The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report · The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at...
Transcript of The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report · The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at...
The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry ReportA C o m p e t i t i v e I n d u s t r y A n a l y s i s b a s e d o n D i g i t a l P e r f o r m a n c e
T a b l e o f c o n t e n t s
P A G E 3W h o i s D i g i c o n o m y ( w w w d i g i c o n o m y )
P A G E 4A b o u t t h i s r e p o r t
P A G E 5W h a t w e o f f e r
bull T h e d a s h b o a r dbull T h e i n s i g h t s
P A G E 1 0T h e D I G I C O N O M Y C h o c o l a t e I n d u s t r y R e p o r t
P A G E 2 8
1 SERP (search engine results page)2 Site Visitors3 TrafficSources4 Site Maturity Level5 Social Reach6 Content Channels7 Geographical Footprint
P A G E 2 9
C o n c l u s i o n
H o w t o c o n t a c t u s
A P P E N D I XO v e r v i e w o f t h e 4 c h o c o l a t e c o m p a n i e s
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 3
wwwdigiconomy
Over the last few years Digiconomy has developed a Digital Due Diligence methodology to measure a companyrsquos digital footprint The digital footprint is a good proxy for market impact This methodology can be applied across all companies and industry sectors
WHO IS DIGICONOMY
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 4
A B O U T T H I S R E P O R T
The aim of this report is to demonstrate the added value of our unique methodology
The chocolate and confectionary sector is an excellent industry to which we can apply and showcase this Digital Due Diligence methodology
It allows us to discover who among the players in this industry has a strong digital footprint and how this is reflected in their market performance This is measured through a dashboard
Of course in the analysis of these four chocolate companies Digiconomy can go much broader and deeper and provide recommendations on
bull How you can achieve a higher search engine rankingbull How you can convert more visitors into customers bull How you can keep track of your competitorsbull How you can get more return on your digital marketing investment
In order to get maximum value from this report the results should be shared with an in-house or external IT department These professionals most likely fully understand the business and can use our report to make some specific changes for example to increase web traffic pointing at the web site
In addition our services team is available to implement any specific digital recommendations to update the digital footprint and fine-tune the website so it does what itrsquos supposed to do ndash raise online profile and generate business
Please note it is more important to focus on the trend than the absolute numbers and rankings detailed in this report Therefore it would be interesting to look at these numbers over time and observe how or if they evolve or remain static Therefore repeating the dashboard analysis again in 3 months is recommended
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 5
W H A T W E O F F E R
Digiconomy can deliver an online assessment of the digital component of any business in the landscape of its main competitors
A strong online position has become increasingly hard to keep because of the exponential flood of content created and published on the web There is a need for methods and tools that can assess the digital performance of a company vis-agrave-vis its competitors
We solve this conundrum with our Digital Due Diligence methodology
With a stronger command of data together with deep valuable insights and best in class knowledge our methodology guides a company through real digital transformation and ultimately a stronger digital footprint
A typical assessment will contain two major elements
1 The dashboard - a quantitative analysis2 The insights - a qualitative analysis
In addition our services team are available to implement any specific digital recommendations
We believe that the online performance we measure is a good proxy for business performance irrelevant of type of business including ldquoold economyrdquo or ldquobricks and mortarrdquo businesses
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 6
The goal of the Digiconomy dashboard is to provide an at-a-glance view of the Key Performance Indicators for the digital component of any business
The data shown in the dashboard are generated by
bull external and internal tools bull digital market intelligence reports bull identifying and monitoring a number of quantitative and qualitative publicly
available parameters
The result of this digital due diligence allows to further understand the online performance of a business based on 4 axes
bull The absolute position of the businessbull The relative position of the business compared to its key competitorsbull The progress or regress over timebull Performance against the industry benchmark ie compared to a best in class
performance
The measurements on the dashboard are subdivided in different categories each are very important for the overall digital performance
THE DASHBOARD
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 7
Here is a sample of some of the categories we use
bull SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to your website SERP is an indication of popularity
bull Site Visitors
In this section of the dashboard we look at both web traffic ranking and visitor tracking A strong web traffic ranking provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website Itrsquos an indication of the ability to reach the right audience
bull Traffic sources
Here we analyse the source or origin through which visitors find a website
bull Site Maturity Level
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors
bull Social Reach
Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis Social reach is an indication of visibility
bull Content Channels
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
bull Geographical Footprint
The geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 8
The colour appearing on the dashboard evolves according to the score valuebull Green Strongest performerbull Yellow Middlemoderate performerbull Red Weakest performer
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 9
In addition to the dashboard which provides a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively we also offer our interpretation of these numbers which allow us to answer questions such as the following
1 How popular is my website2 Are we reaching the right audience3 How are our website visitors finding us4 Are we tracking our visitors5 Are we visible on Social media6 What is our global coverage
When you have a stronger command of your data you unlock the power of insights that will change the way you see your business This data can be used to guide a company through real digital transformation and to build a stronger digital footprint and hence a better strategy
THE INSIGHTS
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 10
The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report
In this report a competitive industry analysis based on digital performance we have compared four companies and will provide a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively (dashboard in Excel format) along with our interpretation of these numbers so you can experience the deep value we deliver
The companies we analysed were the following
bull Godiva
bull Leonidas
bull Neuhaus
bull Guylian
For the purpose of this report we wanted to ensure we were comparing apples to apples so the dashboard compares all four Global sites
But note there are 3 types of sites
1Global sites Each of the companies have Global sites
wwwgodivacom wwwleonidascom wwwneuhauschocolatescomwwwguyliancom (wwwneuhauscom is a German watch website)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 11
2 Regional sites
wwwgodivachocolateseu (godivaeu and godivabe are redirected to wwwgodivachocolateseu)
wwwleonidaseu is redirected to global website
wwwneuhauseu wwwneuhauschocolatesbe andwwwneuhauscouk are redirected to global website
