Ace the Case

A Rough Guide to Case Interviews

We want applicants to come into case interviews knowing what to expect –
this makes for a much better debate and exchange of ideas
Purpose of This Document

 Case interviews are used by OC&C as a way of separating the really great candidates from the
very many high-calibre applicants that we get each year

 We think that coming into these interviews understanding what is expected of you makes for a
much more engaging debate, and allows you to better show us what you can do (this is not about
trying to catch candidates out!)

 To help with this, we‟ve pulled together a short guide to case interviews, including:
– A few reasons why OC&C, and other firms like us, use case interviews
– A short outline of the steps to solving a case
– A few examples of the type of case you might come across in interviews, as well as examples
of the ways you might think about approaching these cases
– Top tips for candidates, collated from some of our interviewers

 We‟ve also included some background on OC&C to help you understand how we are different

 We hope you find this helpful, and hope to see you across an interview table soon!

17826_Recruitment
21
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
OC&C is a leading strategy consultancy, founded in London 25 years ago
Global Presence

London Paris Rotterdam Hamburg Düsseldorf Background

 OC&C‟s success has
translated into consistent
growth for our business
– Founded in 1987 in London
– Currently, 11 offices
worldwide and more than
60 partners
– Projects completed in more
than 45 countries
worldwide
 Our client roster includes
some of the largest
corporations in the world
 OC&C serves corporate and
private equity firms across
FMCG, Retail, B2B and B2C
Services, Media and
Technology
New York Boston Mumbai Delhi Hong Kong Shanghai

17826_Recruitment
32
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
We work with management teams on a range of strategically critical issues
Key Activities

“Growing the “Leaner and Fitter “Cradle to Grave

 “Focusing to Win”  Top Line”
 for the Future”  Transaction Support”

 End game thinking /  Customer segmentation  Cost diagnostic  M&A Screening and In-
strategic vision house support
 Pricing and Bundling  Strategic sourcing
 Portfolio Strategy  Due diligence and
 Targeting the value chain  Process re-engineering
transaction support
 Shareholder value
 Rights and brand  Restructuring
creation  VDD and divestments
exploitation
 Complexity Reduction
 Growth strategies /  Synergy evaluation
 Loyalty
international roll-out  New organisation design
 Business and Proposition  Post acquisition planning
 Market / brand positioning  Salesforce transformation
development
 Competitive economics  Building new capabilities
 New business testing and
 Investment evaluation launch

17826_Recruitment
Winning competitive positions and superior returns
43
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Why OC&C

 Strategy specialists: we don‟t do long IT implementations and never will

Strategy and
Sector  More, shorter projects giving exposure to a huge variety of issues, industries and clients
Specialists
 Focus on a subset of industries: the ones that we find most interesting

 Informal interaction style across all levels of the firm – around the office, at the table
Entrepreneurial football table and after work in the local bar
Culture  Still growing rapidly, with plenty of opportunity for you to contribute to that growth eg by
spending time helping establish a new office or getting involved in running the firm

 Top-quartile remuneration and training

Market-leading
Rewards  Extra curricular benefits including our annual away weekend, International Training
Week, team dinners, Personal Development Banks and much more

 Contributing to solving our client‟s toughest problems from day one

Rapid Progress  Continuous feedback and formal 6-monthly appraisals

 An unrivalled development environment: you will be continuously stretched

17826_Recruitment
54
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Case interviews are a microcosm of a real project, so are a great way for us
and for you to evaluate your fit with strategy consulting
Benefits of the Case Interview Format

For us... For you...

 Opportunity to see how a candidate thinks  Gives an insight into the type of work we do,
about business problems and test a the sectors we operate in and the kind of
candidate‟s problem solving ability and skills problems we solve
in:
 Case interviews are a great way to
– Structured, logical thinking
understand what consulting projects look and
– Issue Identification feel like
– Analysis – Can be a good, early-indicator of whether
consulting is right for you
– Creativity
– If you don‟t enjoy solving problems during a
– Business Judgement
case interview, it may be an indication that
– Numerical Ability you will not enjoy the type of work that we
do
– Communication
 Case interviews make for a much more
interesting conversation than the alternatives

17826_Recruitment
65
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
There are four basic steps you should think about when tackling any case
How to Approach Cases

Listen and Clarify Structure Analyse Conclude

Make sure you Think about how you are Gather the information Wrap-up your findings
understand the question: going to solve the you need to solve the into clear
problem before diving in: case: recommendations:

