The Michelin brand is famous and easily recognizable due to the rubber man that represents its brand, a more than 100 year old company that was founded by two French brothers Édouard and André Michelin on 1889 was up to last year synonymous of assertiveness and long term planning.
It all changed last year when the administration decided to dissolve a key component of its brand and its business that includes traditional French values with more than a century of history.
Part of French culture and a source of pride, Michelin is surely disappointing it users with the unfortunate decisions made by its managers.
Michelin is famous for two activities other than tires, it has published for many years guides that are internationally recognized throughout the world, the Michelin restaurant guide (the red guide) and the Michelin travel guide (the green guide or guide vert).
Michelin as a brand is recognized for the quality of the content and curation of both guides and especially for the quality of the recommendations of the points of interest of the vert guide.
Despite this the company decided in what some media outlets are describing as an obscure and secret move to eliminate all the online content of the green guide in systemic way and without notifying no one.
We have were unable to find any statement on this regard. You would think that Michelin Group would address the situation publicly, being a public traded company, it is in the interest of shareholders to know why a decision like this was taken.
Noti.group editorial team reached out to Michelin to comment on the matter. Michelin answered after multiple requests stating:
Following editorial choices and IT developments, the “Tourism” section had been removed from the site and the ViaMichelin application.
We are pleased to inform you that the “Tourism” section is once again available on the ViaMichelin website only.
The administration of the subsidiary took a stand against its brand initially and made a decision that seemed at first sight to be against the interest of its shareholders and its loyal users. In the eyes of its readers and users there is mismanagement internally.
Users were happy to report that they found the Via Michelin app supporting back again the Tourism points of interest just a few months ago.
“being unable to capitalize on something as important as the Michelin Travel business unit tells you allot about who is behind the management of the company.”
We have been following the public attention to this matter (about the removal of the travel app and the travel information on their website) for several months now, however the measures have intensified, could it be that Michelin ran out of new ideas on how to capitalize one of the largest branches of its business risking damaging its reputation?
“How can you decide to remove what was believed to be the for so many years, best tourist guide in the world.”
So with the disappearance of the Voyage application that had an impressive use internationally and the removal and subsequent return of the travel information from its website marked a chapter on the history of French management.
After removing its travel app a year later Michelin under the cover of new year removed from it website all that Michelin Vert Guide had from the internet, some users and related touristic companies were very disappointed and the brand then subsequently took the segment back.
Michelin has not been without controversy and in the past it has not been able to manage things as smoothy as a well run company.
Earlier the case of the French chef Marc Veyrat who took Michelin Guide to court for the way it affected his business was an international news story.
Maybe things are changing since as of now no one is aware of the disappearance of the green app, Michelin has been very careful that the news of the elimination of the green guide to the online world is done quietly and unnoticed by the press.
For now, the international travel scene will be attentive to what may happen in this new controversial decision that have directly impacted the brand of this iconic publication, a decision that is clearly harmful to the Michelin name and to the detriment of the principles of the Michelin Group.