wwwguylianeu wwwguyliancouk wwwguyliande are redirected to global site
3Local site
Eg wwwgodivachocolatescouk ndash this website is not redirected to the global site
Godiva is the only one of the four companies that does not re-direct their regional and local websites to the global website
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
T a b l e o f c o n t e n t s
P A G E 3W h o i s D i g i c o n o m y ( w w w d i g i c o n o m y )
P A G E 4A b o u t t h i s r e p o r t
P A G E 5W h a t w e o f f e r
bull T h e d a s h b o a r dbull T h e i n s i g h t s
P A G E 1 0T h e D I G I C O N O M Y C h o c o l a t e I n d u s t r y R e p o r t
P A G E 2 8
1 SERP (search engine results page)2 Site Visitors3 TrafficSources4 Site Maturity Level5 Social Reach6 Content Channels7 Geographical Footprint
P A G E 2 9
C o n c l u s i o n
H o w t o c o n t a c t u s
A P P E N D I XO v e r v i e w o f t h e 4 c h o c o l a t e c o m p a n i e s
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 3
wwwdigiconomy
Over the last few years Digiconomy has developed a Digital Due Diligence methodology to measure a companyrsquos digital footprint The digital footprint is a good proxy for market impact This methodology can be applied across all companies and industry sectors
WHO IS DIGICONOMY
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 4
A B O U T T H I S R E P O R T
The aim of this report is to demonstrate the added value of our unique methodology
The chocolate and confectionary sector is an excellent industry to which we can apply and showcase this Digital Due Diligence methodology
It allows us to discover who among the players in this industry has a strong digital footprint and how this is reflected in their market performance This is measured through a dashboard
Of course in the analysis of these four chocolate companies Digiconomy can go much broader and deeper and provide recommendations on
bull How you can achieve a higher search engine rankingbull How you can convert more visitors into customers bull How you can keep track of your competitorsbull How you can get more return on your digital marketing investment
In order to get maximum value from this report the results should be shared with an in-house or external IT department These professionals most likely fully understand the business and can use our report to make some specific changes for example to increase web traffic pointing at the web site
In addition our services team is available to implement any specific digital recommendations to update the digital footprint and fine-tune the website so it does what itrsquos supposed to do ndash raise online profile and generate business
Please note it is more important to focus on the trend than the absolute numbers and rankings detailed in this report Therefore it would be interesting to look at these numbers over time and observe how or if they evolve or remain static Therefore repeating the dashboard analysis again in 3 months is recommended
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 5
W H A T W E O F F E R
Digiconomy can deliver an online assessment of the digital component of any business in the landscape of its main competitors
A strong online position has become increasingly hard to keep because of the exponential flood of content created and published on the web There is a need for methods and tools that can assess the digital performance of a company vis-agrave-vis its competitors
We solve this conundrum with our Digital Due Diligence methodology
With a stronger command of data together with deep valuable insights and best in class knowledge our methodology guides a company through real digital transformation and ultimately a stronger digital footprint
A typical assessment will contain two major elements
1 The dashboard - a quantitative analysis2 The insights - a qualitative analysis
In addition our services team are available to implement any specific digital recommendations
We believe that the online performance we measure is a good proxy for business performance irrelevant of type of business including ldquoold economyrdquo or ldquobricks and mortarrdquo businesses
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 6
The goal of the Digiconomy dashboard is to provide an at-a-glance view of the Key Performance Indicators for the digital component of any business
The data shown in the dashboard are generated by
bull external and internal tools bull digital market intelligence reports bull identifying and monitoring a number of quantitative and qualitative publicly
available parameters
The result of this digital due diligence allows to further understand the online performance of a business based on 4 axes
bull The absolute position of the businessbull The relative position of the business compared to its key competitorsbull The progress or regress over timebull Performance against the industry benchmark ie compared to a best in class
performance
The measurements on the dashboard are subdivided in different categories each are very important for the overall digital performance
THE DASHBOARD
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 7
Here is a sample of some of the categories we use
bull SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to your website SERP is an indication of popularity
bull Site Visitors
In this section of the dashboard we look at both web traffic ranking and visitor tracking A strong web traffic ranking provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website Itrsquos an indication of the ability to reach the right audience
bull Traffic sources
Here we analyse the source or origin through which visitors find a website
bull Site Maturity Level
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors
bull Social Reach
Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis Social reach is an indication of visibility
bull Content Channels
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
bull Geographical Footprint
The geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 8
The colour appearing on the dashboard evolves according to the score valuebull Green Strongest performerbull Yellow Middlemoderate performerbull Red Weakest performer
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 9
In addition to the dashboard which provides a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively we also offer our interpretation of these numbers which allow us to answer questions such as the following
1 How popular is my website2 Are we reaching the right audience3 How are our website visitors finding us4 Are we tracking our visitors5 Are we visible on Social media6 What is our global coverage
When you have a stronger command of your data you unlock the power of insights that will change the way you see your business This data can be used to guide a company through real digital transformation and to build a stronger digital footprint and hence a better strategy
THE INSIGHTS
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 10
The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report
In this report a competitive industry analysis based on digital performance we have compared four companies and will provide a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively (dashboard in Excel format) along with our interpretation of these numbers so you can experience the deep value we deliver
The companies we analysed were the following
bull Godiva
bull Leonidas
bull Neuhaus
bull Guylian
For the purpose of this report we wanted to ensure we were comparing apples to apples so the dashboard compares all four Global sites
But note there are 3 types of sites
1Global sites Each of the companies have Global sites
wwwgodivacom wwwleonidascom wwwneuhauschocolatescomwwwguyliancom (wwwneuhauscom is a German watch website)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 11
2 Regional sites
wwwgodivachocolateseu (godivaeu and godivabe are redirected to wwwgodivachocolateseu)
wwwleonidaseu is redirected to global website
wwwneuhauseu wwwneuhauschocolatesbe andwwwneuhauscouk are redirected to global website
wwwguylianeu wwwguyliancouk wwwguyliande are redirected to global site
