Topdeq: a Corporate Profile
Top design, top consulting, top quality and top speed - these are the characteristics of Topdeq.
Pfungstadt. Three things are decisive when it comes to furnishing office premises: (i) the equipment and furniture must be tailored to the customer's specific requirements; (ii) service aspects must also be customised; and (iii) delivery must be as quick as possible. It was these three basic rules that, in 1990, inspired some young mail order professionals to found Topdeq and which made them, within only four years, the leading specialists in that sector.
Over the last eight years, the Pfungstadt based company has increased its turnover twentyfive-fold - from DM 4 to DM 125 million to be precise - and is aiming at a target of DM 150 million for 1999. Top design, top service, top quality and top delivery ... these are Topdeq's trademarks. The company has repeatedly succeeded in winning top-notch designers such as Philippe Starck and Rodolfo Bonetto as well as young ambitious talents. Design at Topdeq does not just mean a pleasing form but also the right materials, the sparing use of natural resources, a long service life and - last but not least - the joy of using.
Their highly competent customer service advisors are on hand during standard business hours to provide information or discuss purchases. If requested, they will draw up a three-dimensional plan for a new office based on customer specifications. And finally, for those customers who do not wish to do this themselves, Topdeq also organises the actual installation work.
Although there are showrooms in Frankfurt, Zürich and Amsterdam for people to visit, the large majority of customers buy from the catalogue or via the Internet. It is perhaps the catalogue that most gives tangible form to Topdeq's different approach to business. For the Topdeq catalogue is no mere concatenation of products spread across hundreds of pages but rather a presentation, page by page, of complete rooms and office solutions - from waste paper bin and wallclock to the desk. All of which come in that inimitable Topdeq style: young, modern, smart. This concept has such a convincing effect on the customers that they frequently do not just buy individual products but entire catalogue pages en bloc!
Then there is the 100% emphasis on service. Anyone who ends up with something that somehow does not match what was imagined can return the goods within thirty days - without reason, without fuss and at no extra cost. Topdeq will even pay for the return transport. But those customers who keep their goods can do so secure in the knowledge that they have bought quality that lasts. The unique Topdeq five-year guarantee has no equal on the market and even exceeds the manufacturer's own warranty.
Similarly, this fundamental business principle of offering more than the standard is reflected in the Topdeq leadtimes: If an order is received before 4.30 in the afternoon - or, on occasions, even later - it will be processed immediately and delivered to the customer the next day. Or if you place your order before 12.30 pm, it will be delivered the same day (for a surcharge).
This is a service not offered anywhere else in Germany, Switzerland or Holland. It is no surprise that Topdeq's uncompromising customer-led approach has also made it top office furnishers in many executive suites.
July 1, 1999