In 2010, the repositioning of Club Med as an "upscale, friendly and multicultural" tour operator was

supposed to be achieved, through the complete renovation of its portfolio of vacation villages.
However, the outcome of this strategy, implemented since the early 2000s, when Club Med has
faced the loss of impetus of its historical model, was still unclear. Such a repositioning clearly
clashed with Club Med's history and culture, generally associated with a relaxed atmosphere, rough
and ready amenities and an open-minded lifestyle.
The 2009 results showed that, even if operating profits were finally up after several years of
decrease, revenues were still declining. Club Med's Chairman and CEO Henri Giscard d'Estaing
explained that the net loss (58m; $81m) resulted from four elements : (1) the overall economic
crisis, (2) the H1N1 flu virus and its impact on tourism, (3) the renovation cost of the villages, and
(4) a "limited number of property transactions, due to the mortgage crisis". He also announced the
opening of five new villages in China between 2010 and 2015. His promise was to "deliver a new
profitable Club Med for 2010".
However, the break with Club Med's history and culture had succeed : since 2004, this strategic
turnaround had cost aroung 1bn.
Club Med's history : the years of growth
Club Med was founded after the second World War by Grad Blitz and Gilbert Trigano.
Coming from a belgian diamond merchant family, Grard Blitz was a world-class athlete in
swimming and water-polo. In 1950, he spend some days a vacation in a tent village close to Calvi,
Corsica. This gave him the idea to create a "vacation camp" under the sun. He founded the Belgian
association "Club Mditerrane" in April 1950 and opened his first village on a desert beach on the
island of Mallorca, Spain.
Blitz bought his tents from a french supplier, Gilbert Trigano. Apart from owning a family tent
business, Trigano was a former resistance fighter and a reporter for the French Communist
newspaper l'Humanit. Attracted by the vacation village concept, fascinated by Blitz's personality,
Trigano became the treasurer if the association in 1953, then president in 1963. The same year, Club
Mditerrane was incorporated.
In 1955, Club Mditerrane opened a second tent village in Tahiti (Blitz's wife was of tahitian
origin). In 1956, a winter village was opened in Leysin, Switzerland, and in 1965, Club
Mditerrane opened its first permanent village in Agadir, Morocco.
In 1966, in order to finance a vast international expansion plan in Northern Africa, Europe, America
and Asia, the company was listed at the Paris stock exchange. During the next twenty years, dozens
of villages opened, including two giant sailing ships, Club Med 1 and Club Med 2.
First difficulties
In 1991, the year when Blitz died, Operation Desert Storm strongly impacted the tourist industry
and Club Med suffered heavy losses. In 1993, Gilbert Trigano was replaced as chairman and CEO
by his son, Serge. In spite of his turnaround plan, Serge Trigano did not manage to put the situation
right. In 1997, upset shareholders replaced him with an external manager, Philippe Bourguignon,
the former CEO of EuroDisney.
Bourguignon's ambition was to "transform a vacation villages company into a service company".
He implemented a growth strategy, both organic (new concepts such as a low-cost village for young
people) and external (takeover of another tour operator and of a gym clubs chain). This ambitious
expansion strategy came with a severe cost-cutting plan, a shift in human resource management (in
the villages, many Club Med employees were replaced with local suppliers) and the implementation
of a real IT infrastructure (many processes were still done manually). Club Med became profitable
in 1998.
In 1999, net profits grew by 48%. In 2000, revenues and profits soared again (+28% and +51%
respectively). In three years, Club Med attracted more than 300 000 new customers. In 2001, when

Gilbert Trigano died, Club Med had 127 villages, 24200 employees and 1,8 millions customers.
However, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 caused an immediate collapse of the toursit market.
Bourguignon's volume strategy was no longer sustainable. Since he was disowned by Club Med's
employees - who criticised his autocratic management and were used to Trigano's paternalism - he
resigned from the chairmanship in 2002. He was replaced by the CEO he had recruited himself fro
Danone, Henri Giscard d'Estaing. Giscard d'Estaing was also the elder son of the former President
ot the French Republic.
The repositioning plan
When Giscard d'Estaing became chairman and CEO, Club Med was facing two external threats :
- The tourist industry was heavily affected by the terrorist threat.
- Thanks to the internet, new low-cost entrants were rapidly expanding, and incumbents were
offered vacation villages, similar to the Club Med concept, but a lower prices.