3Local site
Eg wwwgodivachocolatescouk ndash this website is not redirected to the global site
Godiva is the only one of the four companies that does not re-direct their regional and local websites to the global website
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 3
wwwdigiconomy
Over the last few years Digiconomy has developed a Digital Due Diligence methodology to measure a companyrsquos digital footprint The digital footprint is a good proxy for market impact This methodology can be applied across all companies and industry sectors
WHO IS DIGICONOMY
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 4
A B O U T T H I S R E P O R T
The aim of this report is to demonstrate the added value of our unique methodology
The chocolate and confectionary sector is an excellent industry to which we can apply and showcase this Digital Due Diligence methodology
It allows us to discover who among the players in this industry has a strong digital footprint and how this is reflected in their market performance This is measured through a dashboard
Of course in the analysis of these four chocolate companies Digiconomy can go much broader and deeper and provide recommendations on
bull How you can achieve a higher search engine rankingbull How you can convert more visitors into customers bull How you can keep track of your competitorsbull How you can get more return on your digital marketing investment
In order to get maximum value from this report the results should be shared with an in-house or external IT department These professionals most likely fully understand the business and can use our report to make some specific changes for example to increase web traffic pointing at the web site
In addition our services team is available to implement any specific digital recommendations to update the digital footprint and fine-tune the website so it does what itrsquos supposed to do ndash raise online profile and generate business
Please note it is more important to focus on the trend than the absolute numbers and rankings detailed in this report Therefore it would be interesting to look at these numbers over time and observe how or if they evolve or remain static Therefore repeating the dashboard analysis again in 3 months is recommended
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 5
W H A T W E O F F E R
Digiconomy can deliver an online assessment of the digital component of any business in the landscape of its main competitors
A strong online position has become increasingly hard to keep because of the exponential flood of content created and published on the web There is a need for methods and tools that can assess the digital performance of a company vis-agrave-vis its competitors
We solve this conundrum with our Digital Due Diligence methodology
With a stronger command of data together with deep valuable insights and best in class knowledge our methodology guides a company through real digital transformation and ultimately a stronger digital footprint
A typical assessment will contain two major elements
1 The dashboard - a quantitative analysis2 The insights - a qualitative analysis
In addition our services team are available to implement any specific digital recommendations
We believe that the online performance we measure is a good proxy for business performance irrelevant of type of business including ldquoold economyrdquo or ldquobricks and mortarrdquo businesses
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 6
The goal of the Digiconomy dashboard is to provide an at-a-glance view of the Key Performance Indicators for the digital component of any business
The data shown in the dashboard are generated by
bull external and internal tools bull digital market intelligence reports bull identifying and monitoring a number of quantitative and qualitative publicly
available parameters
The result of this digital due diligence allows to further understand the online performance of a business based on 4 axes
bull The absolute position of the businessbull The relative position of the business compared to its key competitorsbull The progress or regress over timebull Performance against the industry benchmark ie compared to a best in class
performance
The measurements on the dashboard are subdivided in different categories each are very important for the overall digital performance
THE DASHBOARD
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 7
Here is a sample of some of the categories we use
bull SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to your website SERP is an indication of popularity
bull Site Visitors
In this section of the dashboard we look at both web traffic ranking and visitor tracking A strong web traffic ranking provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website Itrsquos an indication of the ability to reach the right audience
bull Traffic sources
Here we analyse the source or origin through which visitors find a website
bull Site Maturity Level
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors
bull Social Reach
Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis Social reach is an indication of visibility
bull Content Channels
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
bull Geographical Footprint
The geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 8
The colour appearing on the dashboard evolves according to the score valuebull Green Strongest performerbull Yellow Middlemoderate performerbull Red Weakest performer
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 9
In addition to the dashboard which provides a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively we also offer our interpretation of these numbers which allow us to answer questions such as the following
1 How popular is my website2 Are we reaching the right audience3 How are our website visitors finding us4 Are we tracking our visitors5 Are we visible on Social media6 What is our global coverage
When you have a stronger command of your data you unlock the power of insights that will change the way you see your business This data can be used to guide a company through real digital transformation and to build a stronger digital footprint and hence a better strategy
THE INSIGHTS
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 10
The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report
In this report a competitive industry analysis based on digital performance we have compared four companies and will provide a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively (dashboard in Excel format) along with our interpretation of these numbers so you can experience the deep value we deliver
The companies we analysed were the following
bull Godiva
bull Leonidas
bull Neuhaus
bull Guylian
For the purpose of this report we wanted to ensure we were comparing apples to apples so the dashboard compares all four Global sites
But note there are 3 types of sites
1Global sites Each of the companies have Global sites
wwwgodivacom wwwleonidascom wwwneuhauschocolatescomwwwguyliancom (wwwneuhauscom is a German watch website)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 11
2 Regional sites
wwwgodivachocolateseu (godivaeu and godivabe are redirected to wwwgodivachocolateseu)
wwwleonidaseu is redirected to global website
wwwneuhauseu wwwneuhauschocolatesbe andwwwneuhauscouk are redirected to global website
wwwguylianeu wwwguyliancouk wwwguyliande are redirected to global site
3Local site
Eg wwwgodivachocolatescouk ndash this website is not redirected to the global site
Godiva is the only one of the four companies that does not re-direct their regional and local websites to the global website
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 4
A B O U T T H I S R E P O R T
The aim of this report is to demonstrate the added value of our unique methodology
The chocolate and confectionary sector is an excellent industry to which we can apply and showcase this Digital Due Diligence methodology
It allows us to discover who among the players in this industry has a strong digital footprint and how this is reflected in their market performance This is measured through a dashboard
