The Schmidt Groupe looks back on a successful last financial year and thus also looks positively into the future despite the dampening effect of the corona crisis: The French industry leader with roots in Saarland continued to grow in 2019 and was able to continue the constant growth of the previous years. For the past fiscal year, the furniture manufacturer again reported a number of records.<\/p>\n
For example, Schmidt recorded a seven percent increase in production turnover to 603 million euros – the highest figure in the company’s 86 year history. In the recent past, there was a four percent increase in 2018, before that it was eight percent and in 2016 it was 14 percent. The curve for specialist trade sales, including the electrical installation appliances supplied by the Group, also continued to rise steadily. Here, an increase of seven percent was achieved compared to the previous year, which in the final account means proceeds of 1.74 billion euros. This is also the best performance in the history of the family-owned company, which is managed by Anne Leitzgen in the third generation.<\/p>\n
“We are moving from a successful past into a secure future. The economic consequences of the Corona crisis will certainly have an impact on the company’s targets for the 2020 financial year. But we are also very confident that we will be able to regain what we lost due to the closure of the retail business as a result of the pandemic,” explains St\u00e9phane Bihler, authorized signatory of Schmidt K\u00fcchen GmbH & Co. KG and International Sales Manager.<\/p>\n
But back to the figures for 2019: as the European number one kitchen studio franchiser, the Group was also able to continue the positive trend of recent years in terms of the number of exclusive dealers and reach a maximum value in the company’s chronicle: The fleet of sales outlets climbed from 728 to 756, which carry the “Schmidt K\u00fcchen und Wohnwelten” brand as well as the “Cuisinella” label in France and Belgium. Whereby the distribution is now in 27 and no longer in 30 countries around the globe. “In Germany, there are still 44 partner companies, in which we are introducing Consumer Connect, which has already been successfully implemented in France, in phases this year. Here we are using sophisticated digital technology to offer customers a continuous relationship with the brand and a maximum of individuality through a unique shopping experience. The virtual reality tools we have developed also enable the customer to project himself in his project,” reveals St\u00e9phane Bihler.<\/p>\n
In the 2019 financial year, the Schmidt Groupe also further expanded its attractiveness as an employer. While the number of employees within the group remained almost the same at 1,750, there was an increase in Germany of around eight percent to 187 employees. An impressive development can be seen in the figures for the employees together with the colleagues from the partner companies. <\/p>\n
They increased from 6,357 to 7,120 – that is 763 employees more than in the previous year and an increase of twelve percent. “With over 7,000 employees around the world, we are a great alliance of human energy. And each individual sees himself as an ambassador of a philosophy that is lived out: Responding to the wishes of the consumer, anticipating his needs and putting them into concrete terms to his satisfaction,” explains St\u00e9phane Bihler. The Schmidt Groupe produces on an area of around 223,000 square meters, mainly in Alsace – three plants are located in S\u00e9lestat, one at the headquarters in Li\u00e8pvre and in addition there is the German parent company in the Saarland turquoise mill, which operates in a production network. There is also a logistics centre in Bergheim.<\/p>\n
In 2019 alone, the Group invested 90 million euros in optimizing production.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[68],"class_list":["post-1901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-schmidt-groupe"],"acf":{"photo_gallery":{"galerie":[[]]}},"yoast_head":"\n