The BLANCO UNIT as a response to the need for a better everyday quality of life
BLANCO Group Management Board (left to right): COO Andreas Ostermann von Roth, CEO Frank Gfrörer, CFO Rüdiger Böhle.
BLANCO concluded a successful 2021 financial year with an 18.5 % increase in sales to €483 million compared to the previous year, achieving its highest ever sales. CEO Frank Gfrörer sees this as confirmation that the course BLANCO has taken was the right one: "Particularly in this difficult market environment, it is clear that our consistent focus on a premium brand experience at the kitchen water place has won over both our trade partners and our end consumers."
Covid-19 and the associated restrictions on the everyday lives of many people also shaped the 2021 financial year. Against this backdrop, many consumers' desire for a significantly better quality of life in their everyday environment has continued to increase and has reinforced the nesting trend. With that in mind, BLANCO set itself the task of upgrading the kitchen water place: "People spend around 60% of their time in the kitchen doing activities at the water place, such as drinking, preparing food and cleaning, to name just the most important ones. We want our high-quality system solutions, the BLANCO UNITs, to make this time one of outstanding convenience, practicality and enjoyment," says Gfrörer.
The premium BLANCO UNIT system solution integrates seamlessly into the kitchen as a high-quality water place. Meticulously planned down to the very last detail and perfectly coordinated, it combines key functions and important requirements for drinking, preparing food and cleaning in a single place, and thus brings maximum convenience to everyday kitchen tasks.
Trade partners benefit from focus on end customers and digitalisation
BLANCO has always relied on a strong collaboration with its trade partners. This is now coupled with an increased focus on consumers, with the aim of inspiring them to add real value right from the initial ideas phase of kitchen planning, by opting for an ingeniously designed water place. For this reason, the company is accelerating communication in its digital end customer channels and further developing its online shop for spare parts and accessories to improve service quality and user-friendliness. "By adopting this hybrid approach, we want to increase customer traffic to our trade partners and stimulate demand for high-quality system solutions," explains Gfrörer. "At the same time, we are supporting our trade partners to concentrate on their core business."
BLANCO International: investing in reliability and stability
Besides increasing customer contact and loyalty, over the last financial year BLANCO invested another considerable sum - around €13 million - in strengthening its international production and logistics network. At a time of increased demand, expanding BLANCO's production capacities and making further improvements to processes ensured that order management remained largely stable. "Our investments have also created the conditions for faster innovation cycles and technological developments," says COO Andreas Ostermann von Roth.
The combined effect of the coronavirus pandemic, the increased business volume and the simultaneous shortage of raw materials has had a significant impact on day-to-day business. CFO Rüdiger Böhle appreciates the BLANCO teams' efforts during this time period: "I applaud our employees around the world. They have performed incredibly well under difficult conditions, and we in the management team are truly grateful."
BLANCO has made changes to its international sales network. Since May 2022, the company has been represented on the market in Australia with its own subsidiary, which reinforces its APAC sales region: "With more than ten years of experience in the market thanks to our collaboration with a sales partner, we are now ideally positioned to market the BLANCO UNIT in a very effective way with our organisation on the ground," says Gfrörer. At the same time, the company has announced that it will withdraw from the Russian market. Business there has practically come to a standstill, so the decision has been made to dissolve the local organisation, with around 15 employees, in the interests of the company as a whole.
Stepping up active market development: focus on convenience at the water place and efficient use of space
BLANCO is setting a clear course for the current financial year by increasing its focus on positioning the BLANCO UNIT as a premium solution for the kitchen water place. "We have laid a solid foundation for our teams and our trade partners. This provides us with a firm footing to promote the BLANCO UNIT concept," says Frank Gfrörer. Showcasing the importance of the kitchen water place is vital, stresses the CEO. The nesting trend persists, with more and more people looking for a lifestyle that includes space-saving provision of various kinds of drinking water, smart mixer tap functions, clever sink accessories and practical collection systems for sustainable waste separation. "We're filling a gap in the market with the BLANCO UNIT," says Gfrörer.
It also meets the desire for greater convenience in everyday life: "By ensuring functionally and ergonomically-optimised interaction between all components, we enable a seamless workflow from the mixer tap or drink.system to the sink and the waste separation system. That's the key promise of our BLANCO UNITs." Given the backdrop of rising costs, especially in the housing sector, efficient use of space is also becoming increasingly important. The BLANCO UNIT is designed in such a way that it not only minimises wasted space, but also dispenses precious drinking water in a more targeted way. Last but not least, the UNIT can be easily installed by a specialist.
The 2021 financial year in figures (rounded*)
Consolidated total sales - €483 million (+€75 million/+18.5 %)
Domestic sales - €166 million (+€15 million/+10 %)
International sales - €317 million (+€60 million/+24 %)
Percentage of sales generated abroad - 65 %
Investments - €12.9 million
Employees - 1,647
(full-time/end of 2021)
of which in Germany - 1,140
of which at international locations - 507
*) Please note that rounding may result in differences from the exact figures for percentages, absolute values and comparisons with the previous year.
For further information on BLANCO, please call 01923 635 200 or visit www.blanco.co.uk.
