INTERVIEW>>

There was, and still is, a lot
going on in the businessof the Hungarian wholesaler
Debranet. After successfully
managing two huge warehouses,
the company decided to just go
even bigger and built a brandnew storage hall to be able tocater to all inquiries. So, it’s time
for us to take a closer look atwhat is happening in those
hallowed halls. Sign spoke toZoltán Bödy, owner and CEO ofDebranet about all the changes.

The size of the Debranet company
premises is quite considerable

NEW WAREHOUSEFOR DEBRANET
01//

What do you think about the successof Debranet in 2018?
❚ Despite the fact that we had some major
developments in 2018, we still managed toclose a very good year. We were able to achieve
two-digit growth and we received a eroFame
award for Best Business Strategy.

02//

Which development in your company
has been the most important andmost decisive one for Debranet in 2018, and why?
❚ The most important development for Debranet
was to build up the third warehouse, which we
had been planning for a long time. This willchange the life of Debranet significantly.

dure took much more time as we had to meet
special regulations. It has taken almost 3 years.
Finally, we could not believe that we got thelicense. After that we had to find the best logistic
system what can work most effectively for us.
When we were finished with the inside plans, wethen looked up the building contractor. It has
taken another year. After all the preparation we
finally started to build in October 2017, and it
was finished in almost a year.

Which markets do you currently
cater to most?
❚ It has not changed in the last years. We arestill very strong on the Central and Eastern European markets where we have a lot of exclusive
distribution agreements.

When did you realise that you haveto change something regarding yourstorage situation?
❚ We realised it about five years ago and now
the dream just came true.

07//

04//

60 SIGN EUROPE MAGAZINE 02/2019

Are you planning any further spatialchanges?
❚ Yes of course, we have already started to realise
it on the first day of 2019. We transformed andrenovated the first warehouse and all the offices
because it was made many years ago. I hope we canbe finished with it in 4 to 5 months, then all ourbuildings, equipment and our logistic system will beaccording to the expectations of the age. After this
we are 100% ready to work in a 21st century environment and we can focus on the business 120%.

06//

03//

How long has it taken to plan andbuild the new storage hall, until
everything was completed?
❚ From the idea, the longest part of the development was to handle the licenses. We are in thecountryside, that’s why the authorisation proce-05//

Zoltán and Erika Bödy, CEOs of Debranet

Are there any other markets in which
you would like to be involved?
❚ We are present in all European markets and I
think it is more than enough. We just started tomove a little bit outside of Europe. We will see
how the market situations will take shape.
Our goal is to stay strong in Europe.

INTERVIEW

08//Have you recently added new
products/brands to your range?
❚ We have just signed an exclusive agreementfor 12 countries with Lovetoy. We just started
working with Realov and Tenga and we have
many more ongoing negotiations. At the moment we are focusing more on expanding ouroffers from our existing suppliers. We have huge
extra shipments on the way from overseas,
Pretty Love, Lovetoy, Seven Creation,Svakom, Chisa etc. and we havealso increased our stock frommost of the European brands.
The range and also the quantities will be significantly different
compared to previous years.

09//

What are yourmost popular
articles right now?
❚ Every market has different
favourites, but I think the winner of 2018 was Pretty Love.

10//

Which products from your range would
you recommend most to your customers

and why?
❚ There are so many nice items, and most of thebrands that we keep on stock have their advantages. We always adapt our offer to the customer’s
expectations, so everyone can find their favourites.

11//

What kind of trends do you see for theupcoming season?
❚ I think 2019 will not be an easy year on themarket. Many new companies exist in Europe andthe competition is already huge. In my opinion
this year will decide which companies are able tostand the strong European competition. We areready for it. Moreover, the trend of distributionseems to be changing. The serious brands havestarted to realise that they have to reorganise thedistribution channels. When only a few distributors existed in Europe the situation was totallydifferent to what it is today. If you want to do thejob properly with the best result, and if someone
wants to cover the European market the best

Debranet’s employees work very hard tosatisfy every customer

option for the brands is to find 2 to 4 distributors;
but choosing the combination of distributors is a
hard decision to make.

12//

Do you have a corporatephilosophy?
❚ Our job is to make our customers and employees happy and always strive to do it better. If they
are successful, then so are we. We don’t try to doit, we do it.

13//

What can we expect from Debranet
in 2019? Any specific plans?
❚ More professional service, a wider range ofproducts and much bigger amounts of stock.

14//

Will you be exhibiting at any fairs
in 2019?
❚ We usually only exhibit at the eroFame. I don’t
think that it will change.

15//

Is there anything else you would liketo mention in the Interview?
❚ After the reconstruction of all buildings andsites, we are planning a huge opening party withall our important customers and suppliers. The
time of this depends on the completion of work,
but at the latest it will be spring of 2020.

CONTACTDEBRANETThe new storage hall is definitely a game changer for Debranet’s business

62 SIGN EUROPE MAGAZINE 02/2019

www.debranet.com