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At Rainbowsol, they already have a number of Z&R awards standing, including the 2010 Z&R Product of the Year Award. In early July, another trophy was added: the 2019 Z&R Product of the Year Award.
In 2018, Coulisse became the first company ever to win the Z&R Product of the Year Award for the second time. Rainbowsol is now repeating that achievement. And there are even more parallels, as both companies did so with similar products. Coulisse scored twice with a Willie Root-like product, while Rainbowsol won the award for the second time with a concept.
In 2010, the Limited Edition Concept was the winner. With hindsight, it is fair to say that the concept is still in existence and has brought Rainbowsol great success. Whether the same can be said of the 2019 award-winning Q-series concept in x-number of years remains to be seen, but the Z&R Product of the Year Award jury is confident.
The concept is new, of course, but the idea is not new. Nevertheless, this concept received the most points from the jury of the 2019 Z&R Product of the Year Award. “What the various judges particularly appreciated in this concept was the market opportunities,” explained Z&R magazine manager Ronald Klein at the presentation. “You can come up with the most beautiful product, but if there is no market for it, a manufacturer misses the mark. The market opportunities for Q-series were assessed very positively by the judges, not least because Rainbowsol has already proven itself in this field with the Limited Edition concept. With Q-series, Rainbowsol combines a beautiful appearance with an affordable price.”
Marcel van der Gun with the statuette belonging to the 2019 Z&R Product of the Year Award. Robert Bosch at left, Z&R magazine manager Ronald Klein at right.
That doesn't mean, by the way, that in the future the Z&R Product of the Year Award judges will only look at entries with a practical eye: as long as it can be sold, it's good. “There will always be room and appreciation for smart, creative, groundbreaking, ‘outside the box’ entries,” Klein said. “But market opportunities obviously play a role and are one of the four judging criteria for a reason.”
Robert Bosch can totally follow the jury's train of thought. “We always look at new developments with a very pragmatic view. You sometimes see the most beautiful products, but then they often have no commercial value for the average consumer. Everyone is free to make their own choices, but we choose not to. As Rainbowsol, we choose beautiful products with excellent quality that are accessible to a large group of consumers.”
“Ninety percent of what the awning dealer sells are shutters, screens and articulated blinds,” Marcel van der Gun hooks into that. “That's what we focus on. The rest is niche. Special products with admittedly often a higher margin, but which are usually sold in much lower numbers. Lamella roofs, for example. That's why we don't have those in our product range. We like to leave that product group to the specialists.”
“We anticipate what the average dealer needs with the way we work, and we do it in the best way possible,” said Robert Bosch. “The average dealer wants products for the average consumer with an average purse. Prices have to be below the psychological threshold of what this consumer is comfortable with. Someone who wants to spend two thousand euros for an awning is not interested in a screen that costs twice as much, even though it is so beautiful. That comes to a different target group on the wall.”
By the way, Q-series is not only distinguished by its ‘looks’ Marcel van der Gun wants to add. “We have also thought about the technology and ease of installation. For example, the design side covers include space for transformer and receiver, so that only one cable needs to be used during installation.”
Combining quality, design and affordability in an optimal way has proven to be a specialty of Rainbowsol, according to Ronald Klein. “They have already proven that with the Limited Edition concept and the judges” expectation is that they will do that again with Q-series.‘ If the awning or screen on your wall looks nice, that's obviously a plus, and Rainbowsol succeeded with both Limited Edition and Q-series. Limited Edition could even be called groundbreaking because with it Rainbowsol was actively responding to the then emerging preference of people for anthracite. After all, until then cream white was the Dutch ’fashion color“. Q-series is less innovative in that sense because Rainbowsol has done it all before. ”But on the other hand, they at Rainbowsol so know very well how to make a concept a success," Klein said.
Of course, Marcel van de Gun and Robert Bosch expect it to be a success, otherwise they certainly wouldn't have started it! “A concept like this has to grow,” Van der Gun said. “We experienced that with Limited Edition as well. It has to build awareness and everyone has to get used to it first. But we already notice appreciation, for example for the inlay strips with which the products can be personalized.”
And then it's time for duty. It has to be outside in front of the rolling gate that says Q-series, because the award winner is not yet represented in the showroom. It has all moved too fast for that. The most important thing for Rainbowsol is that Q-series has been launched and that the concept will live up to its status as winner of the 2019 Z&R Product of the Year Award. “We are going to do our utmost to achieve that,” Bosch concludes. “But first we would like to congratulate our fellow finalists Unilux and weinor. Herewith!”
