The offline and online success of Beter Bed

The best retail chain and the best "bedroom" webshop in the Netherlands. Beter Bed is successful both offline and online. We talked to Karl Janssen.

Beter Bed, the most famous bedroom retail chain in the Netherlands, is using EffectConnect for quite some time to sell its products via marketplaces. We talked to partnermanager Karl Janssen about the developments with regards to Beter Bed selling online.

From part-time job to Spain to partnermanager

The road to the ultimate job can sometimes be a winding road. This is not different for Karl, apart from the fact that his road swung by  Spain for a short while. 

Karl worked at Beter Bed during his studies SBRM (small business retail management). Not surprising with a father as managing director at Beter Bed.

After finishing his studies, Beter Bed approached Karl to ask him whether he would like take on a marketing job for Beter Bed in Spain. That was an offer he couldn't refuse, especially at his age. "I was looking forward to such an adventure," said Karl. 

After six months in Spain, Karl was longing to return to the Netherlands. At the age of 25,  he then became a store manager in Leiderdorp and later in Katwijk in the Netherlands. His interest for online grew, resulting in Karl now being a partnermanager for Beter Bed for quite some time already. 

 

Offline and online success

The combination of physical store and webshop proved to be a success earlier, when we talked to Bath&Living last year. Beter Bed does the same, be it on a larger scale. 

Beter Bed has an enormous offline reach with almost 100 stores in the Netherlands and Belgium. The webshop increases this reach, while also serving consumer convenience. 

This formula proves to be a success, as Beter Bed won two awards in 2016-2017: one for "Best Retail Chain in the Netherlands" and one for "the Best Bedroom webshop in the Webshop Awards". According to Twinkle Magazine, Beter Bed generated a online turnover of 5 million Euros in 2016. The physical stores generated an international turnover of about 405 million euro. 


Marketplaces

Beter Bed is using EffectConnect for quite some time already to automate their marketplaces sales. EffectConnect fits seamlessly to their internal systems for product information and stock management. This saves a lot of time and effort, while also simplifying selling via bol.com with their exisiting processes. View the online product portfolio from Beter Bed on bol.com here. 

Karl explains that it is important to spread your chances with regards to marketplaces successes and learn from every bit. You can easily test whether a new marketplace fits the strategy of Beter Bed and if it can contribute to the turnover goals. 

 

Logistic challenge in the industry 

Selling furniture online always faces logistical challenges. Delivery time plays an important role here, because marketplaces often require a delivery time within 8 working days. It is not unusual to wait 6 weeks for a new bed or couch. For online sales, this is a no-go.

If the product can be delivered in such short notice, then the next challenge arises: actual delivery. Beter Bed owns their own truck fleet and already has a lot of offline presence, so for them this is no issue. If you don't own a truck (fleet), it is often very difficult to satisfy the marketplace, to inform the customer and not having to pay high transportation costs for special deliveries throughout the country.

 

Hybrid model

The above mentioned challenges sometimes forces some furniture sellers to use a so-called hybrid marketplace model. Part of their assortment (often smaller products) are sold on marketplaces (for example via LVB at bol.com), while larger products are offered via own transportation. You can merge this hybrid model in one account in EffectConnect, which is very convenient! :-)

Do you also want to become successful online? Contact us and we'll discuss your wishes! 

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