Interview with Georg Gayer

on the visions of TAKKT
(March 2009)

IPO, new foundations, acquisitions: TAKKT Group has a history of success in the last ten years. But what about the future of the Group? An interview with CEO Georg Gayer.

Question: Mr Gayer, where will TAKKT Group be in ten years time?

TAKKT will still be TAKKT, but the company will be even larger, more broadly-based, and more successful. Our vision is to be the worldwide leading B2B mail order group for office, business and warehouse equipment as well as sales promotion items for retailers, the food service industry and the hotel market, and additional new product categories. In the next ten years we will do everything in our power to make this vision a reality.

Question: And how will TAKKT implement these plans?

Firstly we generate high cash flows year on year in order to finance our business expansion. Secondly we rely on our proven strategy. We operate a proven systems business. This makes it possible for us, at limited costs and without any great risk, to open up new regions and sectors, expand our product portfolio, and, not least, to achieve economies of scale. We have been successful with this in the past – and will continue to be so in the future. However, we do not only concentrate on new business, but also on markets where we are long established. For example with our multi-brand strategy: in many countries we operate through different companies. Because we know, from numerous customer surveys, that customers prefer to work with two or three competent suppliers for equipment. And with multiple brands we increase the chance that, at the end of the day, the order will be placed in our Group. It is also important to note that mail order in Europe and North America currently accounts for less than ten percent of the total market – here too we still see high potential for growth.

Question: You mentioned new regions. Which countries are of particular interest to TAKKT?

In the coming years we will further expand our presence especially in Eastern Europe and Asia. We are keeping a particular eye on China, where a giant market is waiting to be opened up. Mail order is not yet very widespread there, but we aim to change that. And in addition we plan to make greater use of purchasing opportunities in China.

Question: What role will new technologies play in the future of TAKKT?

The internet will play an ever more important role in our business. Already today we use it in a multitude of ways. Firstly it is an important sales medium for us. Obtaining information and ordering via the internet is becoming more and more popular with customers. We therefore design our online shops according to the slogan: “Easy find – easy order”. In the USA we even have two pure internet brands, officefurniture.com and officechairs.com. But the medium is also important for handling our internal processes. Thanks to electronic integration, for example, we have been able to further reduce our internal order processing costs in the last few years, despite rising costs generally, e.g. for rents and energy.

Question: So TAKKT AG is well equipped for the future?

Yes, of course. Because we ceased, long ago, to be simply a trader bringing goods from A to B. With us, our customers have a fast, competent and indispensable problem solver at their side. Our offering, i.e. our products and our delivery service, is unique in its scope and quality. Thus we have a quite decisive advantage over the competition. And we will extend this in the future.