 Listen carefully  Structure problem  Ask questions and  Summarise your findings
collect information and draw out key facts
 Take notes if it helps you  Identify key issues and
prioritise  Develop, test and refine  Don‟t just repeat the
 Ask clarifying questions hypothesis answers to your analysis
as needed  Formulate an initial – ask yourself “so
hypothesis / hypotheses  Iterate what?”
 Take time to evaluate
the information given  Articulate approach and  Hone in on the solution  Make clear
hypothesis recommendations
 Verbalise your thought
process  Add next steps

17826_Recruitment
76
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Laying out a structured approach to the problem before you do any analysis
will help on most case studies
Example Frameworks for Common Case Problems

Profitability Question Market Sizing Question

Profit Determine the estimated

# of Customers
number of customers in your
Targeted
market segment

Revenue Costs # Purchases Made

per Period
Think about how this differs
when you consider different
Consumer Fixed groups within your market
segment # Units per
Purchase
Competition Variable

Product Mix Cost Accounting What price is the different

segments / consumer Price per Unit
groups willing to pay?
Volume

Price Total Revenue in

Market

17826_Recruitment
Note: The above serve only as examples and not the only way to solve these problems. Key is to adopt a method that works for you

87
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
We want you to shine in your interviews, and have collated a few hints and
tips from the people on the other side of the table
Some Top Tips From Our Interviewers
Do
 Ask clarifying questions if you are unsure about
something or need additional information about a
unfamiliar market or industry – there‟s nothing more
frustrating than someone racing off in completely the
wrong direction
 Figure out how you are going to approach the
problem before you dive in to the analysis
 Think out loud so that the interviewer can follow your
thoughts
 Write down information that you may need later
 Use paper to draw out your structure and calculations
 State your assumptions clearly as you go along
 Focus on the important 80%, not the 20% of details
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Don't
 Worry about getting the „right answer‟; it‟s much more
about your thought process and logical reasoning
 Panic if you are stuck or make a mistake – we all do.
The important thing is that you recover and move on
 Get bogged down in the details or stuck at one topic
(watch out for the interviewer‟s hints to move on)
 Take an overly complex approach to the problem –
keep it simple
 Ask for information that you do not need
 Worry if you did not finish the case; this happens
often and does not mean you performed badly
 Forget to check your numbers (do a sanity check!)
 Force a framework onto a problem
17826_Recruitment
98
Example Case 1 – Business Strategy
Imported Whiskey in an Emerging Market

This case involves a real life consulting assignment with a manufacturer and distributor of whiskey.
Introduction This is a typical “conceptual” case; i.e. there will be no numbers, only problem identification and idea
generation will be tested.

The client was a first mover in promoting imported whiskey in bars, discos and karaoke clubs, which
was a fast growing business in an emerging market about 10 years ago and had experienced
tremendous success – an annual growth of over 30%. The client penetrated the channel with
whiskey through aggressive marketing and partnering with top/key outlets in cities, offering
Background sponsorships on events and volume rebates in return for exclusive or preferential sales on-premise.
The growth has slowed down in the past few years to about 10% per year and profit margin is also
declining. The key task is to describe and understand the reasons for the recent slow down and fall
in profitability. Once that has been completed, the next objective is to explore a range of strategic
options for the company to rebuild its growth platform.

17826_Recruitment
109
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Solving the Case (1/2)
Imported Whiskey in an Emerging Market
First Question:  What information would you require to help explain the slowing down of growth?

 One needs to understand what has been driving the slow down of the business. You would need to consider the market and competitive
environment for whisky.
– The tremendous growth the client experienced was driven by the growth of the bar/disco channel, which is peaking as the number of bars
Good Answer: and discos are no longer increasing
 The category has reached a high share of throat in the channel and is unlikely to grow by increasing penetration
– Competitors saw the opportunity and started to invest following the client‟s success
 Competition has eroded some share from our client

 All of the above, but considering also the life cycle and upgrade path for consumers as well as the aging of brand image
– The client has been using the same advertising campaign for 5 years and has not been able to come up with new concepts
 Aging brand image impairs ability to recruit new consumers as well as keeping existing consumers
Excellent Answer:
 Lack of aspiration for consumers to up-trade to more premium SKUs
– Category life cycle is short as consumers tend to go less to bars/discos as they age and the first batch of recruits are leaving the market at
this moment

Second Question:  What is driving profitability down?

