Duravit AG has recently performed a strategic restructuring of its product development and management teams: Annette Becker, vice president of Global Marketing, took charge of the newly merged area of marketing and commercial product management of Duravit AG, while Matthias Reddemann is now responsible for the management of technical product development as head of group.
Annette Becker: Dr. Becker, you started at Duravit AG in Hornberg in the Black Forest in July of last year. What expectations were confirmed and what surprised you?
First of all, I have to say that I was positively surprised by my start at Duravit. I was given a very warm welcome by a highly motivated team, which made for a really smooth arrival in the Black Forest. My expectations were confirmed as Duravit has an incredible amount of potential and offers many opportunities for the successful further development of the brand. The new strategic, explicitly customer-centric orientation is the basis for this
development.
Matthias Reddemann: The reorientation means you can focus more strongly on the development process – what are the benefits of this?
With Annette Becker and her team looking after commercial product management and my team concentrating on product development on the other side, we can manage the whole process faster and in a more goal-oriented manner because the two teams are actively driving new projects forward together. As responsibilities have now been allocated more clearly the working methods have become more transparent.
Annette Becker: You’re in charge of the newly created department of Global Marketing, which merges marketing and commercial product management. What’s your experience to date with this strategic change?
As Matthias Reddemann has already touched on, this strategic orientation means we can move at a significantly faster pace, because product development and management are intermeshed and run in parallel. From my perspective, we can now work in a much more goal-oriented manner in terms of customer needs. If we keep the market squarely in view and under constant analysis, we can respond to the different market requirements more directly and develop innovative products that are tailored to our customers’ needs.
Matthias Reddemann: You’re in charge of technical product development. In your view, what are the biggest challenges here?
Communication is a big challenge because we need to find and establish various coordination channels to start with. We develop products to meet global demand – so it’s important to keep an eye on the international market and the specific requirements there. After all, what’s sought after here in Europe doesn’t necessarily overlap with other countries. That’s why we talk to a range of different interfaces to get a holistic view of things. That’s a challenge for the future.
Annette Becker: ISH 2023 is the highlight of the year. How important is a trade fair in the digital age and is the financial outlay worth it?
The ISH was this year’s highlight for us. We were able to present many interesting, innovative, and extraordinary new products to a trade audience. Given the long break, we enjoyed returning to personal contact with business partners, architects, dealers, and tradesmen, which lead to exciting dialogue and honest feedback about our products. At ISH we adopted a hybrid model for trade fairs for the first time, supplementing the physical booth in
Frankfurt with a range of online formats including a virtual booth, which was a really exciting development.
Matthias Reddemann: When you think about the Duravit innovations for 2023 – what’s your personal
highlight?
For me, it really is the spectrum of new products that we’re bringing to market this year. From unusual colours, and innovative materials to timeless designs – I’m confident that we’re really well placed in terms of the product portfolio and can offer the right solution for a range of target groups and price brackets. This aspiration will also be the yardstick to measure ourselves against in the coming years.