Of course in the analysis of these four chocolate companies Digiconomy can go much broader and deeper and provide recommendations on
bull How you can achieve a higher search engine rankingbull How you can convert more visitors into customers bull How you can keep track of your competitorsbull How you can get more return on your digital marketing investment
In order to get maximum value from this report the results should be shared with an in-house or external IT department These professionals most likely fully understand the business and can use our report to make some specific changes for example to increase web traffic pointing at the web site
In addition our services team is available to implement any specific digital recommendations to update the digital footprint and fine-tune the website so it does what itrsquos supposed to do ndash raise online profile and generate business
Please note it is more important to focus on the trend than the absolute numbers and rankings detailed in this report Therefore it would be interesting to look at these numbers over time and observe how or if they evolve or remain static Therefore repeating the dashboard analysis again in 3 months is recommended
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 5
W H A T W E O F F E R
Digiconomy can deliver an online assessment of the digital component of any business in the landscape of its main competitors
A strong online position has become increasingly hard to keep because of the exponential flood of content created and published on the web There is a need for methods and tools that can assess the digital performance of a company vis-agrave-vis its competitors
We solve this conundrum with our Digital Due Diligence methodology
With a stronger command of data together with deep valuable insights and best in class knowledge our methodology guides a company through real digital transformation and ultimately a stronger digital footprint
A typical assessment will contain two major elements
1 The dashboard - a quantitative analysis2 The insights - a qualitative analysis
In addition our services team are available to implement any specific digital recommendations
We believe that the online performance we measure is a good proxy for business performance irrelevant of type of business including ldquoold economyrdquo or ldquobricks and mortarrdquo businesses
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 6
The goal of the Digiconomy dashboard is to provide an at-a-glance view of the Key Performance Indicators for the digital component of any business
The data shown in the dashboard are generated by
bull external and internal tools bull digital market intelligence reports bull identifying and monitoring a number of quantitative and qualitative publicly
available parameters
The result of this digital due diligence allows to further understand the online performance of a business based on 4 axes
bull The absolute position of the businessbull The relative position of the business compared to its key competitorsbull The progress or regress over timebull Performance against the industry benchmark ie compared to a best in class
performance
The measurements on the dashboard are subdivided in different categories each are very important for the overall digital performance
THE DASHBOARD
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 7
Here is a sample of some of the categories we use
bull SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to your website SERP is an indication of popularity
bull Site Visitors
In this section of the dashboard we look at both web traffic ranking and visitor tracking A strong web traffic ranking provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website Itrsquos an indication of the ability to reach the right audience
bull Traffic sources
Here we analyse the source or origin through which visitors find a website
bull Site Maturity Level
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors
bull Social Reach
Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis Social reach is an indication of visibility
bull Content Channels
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
bull Geographical Footprint
The geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 8
The colour appearing on the dashboard evolves according to the score valuebull Green Strongest performerbull Yellow Middlemoderate performerbull Red Weakest performer
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 9
In addition to the dashboard which provides a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively we also offer our interpretation of these numbers which allow us to answer questions such as the following
1 How popular is my website2 Are we reaching the right audience3 How are our website visitors finding us4 Are we tracking our visitors5 Are we visible on Social media6 What is our global coverage
When you have a stronger command of your data you unlock the power of insights that will change the way you see your business This data can be used to guide a company through real digital transformation and to build a stronger digital footprint and hence a better strategy
THE INSIGHTS
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 10
The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report
In this report a competitive industry analysis based on digital performance we have compared four companies and will provide a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively (dashboard in Excel format) along with our interpretation of these numbers so you can experience the deep value we deliver
The companies we analysed were the following
bull Godiva
bull Leonidas
bull Neuhaus
bull Guylian
For the purpose of this report we wanted to ensure we were comparing apples to apples so the dashboard compares all four Global sites
But note there are 3 types of sites
1Global sites Each of the companies have Global sites
wwwgodivacom wwwleonidascom wwwneuhauschocolatescomwwwguyliancom (wwwneuhauscom is a German watch website)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 11
2 Regional sites
wwwgodivachocolateseu (godivaeu and godivabe are redirected to wwwgodivachocolateseu)
wwwleonidaseu is redirected to global website
wwwneuhauseu wwwneuhauschocolatesbe andwwwneuhauscouk are redirected to global website
wwwguylianeu wwwguyliancouk wwwguyliande are redirected to global site
3Local site
Eg wwwgodivachocolatescouk ndash this website is not redirected to the global site
Godiva is the only one of the four companies that does not re-direct their regional and local websites to the global website
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 5
W H A T W E O F F E R
Digiconomy can deliver an online assessment of the digital component of any business in the landscape of its main competitors
A strong online position has become increasingly hard to keep because of the exponential flood of content created and published on the web There is a need for methods and tools that can assess the digital performance of a company vis-agrave-vis its competitors
We solve this conundrum with our Digital Due Diligence methodology
With a stronger command of data together with deep valuable insights and best in class knowledge our methodology guides a company through real digital transformation and ultimately a stronger digital footprint
A typical assessment will contain two major elements
1 The dashboard - a quantitative analysis2 The insights - a qualitative analysis
In addition our services team are available to implement any specific digital recommendations
We believe that the online performance we measure is a good proxy for business performance irrelevant of type of business including ldquoold economyrdquo or ldquobricks and mortarrdquo businesses
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 6
The goal of the Digiconomy dashboard is to provide an at-a-glance view of the Key Performance Indicators for the digital component of any business
The data shown in the dashboard are generated by
bull external and internal tools bull digital market intelligence reports bull identifying and monitoring a number of quantitative and qualitative publicly
