Manufacturer's Day
Deventer, March 25, 2024
On March 25 we held another Manufacturer's Day. The central theme this year was the expertise of furniture sellers. How can we as an industry ensure thorough product knowledge?
The day was opened by Marieke van den Berg from LABEL Van den Berg. Marieke's passion was palpable and tangible through many practical examples. Skins made of Yak leather, among other things, were tangible. Marieke's love for the natural product leather is palpable. Great to see what the entire skin looks like and what influence climate and living conditions have. Even more respect for LABEL's craftsmanship to create beautiful furniture. This knowledge is passed on from generation to generation. Jasper and Marieke are now the third generation.
Ewald Bouma from AW Leder followed with a passionate speech about the sustainability of real leather. How do you turn a residual product from the meat industry into something beautiful? A story from the past stuck. You could then see near the tannery on the water in the river which color was made that day. Mind you, we are talking about more than 40 years ago. Nowadays, the water discharged by a tannery is often cleaner than what they took in. After his speech, a quiz was played. And then you come back to the theme of the day. How do we get this knowledge to the sellers?
Bas Proper from LCK Nederland followed up with an overview of all the training and courses we offer. There are quite a few. Here again the importance of complete and correct information to the salespeople in the store. Who can therefore properly inform and advise consumers. This section also included a quiz. The questions are sometimes difficult, sometimes obvious and not every question can be answered unequivocally. In other words, exactly what you encounter in practice. There is not always one right answer.
Dirk Grit from the POS service group took everyone through a concise explanation of the Service Plus Plan. The consumer is taken care of for 7 years, that is the Service Plan on the outside. There's a lot more behind it at the back. Openness and transparency towards the consumer, the retailer and the manufacturer. Statistics are available, agreements can be viewed and together with LCK Nederland there is perfect support for all parties.
After lunch the next theme was discussed. Problem substances. Actually more: how do you prevent problem substances. According to the definition of LCK Netherlands, substances that cannot be cleaned wet have no place on furniture. This is to protect the consumer. After all, the consumer did not ask for such an impractical fabric, because people live on furniture. The LCK Netherlands laboratory filters out these substances. So the solution is very easy. Before adding a new fabric to the collection, have it tested first.
Cleaning stains in leather and fabric was then discussed. Bas and Henk gave demonstrations on how to clean correctly. As a manufacturer, you don't have to be able to do all of this yourself, but it is useful if you have seen it once. In addition, it is always nice to know where to go if you have questions.
In short, it was a positive day with nice participants and interesting speakers.