More than just paint

This is one reason why Färgtema’s managing director Stefan Lindvall makes quite clear that “We don’t just sell paint.” One of the company’s most important cornerstones is a properly trained sales staff ready to provide customers with professional advice on all questions concerning interior decoration.
Färgtema is an interior decoration specialist.
Every successful company is based on a good business idea. In Färgtema’s case it all started in 1968 when Nordsjö Färg, one of the largest Swedish paint manufacturers, decided it wanted to create demand all year round for its indoor and outdoor paint products. Normally there is a boom during the summer months in Sweden when people turn their attention to their own homes. At that time in the sixties there were not so many colours to choose from, as it was the manufacturers who decided how many different colours they wanted to market.
That year saw the arrival of an American patent that made it possible to mix the exact shade of paint desired by the customer actually in the shop. The Nordsjö Färg company became a holder of this patent in Sweden, then carried out a survey among its retailers around the country to see how many were interested in investing in the new technique. A good number of shops wanted to ride this wave, which led to the founding of the Färgtema franchise chain. This made it easier for Nordsjö Färg to distribute its products, since it could now concentrate on the Färgtema members, who were eager to give their customers the opportunity to obtain individually mixed shades of paint for both indoors and outdoors.
Today the franchise chain, which has its headquarters at Malmö, consists of 145 shops spread throughout the country. And they do not only sell paint. About 55 % per cent of the sales volume is paint, 18 % floor coverings and twelve per cent wallpaper, with the rest taken up by accessories such as brushes, tape, glue, etc. This means that the shops nowadays stock products to cover all seasons. The sales staff continues to receive training in products, colours, application techniques and so forth, to live up to the chain’s claim to provide professional advice in the field of interior decoration.
The brands that can be found in Färgtema shops come from “only” 31 different suppliers. However, these are regarded as strong and reliable partners in this market, many of them being multinationals such as Nordsjö Färg itself, which belongs to the Dutch Akzo Nobel group. Other brand names include…