Luxaflex® is 70 and forever young

Actually, the reason for visiting Luxaflex® Netherlands was the 70th anniversary, but things turned out differently. Not that they are not proud of their past at Luxaflex®, on the contrary, but they are primarily concerned with the present and the future. So that's where the conversation kept coming back to. Every attempt to go back in time was followed time and again by a jump to the present or even the future. Because Luxaflex® may have turned 70, but the company seems eternally young and is still brimming with ambition. 

In 1951 - hence the seventy years - Joe Hunter and Henry Sonnenberg founded the Hunter Douglas Machinery Corporation to develop an innovative casting and manufacturing process for lightweight aluminum: continuous casting. It was put to use for an entirely new product for window coverings: aluminum horizontal blinds. 

Horizontal blinds were introduced to Europe under the Luxaflex® brand name in 1951. They were functional and effective and suited the spirit of the times, becoming popular in a short time. The aluminum blinds proved timeless, and the brand name became a noun that is now in the Dutch Language Glossary. Luxaflex® continues to this day to introduce new, groundbreaking products, such as the Duette Shades and Silhouette Shades. 

Today, Luxaflex® offers a comprehensive portfolio of custom-made window coverings, interior blinds, insect screens and exterior blinds. In addition, Luxaflex® focuses on innovative operating systems and improved child safety through cordless and retractable manual control systems and motorized controls, including PowerView Automation. 

Conversation partners in Hardinxveld-Giessendam were marketing manager Jaap-Jene Langevoord and sales manager Geurt de Haas. They spoke frankly about Luxaflex®. About the product range, indoor and outdoor, insect protection, automation and smart home, the relationship with dealers, marketing support, online, pizza nights, shop concepts... "At Luxaflex® there are always developments, there is always dynamism," said Geurt de Haas. "It's never monotonous because of always new challenges."

Do you have intensive contact with your dealers?

Langevoord: "We have a large sales team and a lot of focus on customer contacts. We are a front-runner in terms of market support as far as this kind of business is concerned." 

Dealer contacts are sometimes difficult in corona time. How does Luxaflex® address that?

Langevoord: "Luxaflex® has its own green-screen studio for online training and instruction. By 2020, we will have been able to train 2,800 people online. A trained Luxaflex® dealer is worth a lot to us. We therefore take the role of Luxaflex® Academy very seriously, so we immediately had to anticipate the restrictive measures that threw a spanner in the works of our group training courses and made the switch to online. Now our online training courses are unmissable in our range, but so are dealer calls via Teams and Facetime." 

What are you guys doing to support your dealers?

Langevoord: "What stood out in terms of marketing this year is that we are back on TV, for example with a successful screen campaign. We haven't done that for years. It is appreciated by our dealers and it is catching on: customers come in and specifically ask for a Luxaflex® product. In addition to screens, the recently revised Duette Shades collection is an important product for our dealers. That we end this year with a wonderful TV campaign for this product group as well shows how much we want to invest in our products.".
 

"By the way, experience is an increasingly important aspect in marketing. The lifestyle side. What does a product add to the consumer's life. The emphasis in marketing is increasingly shifting from a product-centric approach to experience."
"What we think is important is that they give complete advice. For example, if people take Duettes, it's wise to include insect protection right away. After all, it's best if everything is fitted at once. Different 'layers' can also be Duettes and curtains, for example. That is a requested combination these days, not least because Duettes also provide excellent insulation." "Last but not least, to support our dealers we have a large team of service technicians. As a pilot last year, we offered an installation service for PowerView and Shutters. We also have separate mechanics for our shop concepts. They make sure everything works and that everything looks up and running."

What about your outdoor products?

De Haas: "More and more of our dealers are offering everything: indoor and outdoor. Many at the Gallery level, which means they are our most complete dealers. By the way, the step of doing products for indoors in addition to outdoor awnings is easier than the other way around, but of course both can be done." 

"Dealers who already do outdoor products are often - but not always hear! - are also more open to smart home applications. They are a little more used to that because of the motor operation of outdoor blinds."
 

"Regarding motorization of our window decoration and interior blinds, we are noticing a shift to battery products with a battery integrated into the motor. Separate battery packs like in the past - first on the outside, later in the bin - are a thing of the past."

What do you guys do to update dealers on drives and controls, should the need arise?

De Haas: "Pizza nights! We then visit the dealership after hours. First we eat pizza and then we get to work in the store to go through the automation options and practice with them. We often do this, for example, to introduce PowerView to dealers. In order to sell the product well, the dealer has to master it himself. That takes training. It helps if they have that kind of product at home themselves. They then naturally get a better feel for it and become real ambassadors." "These kinds of developments are important," Jaap-Jene hooks up. "In 2010, I once heard someone from SONY speak at my previous employer. He predicted back then that the smartphone would become the most important screen in the home. He was proven right. I myself do everything with my phone at home! The younger generation is growing up with it and will soon know no better." υ

You talked earlier about the Gallery concept. Are shop concepts important to Luxaflex®?

Langevoord: "Definitely! They are part of the continuous development we are going through. The visible part, of course, is the shop-in-shop. We have a team that helps the dealer with showroom design. But it goes beyond that. Gallery and Inspiration are concepts to actively approach the consumer. They require an investment as well as commitment from the dealer. 

"It is our desire to provide the best possible support to the dealer. Therefore, our account managers visit the dealer prepared to strengthen the cooperation, thus benefiting both parties." 

Luxaflex® once started with product innovation. Is innovation still part of the Luxaflex® DNA?

Langevoord: "Luxaflex® has been leading in innovation for 70 years and wants to stay that way. Our Duettes and PowerView are recent manifestations of that. In this day and age, an important focus is on sustainability. Most of our products are eco-labeled. One of our latest innovations, is Greenscreen® Sea-Tex™. It is the world's first awning fabric made from recycled ocean plastic. The yarn for it is made from waste collected by the Waterkeeper Alliance, an organization with chapters in 35 countries." 

We've really only talked about the consumer market. What is Luxaflex®'s position in the project area?

De Haas: "Our project department is pushing at least as hard. They are less in the spotlight, but occupy a prominent position within the company. Light management is incredibly relevant, also in the working environment. Not only in the Netherlands, but worldwide. You have to think of hundreds or even thousands of window coverings, indoor blinds and/or insect screens." 

You have a wide range of products. How is that organized internally?

De Haas: "Luxaflex® now has fourteen product groups, the fifteenth is coming up. Each group is as it were a company within the company, because each product, each product group has its own approach: technical, but also in terms of marketing, promotion and so on. But of course there are also interfaces and cross-fertilizations. And of course they all have the Luxaflex® DNA" 

Are there any groups that stand out?

Langevoord: "Not really. They are not all the same size and some may move more in the foreground, others less, but in principle they are all the same. If I had to pick one group for now, it would be outdoor awnings - already briefly discussed - because that group is becoming increasingly important within Luxaflex®." 

"This year we introduced the Nova Shade, an elegant awning with a sleek design to suit both classic and modern architectural styles. And it doesn't stop there, as another new articulated awning will be added in January. The conclusion is that we are also becoming an increasingly important player in the Netherlands when it comes to outdoors. That is also why we have realized a new production flow in our factory in Eindhoven."

De Haas: "We cordially invite you to our factory in Eindhoven. "