available parameters
The result of this digital due diligence allows to further understand the online performance of a business based on 4 axes
bull The absolute position of the businessbull The relative position of the business compared to its key competitorsbull The progress or regress over timebull Performance against the industry benchmark ie compared to a best in class
performance
The measurements on the dashboard are subdivided in different categories each are very important for the overall digital performance
THE DASHBOARD
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 7
Here is a sample of some of the categories we use
bull SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to your website SERP is an indication of popularity
bull Site Visitors
In this section of the dashboard we look at both web traffic ranking and visitor tracking A strong web traffic ranking provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website Itrsquos an indication of the ability to reach the right audience
bull Traffic sources
Here we analyse the source or origin through which visitors find a website
bull Site Maturity Level
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors
bull Social Reach
Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis Social reach is an indication of visibility
bull Content Channels
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
bull Geographical Footprint
The geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 8
The colour appearing on the dashboard evolves according to the score valuebull Green Strongest performerbull Yellow Middlemoderate performerbull Red Weakest performer
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 9
In addition to the dashboard which provides a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively we also offer our interpretation of these numbers which allow us to answer questions such as the following
1 How popular is my website2 Are we reaching the right audience3 How are our website visitors finding us4 Are we tracking our visitors5 Are we visible on Social media6 What is our global coverage
When you have a stronger command of your data you unlock the power of insights that will change the way you see your business This data can be used to guide a company through real digital transformation and to build a stronger digital footprint and hence a better strategy
THE INSIGHTS
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 10
The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report
In this report a competitive industry analysis based on digital performance we have compared four companies and will provide a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively (dashboard in Excel format) along with our interpretation of these numbers so you can experience the deep value we deliver
The companies we analysed were the following
bull Godiva
bull Leonidas
bull Neuhaus
bull Guylian
For the purpose of this report we wanted to ensure we were comparing apples to apples so the dashboard compares all four Global sites
But note there are 3 types of sites
1Global sites Each of the companies have Global sites
wwwgodivacom wwwleonidascom wwwneuhauschocolatescomwwwguyliancom (wwwneuhauscom is a German watch website)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 11
2 Regional sites
wwwgodivachocolateseu (godivaeu and godivabe are redirected to wwwgodivachocolateseu)
wwwleonidaseu is redirected to global website
wwwneuhauseu wwwneuhauschocolatesbe andwwwneuhauscouk are redirected to global website
wwwguylianeu wwwguyliancouk wwwguyliande are redirected to global site
3Local site
Eg wwwgodivachocolatescouk ndash this website is not redirected to the global site
Godiva is the only one of the four companies that does not re-direct their regional and local websites to the global website
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 6
The goal of the Digiconomy dashboard is to provide an at-a-glance view of the Key Performance Indicators for the digital component of any business
The data shown in the dashboard are generated by
bull external and internal tools bull digital market intelligence reports bull identifying and monitoring a number of quantitative and qualitative publicly
available parameters
The result of this digital due diligence allows to further understand the online performance of a business based on 4 axes
bull The absolute position of the businessbull The relative position of the business compared to its key competitorsbull The progress or regress over timebull Performance against the industry benchmark ie compared to a best in class
performance
The measurements on the dashboard are subdivided in different categories each are very important for the overall digital performance
THE DASHBOARD
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 7
Here is a sample of some of the categories we use
bull SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to your website SERP is an indication of popularity
bull Site Visitors
In this section of the dashboard we look at both web traffic ranking and visitor tracking A strong web traffic ranking provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website Itrsquos an indication of the ability to reach the right audience
bull Traffic sources
Here we analyse the source or origin through which visitors find a website
bull Site Maturity Level
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors
bull Social Reach
Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis Social reach is an indication of visibility
bull Content Channels
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
bull Geographical Footprint
The geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 8
The colour appearing on the dashboard evolves according to the score valuebull Green Strongest performerbull Yellow Middlemoderate performerbull Red Weakest performer
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 9
In addition to the dashboard which provides a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively we also offer our interpretation of these numbers which allow us to answer questions such as the following
1 How popular is my website2 Are we reaching the right audience3 How are our website visitors finding us4 Are we tracking our visitors5 Are we visible on Social media6 What is our global coverage
When you have a stronger command of your data you unlock the power of insights that will change the way you see your business This data can be used to guide a company through real digital transformation and to build a stronger digital footprint and hence a better strategy
THE INSIGHTS
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 10
The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report
In this report a competitive industry analysis based on digital performance we have compared four companies and will provide a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively (dashboard in Excel format) along with our interpretation of these numbers so you can experience the deep value we deliver
The companies we analysed were the following
bull Godiva
bull Leonidas
bull Neuhaus
bull Guylian
For the purpose of this report we wanted to ensure we were comparing apples to apples so the dashboard compares all four Global sites
But note there are 3 types of sites
1Global sites Each of the companies have Global sites
wwwgodivacom wwwleonidascom wwwneuhauschocolatescomwwwguyliancom (wwwneuhauscom is a German watch website)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 11
2 Regional sites
wwwgodivachocolateseu (godivaeu and godivabe are redirected to wwwgodivachocolateseu)
wwwleonidaseu is redirected to global website
wwwneuhauseu wwwneuhauschocolatesbe andwwwneuhauscouk are redirected to global website
wwwguylianeu wwwguyliancouk wwwguyliande are redirected to global site
3Local site
Eg wwwgodivachocolatescouk ndash this website is not redirected to the global site
Godiva is the only one of the four companies that does not re-direct their regional and local websites to the global website
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 7
Here is a sample of some of the categories we use