 One needs to understand the forces in the market that affects the bottom line of luxury consumer goods
– Competition has driven prices down (or limited room for price increase) and has limited the margin growth
Good Answer: – Competition has driven up costs in trade marketing costs as outlet owners have more bargaining power to choose which manufacturers to
partner with and demand more sponsorships and rebates
– Imported goods are subject to currency fluctuations

 All of the above, but considering also the profit per outlet aspect
Excellent Answer: – As the business expanded, smaller and weaker outlets (with lower return on investment) began to partner with the client as competitors
were also aggressively seeking outlets, driving down the overall return

17826_Recruitment
11
10
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Solving the Case (2/2)
Imported Whiskey in an Emerging Market

Third Question:  What are the potential strategic options?

 Revitalize brand with new campaign to improve competitiveness
 Premiumize the market (given revitalized image) and encourage consumers to up-trade to higher value products (better margin
and higher turnover without increasing volume consumption); making price competition irrelevant
Potential Areas to  Seek opportunities in rural areas and invest strategically to capture less competitive markets
Explore:
 Explore new channels such as in-home or restaurant consumption to catch consumers who leave the bar/disco channel
 Innovate to improve on delivery and create competitive advantage
 Improvements in outlet selection

 Creative / resourceful candidates may discuss one or two:

Additional
Discussion:
– Counterfeit eroding sales and hurting brand equity in emerging markets
– The company can invent Innovative ways like new drinking rituals to increase consumption (drink more per occasion)

17826_Recruitment
12
11
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Example Case 2 – Data Interpretation
Leisure Clubs

This is a case study based on a real case that OC&C worked on in 2007, assessing the market for
Leisure Clubs as part of a strategy review for a major UK hotel chain. This is typical of a „data
Introduction
interpretation‟ case study that you may be asked to attempt – requiring analysis of data presented to
you, alongside some creative and logical thinking.

Our client runs a major chain of health clubs in the UK, alongside hotels and casinos (which are not
the focus of this case). The health clubs are large out-of-town sports centres offering a gym, jacuzzi,
swimming pool, etc. They are relatively expensive, about £30-40 per month for an individual
Background membership. As part of a broader strategy review, the client wants to know what they should do with
their leisure clubs division – should they sell it, rapidly build more clubs (if so, what sort), or maybe
acquire another player? Your specific task on this case is to look at the market trends and assess
competition in the leisure clubs industry

17826_Recruitment
13
12
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Solving the Case (1/4)
Leisure Clubs

 What factors might you analyse to determine what is going to happen to demand for leisure clubs? (In consulting terminology, we are looking
First Question:
at the „drivers‟ of demand in the industry)

 Trends in society towards more or less participation in sport – Whilst more participation in sport generally may be positive for demand,
increases in popularity of sports not offered at health clubs may have a negative effect (e.g. people may play football instead of going to the
gym).
 Trends in obesity – if the population is getting more obese, there are two possible implications of this. One is that people are getting more
obese because they are not exercising (i.e. declining demand for leisure clubs). The alternative interpretation is that an increasingly obese
Good Answer: population will create demand for facilities to exercise more.
 Trends in available leisure time and money. If people have more spare time, they are likely to use health clubs more. National income / state of
the economy – leisure clubs are likely to be a luxury good, for which demand will decline if there is a recession.
 Demographics – Younger people are more likely to be members of gyms. Therefore, if the population as a whole is getting older, demand for
leisure clubs is likely to decline

 All of the above, with more explanation of why they are important, and may include other sensible suggestions e.g. “sales of Slim Fast would
be a good indicator of what has been happening to demand for leisure clubs, because people who buy Slim Fast are the type of people who
Excellent Answer:
would use leisure clubs”. An excellent candidate will also be able to defend sensible answers when questioned or pushed on why a particular
factor is important; often it is at this point in the case study where excellent candidates differentiate themselves.

17826_Recruitment
14
13
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Solving the Case (2/4)
Leisure Clubs

The interviewer would then present five charts (including the two charts below; the other three charts
Interpret the would not provide useful information but serve as „distraction‟) for interpretation by the interviewee,
Data who would be asked to explain what the data showed, and what that meant for the demand for
leisure clubs.

Exhibit 1: Obesity in the UK Exhibit 2: Percentage of UK people who would

exercise more regularly if they wished to lose
weight

Exhibits

17826_Recruitment
15
14
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Solving the Case (3/4)
Leisure Clubs

Second Question:  What is likely to happen to demand for leisure clubs?

 The charts clearly show that obesity has increased rapidly over the past two decades, and this trend is forecast to continue into the future.
Good Answer:
This means that demand for leisure clubs will increase, as people will have an increasing need to exercise.

