100 % FUTURE - ALNO

50
A study that ALNO AG mandated in September 2010 from the tns emnid opinion research institute
also showed that the company is on the right path with its brand strategy: this survey entailed
conducting telephone questionnaires of 1,005 individuals with net household incomes of at least
EUR 2,500 (this represents the buyer segment for kitchens from the ALNO product brand). The
survey’s aim was to generate data about the motivations and criteria that are applied when kitchens
are purchased, in order to avoid relying on “subjective opinions”. Of the individuals surveyed, 76 %
mentioned “quality/value”, and 64 % cited “design”, as important or very important criteria when
deciding to purchase a kitchen. “Durability” (97 %) and “functionality” (95 %) also topped the list of
priorities. From ALNO’s perspective, the ALNO product brand has long stood for high quality and
first-class design, which also implies “durability” and “functionality”.
Sales
Kitchens manufactured by the ALNO Group are primarily sold in Germany to furniture and specialist
kitchen wholesalers/retailers, as well as self-service and cash-and-carry markets, which are predominantly
organized into purchasing associations. Around 84 % of kitchen furniture is sold through
such purchasing associations. Independent dealers also operate for the company. In overall terms,
ALNO works together with more than 7,000 sales partners in 64 countries.
In order to secure market shares, and expand them in the future, the sales reorientation particularly
includes strengthening the “Kitchen specialists/kitchen studios” sales channel for the ALNO and
WELLMANN brands. The company also aims to improve sales quality through refraining from entering
into low-margin business. To this end, a new pricing policy for the ALNO brand was successfully
implemented in the 2010 fiscal year, which allowed some strategically important major customers
to be re-acquired.
The sales organization in Germany had already been reorganized over the course of 2009 in order
to achieve the objective of more clearly positioning Group brands in the future, and of dismantling
the competition among sales teams that had prevailed until then. For this reason, and for the first
time in the 2010 fiscal year, employees were no longer allocated to individual brands, but to their
relevant strengths in line with the different sales channels.
Sales abroad are to be boosted once the restructuring measures there have been concluded. This
will entail strengthening the sales function, and trading partners will be given better service and
training. ALNO AG achieved an important sales success in China in September 2010. From there,
the company received a further major order to equip a residential estate in Shanghai with a total of
631 kitchens from the classic ALNOTERM program. Delivery ran to schedule in December 2010.