Quality blinds B&C International

As an integral part of a leading European window coverings Group, B&C International plays an important role in bringing quality brands to both trade and retail across Europe, and increasingly further afield.

QUALITY BLINDS

B&C International is the organisation behind many well-known European window coverings brands like Bécé, Store, Decosol, which designs, produces and delivers a range of quality blinds under these brands as well as several high profile private labels and has licensees for a number of brands like Esprit, Schöner Wohnen and Jan des Bouvries. Part of B&C International Group, headquartered in Nunspeet in the Netherlands, the Group has four European production sites, five European sales offices and employs over 600 people. Established 40 years ago, B&C has enjoyed many years as a leading name in custom and ready-made window coverings, with its preference for ‘natural and honest’ materials giving the company a strong reputation for quality, performance and reliability.

In 2008, B&C International underwent some strategic changes in order to maximise the opportunities it identified in both the retail and DIY markets for window coverings, with the resulting changes already proving to be positive. The company was split into two distinctive operations, with what was B&C Products now divided into B&C Window Decoration and Trendiy. B&C Window Decoration focuses specifically on made to measure products for smaller retailers, with Trendiy dedicated to the DIY market.

Managing director Michel van den Berg said, “We are two separate independent companies. The rationale behind the change was a desire to ensure we were adding value wherever possible for each sector in which we operate. By separating the retail and DIY customer sectors, we can tailor or offer to perfectly address the needs of these very different markets. The retail business for window coverings is very much driven by customer relations and added value, for the DIY market the cost focus is of course also an important issue.”

B&C International takes great care to stay at the top of its game in both of these two important areas of need, and it is this that has helped to keep the company in a market leading position across much of Europe, with the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and Poland representing its core locations.

Positive changes

Michel van den Berg explained how the split has also had positive repercussions for how the company has been able to deal with the impact of the global economic downturn. He said, “We have found that our employees are even more dedicated, and that the quality of our products and services has increased. Our two business units are now so clearly defined that people, both employees and customers, know exactly what they are getting, and can really engage with our brands. The fact is that the world has changed in recent years, and businesses have to change with it. We’ve managed to take the best of modern opportunities, such as buying carefully-selected materials from the Far East in order to keep costconscious while retaining and training the very best local workforce in each of our European operations.”

The ready made products, once produced in The Netherlands, now come over 90 per cent from the Far East. The company is clear that business is far tighter now than ever before, with the need to differentiate on service and product in addition to staying cost competitive. As such, B&C International has a strong trend analysis team that works hard to stay ahead of changing trends in interior deco-

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ration, as well as understanding the emotional aspects of buying window coverings.

Mr Van den Berg explained, “It is usually women that drive the purchase of blinds and curtains, and they tend to have the final say too, so we have to appeal to women on an emotional level as well as practically. That means that our products have to be beautiful as well as functional. It used to be that people would only change their window coverings when they wore out, perhaps no more than once every 20 years, but now people like to redecorate their homes around every six to seven years, so we have to offer products that suit a new look in the home in order to justify the effort of redecoration.”

Staying on top

In order to retain its impressive market share in the DIY market throughout the economic downturn, B&C International has also looked to see where in the sourcing channel it is able to reduce costs. A key area it identified was the efficiency in which it could deliver stock to its DIY customers, with the company now able to deliver all stock anywhere in Europe within two days. Mr Van den Berg added, “We have to be good and quick at everything we do to add value. We deliver the right stock at the right time and the right price.”

B&C International intends to continue its positive performance by investing heavily in trend research and product upgrades. n