Schmidt Group: kitchen without borders

The kitchen is distinguished by its international expansion dynamic, but thoughtful, as well in Spain as in China.

the Number 2 in France and number 5 in Europe! Good, but not enough for the specialist in the kitchen who feeds very high ambitions. "We want to be in 2025 and the preferred brand of consumers in the habitat," says Patrick Fabre, commercial director Europe. Schmidt Group has two brands. Cuisinella is "for the time being franco-French, but we hear the internationalize". Launched in 1989, the network of dealers Cuisines Schmidt is, however, very present abroad.

by the End of 2017, it had 700 points of sale in China, as well as 472 in Europe, but also in the Maghreb, South Africa, Mauritius, Australia, Russia or Dubai. Alone, France has 285 dealerships Schmidt. "The idea is not to be less dependent on the French market, but to take advantage of the oceans of growth that exist elsewhere. There are no limits to our development", says Patrick Fabre. "While the pampering is everywhere in vogue, we are able to equip all the rooms of the house."

Currently, "only America is not a target". To conquer the other four continents, the strategy is offensive, but carefully weighed, since this sector in growth and strong margins is competitive, details the responsible. The priority of Schmidt, it is the French-speaking area: "In French-speaking Switzerland (7 concessions) and Belgium ( 14), we imagine doubling the number of points of sale within a few years." The second country neighbouring the most important number of department stores is Spain, with nearly 60 concessions. Germany and England remain as targets.

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Investors multilingual welcome

To internationalize, Schmidt adapts to us local. In Britain, the shops are a little more compact, but the kitchen models much larger and more prestigious". Everywhere, the advertising is done "in the national language and not in English", and the brand has worked systematically "with the brands of appliances that are reference in the country". The concessions are being driven by a local subsidiary. Driven directly by the presidency of the group, the development strategy in China is to share: "It is a joint-venture created in 2014 with a local builder. The products, manufactured on the spot, are specific to the chinese market."

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Schmidt is looking for dealers in France ("there are places to take a little bit everywhere, particularly in the Île-de-France"), and abroad, provided to be polyglot and to know the context, in particular in Switzerland, as well as Spain and Great Britain (in these two countries, rather, it is the profiles of investors). The entry ticket depends on the location and format of the store. A total of 230000 euros is a minimum. "They are self-taught or graduates of HEC", the dealer Schmidt are "entrepreneurs of the soul" with a fiber shopping and "high human qualities" that enable them "to integrate into the local fabric, a manager in the trust and satisfy the customers by offering exactly what pleases him".