After having filed for bankruptcy, Quiksilver Inc. has changed its name to replace it with Boardriders Inc. The company is nearly 50 years old (will be in 2019) and has experienced sustained growth for 42 years to reach nearly $2 billion and be the leader in sports boards goods. However, the last 5 years have been much more difficult in a market where competition is becoming more and more intense.
Pierre Agnès, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, has asked a team of two researchers and their staff to perform an audit of the image of the brands owned by the company, namely Quiksilver, Roxy and DC Shoes. In this case, we are interested in brand image, from its theoretical definition to - and more importantly - the way its audit can be conducted. This case also provides an opportunity to reflect on how statistical analyses - especially principal components analyses - can be helpful and must be known for anyone who aims to conduct brand image audits.