking of the founder of Printemps, Jules Jaluzot, and his successor Gustave Laguionie. They were very strong personalities in the history of our company, who knew how to stimulate an incredible dynamic, transmit their passion while adapting to the changing world, and who still strongly mark the culture of the company today.

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Your morning routine to have the energy to change things every day?

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The first thing I do every day is to watch news from the world but also from fashion, trade and the economy. I am always on the lookout for new actors and new concepts. For this reason, reading the Fashion Network newsletter on a daily basis feeds me well.

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The event that made you want to contribute to change?

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Perhaps the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Spring in 2015. It was a great moment of history and sharing that prompted us to do even better for the future. In addition, it is one of the first projects I contributed to, it gave me a great boost for the future.

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What kind of student were you?

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I was quite calm, certainly more than average, quite studious and in the end not a very party-goer. On the other hand, I was very involved in group projects. For example, I remember working on a business creation concept, around the theme of “what is missing in the world”, and it was particularly inspiring. It was one of the moments at BSB where I really felt the urge to be an agent of change.

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If you could relive your student days, what would you do differently?

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To be honest, I am quite happy with my career, I don't think I would do anything differently.

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What was the choice of path or the action taken when you were a student that served you the most?

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What was super important was my semester abroad, in Berlin, for the cultural openness that it brought me, and the fact that I worked with very different people. And then of course there are my internships in Spring, especially the gap year, which led me to what I am doing today.

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An encounter that particularly inspired you during your time at BSB?

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My marketing professor, Diana Bratu. She gave me marketing elements, in particular around brand identity, which impressed me a lot...!

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Your next big ambition?

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It means deploying our famous new brand platform to all Printemps employees, i.e. more than 3,000 people, and bringing it to life to support the Printemps of tomorrow.

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Any advice or a message for a BSB student?

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Be guided by your passion, don't choose a default path, follow your instincts, and go all out! To thrive, you have to turn your passions into a job, that's how it works.

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More info on Spring

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Website: printemps france.com

Instagram: @printempsofficial

Facebook: @PrintempsTwitter: @Printemps

To participate in a guided tour: Cultival