How has buying behaviour changed over the last 10 years?

I am conducting a research on SOURCING "Changing buyers behaviour" in Home Deco, Home Textiles, Furniture sector. Did you as a buyer change your behaviour or did your buying customer change ?

1. Where do you/they source new products/new suppliers?

2. How has  buying behaviour changed over the last 10 years?
3. Is a trade show still the best matchmaking platform for a buyer or do you/they use other channels to find new suppliers?
4. do you/they source online and how important are the social media in the purchasing process?
5. what is the best way to how would you approach a new buyer?
6. are buyers looking for suppliers who can implement your their own developments or do they buy items off-the-shelf?

please send you answers to Reinhard Werner  WernerConsult Ltd  email:  wernerconsult@bluewin.ch

MD - The Netherlands

There are many things that make MD outstanding: exceptional customer service, best available products and dependability. MD customer service is known to go above and beyond the call of duty.


The right product for the right atmosphere.

Those are the strengths of the MD collection. We supply exclusively to Premier Florists and Interior Store's

HABITAT - France - Europe

Habitat is a retailer of household furnishings in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and has franchised outlets in other countries. Founded in 1964 by Terence Conran, it was sold by the IKANO Group, owned by the Kamprad family, in December 2009 to Hilco, a restructuring specialist.
Terence Conran founded the company in London in 1964, opening his own store to market his Summa range of furniture.The first Habitat store was opened in Fulham Road in Chelsea by Conran, his then wife Caroline and the model Pagan Taylor.This store became the Habitat template, with its quarry tiled floor, whitewashed brick walls, white-painted wooden-slatted ceilings and spotlights creating a feeling of space and focusing attention on the product.
In 1981, the company's shares were floated on the London Stock Exchange and in 1982 merged with Mothercare Group to form Habitat Mothercare Group PLC. The now-listed company bought the furniture retailer Heal's and the Richard Shops fashion chain in 1983. In 1986, the company merged with British Home Stores to form Storehouse plc In 1992 Habitat was purchased from Storehouse by IKANO. In October 2009, following several years of trading losses, the Kamprad family, who own IKANO, put the company up for sale, and it was sold to Hilco, a restructuring specialist, in December 2009 with the Kamprad family writing off the debts of the company and providing €50 million (£45 million) of working capital while Hilco paid about €15m.
In October 2009, Habitat employed 1,574 people and operated in 71 stores: 35 in the UK, 26 in France, five in Spain and five in Germany. The company used to have stores in Galway and Dublin in the Republic of Ireland but these were closed down in 2008. In addition, the company operates stores or concessions in Belgium, Iceland, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Thailand, Turkey and Scandinavia. The company also operates sourcing offices in Italy, Poland, Slovenia and China.
http://www.habitat.fr/

Metro Cash Carry - Germany Europe

cash&carry - chain store 669 branches in 30 countries 33billion € turnover

  

METRO GROUP is one of the most important international retailing companies: Some 300,000 employees from 150 nations are working at over 2,100 outlets in 34 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. The portfolio of our strong sales brands offers a wide range of services for private and commercial customers:

  

• Metro Cash & Carry, the world's market leader in cash & carry
• Real hypermarkets
• Media Markt and Saturn, Europe' s leader in consumer electronic retailing
• Galeria Kaufhof, the system leader in the department store business
• METRO Group Asset Management   

All sales brands of the METRO GROUP take leading market positions in their respective segment and demonstrate their competence in trade and retail on a daily basis. Responsibility towards our customers, stockholders and the public characterizes our corporate thinking and action. Innovative strength is one of our key success factors. As a foresighted and high-performance group of companies, we also want to contribute to the further development and modernization of the retail sector - both, at the national and at the international level.

http://www.metrogroup.de/  details on http://www.kokolil.com/

 

Cad...-UK

Cad.. UK is a trend setting producer of garden and lifestyle products for leading brands across the UK.
Cad... combine innovative production techniques with contemporary design - capturing the style and atmosphere of today.
In 2009 - Cad.. continues to deliver new and inspiring designs. Their total concept collection stands for true quality products - focused on durability, practicality, quality and style. From materials and manufacture right through to a service level unprecedented in the market.
From home delivery service to merchandised assorted container deliveries, Cad... work closely with partners to innovate through design, strict quality control and ongoing retail support with a vision to continue to drive the trends and service standards in the market.

BY... - UK

BY... are the UK's leading wholesaler of knitted and fair trade crochet toys including Pebble fair trade cotton crochet toys.Wide range of hand made, fair trade, organic and knitted toys. Gorgeous fair trade and hand made rag dolls. All toys tested to EN71 and CE and suitable from birth.
BY was set up in 1999 to manufacture soft toys for high street retailers such as Mothercare and Harrods. Whilst originally the compnay concentrated on developing ranges for other people they soon branched out in to supplying Independent retailers and now approx 70% of sales are from the Independent sector.
We pride ourselves on our original designs and different fabrics we use for our own ranges, and the flexibility of our service.
The products are not only innovative in their design and materials, but undergo the most stringent safety checks to ensure they meet all current safety legislations. They only deal with factories which they have visited and are satisfied that the conditions in the factory exceed the requirements needed by high level pressure groups.

