Interviewer view · keep this screen to yourself

Company problem or industry problem?

You run the case. Read the prompt, answer questions from the notes below, and share data only when the candidate asks for it or gets stuck. Score at the end.

Case timer

00:00

Target length:

1. Read the prompt aloud

Read it slowly, then pause. Let the candidate ask questions before they structure.

A German fashion retailer's sales fell 12 percent last year while its industry fell 4 percent. The table below splits the company's sales and the industry's change by channel. Is this mainly a company problem or an industry problem, and where is it?

The prompt refers to Exhibit 1. After reading it, say: "Open Exhibit 1 now."

Format note: Interviewer-led: the interviewer shows the channel table and asks how much of the fall is the company's own, then which channel explains it.

2. Answers to clarifying questions

Give these answers only if the candidate asks. If they ask something not listed, give a sensible answer or say it does not matter here.

If asked: Is the industry figure for the same products and regions?
Answer: Yes, mid-price fashion in Germany.
If asked: Did the company close stores?
Answer: No, the store count did not change.

3. The hypothesis a strong candidate states

Listen for an early, testable guess like this one. It does not need to match word for word.

The company fell three times faster than its industry, so my hypothesis is that most of the decline is lost market share, which is a company problem we can fix.

4. A model structure

Compare the candidate's structure with this one. A different split can be just as good if it is clean and fits the problem.

Compare the two declines, then find the channel
- Industry decline
- Key: Company decline beyond the industry
  - Stores: falling faster than the industry
  - Online: not growing while the industry grows

Exhibit 1

The prompt uses this exhibit, so the candidate opens it right after you read the prompt ("Show exhibit 1" on their screen).

Company sales and industry change by channel (EUR millions and percent)

Company sales and industry change by channel (EUR millions and percent)
Channel	Company sales last year (EUR m)	Company sales this year (EUR m)	Industry change (%)
Stores	400	340	-9
Online	100	100	16
Total	500	440	-4

So-what

The company fell faster than the industry in stores and did not grow at all online while the industry's online sales grew 16 percent.

5. The working, step by step

Each step shows how a strong candidate works it out. Share a new fact from it only when the candidate asks or is stuck, and let them do the math: the result in the dark box is what they should reach.

Step 1: Excess decline
What a strong candidate does: The company fell 12 percent while the industry fell 4 percent, so about 8 of the 12 points are specific to the company.
Company-specific decline (points): 12 - 4 = 8
Step 2: A more exact view
What a strong candidate does: The subtraction is a quick shortcut. More precisely, the company's market share fell by 1 minus 0.88/0.96, which is about 8.3 percent, so the shortcut holds.
Loss of market share (%): (1 - 0.88 ÷ 0.96) × 100 = 8.33
Step 3: The gap in money
What a strong candidate does: Had the company moved with its industry, sales would be EUR 480 million, not 440.
Gap to industry pace (EUR m): 500 × (1 - 0.04) - 440 = 40
Step 4: Stores
What a strong candidate does: At the industry's minus 9 percent, stores would have sold EUR 364 million instead of 340.
Store gap (EUR m): 400 × (1 - 0.09) - 340 = 24
Step 5: Online
What a strong candidate does: At the industry's plus 16 percent, online would have sold EUR 116 million instead of 100. Stores and online together explain the full 40.
Online gap (EUR m): 100 × 1.16 - 100 = 16

The recommendation to listen for

At the end, say: "The CEO walks in. What is your recommendation?"

This is mainly a company problem with a real fix. First, about two thirds of the decline (8 of 12 points) is lost share, not the industry. Second, in money the company is EUR 40 million below where it would be at industry pace, and EUR 24 million of that is stores falling faster than rivals' stores. Third, the other EUR 16 million is online: the company's online sales did not grow at all while the industry's grew 16 percent. Diagnose why store customers are leaving (price, range, or store experience) and why the online offer is not growing, before treating this as an unavoidable industry decline.

Risks a strong answer names: The industry decline may speed up, adding pressure; Some of the store gap may come from store locations that no fix can save.

Next steps: Compare price, range, and online sales with the two fastest-growing rivals; Rank stores by sales change to see whether the store gap is broad or concentrated.

Strong versus weak

A strong answer

Separated company from industry and located the fixable part.

A weak answer

Blamed "the difficult industry" and missed that most of the loss was specific to the company.

Score the candidate

Score each criterion from 1 to 5. A 2 or a 4 sits between the descriptions.

Structuring

1: No clear structure, or a memorized framework that does not fit the problem.
3: A sensible structure, but with some overlap, a gap, or no clear priority.
5: A structure built for this problem, with no overlap and no gaps, a stated hypothesis, and a clear first step.

Math

1: Frequent errors, no units, or needed heavy help to finish.
3: Right answers but slow or messy working, or one error caught late.
5: Accurate and clearly narrated, with units, a sense check, and what the number means.

Exhibit reading

1: Read the chart aloud without finding the number that matters.
3: Found the key number but gave only part of the so-what.
5: Pulled the right number quickly and said what it means for the case.

Synthesis

1: Summarized what was done, with no clear answer.
3: Gave an answer, but with weak reasons or no next step.
5: Answer first, then two or three reasons with numbers, the main risk, and next steps.

Communication

1: Hard to follow: long silences, no signposting.
3: Clear most of the time, with some rambling.
5: Calm and concise, signposted each step, and checked in with the interviewer.

Total

0 out of 25

Score all five criteria to see the band and the feedback template.