All this convinced Giscard d'Estaing to implement an upscale repositioning : the closing down of
approximately 50 low-end villages, renovation of the existing infrastructure, opening of new
prestigious establishments, a significant rise in serices (all-inclusive package, open-bar policy, more
comfortable rooms), but also a significant price rise. The number of villages decrease to 80 and a
much more sophisticated advertising campaign was launched. Between 1998 and 2008, the
proportion of high-end villages went from 18% to 47%, whereas low-end villages were
disappearing. The clientele also evolved significantly : households with a high revenue accounted
for 63% of customers in 2003, and 82% in 2005.
This repositioning was mainly financed by selling property, which reduced financial costs and
amortisation, limited debt, and allowed Club Med to offer an acceptable balance sheet for investors
to finance the renovation of its villages. However, two external events weakened this strategy : the
market was still in a downturn (on top of terrorist threats, the 2004 tsunami in Asia brutally reduced
the opportunity for property profits.
In 2010, analysts were still uncertain about the results of this profound strategic reorientation, which
was disrupting Club Med's historical culture.
The roots of Club Med's Culture
For more than fifty years, Club Med exhibited a distinct culture. Gilbert Trigano used to say that he
had created a "profoundly psychological industry".
Marked by the Second World War, Blitz had created Club Med because the thought that all
Eruopeans deserved vacations on the seaside and under the sun. He defined his concept as the
"antidot against civilisation". According to Gilbert Trigano : "More than Grard, I tried to reconcile
capitalism with utopia. I remember these early mornings when we were boldly building the world
with a total madness, but we knew perfectly what we were doing : we knew we wanted to influence
people's life and future". Blitz was an idealist and Trigano a pragmatist, but they agreed on
"gathering people hurt by modern society in a peaceful and soft place where they could regain their
forces, an articial enronment to teach people to smile again".
To do so, they built up a culture with rich symbols, rituals and myths. Villages were isolated from
their local environment in order to break from day-to-day life. Amenities were limited : tents at first,
then huts - often without electricty - with shared bathrooms. In this closed world, as of 1951,
customers were named GMs (Gracious Members) and coordinateurs GOs (Gracious Organisers).
On arrival, welcomed by GOs, GMs had to ban professional jargon and social origins. At the
restaurant, there were only eight-people tables, in order to force GMs to make new acquaintances.
As of 1956, Clud Med banned money from the villages and implemented a payment system based
on plastic pearl necklaces.
GOs were the keystone of the whole system. They were expected to maintain a permanent festive

atmosphere through shows, village dances and sport competitions. During the first years, Blitz
personally recruited them with his wife, Claudine. Gilbert Trigano insisted : "Claudine informally
played the role of head personel, which was a key role because everything relies on GOs. She and
Grard were the tutelary patents of the Club, they choose children in their image and maintain
family relations with them.
From an organisational point of view, the best GOs could become general managers of a village, in
charge of all the operational aspects, from animation to hospitality and security. The best general
managers - a job it required an almost permanent night-and-day presence with GMs - could access
administrative positions at Club Med headquarters in Paris, even if these coordinators were not
necessarily good executives.
Under the trident logo (a reference to Poseidon an the Mediterranean Sea), Club Med generated a
"sea, sex and sun" alchemy which reached its apogee in the 1970s.
Towards a new culture
In the 1990s, this life in a community was no longer in the line with social evolutions. Loose morals
were unacceptable for families. Villages were more and more considered as ghettos, without any
contacts with with local cultures. Undue familiarity between GOs and GMs repelled some
customers and the obligation to participate in all activities was seen as brigading.
As a consequence, as of 2002, after having asked Serge Trigano about Club Med's historical culture,
Giscard d'Estaing attempted deep cultural change. An ambiance charter was produced. It
highlighted the core values of the company : multicultural, pioneer, kindness, freedom,
responsability. It also spelled out inappropriate behaviours for GOs : cronyism, hasty judgement,
individualism. As thick as a phone book, it also explained new procedures and limited "vulgar"
activities such as water games or roles played by a member of the opposite sex. A school village
opened in Vittel in France, in order to train 10000 employees (out of a total of 16000). The goal was
to reconsider relational behaviors, ways of dressing and attitudes. The organisation of the village
was also modified. General managers - who used to supervise directly 15 services - were now
assisted by two deputies (one in charge of hospitality, the other in charge of leisure)
A transformation in progress
This evolution was still in progress by 2010. Even if customer satisfaction had incresed, the
occupancy rate hade not. Nothing indicated that shareholders would give Giscard d'Estaing enough
timer to complete Club Med's transformation : the share price plummeted from 54 in August 2007
to 13 in January 2010.
