Blanco concluded a successful 2021 financial year with an 18.5 % increase in sales to €483 million compared to the previous year, achieving its highest ever sales. CEO Frank Gfrörer said that he sees this as confirmation that the course Blanco has taken was the right one: "Particularly in this difficult market environment, it is clear that our consistent focus on a premium brand experience at the kitchen water place has won over both our trade partners and our end consumers."
The company said that COVID-19 and the associated restrictions on the everyday lives of many people reinforced the nesting trend and consumers' desire for a better quality of life, and that with that in mind, Blanco set itself the task of upgrading the kitchen water place: "People spend around 60% of their time in the kitchen doing activities at the water place, such as drinking, preparing food and cleaning, to name just the most important ones. We want our high-quality system solutions, the Blanco Units, to make this time one of outstanding convenience, practicality and enjoyment," said Gfrörer.
While Blanco says it has always relied on a strong collaboration with its trade partners, this is now coupled with an increased focus on consumers, with the aim of inspiring them to add real value right from the initial ideas phase of kitchen planning. For this reason, the company said it is accelerating communication in its digital end customer channels and further developing its online shop for spare parts and accessories to improve service quality and user-friendliness. "By adopting this hybrid approach, we want to increase customer traffic to our trade partners and stimulate demand for high-quality system solutions," said Gfrörer. "At the same time, we are supporting our trade partners to concentrate on their core business."
Additionally, the company revealed that in the last financial year it has invested around €13 million in strengthening its international production and logistics network, in order to ensure order management remained stable at a time of increased demand.
Blanco Group Management Board (left to right): COO Andreas Ostermann von Roth, CEO Frank Gfrörer, and CFO Rüdiger Böhle.
