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JULY 2003
EDITORIAL have been thinking already since a few years about an internal Asia-Pacific Newsletter. I know that many of us feel sometimes “far away” from Headquarters and even sometimes isolated. Asia is a huge territory and even though there are strong cultural and market specificities in each country, we all need to share more information and experiences.
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I am glad that the “New Deal” organization is giving me the opportunity to launch now this newsletter. What is the “New Deal”? A new Somfy International organization capitalizing on seven Business Area to deploy faster and more efficiently our strategies and contribute more strongly to our local and global growth. Asia-Pacific might still be today a “small” Business Area in terms of size, but big in terms of potential and ambitions. What do I expect from this newsletter? Clearly a stronger sense of belonging within Asia-Pacific. All Somfy Business Units in the region share some similar concerns and issues. All Somfy business units in the region are part of the same “Somfy family”. Distance, language and cultures should not be barriers, on the contrary, an enrichment for all of us to share an extra-ordinary variety of problems and solutions in the region. A testimony of this cross-cultural enrichment came to me through all the newsletter title proposals I received. Most proposals were carrying the sense of “Asian difference” and of “Somfy networking”. I was therefore first looking for a symbol of Asia and it is certainly amazing to see how much the rice fields have carved the landscape throughout Asia. Rice being the basic nutritive element in Asia, it also carries the meaning of “life”, “roots” and “fundamentals”. In addition, this title reflects the ambition of this newsletter: it wants to connect the Somfy people across Asia. “The Rice Connection” is born. I wish it a long and happy life… Pascal Jaquet
Somfy international
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WHAT DOES “NEW DEAL” MEAN ?
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The name chosen for our new organisation means two things: change and exchange. NEW DEAL = CHANGE. Let’s talk about change first. There is are two reasons to change. 1. To satisfy your clearly expressed wishes for a simpler, more transparent, more accessible central organisation, but also for fairer treatment, whatever the nature or size of the Business Unit of which you are a member. 2. To build an organisation able to meet the challenges we shall all face in the coming years. To accelerate the rate and scale of our growth, to better anticipate the expectations of our consumers, to seize all the opportunities our vast, very dynamic and highly innovating market provides. To meet these objectives, the “New Deal” defines several basic, essential, rules with which you are already familiar. A marketing function central to all the actions we undertake, the creation of 7 Business Areas, the redefinition of missions for the development and implementation of our strategy. NEW DEAL = EXCHANGE. Secondly, exchange. As they are based on a new distribution of responsibilities, significant changes can only to be successful in the context of a “win-win” exchange between the business units and the Business and Marketing Division. And that is what “deal” means. Everything depends on our ability to negotiate finalised contracts together, based on your proposals and your objectives. These are the guidelines for the projects I want you to prepare in a spirit of openness and innovation dedicated to overcoming every kind of geographical, relational or business obstacle. As for the ways and means needed, it is now essential to decide on how to pool all our resources in your business areas as well as those of BMD and Somfy International. I know I can count on the talent and commitment of all of you. You have already made us the best distribution network in the profession. They are the keys to our success in the future. In exchange, you can count on my total commitment to your success. With the whole BMD team, I commit myself to devoting all our energy, availability and support to your efforts, tempered by a sense of fair play based on the facts and our joint assessment of the results. One word summarises the state of mind I am describing. Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm for our company and a market guaranteed a wonderful future. Jean-Noël Fourel. Director of Somfy International’s Business and Marketing Division.
The Somfy Asia Pacific newsletter / July 2003 / page 2
In brief Somfy Australia continues with its efforts to communicate and educate specifiers about automation by being present at two important exhibitions. Designex 2003 held in Melbourne early in May targeting Interior Designers, and Designbuild 2003 in Sydney targeting architects and builders. In both exhibitions Somfy has a new stand showcasing motorisation with displays of automated end products as well as our extensive range of controllers. Somfy Australia took this opportunity to launch the new Telis Silk, Telis Patio and Centralis Light. ,
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SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS KOREA 5 minute with Christine Day… When did you start at Somfy ? CD: I started working at Somfy on a temporary assignment in February of 1999. Initially my role was as a Customer Service provider. This temporary assignment expanded into a permanent role within the company, when I was offered the position of Internal Sales Coordinator. I held this position until February 2001, when I was promoted to Purchasing Officer for Somfy Pty Limited. I have worked at Somfy in a number of capacities for a little over 4 years. Christine, what do you do at Somfy ? CD: As Purchasing Officer, it is important that I manage the levels of stock and prepare and submit regular production programmes. This sometimes requires a 6th sense! I must review any discrepancies that may arise from daily stock checks to have a true representation of actual stock levels. Close connections with the International Logistics in Cluses and other Somfy