Alba Tous, President of the jewelry firm and the proponent of this project, notes that: “We’re very excited about this transformation and determined to see it through. The challenge we face is to continue growing the company in a sustainable manner, with a strong commitment to contribute to society, and we will meet the challenge, thanks to an unparalleled team. We’ll continue to work to get where we want to be”.

From workspace to living space at the headquarters.

The key objective at the Manresa headquarters is to convert workspaces into living spaces that boost the creativity, inspiration, innovation, health, and vitality of the teams.

Spaces are being reorganized taking into account factors such as the location of rooms, floor plans, lighting, and traffic flows, all to ensure a healthy professional environment that contributes to the vitality of the company’s talent. In this way, the company is facilitating internal communication flows and fostering collaboration, cooperation, and vitality among teams, all key elements in driving cultural transformation.

The transformation project at head office is being developed and implemented by a multidisciplinary team formed of inhouse talent in collaboration with two key partners: Sara Escolá, a specialist in the integration of classic Feng Shui techniques, and Elisava Research, the research department of the Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering.

Escolá has brought to the project her extensive expertise in groundbreaking disciplines that see modern science study the impact that the spaces we inhabit have on our physical, psychological, and emotional health, based on the following factors: sustainability, neuroarchitecture, and Feng Shui energy flows. Neuroarchitecture is a branch of neuroscience that seeks to understand how the environment modifies our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Biophilia promotes a feeling of serenity through contact with nature. Feng Shui aims to balance the vital energy of the person, through the layout, decoration, and orientation of spaces. These three techniques reflect the commitment to new organizational models of people-positive spaces.

The research department of the Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering, Elisava Research, with a team formed of researchers specializing in sustainability and wellbeing for people; senior architects and university professors, multidisciplinary consultants and alumni, has brought knowledge around the environmental conditions of the workspace and people’s behavior, crafting a design proposal that ensures the wellbeing of TOUS employees without forgetting sustainability issues and considering the expression of TOUS brand values.

In short, the reorganization consolidates the company’s philosophy of supporting its talent in their day to day lives and procuring their satisfaction. The push to evolve is no coincidence; it is built into the firm’s DNA. TOUS has sponsored other work-life balance efforts, such as the introduction of an onsite day care center in 2002 for employees’ children, a social impact initiative that arose from a survey of the workforce.

Greater logistical efficiency

The remodeling of the corporate headquarters also involved a reformulation of the company's logistics management, which has been unified in a single location. This in turn has made it possible to introduce new advanced picking systems for order preparation, converting it into a fully omnichannel facility.

The logistics center employs a total of 150 people, a figure that can double during the firm’s key campaigns. It was designed from the perspective of process reengineering and standardization following the lean management methodology. Centralized management allows the company to reduce stock, streamline interactions with brick-and-mortar stores and improve e-commerce efficiency, which ultimately has a positive impact on the excellent service provided to customers around the world.

In terms of internal organization, the center has its own flexible structure that allows for team mobility depending on the workloads of the different channels, and maintains the same jeweler’s spirit in its logistics processes, such as customization and restoration of jewelry and accessories.

This transformation allows TOUS to handle day-to-day operations and major retail campaigns organically, since the logistics center is capable of receiving, storing and shipping more than 7 million products annually, distributing TOUS products to more than 700 stores in the 45 countries where the company does business.

Continued commitment to digitization

The new organizational model also includes new work units which serve as leverage in the company's digitization process and foster its commitment to the most innovative and creative talent.

Among them is the launch in Barcelona of a Content Factory, the new TOUS internal photography studio, in response to the high volume of audiovisual material generated by the brand through flexible and efficient processes. This will enable the creation of a large TOUS audiovisual archive and add value to the graphic resources.

The "digital hub” which was created by the company in 2019 is a center where a transversal team works to attract digital talent and develop new innovative projects that incorporate new technologies.

All of these actions are part of TOUS Next, a cross-cutting transformation project through which the company aims to be closer to consumers and society and maintain its leadership in the affordable luxury segment. The project is based on three areas: customer focus and digitization, driving responsibility and sustainability, and reviewing processes to deliver maximum efficiency and flexibility.