bull SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to your website SERP is an indication of popularity
bull Site Visitors
In this section of the dashboard we look at both web traffic ranking and visitor tracking A strong web traffic ranking provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website Itrsquos an indication of the ability to reach the right audience
bull Traffic sources
Here we analyse the source or origin through which visitors find a website
bull Site Maturity Level
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors
bull Social Reach
Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis Social reach is an indication of visibility
bull Content Channels
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
bull Geographical Footprint
The geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 8
The colour appearing on the dashboard evolves according to the score valuebull Green Strongest performerbull Yellow Middlemoderate performerbull Red Weakest performer
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 9
In addition to the dashboard which provides a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively we also offer our interpretation of these numbers which allow us to answer questions such as the following
1 How popular is my website2 Are we reaching the right audience3 How are our website visitors finding us4 Are we tracking our visitors5 Are we visible on Social media6 What is our global coverage
When you have a stronger command of your data you unlock the power of insights that will change the way you see your business This data can be used to guide a company through real digital transformation and to build a stronger digital footprint and hence a better strategy
THE INSIGHTS
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 10
The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report
In this report a competitive industry analysis based on digital performance we have compared four companies and will provide a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively (dashboard in Excel format) along with our interpretation of these numbers so you can experience the deep value we deliver
The companies we analysed were the following
bull Godiva
bull Leonidas
bull Neuhaus
bull Guylian
For the purpose of this report we wanted to ensure we were comparing apples to apples so the dashboard compares all four Global sites
But note there are 3 types of sites
1Global sites Each of the companies have Global sites
wwwgodivacom wwwleonidascom wwwneuhauschocolatescomwwwguyliancom (wwwneuhauscom is a German watch website)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 11
2 Regional sites
wwwgodivachocolateseu (godivaeu and godivabe are redirected to wwwgodivachocolateseu)
wwwleonidaseu is redirected to global website
wwwneuhauseu wwwneuhauschocolatesbe andwwwneuhauscouk are redirected to global website
wwwguylianeu wwwguyliancouk wwwguyliande are redirected to global site
3Local site
Eg wwwgodivachocolatescouk ndash this website is not redirected to the global site
Godiva is the only one of the four companies that does not re-direct their regional and local websites to the global website
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 8
The colour appearing on the dashboard evolves according to the score valuebull Green Strongest performerbull Yellow Middlemoderate performerbull Red Weakest performer
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 9
In addition to the dashboard which provides a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively we also offer our interpretation of these numbers which allow us to answer questions such as the following
1 How popular is my website2 Are we reaching the right audience3 How are our website visitors finding us4 Are we tracking our visitors5 Are we visible on Social media6 What is our global coverage
When you have a stronger command of your data you unlock the power of insights that will change the way you see your business This data can be used to guide a company through real digital transformation and to build a stronger digital footprint and hence a better strategy
THE INSIGHTS
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 10
The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report
In this report a competitive industry analysis based on digital performance we have compared four companies and will provide a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively (dashboard in Excel format) along with our interpretation of these numbers so you can experience the deep value we deliver
The companies we analysed were the following
bull Godiva
bull Leonidas
bull Neuhaus
bull Guylian
For the purpose of this report we wanted to ensure we were comparing apples to apples so the dashboard compares all four Global sites
But note there are 3 types of sites
1Global sites Each of the companies have Global sites
wwwgodivacom wwwleonidascom wwwneuhauschocolatescomwwwguyliancom (wwwneuhauscom is a German watch website)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 11
2 Regional sites
wwwgodivachocolateseu (godivaeu and godivabe are redirected to wwwgodivachocolateseu)
wwwleonidaseu is redirected to global website
wwwneuhauseu wwwneuhauschocolatesbe andwwwneuhauscouk are redirected to global website
wwwguylianeu wwwguyliancouk wwwguyliande are redirected to global site
3Local site
Eg wwwgodivachocolatescouk ndash this website is not redirected to the global site
Godiva is the only one of the four companies that does not re-direct their regional and local websites to the global website
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 9
In addition to the dashboard which provides a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively we also offer our interpretation of these numbers which allow us to answer questions such as the following
1 How popular is my website2 Are we reaching the right audience3 How are our website visitors finding us4 Are we tracking our visitors5 Are we visible on Social media6 What is our global coverage
When you have a stronger command of your data you unlock the power of insights that will change the way you see your business This data can be used to guide a company through real digital transformation and to build a stronger digital footprint and hence a better strategy
THE INSIGHTS
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 10
The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report
In this report a competitive industry analysis based on digital performance we have compared four companies and will provide a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively (dashboard in Excel format) along with our interpretation of these numbers so you can experience the deep value we deliver
The companies we analysed were the following
bull Godiva
bull Leonidas
bull Neuhaus
bull Guylian
For the purpose of this report we wanted to ensure we were comparing apples to apples so the dashboard compares all four Global sites
But note there are 3 types of sites
1Global sites Each of the companies have Global sites
wwwgodivacom wwwleonidascom wwwneuhauschocolatescomwwwguyliancom (wwwneuhauscom is a German watch website)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 11
2 Regional sites
wwwgodivachocolateseu (godivaeu and godivabe are redirected to wwwgodivachocolateseu)
wwwleonidaseu is redirected to global website
wwwneuhauseu wwwneuhauschocolatesbe andwwwneuhauscouk are redirected to global website
wwwguylianeu wwwguyliancouk wwwguyliande are redirected to global site
3Local site
Eg wwwgodivachocolatescouk ndash this website is not redirected to the global site
Godiva is the only one of the four companies that does not re-direct their regional and local websites to the global website
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 10
The DIGICONOMY Chocolate Industry Report
In this report a competitive industry analysis based on digital performance we have compared four companies and will provide a solid picture of the landscape quantitatively (dashboard in Excel format) along with our interpretation of these numbers so you can experience the deep value we deliver
