Furnished ambitions
Dedon international contract director Angel Salvador outlines why the company now offers hotels in the Middle East a direct contact channel
Luxury Barcelona-based furniture supplier Dedon offers Middle East hotels a variety of individual customer service options to complement a creative range of furnished offerings.
The company has created an International Contract Division, with the aim of working more closely with some of the world’s more luxurious hotel chains, according to international contract director Angel Salvador.
“We aim to inform these chains about the existence of this new division and that it is possible to contact us directly to receive support in new projects,” says Salvador.
Dedon’s direct customer service option does not mean it interferes with the business practices of its distributor partners, adds Salvador.
“We have informed all our importers about this strategic change; we have also created the ‘contract guidelines’ to allow us to work in the same markets without interfering with each other,” he explains. “Our clients therefore, can all benefit from all marketing actions taken by our International Contract Division around the world.”
Customer relationships
While the firm has a wide global presence it maintains a keen interest in Middle Eastern markets.
“We are working in almost in all countries across the Middle East area including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE,” comments Salvador.
“Our main goal is to reach these markets and increase visibility no matter how, either with our importer’s collaboration or directly with our sales network — we will try to reach the last place on earth where a hotel is being built.”
To reach this ambitious target, Salvador says the firm needs to stay ahead of the competition in terms of design and market awareness.
“Before launching a new collection we consult customers in order to know every market trend and what products we should develop,” he explains.
“This kind of information is essential in realising the briefing of new models, then our design, research and development department — which is highly experienced in furniture and design — makes contact with famous and innovative designers in order to create new models based on up-to-date and new trends.”
Dedon works with a variety of architects, interior designers and landscapers and without their support, claims Salvador, the company “would never have reached such a high level of professionalism”.
Partnership working
To capitalise on these relationships, Dedon has implemented new technology and documents to support its partners.
“For this reason we created a special website to allow designers to work with Dedon items of furniture in 3D,” he explains. “We provided hotels with a document called Dedon Outdoor Furniture for Hotels by Area, designed to help them to choose new furniture, especially when they feel the need to renew their style.”
With this dedicated output, the company designs and releases at least two new collections a year.
“Last year, for the first time in Dedon’s history, we created special contract models,” says Salvador.
“Holiday, for example, designed by Richard Frinier, is only available through contract as one of its main characteristic is to be stackable — this collection is exclusive in the Middle East where we are working on relevant projects to be completed by the end of this year.”
Despite penetrating the Middle East’s hospitality industry, Salvador says Dedon takes a different approach to the industry in this region than it does in traditional European markets.
“The main difference is that in the Middle East, we mainly work with luxury resorts and hotels, while in the European market, we deal with city hotels that are based in tourist areas, where few are extremely luxurious,” concludes Salvador.
ABOUT DEDON
Established: 1990
Head office: Barcelona
Core business: Luxury furniture supplier for hotels
USPs: International Contract Division; 3D website for designers; two new collections released each year; creates special contract models exclusive to the Middle East
TEL: +34 93 208 0903
EMAIL: contract.export@dedon.es
WEB: www.dedon.es