Art.... - UK

Welcome to the online eco-boutique. We design unique handcrafted jewellery, fashion accessories, gifts and decorative items. All of our products are sourced on a Fair Trade basis using natural and sustainable materials.
Overview
the “Company” was established in 2004 with the purpose of promoting, developing and supporting Colombian artisans and their craft by commercialising unique handcrafted products, under the highest quality standards, through leading distribution channels in the UK and other European markets. All of our products are sourced on a Fair Trade basis using natural and sustainable materials.
We are proud member of the following organisations:

• The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO)
• The British Association for Fair Trade Shops (BAFTS)
• Anti Copying In Design (ACID)
• The Ethical Fashion Forum Network

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide Colombian artisans with opportunities to expand beyond their local markets while striving for the sustained development of the environment and the progress of artisan communities.

Our Vision

Our vision is to become the leading importer of artisan and handcrafted products from Colombia to the European market. We will focus on developing trusting relationships with the artisans in order to understand the skill and passion that goes into each craft, which will enable us to select unique, modern and high-quality handcrafted products.
WE currently have over 400 stockists in the UK and across the world. Our stockist carry our latest ranges and exclusive collections, so you are sure to find something really special.

EK S.....- Germany

That is what the EK .... stands for- and that is exactly what we want our approx. 2,200 partners (independent, medium-sized retail companies within Europe) to experience. As the leading retail co-operative generating revenues in excess of € 1.5 billion, we offer fascinating product worlds full of trends and ideas in the business segments living, comfort, hobby, family and fashion.

Efficient integrated services such as central buying, logistics, information technology and central administration allow for a profit-driven future for our retail partners thanks to optimised processes.

Regardless of their entrepreneurial spirit, the membership structure is very diverse. Stores with a sales floor space of 200 sq. m. benefit just as much from EK's s... as do stores with 10,000 sq. m. Some stores offer their customers product ranges from various segments, others have successfully specialised with EK/s.... Our members include retail stores, medium-sized department stores, consumer centres, furniture stores and fashion boutiques.
The clear grouping into five strategic business segments allows for targeted retailing within clearly-defined sectors.
The business segments living, comfort, hobby, family and fashion, attached to the platform with their sector-independent functions, optimally combine central services with professional vigour. The platform model is not only the ideal basis for consistent strategic growth, it also allows for the development of overreaching systems in the form of shops, floor designs or shop types - while fully utilising all synergy and rationalisation potential.
EK guarantees members advantageous terms based on pooling orders in joint purchasing, while also offering individual support by qualified staff on the sales side.
Number of member companies 2,133
Member structure Medium sized specialty stores
Consumer centres - Department stores
Staff approx. 500
External sales approx. 4.0 billion euros.
Central sales approx. 1.5 billion euros;
Number of suppliers approx. 3,000
Shop floor 30,000 sq. m., 12,000 sq. m. of which is display space.
Services sectors Marketing, management consulting,
audit/tax consulting, financing, information technology, advanced training
Product assortments Glass/chinaware/ceramics, household goods, gifts, large and small electrical devices, kitchens, toys, lamps, lights, electric installations, garden furniture, books, paper, office supplies, stationary, leather goods, textiles, clothing, personal goods, luxury goods, baby & nursery
contact details for Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France: please subscribe

ALO... Imports - Germany

Importer and wholesaler. Imports teakwood furniture, statues, floor tiles, swimming pools.

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Heine Mail Order - Germany

1974, Heinrich Heine was the first German company in which Otto took a share in order to reach new target groups. Since 1979, Heine has been fully integrated into the Otto Group. Over the course of years, through various acquisitions and shares in companies, Heine has expanded into a group positioned in the upper market segment.
By strategically reorienting its fashion line, Heine was soon accepted as a competent supplier. In 1992, Heine affirmed its pioneering role as the first mail-order house to found a customer club, which, today, counts about 125,000 members in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Today, Heine is an international multichannel retailer currently represented in Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands. True to its philosophy ‘something special for every day’, Heine has a select offering of current fashions and inspiring home furnishing, home decoration ideas.

Since 1996, Heine has had an Internet presence and continues to strengthen its activities in the future-oriented online business. The company's product range already includes more than 10,000 articles. Even on the Internet Heine's corporate philosophy is reflected: Products are presented in a sophisticated way, comprehensive services and infotainment are provided, constantly built on, and thus help strengthen the company' market position.
http://www.heine.de/

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