Even if Giscard d'Estaing maintained that his strategy was beginning to bear fruit, in mid-2009 he
had to react to the potential threat of a hostile takeover bid from external investors, who estimated
that an upscale repositioning was inconsistent with Club Med's values and business model. An
increase in capital dispelled this threat, but analysts were still cautious about the results of such
strategic and cultural turnaround.

En 2010, le repositionnement du Club Med en tant que tour-oprateur "haut de gamme, convivial et
multiculturel tait cens tre ralis, grce la rnovation complte de son portefeuille de villages
de vacances. Toutefois, le rsultat de cette stratgie, mise en uvre depuis le dbut des annes 2000,
quand le Club Med a fait face l'essoufflement de son modle historique, n'tait toujours pas clair.
Un tel repositionnement clairement en conflit avec l'histoire et la culture de Club Med,
gnralement associe une atmosphre dtendue, quipements bruts et prts et un mode de vie
ouvert.
Les rsultats de 2009 ont montr que, mme si les bnfices d'exploitation ont finalement augment
aprs plusieurs annes de baisse, les revenus taient encore en baisse. Prsident et chef de la
direction M. Henri Giscard d'Estaing de Club Med a expliqu que la perte nette (de 58 M ; 81m $)
rsulte de quatre lments: (1) la crise conomique globale, (2) le virus de la grippe H1N1 et de son
impact sur le tourisme, (3 ) le cot de la rnovation des villages, et (4) un "nombre limit de
transactions immobilires, en raison de la crise des prts hypothcaires". Il a galement annonc
l'ouverture de cinq nouveaux villages en Chine entre 2010 et 2015, sa promesse tait de livrer un
nouveau rentable Club Med pour 2010".
Cependant, la rupture avec l'histoire et la culture de Club Med avait russi: depuis 2004, ce
revirement stratgique avait cot environ 1 milliard.
L'histoire du Club Med: les annes de croissance
Club Med a t fond aprs la deuxime guerre mondiale par Grard Blitz et Gilbert Trigano.
Issu d'une famille belge de marchands de diamants, Grard Blitz tait un athlte de classe mondiale
dans la natation et le water-polo. En 1950, il passe quelques jours de vacances dans un village de
tentes prs de Calvi, en Corse. Cela lui a donn l'ide de crer un "camp de vacances" sous le soleil.
Il a fond l'association belge Club Mditerrane en Avril 1950 et a ouvert son premier village sur
une plage dserte sur l'le de Majorque, en Espagne.
Blitz a achet ses tentes auprs d'un fournisseur franais, Gilbert Trigano. En dehors de possder
une entreprise de tentes familiale, Trigano tait un ancien combattant de la rsistance et un reporter
pour le journal communiste franais L'Humanit. Attir par le concept de village de vacances,
fascin par la personnalit de Blitz, Trigano est devenu le trsorier de l'association en 1953, puis
prsident en 1963, la mme anne, le Club Mditerrane a t constitue.
En 1955, le Club Mditerrane a ouvert un deuxime village de tentes Tahiti (la femme de Blitz
tait d'origine tahitienne). En 1956, un village d'hiver a t ouvert Leysin, en Suisse, et en 1965, le
Club Mditerrane a ouvert son premier village permanent Agadir, au Maroc.
En 1966, afin de financer un vaste plan d'expansion internationale en Afrique du Nord, en Europe,
en Amrique et en Asie, la socit a t cote la Bourse de Paris. Au cours des vingt annes
suivantes, des dizaines de villages s'ouvrirent y compris deux voiliers gants, Club Med 1 et Club
Med 2.
Premires difficults
En 1991, l'anne o Blitz est dcd, l'opration Tempte du dsert a fortement impact le secteur
du tourisme et le Club Med a subi de lourdes pertes. En 1993, Gilbert Trigano a t remplac en tant
que prsident et PDG par son fils, Serge. En dpit de son plan de redressement, Serge Trigano n'a
pas russi redresser la situation. En 1997, les actionnaires bouleverss le remplacent par un
gestionnaire externe, Philippe Bourguignon, l'ancien PDG de EuroDisney.
