Inventive product ideas

The German manufacturer based at Gehrden, near Hanover, succeeded in increasing annual sales by 12 per cent to around € 15 mio in 2005. The two proprietors and managing directors, Rüdiger Timm and Andree Kube, plan to continue to drive forward this growth. Repac has recorded growth of ten per cent each year since they took up their positions in 2000. Own-production amounts to a 70 per cent share of output, with the remaining 30 per cent made up of bought-in merchandise including carpet underlay, mats, adhesive and laying tape, tools, knives and blades.
Managing director Rüdiger Timm puts his success in the market down to a simple formula: “Through the aggressiveness of the discounters and DIY superstores, the retailer needs ranges that allow him to generate a reasonable profit.” To this end Repac offers accessories like profiles, skirting boards, laying tape, cutting knives and blades, etc, as a shop-in-shop unit that is designed to achieve a high stock turnover on a relatively small space. The idea stemmed from the observation that those laying flooring have to make long treks through DIY stores: the profiles are in the hardware department, the laying tapes are in the paint department and the skirting boards are to be found in the carpet department. This state of affairs was felt to be out-of-date. Summing up his philosophy, Timm says, “Our shops are designed to be consumer-oriented and to concentrate on fast movers.” The shop is available for hard floors and carpeting, parquet and laminate, or tiling. The company’s field staff manage the shops, making continuous adjustments to the assortment and exchanging products where necessary. At the beginning of this year came the launch of the new “Stainless Steel Design Shop”, which is intended to set new standards in marketing high-end profiles.
The selection includes profiles for either screwing or clipping into position. The entry-level range consists of self-adhesive transition and compensating profiles. “Today's adhesives are so good that it is easier to take up the flooring than the profile once it has been stuck down,” according to the managing director.
New to the programme are aluminium profiles in a cork design for use both indoors and out. “We have developed them to underline the trend towards natural, modern floor-coverings,” explains Rüdiger Timm. The new “fundesign-Kork” surface promises stability, safety and great design, and is available in every quality and for every type of installation situation…