Q&A INTERVIEW WITH SHÜLLER Stuart Dance
Shüller
Matt Broughton spoke to Stuart Dance, Director of InHouse Inspired Room Design, subsidiary of Schüller.
Matt Broughton: What’s the big news at the show?
Stuart Dance: We’ve just been acquired as you know, so I think it was important that we did the show and came to see people after Covid, and just show the solidarity and the support for the network.
MB: Does it feel very different to pre-COVID times? SD: In terms of the show itself, I think that over the last few years it’s got a bit smaller. What I did the last time I came was looked and observed, and what I noticed was that because it was a bit smaller, people were spending more time on the stands and you were getting more quality time with people, which is good. And it’s obviously nice to see a lot of the faces again.
MB: Have you witnessed any key changes in customers’ requirements or their points of focus and interest - has that changed much over the last few years? SD: I think obviously there’s a lot around sustainability and things like that at this moment in time - even doing the stand - it was interesting to see what KBB needed to do for the NEC in getting rid of the stan, etc. So it’s a big thing. Obviously Schüller themselves are very green and do all sorts of things - making sure that the chipboards are all burnt at the factory and supplies the heating for the factory... all the solar panels... all the other things. So it’s an important factor for us.
MB: Tell about one of the key products on show here. SD: The Matera range that we’ve just brought in is fully recyclable and anti-fingerprint. It’s a big plus because previously you had to go to a group three, mid-price range for them. So, we brought this range in, and now we’ve got a really nice, price-aggressive door that’s anti-fingerprint and fully sustainable. The popular colours are there at this moment in time as well - the blues, the greens... core colours that will always sell.
MB: How do you stay on top of what the colours are that you’ve got to invest in. How do you get a sense of what the customers are looking for? SD: Obviously a lot of research goes in behind the scenes And the product development team go and have a look and see some trends. It’s a mixture of different things. You have your customers first of all - they tell you what their customers are asking for. The you have your suppliers for certain boards and colours, so you can see when a certain trend goes into that direction. And obviously what our product development team does as well is visit several fairs and exhibitions, not only furniture but also other shows to get a sense of new trends, and then we try to implement them into our collection. It’s obviously important to make sure that they are global trends, because as a mass producer you need to make sure that whatever you’re bringing in sells globally - not just in countries where the trends are. So that’s what happens.
MB: And is that 100% possible? SD: As long as you’re calculated with your decisions; we’re very in touch - we talk to each other on a regular basis. We go across at the beginning of every year for the next year’s collections, and we see what they’re thinking. Then we get back together again. In the early days of Schüller they would have their product development team and they would make those decisions themselves, but now we’re a lot more included in those decisions so that you can bring the feedback to them. Because we’re on the ground, we’re seeing what the trends are, but it’s got to make sense globally.
MB: And what else can we expect from you for the next 12 months? SD: The key moments for us now are obviously the strategic products that we have within the portfolio. We’ve got Milan coming up in April, which is big for us because of the new products that will be launched there. We’re going to see all of the new product lines there, so it’s going to be quite exciting. Then we’ll be able to get them out and push them from there.
MB: And what’s been going on at your showroom? SD: The showroom has been revamped, which has been done for our trade customers to use as their own facility and bring people in. So that’s been fully done up in Hexham, up in the north. That was the trade headquarter for us, but we want to encourage the retail - who may only have 4 or 5 kitchens on show - because we have 60 displays up there, and they can use it as their own.
10 BKU MAY 2024
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