I N T E R V I E W

It is definitely a win-win

collaboration for both partiese x c l u s iv eD e br a N e t s ea ls distributio n dea l with O B SE SSIVE

As of recently, the entire OBSESSIVE collection is available from distributor Debra Net.
Karol Macherzyński, Regional Sales Director (Europe) for the OBSESSIVE brand, andZoltán Bődy, co-founder and President of Debra Net, tell us about this new distributionagreement between their companies.

„Karol Macherzyński,Regional Sales Director(Europe) for theOBSESSIVE brandYou have entered into a distribution
partnership with Debra Net. Can you tellus the reasons for this decision?
Karol Macherzyński: When I
search for potential B2B partners,
it has to be a company with thesame values. When it comesto the rules of our partnership,
both parties need to focus onbuilding a fair, long-term, fruitfulcooperation based on mutualbenefit. Debra Net is the best
partner in the region we want
to develop, with expert market
knowledge, many years ofexperience growing their activities,
and a wide range of customers
with strong purchasing power.
At the same time, both parties
have the opportunity to growwith OBSESSIVE andcomplement theirproduct range
withhigh-quality lingerie from a brand with a great
track record and a dedication to constantimprovement. It is definitely a win-win
collaboration for both parties.
What made you confident that you had found
the right partner in Debra Net? What are thestrong points of the company?
Karol Macherzyński: There is a reason why
Debra Net has become a leader in Centraland Eastern Europe in the years since 2002.
Debra Net is a reliable company with great
experience in building and expanding theirdistribution network within the erotic market.
The company places great emphasis on
continuous improvements in all areas because
they believe this is the only way to provide
international quality services, and on thatbasis they sync up nicely with theOBSESSIVE values.
There are a great many distributors andwholesalers in this market. How do you pickyour partners?
Karol Macherzyński: There are basic
determinants which are the basis for talks
about potential collaborations. Things like a
dedication to continuous improvement anddevelopment and respect for values andhuman work.
What are your expectations regarding yourpartnership with Debra Net?
Karol Macherzyński: A long-term, fruitfulcooperation based on mutual respect, trust,and support for continuous growth.

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K A R O L M A C H E R Z Y N S K I
Z O L T Á N B Ő D Y

Developing the product portfolio and supporting
the expansion of the OBSESSIVE brand on a large
scale. Building brand awareness and brand value inseveral markets with the full support of OBSESSIVE.
How do you support Debra Net to ensure that yourbrand and your products become a success forthem and their customers?
Karol Macherzyński: Supporting our regular and newpartners is one of the most important prerequisites
for a successful cooperation. The OBSESSIVE
marketing team offers a number of tools to support
the introduction of the brand in new markets as wellas maintaining and developing the product portfolio.
Our partners have at their disposal three online
platforms that allow them to place orders quickly
and efficiently, and at the same time provide
top-quality content dedicated to both brick-andmortar stores and online shops, not to mention B2Bsales platforms. Our proven logistics system speeds
up and improves delivery to our customers.
What will this partnership look like in the future,especially with regard to growing the brand in Europeand supporting the retailers to maximise sales?
Karol Macherzyński: In the future, we strive todevelop a business relationship based on expert
advice and full marketing and logistics support. We
want to achieve global growth by building value
together. This direction of development is coherent
with the OBSESSIVE motto –TOGETHER IS BETTER!
There is a discussion about the pros and cons ofexclusive distribution agreements. What is youropinion on this topic? Why do you prefer working
with several distributors?
Karol Macherzyński: Working with several
distributors makes the whole business more exciting
and gives everyone involved the opportunity forbroad development and ‚healthy‘ competition. Inaddition, all partners must respect each others‘interests and support the promotion and building of
the brand in which they believe.
Debra Net has added a new lingerie collection to
its portfolio, more precisely the world-famousOBSESSIVE brand. Why did you choose this brand?
Zoltán Bődy: This story began more than 10 years
ago. Our customers have been asking for OBSESSIVE
since then. Up until now, there never was anopportunity to become one of their distributors.

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Luckily, their business policy changed a coupleof months ago, so they contacted us and asked if
we were interested in working together. Since ourcustomers had been waiting to finally get OBSESSIVE
lingerie in their shops, everybody was happy to hear
the good news.

