Four Keys for Corporate Reemergence: Replace, Restructure, Redevelop and Re-brand

   When examining Volkswagen’s dramatic recovery from the company’s emissions scandal from a few years ago, it is clear to notice four distinct elements that helped to bring about the company's rapid turnaround. To push through the public relations nightmare and regain sales traction, Volkswagen embarked on a four step process that centered on four key words: Replace, Restructure, Redevelop and Re-brand. To try and achieve an unprecedented turnaround, the company sought to: replace the leadership, restructure the organization, redevelop the strategy, and re-brand the product. These four strategic elements formed the basis of a newly focused company and continue to push the company forward and further away from the scandal. This four step process of recovery provides an excellent case study for other firms who may find themselves in the midst of turmoil and crisis.     

To be clear, Volkswagen is not the only company to achieve such positive results from the four-pronged approach. Carnival is another Fortune 500 company that used these same four steps to turnaround their company prospects following a disastrous 2013. In February 2013, Carnival Cruise line gained international notoriety over the “poop-cruise” incident when the Carnival ship, Triumph, lost power in the Gulf of Mexico and floated around for nearly a week without any electricity until tow boats finally reached the vessel to bring it back to port. Following significantly bad press over this 2013 incident which resulted in substantial stock losses, the company brought in a new CEO, restructured the company organization, redeveloped a strategy based on customer experiences and re-branded the company for a new millennial marketplace.

Therefore, the four pronged approach of replace, restructure, redevelop, and re-brand, appears to be a model that can work across industries. Continuing research should be done looking at the crisis responses and corporate review from different case study examples in a variety of businesses to provide further support for the concept. Reemerging as a formidable competitor following self-inflicted harm is certainly not an easy task in the world of global business, but there may be a formula for doing so. A proactive response of taking control back from the negative situation and getting on with business for the future may involve some significant sacrifices, but a rapid market turnaround has obviously been done before and most likely this type of turnaround could be repeated.