Company Focus: Keter Building an even better Keter


GCUspeaks to Edward Johnson, Managing Director of Keter UK & Ireland to find out more about his company, its latest sustainability strategy and the new products due for launch this year.


If we look at the pledges, the first is a target of 55 percent of recycled content in terms of production. In the UK we’re actually just over that already, as we’ve worked really hard over the last five or six years to focus on how we can improve the content of recycled material.


Please tell us a about your company Keter is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of resin-based household and garden consumer products. We focus on innovation driven by consumer insight and Keter provides a wide range of sheds, outdoor storage, furniture and home storage solutions. Our ongoing commitment to simplify and enhance the daily lives of consumers has been key to our global success for both our Keter and Curver brands.


Can you tell us about your role? I joined Keter nearly three and a half years ago and I have full responsibility for all functions of the UK and Ireland business. My primary responsibility is the health, safety, and wellbeing of every single employee. Naturally, this is more pertinent than ever, due to the current Covid-19 crisis. The other core responsibility is delivering our financial and production expectations. We have two manufacturing sites in the UK, one in Redruth, Cornwall and another in Banbury, Oxfordshire, where we make our own products and distribute them within the UK.


What’s your main focus at the moment?


Our main focus at the moment are five transformational sustainability pledges to be delivered in the next five years, which are based on the three key pillars of better products for better places, a better planet and a better business.


The next – zero production of single-use plastic. We do not produce single-use plastic. If you look in and around people’s homes and gardens, you will see they have Keter and Curver products that are five, ten or even 15 years old. We make our products to be good quality, long lasting and durable.


The third pledge is 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gases, which is a challenge. From our perspective, we look at the efficiencies and work with our utility companies. Transport is one of the big producers of emissions, so we’ve been looking at making efficiencies there by not travelling as much, planning routes and of course the Covid-19 pandemic has actually helped towards that. The fourth is zero waste to landfill. I think we’re making great progress here. In both UK factories we have the ability to recycle our waste, so to regrind our products if there’s a defect, or if it’s first off the line and it’s not quite to the correct quality specifications. We are on the right trajectory to achieve this, certainly in the UK and across the wider business. The last one is product end of life


programmes in all regions. This is an initiative that started in Israel. There they actually have Keter shops, so it’s easier for them to do this as the consumer can take end of life products back to the shop and it gets taken back to the plant in Israel to be recycled and made into a new product. It’s a really nice initiative and very exciting. We’re talking to a couple of retail partners in the UK now, so we can try and achieve something similar. We’ve got the


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ability to recycle, we just need a way for products to be returned.


What are your main challenges? The continuance of Covid-19 is of course a major challenge and ensuring that the business does not become complacent. I believe that’s the really important piece. Ensuring the two metre distance, the sanitising, people washing their hands, and keeping that space into the DNA and the ways of working. We’ve really progressed that and we’ve had HSE audits in both Redruth and Banbury and passed them with flying colours.


The other challenge is a major pressure on our cost base within the UK. We’re working really hard to mitigate it by looking at our efficiencies and how we can cut costs within our business. However, these pressures such as Brexit administration, raw materials, packaging and higher container prices continue to put cost burdens into our business.


Are you working on any new products?


We’ve got some really exciting new products coming in both the home and garden categories, including our Darwin wood effect range. Named Darwin as the evolution of the shed. It looks like wood, with all the benefits of resin. It’s been such a success since the launch at the end of 2019 that we’re expanding the range and launching an 8x6 size in time for autumn. The product is durable, easy to build, maintenance free and it has a really good texture and feel.


How long have these products been in development? From initial concept to launch it normally takes a couple of years to develop a new product. There’s some really clever technology in creating the texture and finish, which is obviously unique to us.


This has taken a number of years to develop. The team have also done an amazing job on the production and clever packaging of this product, so that it fits into the boot of a standard car. Normally when you buy a wooden shed it’s got to be delivered and then put up. With the Darwin shed we specifically made sure that you could take it home and build it that day and we’ve seen some really great customer feedback around that.


What advice would you give to retailers stocking them? The first piece of advice is to stock it, it’s a winner! I would also say to retailers, both physical bricks and mortar and digital retailers, utilise our marketing assets. We’ve worked really hard on building the Keter brand over the last three or four years and have some fabulous digital assets and really great content, so please utilise these and the support that Keter can provide as a business. We also have a service where we go in store and merchandise and we’ve got a great point of sale suite that we can deliver into store.


Going forward, what’s keeping you busy?


There are lots of things that I’ve already mentioned, so we’ve got a pretty full agenda and full days. The one addition to this is I’ve got a real belief in creating a better business. We’ve got it within our pledges and we’re doing some brilliant things.


We are really focused on our people agenda in the UK and we’re absolutely committed to delivering on it in 2021. This is coupled with a Wellbeing programme to ensure we are supporting our people, not only during this challenging time, but ongoing as the key to our success.


• For more information about Keter, please visit www.Keter.co.uk


GCU February/March 2021


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