Analysis Of The Strategy Of Tijn Van Elderen – The CEO Of Brabantian Company
Brabantia is an exclusive Dutch organization which manufactures house appliances, for example, squander receptacles, clothing racks, nourishment stockpiling compartments and different items. The organization was established in 1919 in Aalst, Netherlands, under the name van Elderen and Co, the company having some expertise in sheet metal creation. The name Brabantia is driven from the area of Aalst, North Brabant.
In 2012 Tijn van Elderen became the CEO of Brabantian. He is the fifth Van Elderen to run the family business in house product. He took control over the business at a troublesome time however with revenue having dropped from $147 million out of 2007 to $111 million out of 2012, the year he joined. His passion and expertise in cost cutting strategy led the company back on track. He introduced a new design flair by reassessing all the products to lower cost and keep the quality same. The company in the past had always had an environmentally friendly background in producing their products. But Tijn took it to another level by using any sort of recycling martial or reusable waste he could find to use in the manufacturing process of his products. His aim is to achieve 100% recyclability as a company within a generation. His commitment to sustainability. "I was enormously inspired by the cradle-to-cradle principle. It does not matter what you produce, as long as you ensure that it is reused or recycled. So we are always looking for the sweet spot between design and sustainability when developing new products.”
Another trait that led Tijn to success is product/customer focus. While it's critical to consider administration, showcasing, back, and so forth, none of those functions have any effect if a firm does not have a great product with the ability to fulfill customer needs. It is because of this now every household in Netherlands (and beyond) is using some kind of Brabantia product. Tijn van Elderen spotted the opportunity to use the cradle-cradle principle to approach for designing intelligent products and system by optimizing the whole process into recyclability, renewability and healthy for environment life cycle.
Additionally, he wanted to make his products more user friendly to increase customer satisfaction. He says, “What we’re trying to do is turn household chores into domestic pleasures”. Ideas are something Van Elderen keeps coming up with, but it is that someone who needs to take that step further in his workforce to turn that into an opportunity. In an interview he say "I have a lot of ideas, but those ideas are usually only a start. To bring them further, I need other people. Also, people who dare to think differently than I do." Later when he was asked why he does not expand his franchises into more countries, he replies by saying I would love to, but it is certainly not a must. Expanding online is much more important to us. "E-commerce is where Brabantian is most dominant as it is a channel for the online world to purchase their items. Tijn’s family members play a part in the success of business as they come 4 or 5 times a year for a make a focus group and brain storm ideas for tactics.
Overall even though Branatian is a family business, Tijn plans to only succeed another family member if they have the ambition and passion for the business. He even came to say that he keeps a check on his management team to see if his ideas are still fresh and have value. When the time comes Tijn claims to step down and let the innovation in the firm flowing. Brabantia now sells its products in more than 12,000 stores in 90 countries.