Erika Melega Bodyneand Zoltán Bődy,founder and Presidentof Debra Net, ateroFame 2019

What does OBSESSIVE bring to your assortmentthat you had been missing until now?
Zoltán Bődy: As you mentioned, OBSESSIVE isa well-known brand with a great reputation in themarket. Debra Net simply couldn’t miss out on anopportunity to add a world-famous brand to ourI N T E R V I E W“ DEB R A N ET S IMP LY COULDN ’T

MI S S OUT ON A N OP P ORT UN IT Y TO
A DD A WORLD-FA MOUS BRAN D TO
OUR A S S ORTMEN T, ES P ECIA LLYI F OUR PARTN ERS ARE A LS OLOOK I N G FOR IT. “Z O LTÁ N B Ő DY

assortment, especially if our partners are also looking
for it. So, this co-operation creates a win-win
situation for everyone. We added an excellent
brand, and OBSESSIVE can work with aprofessional distributor. As a result, sales
figures were exceeding our expectations
even in the first week.
The brand is also distributed by yourcompetitors. Hasn‘t this fact put you off?
Zoltán Bődy: Yes, that is correct. Many players
sell this brand and competition is fierce in theerotic industry. However, the new management
behind this brand has a proven long-term
strategy which is in compliance with ourbusiness policy. So we did not hesitate toenter into this co-operation.
Now, our customers are also happy because
they can purchase all their favourite brands
in one place.
Which criteria are most importantfor you when you are looking for newbrands?
Zoltán Bődy: It is very important tohave common business goals withthe brand owner in the long term. The
products should be good quality, offer
value for money, and be a good fit for ourassortment.
Do you offer the complete product range ofOBSESSIVE products? And when will they beavailable?
Zoltán Bődy: Yes, we carry the wholeassortment of OBSESSIVE products. Although126

we still need to optimise stock levels due to theincreasing demand from our clients …
What expectations do you have for this new brand?
Your assortment doesn‘t necessarily lack in lingerie
products ...
Zoltán Bődy: It is always a pleasure to work withprofessional partners, especially if we have a lotin common. Of course, we already have several
lingerie lines but – as mentioned before – we could
not resist the opportunity to have OBSESSIVE in
our range, and we expect the co-operation to be
successful and joyful.
With so many first-party and third-party brands inyour range, aren‘t you running the risk of having thesebrands steal away customers from one another,basically cannibalising each other?
Zoltán Bődy: Well, that is a very good question. To
understand this, first we should look at our special
situation and the needs of our customers. If weconsider the European erotic market, we are in aunique position. Central and Eastern Europeconsists of several small countries withdifferent cultures and consumer needs. That
is why we keep as many brands as we needto fulfil these needs.
In addition, we truly believe in exclusive
deals which worked well for us in past
decades. I see no reason why you’d need 2or 3 or more distributors to serve a certain
market. According to our philosophy, a sole
distributor with effective logistics can takecare of any brand. They can develop brandawareness instead of constantly having tofight with competitors and loosing focus.
And last but not least, due to our consistent strategy
and focus on exclusive deals, we are in a position
where we carry most of the important brands in thisregion. That is the reason why no other competitor
has managed to gain bigger shares in the market
or offer a wider range of bestsellers. We often see
companies trying to carry lines what we do notsell exclusively, but they cannot offer the complete
package.
How do you ensure that all the brands in your range
receive the same attention?
Zoltán Bődy: It is a tough job and requires a lot ofwork and time. We constantly measure and monitor
results and demand in order to quickly react in caseof changes or difficulties. We have a very effective

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method of carrying out this job. We constantly keep
in touch with the manufacturers to find solutions
if problems occur, and we brainstorm together tooptimise success together with them.
Would you agree with the statement that the wholesale market is more and more becoming a marketof private distributor and wholesaler labels? Whatrole does the distribution of third-party brands stillplay in today’s market?

Debra Net now
carries the entire
range of OBSESSIVEproducts“ DE BRA NE T IS A RE L IABL E
C OMPANY W ITH GRE AT

E XPE RIE NC E IN BUIL DING A ND

E XPANDING THE IR DISTRIBU TI O N
NE TW ORK W ITHIN THE E ROTI CMARKE T.“KAROL MACHERZYŃSKIZoltán Bődy: As mentioned above, our situation is
special and unique in Europe. Therefore, we do notneed full ranges of private labels as exclusive deals
work very well for us. Other than that, the creation,production and development of a brand is an activity
that consumes lot of energy and money as you caneasily lose your main focus which should still bedistribution.
Of course, the strong competition in Western
Europe requires many private labels with completelines to make a difference. Luckily, brand producers
start to realize it is better to have one distributor per
logistics area only. Otherwise, price wars begin,then private labels come along, and they generate astrong competition for themselves. We are alreadyseeing brands which decide to work with just one
serious distributor in a certain geographical area.
What seems to work the best is a maximum of 2–3
distributors in the EU, each with dedicated areas.

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