The companies we analysed were the following
bull Godiva
bull Leonidas
bull Neuhaus
bull Guylian
For the purpose of this report we wanted to ensure we were comparing apples to apples so the dashboard compares all four Global sites
But note there are 3 types of sites
1Global sites Each of the companies have Global sites
wwwgodivacom wwwleonidascom wwwneuhauschocolatescomwwwguyliancom (wwwneuhauscom is a German watch website)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 11
2 Regional sites
wwwgodivachocolateseu (godivaeu and godivabe are redirected to wwwgodivachocolateseu)
wwwleonidaseu is redirected to global website
wwwneuhauseu wwwneuhauschocolatesbe andwwwneuhauscouk are redirected to global website
wwwguylianeu wwwguyliancouk wwwguyliande are redirected to global site
3Local site
Eg wwwgodivachocolatescouk ndash this website is not redirected to the global site
Godiva is the only one of the four companies that does not re-direct their regional and local websites to the global website
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 11
2 Regional sites
wwwgodivachocolateseu (godivaeu and godivabe are redirected to wwwgodivachocolateseu)
wwwleonidaseu is redirected to global website
wwwneuhauseu wwwneuhauschocolatesbe andwwwneuhauscouk are redirected to global website
wwwguylianeu wwwguyliancouk wwwguyliande are redirected to global site
3Local site
Eg wwwgodivachocolatescouk ndash this website is not redirected to the global site
Godiva is the only one of the four companies that does not re-direct their regional and local websites to the global website
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 12
1 SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The SERP category of the dashboard is where we look at both website ranking and the roads that lead visitors to a website SERP is an indication of popularity Refer-ring backlinks are roads leading to a website The more backlinks the better Back-link growth is a good proxy especially when combined with traffic rank for market reach The backlink figure shown on the Dashboard is the number of roads leading to each of these websites
Insights
Although the ranking of these four websites on Google illustrated by the Google PageRank and PageRank Proxy are similar in terms of number of referring backlinks pages and domains Godiva is the clear champion Backlink growth for Godiva reached its peak in September 2017 but has since slowed down
The other three brands form a distinct second group In order to get a more accurate and less compressed picture of backlink growth in this group we have excluded Godiva from the second graph This reveals that Neuhaus is growing in number of backlinks while the other two brands are recently trailing downwards
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 13
OnlyNeuhausshowssignificantgrowthwithanaccelerationoccurring9monthsago Leonidas shows a downward trend while Guylianrsquos growth is slowing There is room for improvement in the quality of these backlinks as the bounce rate which we will see later for Neuhaus is the highest of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 14
2 SITE VISITORS
A high Visitor Index provides an indication of a superior stakeholder relationship Visitor tracking is the analysis of visitor behavior on a website It provides a deeper insight into how visitors are interacting with your website and is an indication of the ability to reach the right audience For example Bounce Rate represents the proportion of visits that end on the first page of the website that the visitor sees
Insights
IntermsoftraffictotheirwebsiteGodivaisthebestperformerinclassandisdoingwell on both sides of the ocean In second place comes Leonidas with Neuhaus and Guylian trailing behind While Godiva and Leonidas are better (ie lower) ranked in the US Neuhaus and Guylian have a relatively better ranking in Europe
Neuhaus shows the highest bounce rate of 57 ie 57 of visitors exit the website afterviewingthefirstpagetheyseeGuylianhasthelowestaveragepageviewsofallcompanies Despite visitors to the Leonidas website having the lowest bounce rate they exit the website in the shortest time after viewing 45 pages
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 15
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 16
Traffic sources can be defined as the origin through which visitors find a website This can include among others directly typing a web address into a browser and then directly accessing a website Typing a keyword in a search engine such as Google Bing Yahoo etc and clicking on a resulting link is measured by the search parameter in the table below Other visitors can be drawn to a website via social media or referrals from other websites
3 Traffic Sources
Insights
Closer analysis of traffic sources reveals that up to 71 of traffic to the Neuhaus website is arriving through the search traffic channel
Further analysis not shown in the table above shows that 85 of Neuhaus search traffic is organic and 15 is paid Neuhausrsquo paid advertising efforts through Google Ad words (which is focusing on the French Belgian and UK markets) is perhaps not a good tactic as the bounce rate is high (57)
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 17
OntheotherhandLeonidasalsowithahighpercentageofvisitors(69)coming through the search channel has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
One would expect Godiva with its huge number of backlinks to have a higher percentage of traffic come via the referrals channel This is not the case with search and direct being its most effective traffic channels Godivarsquos paid search efforts are focused on the US market Godiva also captures traffic through an active website email strategy
Interest over time is another aspect which allows us to see the trends in searching for a particular term over an extended period of time For example searching for the word Godiva on Google follows a seasonal cycle It reaches a peak in mid-February (Valentines) and has lower peaks at both Christmas and Easter
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 18
Over the last 14 years the popularity of searching for the term Neuhaus on Google has halved
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 19
Traffic Sources - Godiva
Traffic Sources - Leonidas
Traffic Sources - Neuhaus
Traffic Sources - Guylian
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 20
This provides an indication of the use of analytic tools for tracking and converting site visitors There are a lot of technical data behind these values such as the site score and the analytics stack The higher the score the easier to achieve higher search engine rankings and a better conversion of visitors into customers
4 SITE MATURITY LEVEL
Insights
The Godiva team is clearly technically the strongest and has the analytic tools in place to understand track and convert site visitors
As a rule of thumb a minimum site score of 75 is recommended It would only take acoupleofhoursofworktogettothatminimumcheckingyourwebsitetofindoutwhether you do everything by the book (use of underscores in a link ensure all pictures have an alt name declare site language meta description and preview on Google (see examples below)) It would be possible to obtain an even higher score butthiswouldrequiresignificantmoreworkforinstancetomakeawebsitemobilefriendly or increase the speed of the servers
The other 3 websites each have a less than desired 75 site score value which shows there is certainly room for improvement in optimising these websites
In fact a deeper analysis of the individual analytical tools (not shown in the dashboard) concludes that Godiva uses 26 different analytic tools compared toLeonidas who only uses 2 of the Google Analytic tools
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 21
Godiva great meta description on Google
You can technically improve your website in different ways For example below are the meta descriptions and Google previews for each of the four chocolate brands
A meta description serves as an advertisement for a website and has a limited number of characters (50-300 is recommended) If the text exceeds this limit Google will cut the text at that point Both Guylian and Godiva have followed these guidelines resulting in a great meta description
