For some lucky/talented entrepreneurs lightning does strike twice, or even three or more times, and they are able to create a business that emulates their earlier success.
Having been part of the family that built the Forte Group of hotels and hospitality group, Rocco Forte lost out in a takeover with Granada. However he took his expertise, and crucially his name, regrouped and re-entered the hospitality sector with a new upmarket offering, Rocco Forte Hotels.
Clothes designer George Davies was a serial success in clothing retail, from establishing Next in the 1980s, through the George at Asda ranges, to Per Una at Marks & Spencer.
More recently, Ultimo bras boss, and Prime Minister David Camerons latest business tsar, Michelle Mone has put her entrepreneurial zeal and personal brand behind the launch of a new jewellery business. Michelle Mone for Diamonique claims to live up to her “work hard, play hard” philosophy, which has also seen the Scot launch a tanning brand, UTan into Boots stores.
For every Forte, Davies or Mone who manages to relaunch a successful business in an area where they have already thrived, theres a Gerald Ratner or Freddie Laker who never quite regains past glories. So what makes the difference
Past performance is not a guarantee of future success
One of the most important things that entrepreneurs must remember is that past performance is no guarantee of future success. Entrepreneurs can be headstrong and with a track record of business wins can think that they know best, and that everything they touch will turn to gold.
But that is not necessarily the case. Even the mighty Steve Jobs had limited success with his first post-Apple project, Next Computers, after being booted out of the business he founded. Although Next was in some way ahead of its time, it was pricey and sales were limited. When Jobs returned to Apple his eyes were set more firmly on the mainstream.
Getting the business case right is therefore key.
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Just because an entrepreneur has done it before, doesnt mean he can skimp on the business plan. Sir Clive Sinclair helped kick-start the UK computer industry and the careers of thousands of programmers with his ZX Spectrum, but when he decided to put a washing machine engine in a three-wheeled go-kart, maybe somebody should have had a word.
No product will thrive solely on the reputation of its charismatic founder. It has to have a reason to exist, and that reason must be easy to sum up and sell to the public.
Sinclairs efforts with the C5 show how off-beam even the most brilliant minds can be. Focusing on the product first ahead of the customer and the risk of commercial failure is obvious.
By comparison, look at Apples iPod. It wasnt the first MP3 player, but it worked because it sold a simple proposition that appealed to consumers 1,000 songs in your pocket.
Adapting to the market
When it comes to relaunching in a sector where you have previously been successful, you can’t simply repeat the same formula. It will be interesting to see how the Top Gear-in-exile team does when it relaunches its new show on the Amazon platform. Will the talent prove to be the key to the shows success, or is it the format itself that is the winnerClarkson et al are essentially launching against themselves, so theyd better be prepared to tweak the format.
Successful relaunches acknowledge that the world changes and you need to adapt to new market conditions.
In the Eighties with Next, George Davies made high street fashion vibrant and accessible. In the Nineties he was at the vanguard of bringing clothing into supermarkets. And in the Noughties, his Per Una range in M&S helped revitalise a retailer that was starting to appear a bit dowdy. Each time he moved the game on.
When Jo Malone, founder of the eponymous candles and fragrance business, relaunched her new business Jo Loves, she did so with a twist in making it a more experiential and personal business. Customers can create their own fragrance candles, enjoy a fragrance tapas, and have fragrance consultations to divine their preferences.
Launching a new business or brand is an incredibly intoxicating thing, and entrepreneurs can become slightly addicted to the process.
However in preparing for a new launch, they must remain aware that success will not necessarily come any easier second time round. The things that made their first projects fly spotting a gap in the market, attention to detail, drive and commitment are all just as important for new launches, if not more so.
Gareth Evans is business development director at Five by Five.
