DON’T SIT DOWN!
Don’t worry: PassePartout doesn’t sell sofas, armchairs, chairs and tables.
Designing and producing furniture? Equally important are the branding and the B2B service models. The step from a shop-in-the-shop concept to a mono-brand store is taken — by the retailer. PassePartout levels up & stands out.
The title: what do you mean ‘don’t sit down’? PassePartout makes seating and other furniture, doesn’t it? Indeed it does, but a sofa is not just for sitting on. To quote the Dutch keynote speaker Jos Burgers (NL): “A hardware store isn’t selling drills, but selling holes.” Hang on a minute, that is food for thought. In fact, that is exactly what the customer wants! If you translate this eye-opening statement to our industry, then a sofa is not for sitting on. But what is it for? For enjoying your family & friends, for chilling out and watching Netflix, comforting your lovelorn teen, cherishing those moments of laughter and tears. A sofa is about so much more than simply sitting; it represents an experience, life. The same applies to other pieces of furniture. ‘The key question is: what does the customer actually want? If you know that and communicate it, then you are making progress! That’s why we are investing fully in the mood on the stand, a more luxurious edition of the Stories coffee table book (with a linen cover) and — hugely important — 3D design tools. The consumer is so digitally savvy that professionals can’t afford to be left behind!’ OK, that upgrading is something you could have expected.
Flagship store?
But this step from the shop-in-the-shop concept to a concept store? Surely that makes alarm bells ring? No, it’s all good: PassePartout is not opening own-brand shops, not launching a franchise formula. The concept store is the next level after the shop-in-the-shop concept: a new B2B service model. ‘Does a retailer want to fill their business exclusively with PassePartout? Then we facilitate that — in collaboration with Haans Lifestyle for the styling. This type of concept-store amounts to an XXL-version of the in-store concept, and goes under the retailer’s name.’ The first mono-brand store (700 m2) has opened in Antwerp: Furnitale (a blend of the words furniture and fairytale). That name on the façade says enough: this is not a PassePartout branch.
New collection
Aside from these developments, the collection has been augmented by new models and more luxurious fabrics. The design evolves from organically rounded to more subtle, female curves. The stand has been expanded with an outdoor square. There is plenty to see, discuss and experience!
