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MASTERS TO WATCH: HANS FILIPPINI
Director Marketing & Sales Operations at Leolux, Hans Filippini, tells MASTERS how he started at Leolux and about the company's craftsmanship.
Director Marketing & Sales Operations at Leolux, Hans Filippini, tells MASTERS how he started at Leolux and about the company's craftsmanship. A family business where passion for craftsmanship, creativity and pride are of paramount importance.Text: Bart-Jan Brouwer | Online editor: Natasha Hendriks
Image: John van Helvert
Trots
Hans Filippini: “After a business education, I first did sales in the copying industry, then product management at a part of BNP Paribas and then set up my own lighting brand as an independent entrepreneur with two partners. I gradually discovered that marketing is also my passion: how do you reach the right consumer at the right time with the right message? When I started talking to the Leolux furniture factory about doing marketing for them, I was quickly convinced. Also because it is a company with a rich history and a Dutch product that is made by hand in Venlo. It's very much about aesthetics, quality and comfort. You really have a story, it is not a fake story that you throw over a product to make it more beautiful than it is. Moreover, Leolux is a family business - with the third generation at the helm since 2012 in the person of Sebastiaan Sanders - which has the advantage of looking at the long term. In the back of the management's mind is that there are small children around who will one day take over the company. You will also find this family atmosphere in the workplace: many employees have been there from generation to generation, there is an atmosphere of pride. Other companies are more spreadsheet driven and opt for shareholder value. In a family business, decisions are made on a longer-term basis – that gives peace of mind.”
Fantastic seating comfort
"Leolux focuses on furniture in and around the living and dining room. Think of a seating area with a coffee table, rug, ottoman and cushions, where our core competence lies in upholstered seating furniture. Leolux distinguishes itself by its design, often characterized by round shapes, high detail, high-quality finishing and fantastic seating comfort. It is a rewarding product to do marketing for. As a marketer, you must above all ensure that identity and image grow with the times. That is why we have invested in social media and online, among other things. Of course, customers can be inspired in our design centers in Utrecht and Eindhoven, but nowadays this can also be done digitally. All products can be configured behind a screen, which results in no less than 30 billion options thanks to, among other things, a different stitching seam, the color of the legs, different combinations of materials and the various types of leather. A wide selection, something for everyone. Are you looking for an eye-catcher for your interior, sturdy seating comfort or a lounge sofa? That is all present in the collection. To allow the identity to grow, we have entered into a collaboration with Studio Truly Truly from Joel and Kate Booy. They have a good vision about how to translate the brand to the consumer. As art directors of Leolux, they look at which designers suit us and they also design products for our collection themselves. Leolux has a long history of original and daring designs with sparkling colors and expressive shapes. This tradition is being continued, but nowadays not every piece of furniture has to be distinctive. There is now more room for nuance and detail.”
Trends
Hans Filippini: “Fortunately, trends in the furniture industry do not follow each other as quickly as in the fashion industry. Soft seating and a more casual appearance are really something of the last few years, a sofa that invites you to live in it. The piece of furniture has acquired a different importance over time. In the past, the sofa faced the television and was the place where you received guests. It has become much more of a place where you retreat with your iPad or mobile phone – portable screens do something to our living environment. As far as colors are concerned, combinations of softer shades or stronger contrasts have become increasingly important. More and more consumers are placing something colorful on the wall and opting for a quiet piece of furniture, because it will last a long time. This also characterizes the sustainability of our furniture. These are passed on from generation to generation, from living room to study. Because we continue to reduce our carbon footprint and pay close attention to the production method and the materials we use and strive for as little waste as possible, we dare to say that our furniture poses a minimal burden on the environment. Leolux currently already provides 67 percent of its own energy needs through solar panels and the use of ground heat.”
Craftsmanship
“We have had a special year. We started off very positively, until we were confronted with the virus in March. We are a company that focuses on producing orders and delivering them directly to our dealers at home and abroad. When the first lockdown was announced in Italy, we immediately had all the stocks of materials that were there brought to the Netherlands. So we had virtually no problems with supply. Only we couldn't get rid of the end products. We had to provide storage and literally had to rent a hall to facilitate that. Another problem was the 70 percent decrease in demand. We decided to close the factory for a week to ensure that the work inventory remained at a manageable level. Then the moment started when people started investing very hard in their interior, and that hasn't stopped. In the end we had a fantastic year. We had months in which we were up more than 30 percent compared to normal. But we work with people who do manual work. It is not that we pick someone off the street and ask if he can upholster a Leolux piece of furniture – it is about craftsmanship. So the consumer has to be a little more patient. But he is rewarded for this with professional work.” Hans Filippini