L'ambition de Bourguignon tait de transformer une entreprise de village de vacances en une
socit de services". Il a mis en uvre une stratgie de croissance, les deux organiques (nouveaux
concepts tels que les villages faible cot pour les jeunes) et externe (prise de contrle d'un autre
tour-oprateur et d'une chane de clubs de gym). Cette stratgie d'expansion ambitieuse est venu
avec un plan de rduction des cots grave, un changement dans la gestion des ressources humaines
(dans les villages, de nombreux employs du Club Med ont t remplacs par des fournisseurs

locaux) et la mise en uvre d'une vritable infrastructure informatique (de nombreux procds ont
t encore effectues manuellement) . Club Med est devenue rentable en 1998.
En 1999, les bnfices nets ont augment de 48%. En 2000, les revenus et les profits ont grimp
nouveau (+ 28% et + 51% respectivement). En trois ans, le Club Med a attir plus de 300 000
nouveaux clients. En 2001, lorsque Gilbert Trigano est dcd, le Club Med avait 127 villages, 24
200 salaris et 1,8 millions de clients.
Cependant, les attaques terroristes du 9/11 ont caus un effondrement immdiat du march
touristique. La stratgie de volume de Bourguignon n'tait plus durable. Depuis qu'il a t dsavou
par les employs du Club Med - qui critiquaient sa gestion autocratique et ont t utiliss pour le
paternalisme de Trigano - il a dmissionn de la prsidence en 2002, il a t remplac par le PDG
qu'il avait lui-mme recrut de Danone, Henri Giscard d'Estaing. Giscard d'Estaing tait aussi le fils
an de l'ancien prsident de la Rpublique franaise.
Le plan de repositionnement
Quand Giscard d'Estaing est devenu prsident et PDG, le Club Med a t confront deux menaces
extrieures:
- L'industrie du tourisme a t fortement affecte par la menace terroriste.
- Merci l'Internet, les nouveaux arrivants faible cot ont t en pleine expansion, et entreprises
en place ont t offerts villages de vacances, similaires au concept Club Med, mais d'une prix plus
bas.
Tout cela a convaincu Giscard d'Estaing de mettre en uvre un repositionnement haut de gamme: la
fermeture d'environ 50 villages bas de gamme, la rnovation de l'infrastructure existante, l'ouverture
de nouveaux tablissements prestigieux, une augmentation significative des serices (forfait tout
compris, open-bar politique, des chambres plus confortables), mais aussi d'une hausse significative
du prix. Le nombre de villages a diminu 80 et une campagne beaucoup plus sophistique de la
publicit a t lance. Entre 1998 et 2008, la proportion de villages haut de gamme est passe de
18% 47%, tandis que les villages de bas de gamme disparaissaient. La clientle a galement
volu de manire significative: les mnages ayant un revenu lev reprsentent 63% des clients en
2003, et 82% en 2005.
Ce repositionnement a t financ principalement par la vente de biens, ce qui rduit les cots et
amortissements financiers, un endettement limit, et a permis Club Med d'offrir un bilan
acceptable aux investisseurs afin de financer la rnovation de ses villages. Cependant, deux
vnements externes ont affaibli cette stratgie: le march tait encore en priode de rcession (audessus de menaces terroristes, le tsunami de 2004 en Asie brutalement rduit la possibilit pour les
bnfices de proprit.
En 2010, les analystes taient encore incertains quant aux rsultats de cette rorientation stratgique
profonde, qui a boulevers la culture historique du Club Med.
Les racines de la culture de Club Med
Depuis plus de cinquante ans, le Club Med a prsent une culture distincte. Gilbert Trigano disait
qu'il avait cr une "industrie profondment psychologique".
Marqu par la Seconde Guerre mondiale, Blitz a cr le Club Med parce qu'il pensait que tous les
Europens mritaient des vacances en bord de mer et sous le soleil. Il dfinit son concept comme
"l'antidote contre la civilisation". Selon Gilbert Trigano: Plus que Grard, j'ai essay de concilier
capitalisme et utopie. Je me souviens de ces dbuts de matine quand nous avons courageusement
construit le monde avec une folie totale, mais nous savions parfaitement ce que nous faisions. Nous
savions que nous voulions influencer la vie et l'avenir des gens ". Blitz tait un idaliste et Trigano
pragmatique, mais ils taient d'accord sur le fait de rassembler les gens touchs par la socit
moderne dans un endroit paisible et doux o ils pourraient retrouver leurs forces, un environnement

articiel pour apprendre aux gens sourire nouveau."