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 22
Leonidas weak meta description on Google
Neuhaus poor meta description on Google (cut-off point too early)
Guylian great meta description on Google
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 23
5 SOCIAL REACH
Social reach is an indication of visibility Consistency in online social activity is key We have included the most popular social media websites in our analysis An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Snapchat Owler Vkontakte Tumblr Vine Delicious Flickr Reddit Angel List GitHub WeChat QQ Weibo Douban Baido Maps Google Maps Yelp FourSquare
The Klout score is an indication of the breadth and strength of onersquos online social influence
Insights
Godiva is mastering the social media network and far exceeds that of the 3 other companiesThisisreflectedinaKloutscoreof82(scaleof1-100)TheKloutscoremeasuresthebreadthandstrengthofonersquosonlinesocialinfluence
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 24
Content channels are carrying the brand and supercharged content marketing efforts An effective use of different channels is an optimal way to achieve a good SEO Content channels are an indication of the ability to which messages can be distributed to an audience
An example of the parameters we use can be seen in the dashboard below These in fact are a subset of what we are measuring which includes Vimeo SoundCloud Medium Scoopit Twitch Youku Storify Issuu Tudou
6 CONTENT CHANNELS
Insights
Godiva is highly skilled in the use of YouTube
However unlike Leonidas Godiva is underperforming in spreading their marketing assets (copyrsquos amp visuals) over a broader set of content channels like the slide hosting service SlideShare (SlideShare is like YouTube but for slideshows)
Neuhaus has some presence across both these parameters while Guylian has really nosignificantpresenceatall
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 25
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 26
7 GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT
Geographical footprint is an indication of global coverage and the strengths and weakness of a business in key markets The figures shown refer to the number of indexed pages found by search engine crawlers in these geographical regions Indexed pages will show up in search results and can drive organic traffic to a website
Insights
Godiva is doing far better in terms of Geographical footprint compared to Leonidas Neuhaus and Guylian
It is important that each of these companies continue to focus on ensuring that each pageontheirwebsitehashigh-qualitycontentthatuserswillfindvaluableinthedifferent regions
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 27
Search engines have a geographical reach For instance if a business wants to reach a Russian-speaking audience Yandex not Google is the search engine of choice Neuhaus appears to have a stronghold in China
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 28
Conclusion
Having now applied the Digiconomy Digital Due Diligence methodology to these four chocolate companies the data and insights of our online assessment reveal the following highlights Godivaisthebestinclassintermsofdigitalfootprint(reachtrafficampsocial)It is the clear champion leading the pack across all performance indicatorsIt also has the most balanced business from an online footprint perspective Godiva has a strong marketing team in place from a technical point of view and actively uses tools to track site visitors and analyse their behaviour
Among the other three brands Neuhaus is the strongest player In terms of number of backlinks or roads leading to their website Neuhaus is growing while Leonidas and Guylian are slowing down LeonidascomesinsecondintermsofvisitortraffictothewebsiteThemajorityofthesevisitors(69)reachtheLeonidaswebsitethroughthesearchtrafficchannelLeonidas has no paid advertising strategy and this has resulted in a low bounce rate (28)
Guylian is weak across almost all parameters so there is a great opportunity for improvement
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
W e b s i t e w i t h c o n t a c t f o r m w w w d i g i c o n o m y
E m a i l i n f o d i g i c o n o m y
Te l e p h o n e + 3 2 4 8 5 17 0 2 8 4
H o w t o c o n t a c t t h e D i g i c o n o m y t e a m
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 30
APPENDIXOverview of the 4 companies
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 31
G o d i v a
bull Foundedin1926byJosephDraps
bull BoughtbyCampbellSoupCompanyin1967
bull By 2007 Godiva sales had reached $500m (euro428m)
bull In 2008 Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva (excluding stores) for $850m to
the Turkish Group Yildiz Holding
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro1bn
bull Godiva operates more than 600 points of sale (POS) in the United States Can-
ada Europe and Asia and is available via over 10000 specialty retailers
bull Annie Young-Scrivner CEO since 2017 brings to Godiva her deep understand-
ing of the digital connection with consumers and her goals include digitising the
company
bull Brand message Premium gourmet chocolates Belgian heritage Lady Godi-
varsquos boldness generosity and pioneering spirit gold packaging
bull Godiva is associated with sustainable practices and programs on a worldwide
basis World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Cocoa Horizons Foundation Save the
Children The Lady GODIVA Program FEED Projects Godiva Gives (global
employee volunteering program) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
bull There is a strong emphasis on on-line shopping and shipping overseas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 32
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 33
L e o n i d a s
bull Started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in
Brussels
bull Remains privately owned by founding family
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull Neuhaus has 350 POS in Belgium and nearly 1250 POS in around 50
countries
bull CEO Philippe de Selliersrsquo was appointed in 2017 His vision is for aggressive
growth particularly through the travel retail channel
bull Brand message Freshness generosity accessible to all
bull Associated with Cocoa Horizons Foundation
bull E-shop offered but not displayed on home page main horizontal menu
bull Official supplier to the Belgian court
bull Website imagery least attractive of the 4 brands
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 34
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 35
N e u h a u s
bull Foundedin1857bySwissmigrantJeanNeuhaus
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro200m
bull Neuhaus has over 1500 POS in 50 countries
bull Since 2017 there is a new CEO Ignace Van Doorselaere
bull BrandmessageTastetextureandfinestnaturalingredientsBelgianheritageluxurychocolates with broad choice of pretty gift boxes
bull Fresh and fast delivery via web shop
bull Neuhaus is associated with being a Warrant holder of the Belgian court
bull All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek near Brussels and are exported worldwide
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 36
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas
wwwdigiconomyJULY 2018 37
G u y l i a n
bull GuylianfoundedbyGuyFoubertin1958
bull In2008Japanese-KoreanLotteConfectioneryboughtthecompanyfor$164m
(euro140m)
bull Sales for 2017 reached approximately euro80m
bull POS in 120 countries
bull CEO since 2016 is Mieke Callebaut
bull Strong Belgian heritage
bull Good brand recognition through iconic seashell and seahorse pralines
bull Associated with Project Seahorse (conservation and sustainable use of the worldrsquos
seahorses and their coastal marine communities)
bull On-line shopping offered
bull MainofficeinSint-Niklaasplusfourinternationalofficesandfivechocolatebars
(in Australia the United Arab Emirates and South Korea)
bull Guylian has invested euro68m in a new factory and a new production line in
Sint-Niklaas