NeoCon Chicago 2016 Interview: Tom Van Dessel, CEO, BuzziSpace America

“The fact that you are European allows you to be quirky. Europe has a great reputation for good design but that is just the ante to the game, and allows you then to be interesting, but you also have execute.”

BuzziJungle by Jonas Van Put for BuzziSpace, as seen at NeoCon Chicago 2016

BuzziJungle by Jonas Van Put for BuzziSpace, as seen at NeoCon Chicago 2016

Established in 2007 as a producer of office acoustic solutions, the Belgian manufacturer BuzziSpace has quickly grown to become not only one of the major producers of acoustic products but of what one could refer to as office-lounge furniture, an important new contract market which has developed in recent years as ever more companies aim to offer not only suitable spaces for differing types of work as well as relaxation, but also to bring a softer, more homely, atmosphere to the, generally, very strict office environment.

Launched with a family of designs by the Belgian designer Sas Adriaenssens and company founder Steve Symons, an important expansion of the BuzziSpace portfolio came in 2010 with the commencement of an ongoing cooperation with Alain Gilles; products such as the BuzziBooth or BuzziHood helping establish BuzziSpace’s reputation for functional products which bring colour, warmth and a sense of spontaneity to the contemporary office. And products which arguably owe part of their success to the five years Alain spent working in a large open plan office, an experience which as he told us in our recent interview meant “I could feel the problems!

Proponents of the “Cradle to Cradle” concept, environmental and ecological aspects play a strong role in the BuzziSpace philosophy and in addition to considerations in context of production processes and distribution, BuzziSpace products feature the company’s specially developed BuzziFelt and BuzziFabric materials – the first being created from recycled PET bottles, the second from a mix of recycled wool, polyacrylic and rags.

Since 2012 BuzziSpace have also been trading in America from a base in High Point, North Carolina; the American operation being led by BuzziSpace American CEO Tom Van Dessel, with company CEO and brand Creative Dircetor Steve Symons based at the BuzziSpace headquarters in Antwerp.

At NeoCon Chicago 2016 BuzziSpace formally launched BuzziJungle by Jonas Van Put, a solution for informal meetings, finding your own space removed from colleagues, or simply hanging out. Literally. And an object which justifiable found its place in our NeoCon Chicago 2016: High Five!

We took the opportunity presented by NeoCon 2016 to speak with BuzziSpace America CEO Tom Van Dessel about the nature of the America market and the challenges of entering such a market, but began by asking why the decision to start trading in America, was that something BuzziSpace felt they had to do, wanted to do, or……

Tom Van Dessel: It was something we wanted to do. After having established the brand in Europe we naturally considered where to go next and America was the logical option, not just in terms of the potential market size but also the similarities with Europe in terms of economic development, market segments, and also of the general evolution of the workplace.

smow blog: And why the decision to “do it yourself” as it were and not through a cooperation with a local partner?

Tom Van Dessel: We specifically didn’t go down the path of working with a partner because in any company it’s generally very hard to find the right people who fit your culture, and so trying to explain your culture, which in principle embodies your brand, to a partner who then has to explain that to other people, that is all very contrived. And so we decided that while it might take a little longer, doing it ourselves was the better option because it is more consistent, more robust, more sustainable in the long term and ultimately we’ll own it. And that also meant that from the very beginning we decided that if we were going to trade in America then we had to do it local, set roots in the US and not just export to America.

smow blog: In which context you have also recently started producing here, was that just a question of improved logistics, or…..?

Tom Van Dessel: There were three main reasons for the decision. Logistics, response to markets and being more flexible for customer requests is certainly one reason, but then there is also sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint, so producing as close to the market as possible and using suppliers as close to our production as possible, and then thirdly, and a reason which is also an important part of the company philosophy, is that we felt it was a moral imperative. We want America to be a big and important market for us, and consequently we feel it is correct and proper to give something back to the economy, through, for example, creating jobs or sourcing American raw materials. We don’t produce everything here, some things are imported from Europe, but we try to realise as much here as is practical and possible.

smow blog: America should be big and important for you, how important is America currently for BuzziSpace?

Tom Van Dessel: At the moment the US market makes up about 40% of our global turnover….

smow blog: ….and we presume that is mainly office, or……?

Tom Van Dessel: ….mainly office, we are also active in, for example, higher education and hospitality, but currently over 80% is office.

smow blog: And we suspect the majority of that business is through architects rather than directly with end customer?

Tom Van Dessel: Absolutely, the American market is very specification driven and so we have a principal focus on the architecture and interior design communities. There are a lot of very big companies here, very accomplished companies who work very closely with the end clients, and particularly with those large corporate clients who are leading the way in respect of new ways of working, and such early adopters, especially when you think of the West Coast tech companies, are very interesting for us as they understand and appreciate what we do and what we specialise in.

smow blog: BuzziSpace is a, relatively, young, Belgian, manufacturer, we can’t imagine getting a foothold in America is easy….

Tom Van Dessel: No it isn’t, but, and I know it sounds like a cliché, it really is all about listening, about not coming in with any preconceived ideas about how it should be done, but rather about listening and figuring out how the market expects you to behave. And if you go from a market in approach rather than a company out approach then it can work, but you have to be open to that and have to be flexible to adapt yourself to the model that the market expects. And it doesn’t work the other way round. If you come over here and say this is how we do it in Europe, then you’re going to have problems. Clearly there are things you want to bring over, but those are not related to how to do business but rather are more about your design philosophy, those aspects of your products which add value, make you interesting, but the market has its rules.

smow blog: Does however mean getting noticed, and being taken seriously, by customers and clients. And that in a very large market. How can you differentiate yourself from local brands?

Tom Van Dessel: For us as a company it is very important to be the first to respond to changing situations and to realise products which meet new demands. For example with the increasing fusion of residential, hospitality and office, how do you bring a contract grade residential product into the office? You have to design new products, and we want to be the first to do that, and so for us as company we need to be leaders in terms of innovation.

smow blog: Which in context of the aforementioned design philosophy, is the fact that you are European and work with European designers helpful, does that maybe help open doors?

Tom Van Dessel: Absolutely. The fact that you are European allows you to be quirky. Europe has a great reputation for good design but that is just the ante to the game, and allows you then to be interesting, but you also have execute. Because if you’re just quirky, interesting and have good design, but don’t make dealing with yourselves as easy as dealing with an American company then you can easily lose your brand equity. And that isn’t just things like understanding the local fire regulations or the workings of the regional market, but can involve small things like having price lists in dollars and dimensions/weights in the correct units. Basic things, yet things some people forget about. However, if you get the small things right, make dealing with yourselves simple, people appreciate the fact that you have adapted to the local environment and you do it well. And for me that is the key to being successful.

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