Aftermarket Brand Management After a Mega-Merger When everything is clear on the OE side — and everything is at stake in the aftermarket.
Faurecia and Hella merge to form Forvia. In the OE business, the new corporate brand is set. But in the international aftermarket — with wholesale and workshops as the core target groups — decades of brand reputation hang on a single question: how much Hella remains? Lünstroth develops the strategy through to exemplary packaging structures and website architectures.
With the merger of Faurecia and Hella into the new corporate brand Forvia (since February 2022), the OE question was quickly resolved: original equipment communications run under Forvia. But the aftermarket follows a different logic. Wholesale distributors and workshops worldwide trust the Hella brand — a trust built over decades that is directly tied to purchasing decisions, listing preferences and brand loyalty. Added to this was the complexity of further brands within the newly formed group: brands available through acquisition, such as Clarion, and joint-venture brands such as Hella-Pagid. The challenge: to define an aftermarket brand strategy that reconciles corporate logic with brand reputation — without squandering established brand equity.
"In OE, corporate logic prevails. In the aftermarket, trust prevails — and that trust is tied to the name Hella."
Central finding of the project
Our Approach
Lünstroth analysed the brand portfolio in the aftermarket context: which brands hold what relevance with which target groups — differentiated by region and product area? Which reputation is transferable, and which is not? On this basis, a differentiated brand strategy was developed that secures the Hella brand in the aftermarket as the primary carrier of brand reputation, embeds the Forvia corporate brand without imposing it, and defines clear roles for acquired brands such as Clarion and JV brands such as Hella-Pagid. The strategy was developed through to concrete implementation examples: exemplary packaging structures, website architectures and communication hierarchies for the international target markets.
The Result
A clear aftermarket brand strategy that balances corporate interest with brand equity. Hella is preserved and tangible as a standalone brand in the aftermarket — anchored within the corporate structure, but not overshadowed by it. The structures developed for packaging and digital presence created a workable foundation for implementation across international markets.
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