Pour ce faire, ils ont construit une culture de symboles riches, de rituels et de mythes. Des villages
ont t isols de leur environnement local afin de rompre avec la vie au jour le jour. Services ont t
limits: des tentes dans un premier temps, puis des cabanes - souvent sans lectricit - avec salle de
bains commune. Dans ce monde clos, en 1951, les clients ont t nomms GMs (Gentils Membres)
et Coordinateurs GOs (Gentils Organisateurs). l'arrive, accueilli par GO, GM a d interdire le
jargon professionnel et origines sociales. Au restaurant, il n'y avait que des tables de huit personnes,
afin de forcer GM de faire de nouvelles connaissances. En 1956, Clud Med interdit l'argent des
villages et mis en uvre un systme de paiement bas sur des colliers de perles en plastique.
GO tait la cl de vote de tout le systme. Ils devaient maintenir une ambiance festive permanente
travers des spectacles, des danses villageoises et des comptitions sportives. Pendant les premires
annes, Blitz a personnellement recrut avec sa femme, Claudine. Gilbert Trigano a insist: ".
Claudine a jou le rle de chef du personnel, qui tait un rle cl, car tout repose sur les Gos. Elle et
Grard sont les brevets tutlaires du Club, ils choisissent des enfants leur image et entretiennent
des relations familiales avec eux.
D'un point de vue organisationnel, les meilleurs GO pouvaient devenir directeurs gnraux d'un
village, en charge de tous les aspects oprationnels, de l'animation de l'hospitalit et la scurit.
Les meilleurs directeurs gnraux - un emploi, il ncessitait une prsence quasi permanente nuit et
jour avec GM - pouvaient accder des postes administratifs au sige du Club Med Paris, mme
si ces coordonnateurs ne sont pas ncessairement de bons dirigeants.
Sous le logo trident (une rfrence Posidon et la mer Mditerrane), le Club Med a gnr un
"sea, sex and sun" alchimie qui a atteint son apoge dans les annes 1970.
Vers une nouvelle culture
Dans les annes 1990, cette vie dans une communaut n'tait plus en ligne avec les volutions
sociales. Murs lgres taient inacceptables pour les familles. Villages taient de plus en plus
considrs comme des ghettos, sans aucun contact avec avec les cultures locales. La familiarit
excessive entre les GO et GM a repouss certains clients et l'obligation de participer toutes les
activits a t considr comme embrigadement.
En consquence, partir de 2002, aprs avoir demand Serge Trigano sur la culture historique du
Club Med, Giscard d'Estaing a tent un changement culturel profond. Une charte de l'ambiance a
t produit. Il a soulign les valeurs fondamentales de la socit: multiculturel, pionnier, gentillesse,
libert, responsabilit. Il a galement prcis les comportements inappropris des GO: copinage,
jugement htif, l'individualisme. pais comme un annuaire tlphonique, il a galement expliqu les
nouvelles procdures et vulgaires des activits limites telles que des jeux d'eau ou des rles
jous par un membre du sexe oppos. Un village scolaire a ouvert Vittel en France, afin de former
10 000 employs (sur un total de 16 000). L'objectif tait de revoir les comportements relationnels,
des faons de s'habiller et les attitudes. L'organisation du village a galement t modifie. Les
directeurs gnraux - qui permet de superviser directement 15 services - sont dsormais assists par
deux adjoints (un en charge de l'accueil, l'autre en charge de loisirs).
Une transformation en cours
Cette volution tait encore en cours en 2010, mme si la satisfaction du client a incresed, le taux
d'occupation hade pas. Rien n'indiquait que les actionnaires donner Giscard d'Estaing assez
minuterie pour terminer la transformation du Club Med: le prix de l'action a chut de 54 en Aot
2.007 13 en Janvier 2010.
Mme si Giscard d'Estaing a soutenu que sa stratgie commence porter ses fruits, la mi-2009, il
se devait de ragir la menace potentielle d'une offre publique d'achat hostile de la part des
investisseurs externes, qui estime qu'un repositionnement haut de gamme tait incompatible avec
les valeurs du Club Med et modle d'affaires. Une augmentation de capital a dissip cette menace,

mais les analystes sont encore prudents sur les rsultats de tel revirement stratgique et culturel.