subsidiaries, especially our Asia Pacific neighbours, ensures our stock needs are continuously met. I also make other company related purchases for anything from promotional items to stationery. Being an active part of the logistics team can also see me checking incoming shipments, packing orders, and being involved with the day to day running of the warehouse. How important do you see your job to the overall operations of the company ? CD: I believe that all of the roles at Somfy Pty Limited are crucial to the successful running of the company. I guess I am the first link in a chain, because if we didn’t have the correct quantity and type of stock we would have serious difficulties in meeting our customer’s expectations of prompt and efficient service. That’s what it is all about! How challenging is your job ? CD: The nature of my job demands flexibility whilst maintaining proper control. I must balance the need of having sufficient quantity of the right type of stock whilst making sure that our stock levels are not too high as this would be a cost to the company. It is a constant challenge to keep this balance while forecasting future purchasing patterns. Due to the sheer distance between Somfy Pty Limited and the factory in Cluses, timing is the essential key. ,
ASAP 2003 Seoul ASAP is the name of the Asia-Pacific Business Area annual meeting. It stands for Accelerated Strategies for Asia Pacific, which reflects the ambition we have in the region in terms of growth and speed of growth. Every year, one of the Asia-Pacific Business Units is responsible for its organization. This year host was Somfy Joo (Korea), and Korea is certainly a country where Somfy’s development has been very successful. The meeting was held from June 30th to July 3rd in the outskirt of Seoul, with the participation of each Business Unit manager, and a Corporate team (Jean-Noël Fourel, Gilles Boddèle, Alexandre Gilbert, Dominique Derveaux). The organization has been great and the Somfy Joo’s team in charge of it (Jhin-A Shin and James Kim) has been congratulated by all participants. The 1st day discussions focused on organization, and in particular on the impact of the “New Deal” on some of our key processes: Development Process, (Marketing) Offer Creation Process, and Product Launchings. From 2nd day, the agenda focused on Strategies and each Business Unit (BU), as well as Asia-Pacific Business Area, had the opportunity to present the key points of their respective strategies.
The Somfy Asia Pacific newsletter / July 2003 / page 3
Discussions were sometimes challenging, but always constructive and fruitful. In addition, a display of marketing communication material from each BU had been organized. Experience sharing is always the core of meetings, and everybody can get new ideas and learn from each other. Sharing our “best practices” (especially in the Sales and Marketing fields) is certainly key to increase our professionalism and boost our growth. After the end of the conference, participants had a quick tour of downtown Seoul and a visit to Somfy Joo office and i-Blind. A Welcome cocktail was offered at new Innoblind shop to celebrate its recent opening. ASAP is like a good wine: we expect it to get better every year, all the participants left Korea very motivated. And please do not ask where next year’s ASAP will be… This is still kept secret! ,
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SSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS KOREA JAPAN Innoblind shop Opening in Seoul In Korea, our new i-Blind Company has opened its first Innoblind shop in Seoul. The opening ceremony was held on June 9th, 2003 and was a great success with the participation of almost 160 guests. Innoblind is the brand name signature of our offer to the residential market. It is a new unique sales and marketing concept targeting directly the enduser. We all wish a great success to Innoblind: a new ambitious challenge for our Korean team! ,
In March 2003, Y.K.K., No.2 C.W.S. (combined Window Shutter) manufacturer in Japan, launched “Den-suke” (C.W.S. with MOBB) on the Japanese market. “Den” means “electricity” and “suke” means “help or assistance”. The price difference between manual and motorized C.W.S. is normally \75,000 (580 Euro) and it was reduced to \25,000 (192 Euro) with the new solution. On top of that, they could save the cost and labor for the switch installation. Y.K.K. will complete the training of 3,600 installers by the end of May 2003, and we
they will launch it in July 2003. Since Tostem sells 400K-500K sets of C.W.S., our sales and R&D team are putting all their energy on this project. Tostem is a new account for us and might bring us the additional business. At the end of 2001, we introduced MOBB to some potential OEM’s. We though MOBB was a suitable solution for Japan, since we have some highly industrialized OEM’s who could realize “clic & up” with significant modifications of C.W.S. construction. The process (spec. agreement, product customization, qualification and contracts) is not simple at all, since the European and Japanese shutter sizes, weight and constructions are completely different. Key success factor is always the teamwork with the Cluses R&D team. For almost all of the important meetings with OEM’s, we tried to attend as a team (M.D., sales manager, development and quality manager, sales staff and Cluses project members), since we must satisfy the OEM needs in all aspects of
hope our sales will increase accordingly. Since Y.K.K. sells 250K-270K sets of C.W.S. a year (motorization rate: only 8 %), we have a high expectation for the project. We are now working very hard to launch the same concept with Tostem, the biggest construction material company. Hopefully,
the project and business. We also learned that we have to keep “Somfy pride” and “Somfy logic” even in front of the huge OEM’s. It was extremely tough, but we learned that the customers would learn to respect Somfy, if we keep showing our passion and logical approach to the project. ,
Clic & Up (MOBB): a booster for Somfy Japan
The Somfy Asia Pacific newsletter / July 2003 / page 4
