KAISER + KRAFT EUROPA sets up new company in Czech Republic

New brand name KWESTO is basis for further expansion and increased market penetration in eastern Europe

The Stuttgart-based TAKKT AG, the leading business-to-business mail order house for office, business and warehousing equipment in Europe and North America, continues to expand in Europe. The group is now concentrating its efforts on expanding into eastern Europe. With the establishment of the company KWESTO in Prague, the TAKKT division KAISER + KRAFT EUROPA is creating a new base in the Czech Republic - a candidate for entry into the EU - with a view to gaining an even stronger foothold in the dynamically growing markets of eastern Europe. Up until now, KAISER + KRAFT EUROPA has been marketing over 30,000 products by catalogue, CD-ROM and the internet from 37 locations in a total of 16 countries.

From mid-June onwards, KWESTO will be offering customers five product categories from its 224-page catalogue. The product range contains office and warehousing equipment. Manager Janusz Wlazel is aiming to answer the market needs of midsize eastern European companies: "The range consists mostly of products made in eastern Europe. We will be expanding both the depth and breadth of the product range to meet new requirements as they arise."

Synergy effects as a result of multipliable systems business
TAKKT sales and marketing director Franz Vogel is fully confident that KWESTO will prove a success: "On the one hand, TAKKT's modern corporate structure means that our subsidiaries enjoy a high degree of independence. Their proximity to local markets ensures the necessary customer responsiveness. On the other hand, KWESTO's clients in eastern Europe also benefit from synergy effects and economies of scale resulting from TAKKT's highly developed mail order business and from its individual customer care facilities. We are in a position to apply our know-how to other products and markets quickly and effectively. This is the key to our successful strategy for growth and expansion."

Basis for further expansion and market penetration
With the brand name KWESTO, market penetration should be increased as well as creating a new name for expansion within eastern Europe. Franz Vogel has commented this as follows: " We are very satisfied with the development of our existing companies in eastern Europe. With the creation of a second brand name in the Czech Republic, we intend to widen our customer base and thereby intensify our market penetration. For us KWESTO is an important step in our regional expansion strategy". A staff of nine will be attending to customers' requirements in the Czech capital.

With sales revenues of Euro 326.5 million in the past business year (1999), KAISER + KRAFT EUROPA is the number one business division within the TAKKT group. During the first quarter of 2000, the TAKKT division recorded further strong growth, increasing sales by 8.1 percent to Euro 94.7 million compared with the equivalent period in 1999.

Stuttgart, 7. June 2000

Contact:

Georg Gayer
Tel. 07 11.50 01-239

Dr. Felix A. Zimmermann
Tel. 07 11.50 01-861