 The first chart shows that obesity has increased historically, and this trend is forecast to continue. However, from the first chart it is not clear
whether people are becoming more obese because they are not exercising enough (which would indicate declining demand for leisure clubs),
or whether an increasingly obese population will exercise more and hence create increased demand. If I combine the two charts, however,
Excellent Answer:
you can see that most people are likely to exercise more if they wished to lose weight, and this is particularly true of wealthy people (who are
likely to be our target customer anyway). On the assumption that most obese people want to lose weight, we can say that an increasingly
obese population will create increased demand for leisure clubs.
 Having seen the data, the candidate should come to the conclusion that demand for leisure clubs is likely to be strong for the next few years.
Additional Point He will then be shown a chart showing the competitors‟ plans for building clubs, demonstrating that the number of leisure clubs is forecast to
rise from 150 today to 500 in 2010.

Third Question:  What is the critical issue for our client?

Good Answer:  The good candidate would indicate that their market may become saturated, as supply grows faster than demand.

 The important question is whether supply in 2010 is greater than demand (i.e. there are more spaces available in leisure clubs than can be
Excellent Answer: filled by people wanting to visit clubs). In this situation, there is likely to be price competition, which may make the business unprofitable.
However, not all of the 500 clubs will compete with our client – we need to differentiate between different club types.

17826_Recruitment
16
15
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Solving the Case (4/4)
Leisure Clubs

 In order to better understand the competition, we need to understand what differentiates leisure clubs? (This may be phrased in consulting
Fourth Question:
jargon as “How might we think about segmenting the leisure club market?”)

 Price – the type of customer who uses a premium club (£50 per month) is unlikely to switch to a budget club (e.g. Council-run gyms costing
£2 per visit).
 Location
– Geographic – customers will only travel a limited distance to go to a club, so clubs in London do not compete with clubs in Sheffield, for
Good Answer: example
– In town / out of town – out of town clubs may be „destinations‟ (primarily aimed at families, for example), whereas in town clubs are likely to
appeal because they are „convenient‟ (e.g. to office workers).
 Customer Group – different clubs are designed to attract different types of customer e.g. prefamily (~20-30 year olds), fitness fanatics,
female-only, family-oriented, etc.

Excellent Answer:  The excellent candidate will name all the above factors, with maybe some others (e.g. sports offered), and will elaborate more on each.

 So we know that demand for leisure clubs is growing, but so is supply. We know that not all of the 350 new clubs will compete with our clients‟
business, since clubs differ based upon price, target customer and location. Applying our segmentation to the 350 clubs, we found that most
of them do fall broadly into our segment (i.e. premium price, similar target customers). So we started to think about the geographical
Conclusion: dimension, and considered where we should build our new clubs. The competition was planning to build in the large cities; however, we
(This phase will recommended that our client build its clubs in smaller towns, which only had populations large enough to sustain one leisure club. Why do
probably only be you think this was?
reached by excellent  The excellent candidate: “By placing your club in the smaller towns, you will insulate yourself from competition. Because you have built your
candidates) club first, you will attract members who will then be loyal to your club. When the competition considers where to build their next club, they will
not build in that town, because they will see that there are not enough „available‟ customers for their club to be profitable, and they know it
would be difficult to attract customers away from your club. Hence, even though in later years there may be excess supply at a national level,
you will have local monopolies, and thus be protected from potential pressure to lower prices.”

17826_Recruitment
17
16
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Example Case 3 – Market Sizing
Online Fashion

This is a case study based on a real case that OC&C worked on in 2007, sizing the potential of the
online luxury fashion market in China. This case study requires sound numerical skills, the ability to
Introduction come up with some sensible estimates, some awareness of consumer behaviour and online
knowledge. Excellent candidates differentiate themselves by the quality of the answer, the logic and
methodology in estimating the parameters used in the calculation and some understanding of the
China e-commerce market.

Our client is a leading high-end fashion retailer in Asia. OC&C have been approached to help them
think about their online strategy in Asia Pacific, with particular focus on the business opportunities in
China.
Background
Your specific task on this case is to scale the opportunity – i.e. how big is the current market size of
online luxury fashion in China and how many potential buyers currently exist in the market.

17826_Recruitment
18
17
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Solving the Case (1/2)
Online Fashion

First Question:  How would you estimate the market for online high-end fashion?

 The good candidate explains that the market for online high-end fashion is driven by the size of the overall high-end fashion market, the
Good Answer: number of internet users in China (i.e. the internet penetration rate), the likelihood of internet users buying fashion online, and the share of
their online spending as a percent of total spending on high-end fashion.

