Industrial Capabilities
7 Mini-Case-Studies highlight our industrial level capabilities
Richard Behr & Co. is proud to be the main driver in our industry for the democratization of luxury beds. Each of the following mini-case-studies highlights how we have in the course of the past decades changed, reshaped, often completely re-invented the industry structure. We have thereby made our clients more competitive, and made luxury beds at all quality levels more accessible to everyone.
Do you have the need to take a leap in competitiveness? Do you need to adress new markets, both new target groups and sales channels, as well as international markets? Do you see potential in new products? Do you want to re-engineer your own operations? Do you need a new top-of-the-range product? Do you need something new? Do you see potential in sourcing internationally? Do you have AN IDEA?
We are as humble, eager and hungry for new ideas and potential, we are as much a StartUp as we have been a century ago, when Richard Behr founded our company in 1917. Come and talk to us - we understand it takes people to drive ideas and shape tomorrow's markets, each time it is an honor for us to meet these people, and we look forward to working with you.
400 thsd. pillows - in one weekend
In the late 1970s, luxury bedding products were sold exclusively through specialty stores. When Aldi - a 4000 stores German supermarket chain then known for food products only - started merchandising non-food products (in needing with the Novitesse and Dormia brands), the traditional trade was sceptical. With an unbeatable value-for-money proposition though, Aldi quickly outgrew the traditional sales channels. In the process, Richard Behr & Co. developed automated production capabilities, massive logistics capacities, and robust international supply chains. Richard Behr & Co. now can ship more than 400 thsd. pillows and/or comforters, in one weekend, to in this case 11 distribution centers throughout central Europe.
2000 stores serviced
In the late 1980s, Richard Behr & Co. started supplying a small Danish chain with 4 stores. This retailer - Jysk, and Dänisches Bettenlager - now operates 2000 stores, and Richard Behr & Co. reliably serves the stores with a wide range of luxury bedding products. Richard Behr & Xo. has conducted numerous trainings of the DBL staff, and we are proud to be a part of their success story with our RIBECO brand. Through their high quality and low prices, Dänisches Bettenlager and Jysk are now the most successful central European retailer for luxury beds at any price and quality level.
150 thousand direct shipments
Otto Versand is the largest European catalog company, a multi billion Euro business and owner of many brands and catalogs. Richard Behr & Co. stocks are integrated electronically with Otto systems - out of stock at Richard Behr implies you cannot order the product on any Otto website. With 150,000 shipments directly to private individual Otto clients (including all return handling), an up to 96% fulfillment quota means that more than 143,000 of these were fulfilled within 24 hours of order placement. Through Otto, Richard Behr & Co. offers mattresses, toppers, pillows, comforters, blankets all the way to luxury pet beds, with its brands of RIBECO, Hanse, and at times through the GMK and MyHome brands.
1000 hotels in more than 100 countries
When reformulating their core bed in the late 1990s, Marriott group decided to model their bed around a proposal of toppers, pillows and comforters that Hanse made to their Director of European procurement, Stephane Masson. Stephane Masson has since become the VP of Marriott Global procurement, and Marriott has grown both through superior performance and acquisitions. Hanse supplies to more than 1000 hotels around the world, mainly of Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Rotana, Kempinski, Six Senses, and other, luxury hotel groups. For Marriott Group, Hanse now is a vendor of boxspring beds, mattresses, toppers, protectors, pillows, comforters, linens, and towels. Hanse serves Hotels in all regions of the world, with the same quality product everywhere, every time, directly, through distributors, and through licensed production partners.
International logistics concept for a Caribbean client
The Atlantis Paradise Island Resort is a group of luxury hotels in the Bahamas. The Atlantis is exposed to two kinds of natural desasters: (1) hurricanes that potentially destroy their warehouse and a full set of linens, towels and replacement products, that are not in the laundry or in the rooms, and (2) 10-12 cruise ships with more than 2000 visitors each - who all take a beach towel as a souvenir. For both instances, we established a bonded warehouse facility in the Miami free trade zone and keep an agreed upon quantity of all products in stock. This allows them to replenish their depleted supplies within a few days, when needed. Without any natural desasters though, we ship directly to Nassau from our overseas facilities with a four week lead time. While this is sufficient to meet their regular needs, direct shipping eliminates the extra handling and warehousing into and out of the bonded Miami facility, and keeps cost at a minimum.
Brand, Product and Service Laboratory
Richard Behr & Co. is involved in constant research, product- and supply chain development, with the most professional partners, around the world. Our www.traumgalerie.org - a European translation and retail lab, of the Leeza, New York NY/USA, showcase - created an enthusiastic public and press response. We have won a first client who will use the idea for a prototype shop-in-shop concept. The SleepLAB(r) initiative resulted in the development of the Neuroganic(r) mattress, and another research and development project with Otto Versand, Hamburg/Germany. Das Traumbett(r) of Lingo GmbH will go on sale shortly, where we are part of a completely new social media marketing and sales concept. Our latest project is a cooperation with aka:NEO, a Munich based Startup that has no less than re-invented the art of toweling. And we are founder and partner in the Ultimate Housekeeping Solutions LLC, a software company for the automation of hotel operations.
Traceability prototype
Richard Behr & Co. is a member of the governing trade associations in its trade - the VDFI, EDFA, and IDFL - as a regular corporate member, as a member on various boards, and as a member of technical committees. Here, we shape and drive the discussion on product norms and standards, on transparency and sustainability of our whole industry. These institutions often can only move as fast as their slowest members. In order to promote transparent product standards, we have developed (Downpass) and adopted (Responsible Down Standard RDS) the most advanced systems for tracing product origins. On top of this, we have developed the first prototype in the world for visualization of the product origins: In a maps based format, the complete supply chain of all components can be traced, and each site/origin is linked to a complete, up-to-date documentation and audit. The map can be triggered through a simple barcode / QR code, for example on packaging, and thus make the product 100% transparent to every consumer.