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CHINA Somfy China Opening Up to now, Somfy had been present in China through a representative office in Shanghai. We had no stock locally and our customers had to import the goods from Somfy Hong-Kong. We are now going one big step ahead and are setting-up a local company: Somfy China. This will allow us to develop a full range of services for our customers and therefore to deploy fully our strategy. It shows our strong expectations in the potential of the Chinese market, and that Somfy as a market leader is willing to be a driving force. We have been the first foreign company in our industry to open a representative office in China, and we are now the first foreign company in our industry to
open a wholly foreign owned company. The main company is in Shanghai, and we are also opening a branch company in Guangzhou and a branch office in Beijing. Nicolas, you are responsible for our operations in Shanghai and Beijing, what do you think will be the main benefits of this new Company? Nicolas Jeanjean: The creation of Somfy China will help us reduce our costs and improve our logistic process, thus making our offer directly available to a great number of installers. Geographical expansion
through the opening of local branches is now possible: we are on the way to open an official branch office in Beijing, our first step in trying to cover the huge and highly potential Chinese territory. This move will give us a better visibility of the market and increase our knowledge of the end-user. On the other hand, we also have many challenges ahead. One of them is to build up the relationship with our Key Accounts. We will be investing a lot on the Somfy Brand, and we need to convince them to work as “partners” for developing the market. Wilson, you are responsible for our operations in South China, what are your main challenges? Wilson Yeung: I have been in charge of developing the Guangdong and Fujian market since 1997. In the past, we traveled from Hong Kong to these areas to run marketing functions, to meet customers and to train customers. The market has grown from less than 500 motors in 1997 to 16000 motors in 2003. It is a booming market. In
order to maintain and further develop this market, we must strengthen our local services. By launching more local marketing actions, we will be able to create more sales for Somfy as well as for our customers. An efficient local stock in Guangdong is allowing us to invoice in RMB and deliver faster to customers in China. With the booming China economy, there are a lot of new market segments and new customers that we will need to explore. Our local expertise in technical training and aggressive sales force are the key elements to help SOMFY develop the existing and new market segments and customers at its highest pace. ,
The Somfy Asia Pacific newsletter / July 2003 / page 5
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SSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSS SINGAPORE INDIA From sales to marketing to… History: Sereene arrived at Somfy Singapore 4 years ago in July 1999. She started as IWT Sales Executive and was promoted to Assistant Marketing Manager late 2001 after accepting to change her career from Sales to Marketing. Today what are your main daily activities? Sereene: Most of the activities are projectbase; this is what makes marketing so interesting. Currently I’m working on a new
specifiers guide which will be a powerful communication tool for the sales team; targeting mainly architects and designers in our region with the objective of educating them on motorization of all types of end products. How do you enjoy working with Somfy? What would you change if you could? Sereene: Ever since I started working with Somfy, they have been a good employer whom I enjoy working with. With the evolution of Somfy, the opportunity to learn new things through a competent boss, international seminars and the supports support from the head office, my work is made interesting, challenging and satisfying. What are your main challenges in Somfy and your expectations ? Sereene: Main challenges: – To keep abreast with the changes happening in Somfy everyday. – Given such a niche and unique market, to be innovative in marketing in a big challenge. Expectations: – Somfy to remain strong in the market, maintaining our market leader position and continue to grow and lead the industry. ,
Shining woman in India I am Gunjan working in the capacity of a Project Co-ordinator with Somfy India Private Limited. This profile is very challenging as it has been introduced very recently and thus opens up varions avenues for exploration. New EndUser oriented projects represent yet another challenge which has motivated me further to enhance and sharpen my skills and at the same time strenghten my professional bond with Somfy. I joined Somfy in 1999 when Somfy India was of the status of a Liaison Office. It was an honour to be one of the first employees of Somfy to be recruited by Mr. Alain Rochet, G.M. Somfy India. I assisted him and our technical executive in their day-today office needs. In May 2000 I had to leave for the USA due to some family committiturs and on return to India in May 2002, I had the opportunity to resume my work in Somfy which was now a 100 % subsidiary of Somfy Intenational. Since then there has been no looking back. Somfy India has been gradually but steadly climbing the ladder of success and actively developing business in all dimensions, within and in the adjoining countries. Somfy has a very condusive work environment and provides all its employees the right ambiance and platform to develop and also perform to the best of their aptitude and capability. Everyone here works as a team and are inspired and helped by each other to meet our goals. Each and every one contribution made a maximum and have given us the desired results now. I would love to keep working with Somfy and grow together. ,
In brief The grand Hyatt – Mumbai (Bombay) is now ready to open. It has 500 rooms, all motorised with LS 40 Mercure in a very nice Silk roman blind. ,
The Somfy Asia Pacific newsletter / July 2003 / page 6
Director of publication: Pascal Jaquet. Editorial/Translation/Photo: Somfy International. Layout: Explorations F - 74. Printed by: Perrissin Fabert F - 74.