 The excellent candidate points out in addition to the above that we need to consider the impact of Chinese people buying high-end fashion
Excellent Answer: abroad while they are travelling. We also need to consider worries on counterfeit goods by Chinese consumers and the lack of trust between
buyers and sellers online would require adjusting the online model from the West to fit the unique market situation in China.

 Given that the addressable high-end fashion market for our client in China is €400 million, how much do you think the market for online high-
end fashion is worth?
 We provide you with some data points to work out the market size, but you also need to figure out what are the missing links and how to
Second Question: make reasonable estimates or assumptions on such missing information. Good candidates will work through the logic piece by piece, whilst
the excellent candidates will lay out methodology and information required upfront and then work through them systematically. Fundamentally
however we need to work out a ratio to split up the existing market into online and offline portion by making assumptions on the online
purchase behaviour.

 The good candidate thinks about the internet penetration rate among high-end fashion shoppers in China (data point provided here that the
overall internet penetration in China is around 12%) and estimates how many of them would shop online for fashion. Next, estimate the share
Good Answer:
of online spending as a percent of total spending on fashion. Finally multiply all these parameters with the addressable market size for our
client to get the answer for the market for online high-end fashion in China.

 The excellent candidate does not just guess those numbers, but can justify where those numbers come from by drawing reference to
statistics, surveys, government data or derive a rational approach for the estimation. For example, when estimating the internet penetration
rate among high-end fashion shoppers, the excellent candidate contemplates the proportion of people in urban centres likely to be the target
Excellent Answer: for high-end fashion, uses urban statistics, adjusted for the high-end segment of the population to come up with an estimate on internet
penetration for high-end consumers. The candidate should also raise the issue on how the existing state of e-commerce infrastructure, such
as online payment, credit card availability, online security, delivery, counterfeit, etc, would affect the online shopping behaviour and create
potential hurdles for online shopping.

17826_Recruitment
19
18
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
Solving the Case (2/2)
Online Fashion

Third Question:  What are the key hurdles for online purchase of high-end fashion in China?
Good Answer:  The good candidate considers obvious factors that counterfeit products, poor online payment system, unreliable delivery system, etc.
 The excellent candidate also identify more subtle issues such as young age profile of internet users, lack of credible or branded online
retailers, lack of consumer protection, low credit card penetration and usage, etc.
Excellent Answer:  In all of these calculations and discussions, there is an expectation that the candidate will be able to calculate the numbers correctly. This
does not mean that if you make a mistake you have failed, but that you can identify when you have made mistakes (execute that all important
sanity check) and ultimately arrive at a sensible and correct answer. There is also an expectation that where you are forced to make
estimates they are vaguely sensible!

 The final task in the market sizing question is to calculate the number of potential buyers in China. To estimate the number of potential buyers
in China, you need to come up with an estimate on the average purchase value per customer and divide the market size by that number.
Conclusion:  In the majority of cases the interview will finish at this stage –both interviewer and interviewee being generally exhausted and out of time. For
exceptional candidates, who have managed to get through the case quickly, we then go on to contemplate what are the key value
propositions that our client need to have to successfully establish an online business in China.

Fourth Question:  If our client decided to enter the China market, what are the points of differentiation our client need to build in order to succeed in the market?
 The excellent candidate is very unlikely to get all of the items below but should be able to generate some interesting and non-obvious issues
for discussion, like:
– Build a credible brand name by advertising on target media, such as magazines or internet websites for high-end consumers and leverage
presence of physical stores to emphasize that it is a credible real business, not just a virtual store online.
Excellent Answer: – Provide special product selection, an edited offer with unique brands, unique merchandise or latest products that customers cannot find
elsewhere.
– Offer a risk free shopping environment to customers by providing free exchange and return.
– Provide loyalty programme and superb customer service to increase repeated purchase.
– Provide user generated content and community features in the website to enhance stickiness of the website.

17826_Recruitment
20
19
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011
You can find out more about OC&C, case interviews, and how to apply on our
website – applications open in October
Useful Information

 For more case examples and information visit our website at: www.occstrategy.com

 Recruitment deadlines:
– Associate Consultant (Entry Level)
 Vacancy opens: 3 October
 Application deadline: 13 November
– International Strategy Workshop, 24 – 27 November, Madrid
 “4 days in the life of a consultant”
 Vacancy opens: 3 October
 Application deadline: 30 October
– Undergraduate Summer Internship, 8 weeks in July and August
 Vacancy opens: 12 December
 Application deadline: 29 January

 To apply for a position, please visit our website at www.occstrategy.com and submit your details online

 If you have any other questions, please get in touch: recruitment@occstrategy.com

17826_Recruitment
21
20
© OC&C Strategy Consultants 2011