Country Road Group
The iconic house of brands chose to spotlight the culture already living inside the business, rather than invent a new story from scratch. Through an employee experience assessment and deep listening with teams across the portfolio, shared threads surfaced in the language people already used about their work, their brand, and why they stayed. From there, we developed a group purpose statement that honoured each brand’s identity while giving CRG a unifying way to speak as one, without flattening what made each brand distinct.
Delivered by Rachel Abad, contracted by Bunch Agency.
The project.
The challengeWith a restructure behind them and a renewed focus on cultural alignment, the organisation saw a clear need to strengthen connection across its portfolio of brands: Country Road, Witchery, Mimco, Trenery, and Politix. While employees felt strong pride in their individual brand identities, there was limited shared language or clarity around what it meant to belong to CRG as one group.
The insight
The insight What stood out immediately was employee tenure. CRG was a place people stayed, and that longevity pointed to something worth protecting – pride, belonging, and a lived culture that employees already felt, even if it was not articulated as one unifying narrative. The real learning was that culture wasn’t going to be rolled out through complex messaging. Alignment was uncovered by listening to the words people already use when they describe what matters, then connecting that pride to something bigger than any one brand, without flattening the nuances that make each brand unique.
The strategic approachWe ran facilitated workshops to surface shared patterns across brands, roles and locations, with a deliberate focus on lived experience rather than aspirational statements. In parallel, we conducted an employee experience assessment to map the moments that shape belief and belonging, from onboarding to recognition to development. From there, we translated findings into a clear purpose narrative and supporting key messages, refining them through iterative testing with senior leadership until the language was both authentic to employees and actionable for leaders.
Who we spoke toEmployees across brands and functions through a mix of workshops, in store pop up conversations and focus groups, including:
Employee Facilitated Workshops. 100 x employees in 16 x facilitated sessions across brands and functions (and continents), exploring connection to purpose, cultural values, and lived experience.
Executive and Leadership Teams. 8 x Interviews and alignment sessions with senior leaders to test and refine the narrative and ensure cultural resonance.
The impactA punchy, co-designed, organisation wide purpose narrative that captured what people were proud of and what made CRG worth staying for, while still respecting the distinct identities of each brand. Leaders also gained a renewed view of the employee experience, with practical direction on where to focus to strengthen culture and improve the moments that matter.
Need support?
If you’re building something purpose-led and want to move from opinions to evidence, you’re in the right place. Whether you need audience insight, communications support, or a strategic brain in your corner, Looped-in helps you make decisions informed by the people you serve.