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"I experienced very strong emotional moments": Georges Elkouby looks back on his experience in "Patron Incognito"

2023-01-09T22:19:13.992Z


INTERVIEW - Isotoner's European president took part in the program produced by Endemol France for M6. After the broadcast on Monday evening, the 61-year-old manager tells us about this discreet immersion within his company and reveals a few anecdotes to us.


For the 44th issue of

"Patron Incognito"

, it was

Georges Elkouby

who took up the challenge of discreet immersion within his company.

Isotoner

is the leader on the French market for gloves, slippers and umbrellas with 80 million euros in turnover, 20,000 products sold every day and 280 employees.

This brand from Saint-Martin-Valmeroux in Auvergne was created in 1894 and has been managed by Georges Elkouby since the mid-1990s. In the program produced by Endemol France, he shared the daily life of Muriel, saleswoman representative for Isotoner in Alsace.

Then that of Mili, manager of the brand's only boutique in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

And finally, in the Auvergne warehouse, that of Damien, handler, and Mallaury, versatile employee.

To discover

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LE FIGARO.

- How did you end up in “Patron Incognito”?


Georges ELKOUBY.

-

It was the production that contacted me.

I watch little television and I didn't know the show at all.

They explained the concept to me, I looked at old issues and I found it interesting.

Rather funny in France and rather caricatural in the United States.

I hesitated to accept because there was personal risk taking.

But I saw it as a great opportunity to give visibility to the brand, to show that Isotoner is a young and innovative company.

I wasn't comfortable, it wasn't an easy exercise for me, but I got into it. The film crew was very nice and knew how to put me at ease.

What did you expect from this experience?


Regardless of the brand's visibility, I wanted to highlight my employees, show their skills and their involvement.

And it was an opportunity to observe and question ourselves.

Accept that we can make mistakes and improve.

Being immersed discreetly with my employees, unlike usual, I thought that maybe I would see some interesting things.

There is a strong human dimension in "Patron Incognito"...


From a personal point of view, I met some very nice people.

I've been with the company for a very long time, I know almost everyone, but the employees retained by production were fairly new to Isotoner.

As we were coming out of a period of health crisis, I had not traveled much so they did not know me directly.

The disguise was well done, I was quite difficult to recognize.

There were a few incidents but I was never recognized.

Muriel, your sales rep in Alsace, said during your immersion that she felt like she was in "Patron Incognito"...


It's true, but she added looking at me straight in the eye that I wasn't not her boss because she said she knew me.

There was this filming context in the exercise of her profession and this guy in front of her with the head of a donkey.

I was far from gifted in my various roles!

(Laughs.)

Muriel and Georges Elkouby, alias Daniel in "Patron Incognito" M6 screen capture

“We had a terrible client, the sequence was cut during editing”

Georges Elkouby

You still took initiatives, especially in the field of sales...


I couldn't help myself!

(Laughs.) In the store, the sequence was cut during editing, we had a terrible client, a real caricature.

My sales manager, who is an adorable woman, was unsettled by the context of the shoot and I couldn't help but intervene.

I wanted to protect her from this client who was verbally abusing her.

It was a human reflex.

The revelation of your immersion to your employees gave rise to very strong exchanges...


I experienced very strong emotional moments with each of them for different reasons.

When Muriel told me about her life during my immersion, I was devastated.

During the revelation, everything came to the surface and I did not expect to experience such an emotional moment with her.

I am 61 years old, I measure the chance that I had to live this experience of “Patron Incognito”.

Everything was completely sincere.

Have you kept in close contact with your four employees since filming?


Yes of course.

They were all adorable and caring with me during my immersion.

They perfectly illustrate the family values ​​of transmission and sharing that I want to convey at Isotoner.

In the field, I saw honest, invested, motivated people with an irreproachable state of mind.

When I cut my finger in the warehouse, Mallaury immediately took care to put a bandage on me, for me and to protect the products.

She was very caring in the performance of her work.

Mallaury and Georges Elkouby in "Patron Incognito" M6 screen capture

“I set up several things at the end of my immersion”

Georges Elkouby

What lessons have you learned from this experience?


I set up several things at the end of my immersion and from my observations.

I made a general increase in salaries, with a part in amount and a part in percentage to favor the lowest salaries.

I granted an additional week of paid vacation to the entire sales force.

From now on, we collect the boxes from our suppliers, we tinker with them and reuse them.

Same thing with our displays, we recover spare parts.

We are going to remove the plastic hooks from our products and replace them with cardboard.

Within the warehouse, we have automated part of the handling for the comfort of the employees.

Will your pilot store in Neuilly-sur-Seine grow?


I find that we are not sufficiently distributed in the city center hence the idea of ​​setting up Isotoner shops.

The image of the brand lends itself well to this.

I test the concept and try to find the best formula to make it profitable.

Mili, who manages our shop, is wonderful and will take part in our seminars.

She has such know-how that we involve her in the choice of products for sale in the shop and the training of sales assistants in future shops.

Georges Elkouby and Mili in "Patron Incognito" M6 screen capture

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-01-09

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