Strategy

The company will achieve its objectives based on the following strategy:

Retail marketing

The positioning of all Beter Bed Holding formulas is continually refocused. All formulas offer top quality products and top quality advice at the lowest or most competitive price. On the basis of these strengths, there is a clear emphasis on increasing customer satisfaction, like-for-like growth and substantial growth of online revenue. The overarching goal is to increase market share in an omnichannel retail environment. The various formulas face a range of different challenges in pursuing this goal.

In the Benelux, it will be achieved mainly by further improvement of the transaction power (higher conversion and higher order amounts). In the other countries, by contrast, the attraction power (attracting more visitors) will rise. Each formula has defined its own strategy and plan to achieve this.

Innovation will be a key driver of revenue growth. This comprises both product and brand innovation within the 'private brand' strategy of each formula. To achieve this, development potential within purchasing will be strengthened and cooperation with strategic suppliers intensified.

Substantial investments are made in the training and education of our sales and logistics staff with a view to further increasing customer satisfaction.

The marketing function will be strengthened on a broad basis, for which purpose the positions of Marketing Manager were filled at both Beter Bed Benelux and Matratzen Concord in 2015. The marketing division will contribute significantly to the development of the various formulas by means of clear communication in the stores, brochures and on the websites. Marketing expenditure will be raised in the years ahead to support the positioning and the innovative character of the various formulas.

E-Commerce

The e-commerce or omnichannel proposition will be refocused in all countries. The 'customer journey' will be facilitated to the maximum extent, meaning that the customer is maximally served at all times of customer contact. The development of 'web only' ranges and expansion of the range of bed textiles will also be initiated.

To facilitate this, significant investments will be made in the e-commerce organisation in all countries, and marketing expenditure for e-commerce support will increase substantially. This is aimed at achieving a 'fair share' of online sales.

In order to implement the omnichannel strategy, the E-commerce divisions will be significantly expanded to include the required functional specialists that are necessary to build and operate state-of-the-art webshops (including partnerships).

Expansion

In addition to like-for-like growth, expansion will also contribute to revenue growth. In the Benelux, this will be concentrated primarily in Belgium. Matratzen Concord is expected to open stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. An increase in the number of stores is likewise planned for Spain. This expansion will be subject to strict requirements in terms of the investment per store, operating costs and (particularly) flexible rental periods.

To supplement expansion within existing formulas, opportunities for further organic growth will be sought, or acquisitions in existing and new countries.

Purchasing and sales

Purchasing has as major role in executing the strategy. The following targets apply for Purchasing, besides the product innovation already referred to earlier:

• margin improvement;
• development of online range;
• optimisation of delivery periods;
• fewer (but more strategic) suppliers with fewer SKUs;
• development of additional ranges.

Sales will ensure an optimal omnichannel customer experience supported by advice tools, configurators, net promotor scores and customer reviews.

Backoffice (HR, Finance, Logistics and IT)

The backoffice functions are required to operate with a focus on sales, service and the customer. Customer satisfaction, further professionalisation and proactivity are key words in achieving this. HR has a leading role in this respect.

The HR function is required to focus, among other things, on the intake, progression and outflow of personnel, management development, recruiting young talent (especially also for sales), continual training and creating a 'customer centered high performance KPI and team' culture. In order to achieve this, the HR function will be implemented at the director level .

The Finance function will be expanded into a Business support function, increasing the analytical capacity by implementing a modern 'business information warehouse' and applying function-specific dashboards and other means.

More flexible and faster deliveries will become the new standard for logistics. A review will be carried out for the Benelux at the start of 2016 to determine the optimum logistics infrastructure. The supply chain optimisation test for Matratzen Concord will be completed in the spring of 2016. Inventory optimisation continues to be a focus area at all formulas.

A new front end offering maximum flexibility with regard to customer requirements will be developed within the IT function on the basis of a robust backbone (SAP). Time-to-market and user-friendliness (for customers and employees) will be the leading considerations.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Beter Bed Holding is aware of its social responsibility, as attested in its existing compliance reporting, the stakeholder dialogue in which it engages and the structural approach to CSR embedded in the organisation. For the coming years, Beter Bed Holding has the ambition to launch initiatives within the sector and in consultation with strategic suppliers to promote the circular economy.

Value drivers

In sum, Beter Bed Holding aims to create value through the following initiatives in the years ahead: