Gonzalo Durán (Durán Group), at ESADE: "Our challenge is to advance in the digitisation of the brand without sacrificing our customer focus"

The Durán Group recently celebrated its 30th  anniversary. Under the management of the fourth generation, the company is working to address the typical challenges faced by family businesses in today’s changing global environment. “Our future challenges include advancing in the digitisation of the brand without sacrificing our customer focus,” commented Gonzalo Durán, Director of Marketing at the Durán Group, during the second session of the 10th ESADE-Deloitte Lecture Series, on the topic of “Family Businesses of the 21st Century”. Mr. Durán added: “In some cases, we believe that it’s not yet possible to convey the same closeness and personalised service over the Internet.” Family businesses “have to know how to combine tradition and innovation in order to survive over time”, commented María José Parada, Lecturer in the Department of Strategy and General Management at ESADE. She added that companies must be “flexible enough to adapt to trends and market fluctuations without losing their identity or their values”.

Professionalisation of family businesses

Between 2001 and 2004, Deloitte advised the Durán Group on a company reorganisation process carried out as the fourth generation prepared to take the reins from the third generation. “It was a brave step by those who came before us,” commented Gonzalo Durán. “We consolidated the Durán Group and went from being a rather flat organisation to having a department-based structure, which gave our teams greater freedom and facilitated innovation processes within the company.” Alfonso Durán, General Manager of Durán Joyeros, commented that the fourth generation “has found that it is not necessary to centralise all production processes in a single factory” and that the company can “work with associated workshops to make its products”. He added: “With a desire for expansion, we have managed to significantly increase our presence in retail outlets.” Gonzalo Durán noted that the Durán Group is currently focused on “diversifying and expanding its lines of business” and “concentrating on expanding its company-owned brands”. At the family level, Mr. Durán noted that the main challenge for the future is figuring out “how to deal with the next generation’s succession” so as to maintain “close bonds among family members” and “maintain our policy of furthering shareholders’ interests”.

Generosity, respect and a proactive attitude

“Companies that have lasted as long as the Durán Group have proven themselves capable of successfully managing the various challenges that have presented themselves over the years,” commented XXX. To a large extent, this has to do with “the company having created adequate governance structures” with “arenas of communication, decision-making and development that are intergenerational but also include members of the same generation”, so that “the dominant generations can transmit their knowledge to the generations that will follow them”. Ms. Parada, the ESADE lecturer, underscored the importance of “the dominant generation having a large supply of generosity and respect for the incoming generation” and the younger generation “showing a proactive and respectful attitude” towards its predecessors.

The event also featured the participation of Pedro Navarro, Deputy Executive Chairman of the ESADE Foundation Board of Trustees, and Fernando Ruiz, President of Deloitte.