Grupo Coppel executives talked about innovation within the retail company that has forayed into financial services while exploring new businesses. 

By JOSÉ ÁNGEL DE LA PAZ | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Executives in Innovation at Grupo Coppel shared their experiences and perspectives in the webinar “From retail to banking: a journey of innovation” from the EGADE Future Forum series.

In this session, moderated by Cristian Granados, Research Professor at EGADE Business School, Óscar Meza and Guadalupe Orozco, Innovation Division Manager, and Cross Innovation Division Manager, respectively, at Grupo Coppel, talked about the efforts to drive innovation within the firm.

Coppel, one of the leading department store chains in Mexico’s retail sector, with an 80-year history specialized in selling clothing, footwear, furniture, and household appliances, started, in 2006, to offer financial services through Afore Coppel and, just one year later, the BanCoppel bank.

Within the Area of Innovation at Grupo Coppel, Meza commented, the team concentrates on generating new competitive advantages, preventing future risks, seeking customer satisfaction, and adding value. 

“Without the support of senior management, innovation is unlikely to exist,” she commented. 

Orozco explained that Grupo Coppel has four major divisions in this area: Innovation in Retail, Innovation in Financial Services, Cross Innovation, and New Businesses. 

“The first two divisions are pursuing incremental innovation. For example, in Cross, we are seeking to implement adjacent innovation, while the New Business Division focuses on discovering opportunities,” he said. 

Granados explained that innovation gains even greater importance for companies in times of crisis. This is because it enables them to adapt to or anticipate the future to transform or create new products and services, thereby maintaining their market competitiveness. 

“At times like these, many companies have reduced their innovation efforts,” he observed. 

According to various studies, the scholar commented that between 40 and 70 percent of a company’s medium- and long-term growth is the result of its capacity to innovate. 

Watch the complete webinar here.